Teachers
The writers and speakers most associated with manifestation and New Thought ideas: their core teachings, the techniques they're known for, and the historical context behind their work.
Where to start
A few teachers to begin with
Teacher
Joseph Murphy
1898–1981
An Irish-American New Thought minister whose 1963 book The Power of Your Subconscious Mind sold millions of copies on a simple premise: the subconscious accepts whatever it's repeatedly told, true or not, and acts on it.
Teacher
Neville Goddard
1905–1972
A Barbadian-American writer and lecturer whose teaching on imagination and assumption underlies most of today's visualization-based manifestation practice.
Teacher
Rhonda Byrne
b. 1951
An Australian television producer whose 2006 film and book The Secret popularized the modern Law of Attraction more widely than any single work before it, largely by synthesizing much older New Thought ideas.
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Wayne Dyer
1940–2015
An American psychologist and counselor educator turned bestselling author, whose books moved over four decades from practical psychology toward intention, spirituality and higher consciousness.
More Teachers
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Esther Hicks
b. 1948
An American speaker and author who presents material she says is channeled from a non-physical group consciousness called Abraham; her books and workshops directly shaped the modern Law of Attraction movement, including Rhonda Byrne's The Secret.
Teacher
Florence Scovel Shinn
1871–1940
An American illustrator turned New Thought teacher whose 1925 book The Game of Life and How to Play It distilled prosperity and faith teaching into short, quotable, practical maxims.
Teacher
James Allen
1864–1912
An English writer whose short 1903 book As a Man Thinketh became one of the founding texts of New Thought, directly shaping Napoleon Hill and generations of later self-help writers.
Teacher
Louise Hay
1926–2017
An American author and founder of Hay House whose 1984 book You Can Heal Your Life linked thought patterns and self-love to physical healing, becoming a foundational text of the modern wellness movement.
Teacher
Napoleon Hill
1883–1970
An American author whose 1937 book Think and Grow Rich became one of the best-selling self-help books ever published, built around a study of achievement and a famous, disputed origin story involving Andrew Carnegie.
Teacher
Wallace D. Wattles
1860–1911
An American New Thought writer whose 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich laid out an early, influential framework for applying mental law to wealth, later credited by Rhonda Byrne as the spark for The Secret.