The Influence of the Alternative Religious Tradition on New Religious Movements

Alternative Religions Continued...

Page Five

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Another important figure of the time that contributed to the modern occult movement was Franz Antoine Mesmer. Mesmer was a pseudo-scientist who discovered what he called animal magnetism which could be distributed by iron rods while background music played, to a patient. This matter held supposed health benefits. From this process which was obviously what psychologists today would call mind over matter, his followers developed Mesmerism which would contribute a great deal to modern hypnotism (Kyle). Mesmerized or entranced individuals, in essence, became mediums who could communicate with the dead, who would in turn reciprocate with knowledge of illnesses and what to do about certain things. Spiritualism was built on Mesmerism and both of these gave way to the New Thought movement when Phineas Park-Hearst Quimby came on the scene (Christensen).

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