Warren Felt Evans
Encyclopedia
Warren Felt Evans was an American author of the New Thought
movement. He became a student of the movement in 1863, after seeking healing from its founder, Phineas P. Quimby. He was the founder of a mind-cure sanitarium in Salisbury, Massachusetts
, and has been referred to as "the recording angel of metaphysics".
, Evans was sixth of seven children. After studying at Chester Academy he entered Middlebury College
in 1837, transferring the next year to Dartmouth College
. He left in the middle of his junior year for financial reasons. He married M. Charlotte Tinker two years afterwards in 1840.
.
In 1863, Evans went to Portland, Maine
, to find healing in the philosophy and methods of Phineas P. Quimby. Soon after, with Quimby's permission, he opened a mental medicine office in Claremont, New Hampshire
. He and his wife opened an office in Boston. They practiced and informally taught the principles of mental healing there for 20 years.
Charles Braden, a metaphysical historian, wrote that Evans, "was the only important figure, aside from Mrs. Eddy
, who attempted to work out a consistent and philosophically supported system of metaphysical healing and mental healing after Quimby."
movement began by Quimby. His first book was published six years after Quimby died, and he continued writing for the rest of his life.
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movement. He became a student of the movement in 1863, after seeking healing from its founder, Phineas P. Quimby. He was the founder of a mind-cure sanitarium in Salisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border....
, and has been referred to as "the recording angel of metaphysics".
Personal life
Born in Rockingham, VermontRockingham, Vermont
Rockingham is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, along the Connecticut River. The population was 5,309 at the 2000 census. Rockingham includes the incorporated villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River, as well as a large rural area west of Interstate 91.Rockingham has no formal...
, Evans was sixth of seven children. After studying at Chester Academy he entered Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in 1837, transferring the next year to Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. He left in the middle of his junior year for financial reasons. He married M. Charlotte Tinker two years afterwards in 1840.
Career
Evans became a Methodist minister in 1838, serving eleven different charges until 1863. That year he left the Methodists and joined the Church of the New Jerusalem after reading the books of Emanuel SwedenborgEmanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
.
In 1863, Evans went to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, to find healing in the philosophy and methods of Phineas P. Quimby. Soon after, with Quimby's permission, he opened a mental medicine office in Claremont, New Hampshire
Claremont, New Hampshire
There were 5,685 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had...
. He and his wife opened an office in Boston. They practiced and informally taught the principles of mental healing there for 20 years.
Charles Braden, a metaphysical historian, wrote that Evans, "was the only important figure, aside from Mrs. Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
, who attempted to work out a consistent and philosophically supported system of metaphysical healing and mental healing after Quimby."
Writing
Evans was the first to write about the New ThoughtNew Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movement began by Quimby. His first book was published six years after Quimby died, and he continued writing for the rest of his life.
- (1869) The Mental Cure (Illustrating the Influence of the Mind on the Body, Both in Health and Disease, and the Psychological Method of Treatment).
- (1872) Mental Medicine.
- (1875) Soul and Body.
- (1881) The Divine Law of Cure.
- (1885) The Primitive Mind Cure.
- (1886) Esoteric Christianity and Mental Therapeutics.