Affiliated New Thought Network

"New Thought" emerged in the United States in the 19th century, a synthesis of earlier spiritual and healing movements. It's not a single word with ancient roots but a descriptive phrase signifying a fresh perspective on established spiritual principles, particularly the mind's creative capacity.

The Affiliated New Thought Network, or ANTN, based in La Mesa, California, is an organization of New Thought centers and individuals across the United States and internationally that was founded in 1992. Recognized as a cooperative fellowship, it is an intrafaith organization. Originally for independent Religious Science ministers, today it includes all forms of New Thought organizations and individuals who want to be affiliated.

The Affiliated New Thought Network, though a relatively recent construct, acts as a conduit for ancient impulses toward spiritual self-empowerment. Its adherents, much like the alchemists of old or the yogis seeking union with the divine, engage in practices aimed at harmonizing the inner landscape with desired outer circumstances. Mircea Eliade, in his studies of shamanism and archaic techniques of ecstasy, highlighted humanity's enduring quest to influence reality through focused will and symbolic action. New Thought's emphasis on positive affirmation and visualization can be seen as a modern iteration of these ancient disciplines, a way of consciously directing the mind's energy, which Carl Jung recognized as a potent force in the psyche's engagement with the world. It echoes the Hermetic axiom, "The Book of the World is the Mind of Man," suggesting that the external phenomena we encounter are, in a profound sense, projections of our internal states. This tradition encourages a proactive relationship with the divine, not as a distant entity, but as an immanent presence within one's own consciousness, capable of being awakened and directed. It is a call to recognize the inherent divinity within, a concept echoed across countless spiritual traditions, from the Hindu understanding of Atman to the Gnostic spark of the divine within the human soul. The practice, therefore, becomes one of cultivating a consciousness that aligns with abundance, well-being, and spiritual interconnectedness, transforming the individual's experience of existence through the deliberate cultivation of thought. It is a reminder that the most profound alchemy occurs not in crucibles, but within the crucible of the mind.