International New Thought Alliance

The International New Thought Alliance (INTA) is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals." As a democratic alliance, the INTA emphasizes mutual respect and cooperation across diverse spiritual paths to foster global happiness, health, and success.

The INTA sponsors the Annual New Thought World Congress as well as regional programs. Their quarterly periodical, The New Thought Magazine, promotes dialogue and education among its members. Through these activities, it seeks to refine and advance the principles of New Thought while fostering an international fellowship that crosses religious and political boundaries.

The New Thought community of publishers, editors, writers, and practitioners had long aspired to create an official organization that could represent the movement as a whole and convene annual conventions where ideas might be exchanged and alliances forged.^[1]

The first serious attempt to realize this ambition emerged in 1895 when the Metaphysical Club was formed in Boston, led by prominent East Coast figures such as Horatio W. Dresser, Charles Brodie Patterson, Henry Wood, Julia Ward Howe, L. B. Macdonald, J. W. Lindy, and Frederick Reed. By 1899, they had successfully launched the first large-scale convention under the banner of the International Metaphysical League, held in Boston, followed by another in New York in 1900. Following the New York convention, the League resolved to stage the next convention in Chicago in 1901.^{[2][3][1][4][5]}

While the league included some well known Western figures like Ursula N. Gestefeld and Annie Rix Militz, the New Thought movement in the Midwest and West was largely shaped by dynamic innovators with a strong sense of individualism. Uniting them into a collective organization to promote a shared message proved to be a significant challenge for the East Coast Metaphysical League and ultimately led to the cancellation of the planned conventions for both 1901 and 1902.^[6][7]

By 1903, Chicago and the surrounding Midwest had become the center of the movement’s publishing, teaching, and organizational activity. Leaders such as Herbert A. Parkyn, founder of the Chicago School of Psychology and Sidney A. Weltmer, founder of the Weltmer Institute, had established the most prominent institutions devoted to both teaching and healing through suggestive therapeutics, while the region was also producing many of the movement’s most widely read and influential magazines and books.^[8][9]

In June 1903, Parkyn, working with his manager Elmer Ellsworth Carey, initiated a coordinated effort to organize Chicago’s New Thought community. The effort began with the creation of a regular citywide gathering that became known as the Union New Thought. Its catalyst was a large banquet held in May 1903 to welcome Elizabeth Towne, editor of The Nautilus, during her visit to Chicago. Organized by Parkyn and his close associates, Carey, Sydney B. Flower, and William Walker Atkinson, the event brought together more than a thousand members of the local New Thought community at the Masonic Temple and demonstrated the strength of interest in collective organization.^[10]

Building on momentum, Elmer Ellsworth Carey circulated notices throughout the city, and on 28 June 1903, the first formal Union New Thought Meeting was held in the rooftop grand hall of the Masonic Temple. Approximately 1,200 people attended, representing about twenty organizations along with numerous independent participants. At these meetings, Carey, acting under the guidance of Dr. Parkyn, proposed holding an International New Thought Convention in Chicago, with the goal of "giving the world a great New Thought revival meeting." The proposal was unanimously approved, and plans were made for a convention in November 1903.^[11]

Carey, working as Parkyn's manager and assistant editor for his Suggestion magazine, was appointed as the committee’s secretary and would be the main point of communication for all convention business and advertising. Other officers on the committee included T. G. Northrup, as chairman, who was president of the Prentice Mulford Club of Chicago, and Mrs. Stanley Waterloo, as treasurer, who operated Chicago's leading New Thought bookstore.^[12][13][14]

The first International New Thought Convention was a success and from it was formed the International New Thought Federation. In the Federation's constitution its purposes were defined as:

"To aid human development through unfoldment of its consciousness of unity, and in the manifestation of this consciousness by way of cooperation; to stimulate faith in and study of the higher nature of man in its relation to health, happiness and character; to teach the Universal Fatherhood and Motherhood of God and the all-inclusive Brotherhood of Man; to secure rightful liberty in pursuit of the purposes of this Federation; to foster the New Thought movement in general; to publish such literature as may be found essential, and to take an active part in all matters appertaining to education along the lines proposed. In accomplishing these purposes, the Federation in nowise shall interfere with, infringe upon, or be responsible for, the interpretations, methods, or work either of New Thought individuals or organizations."^[6]

The significance of the New Thought movement was stated to be:

"That One Life is immanent in the Universe, and is both center and circumference of all things, visible and invisible; that every soul is divine, and that in the realization of this truth each individual may express and manifest his highest ideals through right thinking and right living. These statements are tentative, and imply no limitations or boundaries."^[6]

With the formation of the International New Thought Federation at the Chicago Convention of 1903, Dr. Parkyn and his collaborators succeeded in uniting the Midwest and West Coast movements with those of the East Coast and the international New Thought community. East Coast leaders of the Metaphysical League deliberately refrained from organizing the Chicago convention in order to allow Parkyn and his associates to take the lead for the Midwest and West Coast groups. At the convention, an agreement was adopted merging the Metaphysical League into the New Thought Federation.^[6]

Plans were made for subsequent International New Thought Federation conventions to be held in St. Louis in 1904, in conjunction with the World’s Fair and the St. Louis School of Suggestive Therapeutics, then in Nevada, Missouri, in 1905, in partnership with the Weltmer Institute of Suggestive Therapeutics and then back in Chicago, coordinating again with the Chicago School of Psychology, in 1906.^[6][15]

While the former Metaphysical League organizers worked with the Federation and participated in the conventions, they found it difficult to come to collective agreements with the individualistic spirit of the Western and Midwestern branches of the movement. After the 1906 convention in Chicago, the conventions would be brought back to Boston and New York in 1907 and 1908.^[15][16]

In 1909, the International New Thought Convention returned once again to the Weltmer Institute, this time under the new name of the Metaphysical Chautauqua Circle of America. By adopting the name of the original East Coast convention tradition while holding the event in the heart of the Midwest, it symbolized a full union between the different branches of the New Thought movement.^[17][18]

The Metaphysical Chautauqua Circle quickly became one of the most enduring convention series in the movement, running from 1909 to 1913. Unlike any other organization of its kind, it operated without officers, bylaws, or formal membership requirements. There was no president, no treasurer, and no initiation process or fees. Membership was self-elected, drawing in some of the most influential authors, editors, orators, scientists, ministers, and doctors working in the fields of metaphysics and mental science.^[17][18]

The first New Thought convention held outside the United States took place in London, England, from 21 to 26 June 1914, marking a significant step in the organization becoming a truly international movement. At the London convention, the organization was restructured and officially renamed the International New Thought Alliance. James A. Edgerton, a key architect of the alliance, served as its first president, while Annie Rix Militz served as vice-president.^[19][20]

Local meetings of the organization in American cities were known as International New Thought Alliance Union Meetings, a name that reflected their origins in the earlier Union New Thought Meetings. The term Federation was replaced with Alliance to signal closer alignment with East Coast leadership, particularly with Charles Brodie Patterson’s Alliance Publishing Company, which had been a significant early pioneer of the movement.^[21][22][23] The following year, the convention was held in San Francisco during the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. A designated New Thought Day was held at the World's Fair, on 28 August 1915, followed by the First International New Thought Congress, which convened from 29 August through 5 September. This gathering functioned as the first Annual World Congress.^[24][25]

Over subsequent years, additional influential New Thought figures participated in INTA activities, including William Walker Atkinson, Clara Bewick Colby, Florence Crawford, Horatio W. Dresser, George Wharton James, Harry Gaze, Edgar L. Larkin, Orison Swett Marden, Thomas Troward, and Elizabeth Towne.^[26][27]

To support communication among its growing international membership, the International New Thought Alliance introduced The New Thought Bulletin in 1916 as its official newsletter. Published quarterly from 1916 until 1950, the bulletin reported on conventions, organizational affairs, and developments within the movement, serving as a central channel of communication for affiliated groups worldwide.^[26]

The International New Thought Alliance (INTA) organizes an Annual New Thought World Congress that serves as its principal gathering for members and affiliated organizations. The congress typically spans several days and includes lectures, workshops, worship services, and other structured programs addressing central New Thought teachings. These meetings provide a forum for instruction, discussion, and coordination among practitioners and leaders from different regions.^[28]

INTA also publishes New Thought Magazine as its primary periodical. Founded in 1914 as the New Thought Bulletin, the publication later adopted its current title and quarterly format. The magazine features articles on spiritual practice, philosophical interpretation, and organizational developments within the New Thought movement. Contributions from INTA leaders, members, and affiliated groups document a range of perspectives on topics such as affirmative prayer, personal development, and the application of New Thought principles, and serve to connect local organizations with the alliance’s broader international network.^[28]

The Addington INTA Archives and Research Center serves as the primary repository for the historical records of the International New Thought Alliance and the broader New Thought movement. The archives collect, preserve, and provide access to materials documenting the organization’s legal, administrative, financial, and historical activities at both national and international levels.^[28]

The holdings include a wide range of historical and contemporary records tracing the development of New Thought from the late nineteenth century onward. These materials encompass early instructional notes, organizational records, convention proceedings, leadership correspondence, and published bulletins. Among the earliest items are notes taken by students of Julius and Annetta Dresser in 1887, which offer insight into formative teachings on mental healing and metaphysics.^[28]

• James A. Edgerton
• Elizabeth Towne
• Annie Rix Militz
• Charles Brodie Patterson
• Emma Curtis Hopkins^[29]
• Horatio Dresser
• William Walker Atkinson

• Association for Global New Thought
• List of New Thought denominations and independent centers

• Dresser, Horatio (1919). A History of the New Thought Movement. Thomas Y. Crowell.
• Anderson, C. Alan; Whitehouse, Deborah G. (2003). New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality. 1st Books. ISBN 1-4107-0172-7.
• Harley, Gail M. (2002). Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New Thought. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2933-8. OCLC 606778962.
• Miller, Timothy (1995). America's Alternative Religions. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2397-4.
• Satter, Beryl (2001). Each Mind a Kingdom: American Women, Sexual Purity, and the New Thought Movement, 1875-1920. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-22927-3.

• INTA New Thought History Chart
• Official website