Thoughts Are Things (1889) by Prentice Mulford
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Short summary: Thoughts Are Things is an 1889 collection of essays by Prentice Mulford, an early figure in the New Thought movement. The book argues that thoughts are real forces with tangible power to shape a person's health, circumstances, and destiny, encouraging readers to cultivate positive mental states and draw on a universal spiritual energy.
Full summary: Thoughts Are Things (1889) is one of the foundational texts of the New Thought movement, written by American author and humorist Prentice Mulford. Drawing on his own life—including years spent in isolation reflecting on the workings of the mind—Mulford presents a series of essays advancing the central claim that thoughts are not abstract or weightless, but actual things: genuine forces that radiate outward and influence both the thinker and the world around them.
The book contends that by disciplining the mind toward hope, confidence, and positive expectation, a person can attract corresponding conditions into their life, while fear, worry, and negativity invite misfortune and illness. Mulford explores themes such as the connection between mental attitude and physical health, the renewing power of rest and aligning oneself with what he called the "Supreme Power" or universal mind, and the idea that mental currents flow between people and shape relationships and circumstances.
Written in an accessible, conversational style, the essays cover topics including healing, the cultivation of courage, the avoidance of self-imposed limitations, and the practical use of will and imagination. The work proved highly influential, helping to lay the groundwork for later self-help and "law of attraction" literature, and Mulford is often credited with popularizing the phrase that gives the book its title. Today it remains a widely read classic of nineteenth-century metaphysical and motivational writing.
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Chapters / Essays:
00:00 - Introduction
00:27 - 1. The Material Mind v. the Spiritual Mind
24:39 - 2. Who are our Relations?
1:00:20 - 3. Thought Currents
1:28:10 - 4. One Way to Cultivate Courage
1:52:46 - 5. Look Forward
2:19:40 - 6. God in the Trees
2:42:48 - 7. Some Laws of Health and Beauty
3:04:13 - 8. Museum and Menagerie Horrors
3:08:52 - 9. The God in Yourself
3:35:20 - 10. Healing and Renewing Force of Spring
3:56:12 - 11. Immortality in the Flesh
4:21:27 - 12. Attraction of Aspiration
4:48:34 - 13. The Accession of New Thought
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Credits:
Text - Prentice Mulford
Audio Narration - Ed Allmann (SAG-AFTRA Union Audiobook Narrator)
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