One Simple Idea (46 page)

The numbers of churches and congregants within the Holmes ministries are from “Taproots of the New: New Thought and the New Age” by Dell deChant,
The Quest
magazine, Winter 1991; “The American New Thought Movement” by Dell deChant from
Introduction to New Alternative Religions in America
edited by Eugene V. Gallagher and W. Michael Ashcraft (Greenwood Press, 2006); and “Religious Science” by Dell deChant from
Religions of the World
, vol. 3, edited by J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann (ABC-CLIO, 2002). The number of active churches counted
in 2011 within the United Church of Religious Science is my personal estimate based on an assessment of congregations with regularly scheduled services and facility space, as listed in directories published in 2011 issues of
Science of Mind
and
Creative Mind
magazines, the respective organs of the United Church of Religious Science and Religious Science International, which have since merged into Centers for Spiritual Living.

For the 2007 Chicago doctors survey, see “Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why” by Steve Silber-man,
Wired Magazine
, August 24, 2009. D’Eslon is quoted from
Doctors of the Mind: The Story of Psychiatry
by Marie Beynon Ray (Little, Brown, 1942). The protest from Mesmer’s patient is from Helmut Hirsch’s “Mesmerism and Revolutionary America” (1943). For Harvard’s “honest placebo” study see “Placebos Without Deception: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Irritable Bowel Syndrome” by Ted J. Kaptchuk et al.,
PLoS One
(
www.​plosone.​com
), December 2010. Also see “Fake Pills Can Work, Even If Patients Know It,” by Richard Knox,
www.​npr.​org
, December 23, 2010; “The Power of Nothing: Could Studying the Placebo Effect Change the Way We Think About Medicine?” by Michael Specter,
The New Yorker
, December 12, 2011; “Putting the Placebo Effect to Work,”
Harvard Health Letter
, April 2012; and “The Silent Healer: The Role of Communication in Placebo Effects” by Jozien M. Bensing and William Verheul,
Patient Education and Counseling
, vol. 80, no. 3, 2010. For an example of peer support in Alcoholics Anonymous, see “Secret of AA: After 75 Years, We Don’t Know How It Works” by Brendan I. Koerner,
Wired Magazine
, June 23, 2010. John Sarno, M.D., is quoted from his
Mind over Back Pain
(William Morrow, 1982, 1984).

On the quantum measurement problem I am indebted to discussions with Dean Radin; any errors in the section are my own. A distinctly helpful source on the topic is
Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness
by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner (Oxford University Press, 2006). On the topic of “information leakage” see “Living in a Quantum World” by Vlatko Vedral,
Scientific American
, July 2011. I also benefited from the
paper “Quantum Mechanical Interaction-Free Measurements” by Avshalom C. Elitzur and Lev Vaidman,
Foundations of Physics
, vol. 23, no. 7, 1993.

On neuroplasticity, Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D., is quoted from his book
The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force
coauthored by Sharon Begley (Harper, 2002). Also helpful is Schwartz’s book
Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
coauthored with Beverly Beyette (HarperCollins, 1996). Few writers have been as illuminative of the issues and possibilities of neuroplasticity as Norman Doidge, M.D., in his book
The Brain That Changes Itself
(Viking, 2007), to which I owe my note on Santiago Ramón y Cajal.

Dean Radin is quoted (“small but measurable ways”) from an e-mail of May 28, 2009. Krishnamurti is quoted from
Think on These Things
(1964).

In writing this book I have been blessed to work with Gary Jansen of Crown—an editor, writer, and seeker of uncommon insight, intellect, and integrity. “A true friend,” Emmet Fox wrote, “is someone who can help us be our best.” Gary has been this, and much more.

Paul M. Barrett has, as always, been a great friend, supporter, and source of guidance and advice.

I am grateful to my agent, Laurie Fox, who provided crucially important encouragement during the formative stages of this book.

My appreciation goes to Molly Stern, the publisher of Crown, for her support of this work.

My interest in these topics never would have taken flight without the influence and friendship of Joel Fotinos, who first introduced me to many of the figures in these pages.

Thanks to Amanda Pisani, under whose editorship at
Science of Mind
magazine I began writing about these topics. Amanda opened the right door at the right moment.

Personal thanks go to Keith McNeil, an indefatigable researcher and historian who provided me with several key historical documents. Keith shared his insights with sensitivity and balance.

I am grateful to those whose ideas, support, and assistance with source materials aided this work: Dell deChant, Gabrielle Moss, Dean Radin, Christy Croft, Ptolemy Tompkins, Mark Gilbert, Theresa Orr, Ronni Thomas, James Porter, Pam Grossman, Emily Grossman (
nam myoho renge kyo
), Sami Laitinen, Nick Viorst, Philip Deslippe, Russ Gerber,
Michael R. Davis, Sally Ulrich, Judith A. Huenneke, Linda Rosenberg, Susan Freeman, and Sally Rhine Feather.

My wife, Allison Orr, provided constant good sense, always reminding me that the point of positive thinking is not just to write about it.

Mitch Horowitz
is vice president and editor in chief at Tarcher/Penguin, the division of Penguin USA dedicated to metaphysical literature. He is the author of
Occult America
(Bantam), which received the 2010 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award for literary excellence. Horowitz frequently writes about and discusses alternative spirituality in the national media, including
CBS Sunday Morning
,
Dateline NBC
,
All Things Considered
,
The Wall Street Journal
,
The Washington Post
, and
CNN.com
. He and his wife raise two sons in New York City. He is online at:
www.MitchHorowitz.com
.