New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consider it a religious movement, its adherents typically see it as spiritual or as unifying Mind-Body-Spirit, and rarely use the term New Age themselves. Scholars often call it the New Age movement, although others contest this term and suggest it is better seen as a milieu or zeitgeist.
In ancient Roman religion, Abundantia, also called Abundita or Copia, was a divine personification of abundance and prosperity. The name Abundantia means plenty or riches. This name is fitting as Abundantia was a goddess of abundance, money-flow, prosperity, fortune, valuables, and success. She would help protect your savings and investments. Abundantia would even assist someone with major purchases. She was among the embodiments of virtues in religious propaganda that cast the emperor as the ensurer of "Golden Age" conditions. Abundantia thus figures in art, cult, and literature, but has little mythology as such. She may have survived in some form in Roman Gaul and medieval France. Abundantia would carry a cornucopia that was filled with grain and coins. She would occasionally leave some of her grain or money at someone's house as a gift.
Sylvia Celeste Browne was an American writer, medium, and psychic. She appeared regularly on television and radio, including on The Montel Williams Show and Larry King Live, and hosted an hour-long online radio show on Hay House Radio.
Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide religious organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian guru who authored Autobiography of a Yogi. Before coming to the United States, Yogananda began his spiritual work in India in 1917 and named it Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS). He came to the West in 1920 and in 1925 established SRF's headquarters at Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California. Before his return visit to India in 1935, he legally incorporated SRF in the United States, designating it as the only organization to carry on his work – to care for and disseminate his teachings.
Caroline Myss is an American author of 10 books and many audio recordings about mysticism and wellness. She is most well known for publishing Anatomy of the Spirit (1996). She also co-published The Creation of Health with Dr C Norman Shealy MD - ex Harvard professor of neurology. Her most recent book, Archetypes: Who Are You? was published in 2013. Myss describes herself as a medical intuitive and a mystic.
A Course in Miracles is a 1976 book by Helen Schucman. The underlying premise is that the greatest "miracle" is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in a person's life. Schucman said that the book had been dictated to her, word for word, via a process of "inner dictation" from Jesus Christ. The book is considered to have borrowed from New Age movement writings.
Richard Rohr, is an American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970, founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati in 1971, and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque in 1987. In 2011, PBS called him "one of the most popular spirituality authors and speakers in the world".
Thomas Moore is a psychotherapist, former monk, and writer of popular spiritual books, including the New York Times bestsellerCare of the Soul (1992), a "guide to cultivating depth and sacredness in everyday life". He writes and lectures in the fields of archetypal psychology, mythology, and imagination. His work is influenced by the writings of Carl Jung and James Hillman.
Louise Lynn Hay was an American motivational author, professional speaker and AIDS advocate. She authored several New Thought self-help books, including the 1984 book You Can Heal Your Life, and founded Hay House publishing.
Byron Kathleen Mitchell, better known as Byron Katie, is an American speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as "The Work of Byron Katie" or simply as "The Work". She is the founder of Byron Katie International, an organization that includes the School for the Work and Turnaround House in Ojai, California. Time magazine describes her as "a spiritual innovator for the 21st century."
Immaculée Ilibagiza is a Rwandan American author and motivational speaker. Her first book, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (2006), is an autobiographical work detailing how she survived during the Rwandan genocide. She was featured on one of Wayne Dyer's PBS programs, and also on a December 3, 2006, segment of 60 Minutes.
Abiola Abrams is an American author, podcaster, motivational speaker and spiritual life coach. Abrams has penned three books, including African Goddess Initiation: Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity, and Joy, her first book from self-help publisher Hay House, published on July 20, 2021. Her second book, The Sacred Bombshell Handbook of Self-Love, won an African American Literary Award for Best Self Help. Black Enterprise included her inspirational podcast in “20 Must-Listen to Black Women Podcasts for 2019” and in 2020, her podcast was chosen by Success.com as one of “16 Motivational Podcasts by Black Hosts You Need to Listen To.” Essence Magazine included Abrams' annual Goddess Retreat in their roundup of “Black Girl-Approved and Operated Wellness Escapes.” Abrams' website, Womanifesting.com, discusses spirituality, personal growth, and entrepreneurship.
Affirmative prayer is a form of prayer or a metaphysical technique that is focused on a positive outcome rather than a negative situation. For instance, a person who is experiencing some form of illness would focus the prayer on the desired state of perfect health and affirm this desired intention "as if already happened" rather than identifying the illness and then asking God for help to eliminate it.
Affirmations in New Thought and New Age terminology refer primarily to the practice of positive thinking and self-empowerment—fostering a belief that "a positive mental attitude supported by affirmations will achieve success in anything." More specifically, an affirmation is a carefully formatted statement that should be repeated to one's self and written down frequently. For affirmations to be effective, it is said that they need to be present tense, positive, personal and specific.
Stuart Wilde was a British writer. Best known for his works on New Age, self-empowerment, and spirituality, he was also a lecturer, teacher, humorist, essayist, scriptwriter, lyricist, and music producer. He was the author of twenty books including the popular series The Taos Quintet: Miracles, The Force, Affirmations, The Quickening, and The Trick to Money is Having Some.
James Van Praagh (; is an American writer and television personality who describes himself as a clairvoyant and spiritual medium. He has written numerous books, including The New York Times bestseller Talking to Heaven. Van Praagh was a producer and screenwriter on the 2002 CBS primetime semi-autobiographical miniseries Living with the Dead starring Ted Danson. He also hosted a short-lived paranormal talk show called Beyond with James Van Praagh.
Rosemary Ellen Guiley was an American writer on topics related to spirituality, the occult, and the paranormal. She was also a radio show host, a certified hypnotist, a board director of the "National Museum of Mysteries and Research" and the "Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters", and a "Lifetime Achievement Award" winner from the Upper Peninsula Paranormal Research Society, Michigan. She has written more than 49 books, including ten encyclopedias.
Larry Dossey is a physician and author who propounds the importance for healing of prayer, spirituality, and other non-physical factors.
Teal Swan is an American spiritual influencer and author. Swan and her teachings are the subject of documentaries and podcasts. Publications, including Eonline, The Guardian and the BBC have noted that some of Swan’s teaching methods on how to manage mental health issues have been found controversial by her critics, a claim denied by Swan and some of her proponents.
Dolores Eilene Cannon was an American author, self-trained hypnotherapist, and publisher. She was a leader of the New Age movement and a promotor of conspiracy theories and fringe theories relating to aliens and alternative realities.
