Introduction to Thinking Is Causative by Patricia Boyer
The human family has come a long, long way over several million years.
It is our belief that even before recorded history there were individuals born from time to time who could see and understand what they truly were. They knew that they could “see” and “understand” things other individuals seemed not able to perceive; and they knew that they could “see” beyond the body that appeared to tie them to the earth. They knew that they could change their environment simply by “thinking” about it and reaching a conclusion. However, the shaman, the seer, the holy man, the priest or the wizard did not share their unfoldment with the general population for thousands upon thousands of years and the general population failed to unfold it for themselves during that time.
Later on, an enlightened few began to share their wondrous knowledge, hoping thereby to heal the trials and tribulations of mankind. Some of those masters lived long before Jesus of Nazareth trod this earth and some lived long after.The light of understanding rose and fell through the centuries, and with each rise to the light we learned a little more.
In the sixth century before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a prince was born in a part of India that is now called Nepal. He was Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha. His words are today as timely as though they had just been spoken. He said: What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday and our present thoughts build our life tomorrow. Our life is the creation of our mind. And further, he spoke this truth: It is your mind that creates this world.
It is written that Jesus of Nazareth said: For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
A little over a hundred years later, a Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, one of the “Five Good Emperors” understood the unity of all when he wrote in his Meditations: There is one light of the sun, though it is interrupted by walls, mountains and infinite other things. There is one common substance, though it is distributed among countless bodies which have their several qualities. There is one soul, though it is distributed among several natures and individual limitations. There is one intelligent soul, though it seems to be divided. [12.30]
After the death of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman empire began its long road to oblivion and during the next thousand-plus years the wonders of life were hidden (with a very few exceptions). During that long dark period those who spoke the truth about the world and the heavens and about life itself were either burned at the stake, boiled in oil, or silenced by fear. It was not until the 17th century that the flame of truth about energy begin to burn once more in a very few generous minds willing and unafraid to share the truth.
In 1596 Rene Descartes was born in France and became known in history as "The Founder of Modern Philosophy" as well as "The Father of Modern Mathematics." His thinking and understanding were as a bright light cast upon the darkness.
In 1688 with the birth of Emanuel Swedenborg in Sweden, science, mathematics, philosophy and religion were unfolded in concert to form a symphony in the mind of one man.
Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, born in 1802, was known as “The Father of New Thought” in America. He was a kind and dedicated healer who lived in New England. He did not lean toward religion, but his unfoldment was the basis for and led to the establishment of many differing forms of New Thought, not only in this country but throughout the world.
A marvelous change in the way man looked at himself and his world began with that explosion of new thought, both scientific and philosophical, in the 1800’s.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston in 1803. Even though his father was the Rev. Willliam Emerson, a Unitarian minister in a long and famous line of ministers, the young Emerson gradually drifted from the doctrines of his peers, then formulated and first expressed the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. Following this he gave a speech entitled "The American Scholar" which Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (father of the Supreme Court Justice OWH Jr.) considered to be the "Intellectual Declaration of Independence." In Emerson's wisdom, he said: Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. This following quote of Mr. Emerson should uplift your thoughts about money: Money, which represents the prose of life, and which is hardly spoken of in parlors without an apology, is, in its effects and laws, as beautiful as roses.
Mary Baker Eddy, born in 1821, was among the students of Phineas Quimby who went on to found philosophical movements of their own. She then later founded the Christian Science Church in 1879.
Thomas Troward was born in India in 1847 of British parents. Judge Troward's twenty-five years on the Bench in India honed the already sharp edges of his mind to the point that he gave us the most elegant prose of that era. At this time, I have posted only one of his works on this website, but I intend to add more. Keep looking for them.
Emma Curtis Hopkins was born in 1849. She was healed of an illness by Mary Baker Eddy and became a Christian Science Practitioner. She later left Christian Science to form her own philosophical organization. Many were influenced by the lectures of Emma Curtis Hopkins, and some of them went on to form churches of their own. Among these were Melinda Cramer and Nona Brooks, co-founders of Divine Science, and Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, who established the Unity School of Christianity.
Wallace Delois Wattles, born in 1860 at the beginning of the American Civil War, lived a large portion of his life in ill health and poverty but went on in later years to find health, wealth and happiness, and to write some of the most uplifting books of the new thought era.
William Walker Atkinson, born in 1862, was a brilliant attorney at law who practiced before the bars of Pennsylvania and Illinois. He became a central and influential figure in the great expansion of understanding of mental power that occurred the last half of the Nineteenth Century and the early part of the Twentieth. His unfoldment was definitive, and has been utilized by many who seek the truth today. One of his great works can be found on this website, and more will be added from time to time.
Charles F. Haanel, born in 1866, was an extraordinary man whose work “The Master Key System” is now being read all over the world. Please study the Master Key System if you seek to unfold the potential of your wonderful mind. You can find it here on this website. It is highly recommended for reading, studying, applying, and for exponential mental growth.
Christian Daa Larson was born in 1874 in Iowa. Aside from that, we know very little of this giant of the "New Age." His "Optimist Creed" is repeated worldwide by civic organizations, by religious gatherings, in football locker rooms. Even though little can be found regarding his personal life, his writings are inspirational and can be found in a wide range of publications, including this website.
Napoleon Hill,1883-1970, was one of the earliest writers in America of the success principle alone without leaning toward the “new thought” movement. Taking the philosophy of earlier writer’s in America whose writing leaned toward “new thought,” Hill branched out and began a genre of business success writing that took off from that point and gave impetus to many who lectured on "how to" in the business world. His book, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the first on the reading lists of all the modern day business gurus. His book is still under copyright, but can be purchased on Amazon.com.
Robert Collier was born in 1885 and passed from this plane of existence in 1950. After being cured in Christian Science of an undiagnosable and lingering illness, he began to delve into the power of the mind to heal. He reasoned that if the mind could heal the body, why not the pocketbook and life in general, and from this came some of the most enlightening and uplifting works in the whole of new thought movement. He was a member of the Collier Publishing Company, but he did not write in the business genre as did Napoleon Hill, except to teach that when one's life changes for the better, it changes for the better in every way - health, wealth and happiness. I highly recommend the works of Robert Collier. They are still under copyright, but can be purchased on Amazon.com.
Emmet Fox was influenced more by Ralph Waldo Emerson than by Quimby, though he studied both; and he also became personally acquainted with Judge Thomas Troward. Troward had studied in-depth most of the world’s religious and spiritual writings including the Bible, the Koran and the Bhagavad-Gita, and was, therefore, of great influence on Fox’s thinking.
Ernest Holmes, was the founder of Religious Science. Unity, Divine Science and Religious Science are today the three largest organizations included within the International New Thought Alliance.
Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Troward, (each of whom were not considered "religious" as such) were the three major influences on the philosophy of Ernest Holmes as he moved onward in life toward his final objective, the full unfoldment of “The Science of Mind.”
Thanks for joining with me.
Your friend on the path,
Patricia Boyer