‘A Friday the 13th Masonic Moment’

    

You’re in luck! Mitch Horowitz will return to Masonic Hall next month for “The Masonic Moment,” a speaking engagement hosted by Aurora Grata-Day Star Lodge 647. From the publicity:

On this special Friday the 13th lecture, historian and scholar of esotericism Mitch Horowitz will explore the origins, meanings, and purposes of modern “secret societies.” Rather than sinister power centers, authentic esoteric thought movements, including Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and Illuminism, vouchsafe esoteric ideals from deep within ancient and modern traditions and use symbolical philosophy as a means to ethical self-development. Mitch makes particular note of Masonry’s role in instilling values of ecumenism and protection of the individual search for meaning in America—and how Masonry may yet rescue us from the descent of factionalist politics and culture.

As always, Mitch allows ample time for exchange. Following the talk, he will sign copies of his book Modern Occultism.

Tickets, at $40 each, here.

     

‘Reprints of Secret Teachings coming to market’

    

Taschen

I hope you are enjoying this unique time with the people and in the traditions that are most important to you.

Speaking of people and traditions, new editions of Manly Palmer Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages are hitting the market courtesy of both the Philosophical Research Society and Taschen. There’s something for everyone.

PRS

From the PRS come reprints of the classic hardcover and paperback versions you know well. This is the 1977 Diamond Jubilee edition as reprinted this year. The hardcover is available for $110, and the reduced size paperback is yours for $95.

What’s new—well, not exactly new, but newly made available to us—is A Study Guide to The Secret Teachings of All Ages. $25 per copy.

Originally simple mimeographed pages shared with students at the PRS in Los Angeles, the text now is in book form for your edification as you approach the daunting and dense volume from 1928.

Taschen

From Taschen comes a Secret Teachings in a lavish format that you would expect from this publisher in a run of 5,000 copies at $500 each. Actually, this isn’t due out until next month, but orders are being taken now. What you get for the money is the hardcover (356 pages) inside a slipcase and with foldout art; a companion book (256 pages); and four prints in a folio.

The companion book contains summaries of the chapters in the main text, plus art you’ve never seen, photos taken by Hall, and essays by Mitch Horowitz and Jessica Hundley. Those four special edition prints are based on art created by J. Augustus Knapp and M.K. Serailian, Hall’s collaborators, and come from the PRS archives. Read all about that here.

     

‘Kybalion screening Saturday’

    

UPDATE: Another screening has been scheduled for Saturday, May 21 at seven o’clock.

In keeping with the news of films and videos in recent days, here’s an update on Ronni Thomas’ The Kybalion I told you about a long time ago: The movie was released earlier this year and has been shown here and there. On Saturday, The Kybalion will be screened in Brooklyn. From the publicity:

The Kybalion

Saturday, April 9

7 p.m.

Film Noir Cinema

122 Meserole Avenue, Brooklyn

Tickets here

This film is an adaptation of the 1908 occult manuscript The Kybalion, and explores the seven principles of Hermetics. It is a surreal documentation of the supernatural world around us.

Q&A with writer Mitch Horowitz and director Ronni Thomas will follow after the film.

The Kybalion is not Freemasonry, but Hermetic thought is evident in the rituals of the lodge. I recommend The Kybalion text published a few years ago and edited by Horowitz.

     

‘Kybalion movie is coming’

     

“The universe is mental.”


It is said to be in post-production, but they’ll still be filming next week in New York City, according to a tweet from Mitch Horowitz about an hour ago.

The “it” is The Kybalion, a film based on the text of Hermetic principles written a little more than a century ago. “It is a surreal documentation of the supernatural world around us,” says the plot summary.

In addition to Horowitz, the cast of interviewees includes Brian Cotnoir and Raymond Moody. The director is Ronni Thomas.

From the publicity:

What if there was great wisdom and boundless power available to us, but hidden in plain sight? The Kybalion is a documentary film adaptation of the widely popular but underground occult text of the same name, which explores the “Seven Principles” that govern the universe. Occult historian Mitch Horowitz takes us on a metaphysical journey of how we can apply these principles and unravel their mystery. Mitch argues that the ancient philosophy of the occult may hold exactly the keys modern people are seeking to a universalistic faith of inner development, karmic values, and personal power. Along the way we meet alchemists, artists, mediums, and scientists working within the parameters of these principles. The film, presented as a dark and mysterious enigma, sheds new light on ancient wisdom and gives viewers who wish to expand their consciousness valuable tools to do so. Director Ronni Thomas makes the film an otherworldly and cinematic journey spanning the monuments of ancient Egypt to a surreal and uncanny other world.

See previews here.
     

‘A Digital Evening with Mitch Horowitz’

     

And, speaking of Manly P. Hall (see post below), the North Carolina Masonic Research Society plans “A Digital Evening with Mitch Horowitz” for next month. From the publicity:

Manly P. Hall

and The Secret Teachings

of All Ages

A Digital Evening

with Mitch Horowitz

Tuesday, August 11

8 p.m. (Eastern)

Tickets here

One of the most extraordinary works ever written on the esoteric mysteries of the ancient world came from a young man who was himself a riddle: Manly P. Hall.

The self-taught occult scholar had few visible signs of education following a lonely childhood in Canada and the American West during the early 20th century, yet in 1928, at age 27, Hall produced a monumental record of the hidden symbols and most carefully shrouded belief systems across human history. He called it The Secret Teachings of All Ages.

In this special digital evening, occult scholar Mitch Horowitz (“Solid Gold” - David Lynch) probes the most significant teachings of Hall’s mysterious masterpiece—and considers the life of the unusual man who produced it. Topics include:

• The mystery of how Manly P. Hall created such an epic work with no apparent schooling at a remarkably young age.
• Hall’s surprising influence on figures ranging from actor Bela Lugosi to President Ronald Reagan (who actually quoted from Hall in speeches).
• The controversial circumstances surrounding Hall’s death in 1990, and the lessons that can be found–both cautionary and inspiring–in the life of an esoteric master.
• The enduring value The Secret Teachings of All Ages, a book so unsurpassed in probing the inner workings of the world that it leaves no reader unchanged who approaches it.

Mitch also previews his forthcoming book, The Seeker’s Guide to the Secret Teachings of All Ages (coming in October) and takes your live questions. Do not miss this vibrant and revealing evening. (The presentation will not be live-streamed via Facebook.)

Mitch Horowitz is a historian of alternative spirituality, and is one of today’s most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult.

Mitch illuminates outsider history, explains its relevance to contemporary life, and reveals the longstanding quest to bring empowerment and agency to the human condition.

He is widely credited with returning the term “New Age” to respectable use, and is among the few occult writers whose work touches the bases of academic scholarship, national journalism, and subculture cred.

Mitch is a 2020 writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, lecturer-in-residence at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, and the PEN Award-winning author of books including Occult America, One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life, and The Miracle Club.

He has discussed alternative spirituality on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, Vox/Netflix’s Explained, and AMC Shudder’s Cursed Films, an official selection of SXSW 2020. Mitch is collaborating with director Ronni Thomas (Tribeca Film Festival) on a feature documentary about the occult classic The Kybalion, shot on location in Egypt and releasing in Fall 2020.

Mitch received the 2019 Walden Award for Interfaith/Intercultural Understanding. The Chinese government has censored his work.
     

‘The Mitch is back!’

     

Courtesy Mitch Horowitz

There’s some good news, and some bad news, but some more good news from the Livingston Library:

The good: Mitch Horowitz will return to the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library on Tuesday for another speaking engagement!

The bad: It’s sold out! Well, not actually sold out, because admission is free, but the event is booked. No one who has not already reserved his seat shall be accommodated. Do not go there if you have no reservation, or you’ll experience some non-symbolic Masonic penalties.

The more good: Due to the popular demand, Horowitz will come back to Masonic Hall on Tuesday, November 13 for a reprised talk!

This is a big month for Mitch Horowitz. His new book, The Miracle Club, was just published last week by Inner Traditions. A few weeks ago, he was tapped to serve as a lecturer in residence at the University of Philosophical Research, Manly Hall’s gift to the world, in Los Angeles—where he will be speaking tonight and tomorrow on Manly Hall.

From the publicity:

The Secret History of How Mysticism

Shaped Our Nation

An Evening with Mitch Horowitz

Tuesday, November 13

6:30 p.m.

Livingston Library

Masonic Hall, 14th Floor

71 West 23rd Street

Manhattan

RSVP here

Esoteric philosophies and movements, such as Freemasonry, Spiritualism, Theosophy, and New Thought, have wielded a tremendous influence over America’s past and present. From its earliest days, the nation served as a laboratory for the revolutions in alternative spirituality that eventually swept the globe, yet this aspect of our history is often ignored or overlooked.

In this special evening, PEN Award-winning historian and popular voice of esoteric ideas, Mitch Horowitz will discuss the occult influences behind our nation’s culture, politics, and spirituality, including:

• How colonial America became a magnet for mystical figures and movements
• The remarkable impact of Freemasonry on the nation’s development
• The marriage between nineteenth century Spiritualism and the women’s rights movement
• The occult roots of “Positive Thinking”
• The impact of African-American magical traditions
• The lives of mystic Americans, from Marcus Garvey to Madame Blavatsky
• The legacy and growing influence of Freemason Manly P. Hall
• Halloween’s rise in our military as a national holiday

Mitch finally asks whether occult principles can point the way toward healing our deep national divide today. This special, in-depth journey through our unknown history is an evening not to be missed.

A widely known voice of esoteric ideas, Mitch Horowitz is a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, lecturer-in-residence at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles, and the PEN Award-winning author of books including Occult America, One Simple Idea, and The Miracle Club: How Thoughts Become Reality.

Mitch has written on everything from the war on witches to the secret life of Ronald Reagan for The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Salon, Time, and Politico.

The Washington Post says Mitch “treats esoteric ideas and movements with an even-handed intellectual studiousness that is too often lost in today’s raised-voice discussions.” He narrates audiobooks, including Alcoholics Anonymous and The Jefferson Bible. He has discussed alternative spiritualities on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

His work has been censored in China.

Mitch will be offering for sale his new book, The Miracle Club, as well as his book Occult America, and will be pleased to sign copies.

Please send RSVP here.
     

‘The Magic of the Kybalion’

     
Always happy to promote a Mitch Horowitz speaking engagement, so here is one in three weeks in Manhattan. From the publicity:

The Magic of the Kybalion

Wednesday, January 10 at 8 p.m.

The Alchemists Kitchen

21 East First Street, Manhattan

Tickets here

“As above, so below…”

This is one of those great Augustus Knapp prints
from Secret Teachings; it is being used
in the promotion of this event.

The Kybalion is one of the most intriguing and widely read occult books of the twentieth century. Published in 1908 under the mysterious byline Three Initiates—and the subject of rumors for more than a century—the book codifies the most thrilling ideas of Greek-Egyptian Hermeticism into a spiritual philosophy for modern people.

In this special evening, PEN Award-winning historian and widely known voice of esoteric ideas Mitch Horowitz explores this occult landmark and reveals its sources, meaning, practical uses, and authentic connection to Egyptian antiquity.

As Mitch explores, The Kybalion is among the most enthralling works of spiritual-psychology ever written—and it provides occult seekers with a genuine thread of connection to our primeval forebears.

We are recipients of a true mystery tradition—and tonight we hear its call.

$20 advance. $25 at the door.
     

‘Masonic Nation’

     
There’s never a bad speaker—I can fix that!—in the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library’s lecture series, but the speaker this month is an exceptional talent.

Author Mitch Horowitz will take to the lectern Thursday, October 26 at 6 p.m. to present “Masonic Nation.” From the publicity:

Mitch Horowitz

Although misrepresented by conspiracy-mongers and fantasists, Freemasonry has had a long and deep-seated influence on American culture and civics, extending back to the nation’s formative days. Join PEN Award-winning historian and widely known voice of esoteric ideas, Mitch Horowitz, for a special exploration of how the symbols, ideals, and personas of Freemasonic tradition left an indelible mark on the way we live and how we view ourselves as Americans—and Mitch’s new vision for Masonry in the twenty-first century.

In books, news media, and television, Mitch Horowitz is one of today’s leading voices on alternative spirituality. The Washington Post says Mitch “treats esoteric ideas and movements with an even-handed intellectual studiousness that is too often lost in today’s raised-voice discussions.” Mitch’s books include Occult America and One Simple Idea, a history and analysis of positive thinking, which was recently censored in China. Visit him @MitchHorowitz.

Open to the public. Photo ID needed to enter Masonic Hall. RSVP here.


You know by now that the Livingston Library is located on the 14th floor of Masonic Hall, which is located at 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.
     

‘North American Convocation of Academic Lodges’

     
Just two weeks away! Admission to the conference is free, and the Saturday night dinner (with open bar) costs only $50 per person. Click here to get started. From the publicity:

North American Convocation

of Academic Lodges

March 31-April 1

Grand Lodge of Massachusetts

Boston

The North American Convocation of Academic Lodges was formed as a way for the Harvard, Boston University, MIT Lodges to assist each other in their respective work. The tradition was begun in 1930 and restarted in 2006. We are pleased to welcome members of Boston-area Academic Lodges this year, as well as guests from fellow Academic Lodges both near and far, in addition to other Masonic and non-Masonic guests for yet another wonderful year of Fraternity and Scholarship “on the Level.”

Friday

Panel: The Path of Freemasonry and Its Relevance in Early and Modern Society

Shawn Eyer: The Philalethes Society

Wisdom of the Founders: Over Three Centuries of Masonic Learning

Shawn Eyer

Shawn Eyer, PM is a writer on Masonic symbolism, history, ritual, and philosophy. Brother Eyer is a Past Master of Academia Lodge 847 in California, and Junior Warden of The Lodge of the Nine Muses 1776 in the District of Columbia. He holds a Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology, and a dual Baccalaureate degree in Psychology and Religious Studies.

Tom Worrel: Writer and World Traveler

An Early and Unknown Esoteric Order of American Freemasonry

Tom Worrel

Thomas Worrel has an MBA from the University of San Francisco as well an MA in Theology from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California. Brother Worrel has published in Masonic journals such as Ad Lucem and Ahiman: A Review of Masonic Culture & Tradition. He has articles in other journals such as The Ogdoadic Journal of the Western Mysteries. He has published in magazines such as GNOSIS: Journal of the Western Inner Traditions and The Philalethes. Brother Worrel also authored a chapter in Bro. Jay Kinney’s book The Inner West titled “The Quest of the Magus.” Thomas Worrel now lives in New York City.

Saturday’s Keynote Speaker:

Mitch Horowitz

Masonic Nation: How the Ideals

of Freemasonry Touched America

Mitch Horowitz

A writer and publisher with a lifelong interest in man’s search for meaning, Mitch is a PEN Award-winning historian and the author of books including Occult America (Bantam); One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life (Crown); and Mind As Builder: The Positive-Mind Metaphysics of Edgar Cayce (A.R.E. Press).

Horowitz is a vice president and executive editor at Penguin Random House, and frequently writes and speaks on alternative spiritual topics in the national media including Dateline NBC, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Friday

6 p.m. - Welcome and Presentation of Speakers

8:30 p.m. - Refreshments

Saturday

12:30 p.m. - Registration

2 p.m. - Greetings from the East, Presentation of Conference Gavel, and Receiving of District Deputy Grand Master, Right Worshipful Robert F. Stanley, and his Suite.

2:30 p.m. - Session I

James Tyler Carpenter: Masonry Re-Loaded at the Millennium: A Psychologists Looks at the Craft and Esoteric Knowledge.

Keith MacKinnon: The Historical Relevance of Masonic Artifacts.

Elliot Chikofsky: Behold How Good: The Hidden Message of the 133rd Psalm.

Aaron Sherman: Guided Tour of Grand Lodge.

3:30 p.m. - Session II

Ori Noked: The Hebrew Origins of Masonic Symbols.

Oscar Alleyne: The Prevalence of Clandestine Masonry in the USA.

Jamie Gorton: The Meaning of Masonry: A Critical Examination of Walter Leslie Wilmshurst’s Seminal Work.

Aaron Sherman: Ordo Esoterica

4:45 p.m. - Keynote Address by Mitch Horowitz - Masonic Nation: How the Ideals of Freemasonry Touched America.

Q&A, Presentations, Closing, Reception and book-signing.

7 p.m. - Dinner with open bar (ticket required: $50 prepay or $65 at the door).

Hotel accommodations: The Bostonian. Click here to reserve your room.
     

‘Hermes, Gurdjieff, Superstitions, Tarot and Rosicrucians’

     
Four great events in New York City, and one in California, you may want to attend.

The Mythic Moment

The New York Mythology Group, the New York City Roundtable of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, will meet Sunday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 11 a.m. to noon for “The Mythic Moment.” From the publicity:

Mythic Moments: Storytelling in Greek and Roman Art Gallery Talk—A story told in words can extend through many points in time, but an illustration needs to capture only one. The talk is free with museum admission. Assemble at the Great Hall at 10 o’clock before heading to the venue at the Velez Blanco Patio.

While this event is not exclusive to the Mythology Group, it is definitely a relevant topic. The Velez Blanco Patio (Gallery 534) holds very interesting artifacts, one of which is the inspiration for the two-tailed mermaid that we now attribute as the symbol for Starbucks. Jean Sorabella, an expert in Greco Roman art will take us through the myths that inspired the artworks that are now on exhibit at the Met.

Origins: Superstitions

Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America and One Simple Idea, has launched a new project titled “Origins: Superstitions.” This web series of 90-second episodes defines and decodes the, well, origins of superstitions. Directed by Ronni Thomas (The Midnight Archive), the series can be heard here.

Meaning in the Midst of Life

The Gurdjieff Foundation of New York will offer another introductory event on Friday, March 13. Titled “The Search for Meaning in the Midst of Life,” this program will begin at 6 p.m. at Quest Bookshop at 240 East 53rd Street in Manhattan.

Click to enlarge.

“Only by beginning to remember himself does a man really awaken. And then all surrounding life acquires for him a different aspect and a different meaning.”

G. I. Gurdjieff

For reservations (recommended) or further information, e-mail gurdjieffevent(at)gmail.com

Tarot at the Met

Queen of Flowers playing card, 1435.

Also at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on April 22, tarot scholar Robert Place again will lead a small group of seekers into the hidden archives to examine the Met’s collection of historic tarot and divination cards, ranging from the earliest woodcut Tarocchi, printed in 15th century Italy, to rare 19th century Le Normand divination decks. All accompanied by Place’s talk on the history and symbolism of the cards. The group also will see The Queen of Flowers, created in 1435, making it one of the oldest European playing cards still in existence, and Le Sorti, one of the oldest and richly illustrated books on divination with cards, published in Venice in 1540.

The afternoon at the Met costs $70 per person, prepaid. Each participant also is responsible for obtaining a ticket for entrance to the museum for the day. There is only room for 14 people at this event and 9 have already signed up so don’t delay; it will fill up quickly. To register contact Place at: alchemicaltarot@aol.com

AMORC World Convention 2015

Join Imperator Christian Bernard and all of the Grand Masters from throughout the world for the 2015 AMORC World Convention, commemorating the founding of AMORC in America. The convention will be hosted at the Fairmont San Jose, July 29 to August 2. Click here for the details.
     

‘Esoteric Grand Central’

     
Obscura Society New York wants you to take a walk. With author Mitch Horowitz. Through Grand Central Terminal to see the esoteric clues in its design and décor.

Magpie file photo

Mercury atop Grand Central Terminal.

The New York chapter of the Atlas Obscura Society, a group that unites those who are curious enough about cultural oddities and occult landmarks to actually visit and tour them, has a 90-minute walking tour of Grand Central Terminal planned for next month. From the publicity:

Occult Grand Central

Friday, October 10

Noon to 1:30

$60 per person

Meet at 11:50 on the southeast corner

of Park Avenue and East 41st Street

Every day thousands of travelers gaze in wonder at Grand Central Terminal’s vast zodiac ceiling and the figure of Mercury towering over Park Avenue, but few ever grasp their true significance.

After this tour you’ll understand the real meaning behind these and other cornerstones of Grand Central’s design. Indeed, this crowning edifice of the Beaux-Arts architectural movement can only be fully understood by appreciating the occult themes encrypted within its appearance.

In this lively and intellectually substantive journey, writer and historian Mitch Horowitz, whose occult walking tours have been called a “can’t-miss event” by Time Out, reveals the esoteric imagery and backstory of Grand Central’s design, including the station’s colossal exterior monuments, its interior symbols and insignias, and how its appearance shaped the gothic look and feel of midtown Manhattan. The tour also features wonderful stories of the Vanderbilt family, who oversaw the making of Grand Central, and explores the occult atmosphere of the late Victorian and Edwardian age.

Magpie file photo

Mitch Horowitz at Quest,
January 2014.

Horowitz, a modern day, nonfiction Rod Serling, has a passion for mysteries surpassed only by his desire to uncover the truth. Mitch is a PEN Award-winning historian and an acclaimed writer and speaker on alternative spirituality. The Washington Post says Mitch “treats esoteric ideas and movements with an even-handed intellectual studiousness that is too often lost in today’s raised-voice discussions.” Mitch has written on everything from the war on witches to the secret life of Ronald Reagan for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Salon, CNN.com, Time.com, and Boing Boing. He has discussed esoteric spirituality on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, NPR’s All Things Considered, The Montel Williams Show, Coast to Coast AM, and virtually every cable network. Mitch is the author of Occult America and One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life, and is vice president and editor-in-chief at Tarcher/Penguin.
     

‘One Simple Idea’

     
In addition to Mitch Horowitz’s appearance at the Theosophical Society next month (see post below), he will speak at The Corner Bookstore on Thursday, January 9, just two days after the release of his new book One Simple Idea.

The Corner Bookstore
1313 Madison Avenue (on the corner of 93rd Street)
Manhattan

Will start at 6 p.m.

From the publicity:

From the millions-strong audiences of Oprah and The Secret to the mass-media ministries of evangelical figures like Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes, to the motivational bestsellers and New Age seminars to the twelve-step programs and support groups of the recovery movement and to the rise of positive psychology and stress-reduction therapies, this idea–to think positively–is metaphysics morphed into mass belief. This is the biography of that belief.

No one has yet written a serious and broad-ranging treatment and history of the positive-thinking movement. Until now. For all its influence across popular culture, religion, politics, and medicine, this psycho-spiritual movement remains a maligned and misunderstood force in modern life. Its roots are unseen and its long-range impact is unacknowledged. It is often considered a cotton-candy theology for New Agers and self-help junkies. In response, One Simple Idea corrects several historical misconceptions about the positive-thinking movement and introduces us to a number of colorful and dramatic personalities, including Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale, whose books and influence have touched the lives of tens of millions across the world.
     

‘Theosophical Society to host Mitch Horowitz’

     
I still haven’t gotten around to reading Horowitz’s book Occult America, but I do have this lecture on my calendar. His new book, which will be released January 7, appears to be another take on Kabbalist thinking. I’ll report back after the lecture.

From the publicity:

The Secret History of Positive Thinking

A Presentation by Mitch Horowitz

Sunday, January 26

2 p.m.

New York Theosophical Society

240 East 53rd Street

Manhattan

Can the power of our thoughts shape our lives? From the essays of Emerson to the mega-sensation of The Secret, Americans have long wondered about the hidden potentials of the mind – particularly whether “the power of positive thinking” can bring us wealth, health, and happiness.

Mitch Horowitz

Most serious people view positive thinking as an immature or unrealistic response to life. But award-winning author and lecturer Mitch Horowitz asks us to look again. In this lively and intellectually substantive presentation, Mitch explores themes from his new book, One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life (“brilliant” – Deepak Chopra), to seriously consider the remarkable history, astonishing impact, and compelling possibilities of positive thinking.

Rather than being a soft-headed philosophy based in bromides and page-a-day calendars, positive thinking, which began with mental-healing experiments of the mid-nineteenth century, has shown remarkable foresight in contemporary advances in neuroscience, addiction and OCD treatment, stress and recovery programs, and in today’s most intensely debated findings within quantum physics.

Surveying the history and growth of positive thinking, and the myriad forms it has taken, Mitch squarely considers the all-important question: Does it work? As he shows, a thoughtful consideration of the background, methods, and results of positive thinking make a blanket dismissal virtually impossible. He also looks critically at the internal contradictions and ethical dilemmas of positive-thinking philosophy – and considers how these shortcomings can be fixed or reformed to remake positive thinking into a persuasive and mature approach to life.

This journey through the positive-thinking revolution also highlights:

• How the now-familiar injunction to “think positive” bubbled up from occult and mystical subcultures of the mid-nineteenth century before becoming the closest thing America has to a national creed.

• How this once-outsider philosophy has revolutionized mainline faith – including today’s evangelical culture.

• The remarkable personas that shaped positive-thinking, such as philosopher William James, the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, and French therapist Emile Coué (who coined the world-famous but misunderstood mantra: “Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better.”)

• The iconic figures whose lives were impacted by positive-thinking philosophy, including suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Black Nationalist pioneer Marcus Garvey, and President Ronald Reagan.

This unforgettable presentation will give you a wholly new outlook on the history – and possibilities – of a belief system you only thought you knew.

Mitch Horowitz is the author of One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life (Crown, Jan. 2014). His previous book, Occult America (Bantam), received the 2010 PEN Oakland/ Josephine Miles Award for literary excellence. Mitch is vice-president and editor-in-chief at Tarcher/Penguin, the division of Penguin books dedicated to metaphysical literature. He frequently writes about and discusses alternative spirituality in the national media, including CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, All Things Considered, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BoingBoing, Time.com, and CNN.com. He appears in recent mini-documentaries on the history of positive thinking; Ouija Boards; and occult New York.

Visit him at www.MitchHorowitz.com; on Twitter @MitchHorowitz; and on Facebook at Mitch Horowitz. He and his wife raise two sons in New York City.