Sacred Texts: New Thought

Creative Mind and Success: Part I: Don't Be A Leaner

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*Creative Mind and Success* (1919) is a short piece of New Thought self-help writing by Ernest Holmes, founder of the Religious Science movement, working squarely within the early 20th-century tradition that treated mental states as causally connected to material outcomes. Its central argument is that every individual already possesses infinite divine intelligence within them, and success comes from accessing this inner power rather than relying on other people's guidance or approval. Holmes draws on a blend of Protestant self-reliance (invoking Emersonian individualism) and metaphysical religion, treating "God" and "Infinite Mind" as interchangeable forces that operate through human thought according to a Law of Cause and Effect. A notable practical claim is that announcing your goals dissipates their creative energy — others' doubt or ridicule introduces negative thought that literally weakens the mental pattern needed to manifest results. The text instructs readers to form a clear mental image of their desired outcome, hold it privately, "pass it over to the creative power," and then act only when inner impression directs them. Its distinctive feature is framing silence and secrecy not as social strategy but as a quasi-physical preservation of psychic force.

Creative Mind and Success: Part I: Don't Be A Leaner

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