![Dr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Dr._Joseph_Murphy_.jpg)
Joseph Denis Murphy (May 20, 1898 – December 16, 1981) was an Irish author and
New Thought
The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...
minister, ordained in
Divine Science
The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of S ...
and
Religious Science
The Religious Science movement, or Science of Mind, was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Scie ...
.
Early life
Dr. Joseph Murphy was born in
Ballydehob
Ballydehob () is a coastal village in the southwest of County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the R592 regional road, at a junction with the N71 national secondary road.
History
During the Bronze Age (2200-600 B.C.), copper was mined on Mou ...
,
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, the son of a private boys' school headmaster and raised a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. He joined the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
. Murphy was enrolled in the National School and was encouraged to study for the priesthood and was accepted as a Jesuit seminarian. However, by the time he reached his late teen years, he began to question the Catholic orthodoxy of the Jesuits, and he withdrew from the seminary. His goal was to explore new ideas and gain new experiences—a goal he could not pursue in Catholic-dominated Ireland—he left his family to go to America. In his twenties, before being ordained a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
, Had an experience with healing prayer led him to leave the Jesuits and emigrate to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1922; he journeyed as a steerage passenger on board the
RMS ''Cedric'', sailing from Liverpool, England, to the Port of New York; on the ship's passenger manifest, his occupation was listed as chemist, the British term for pharmacist. He became a professional
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
(having a degree in
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
by that time). Here he attended the
Church of the Healing Christ (part of the
Church of Divine Science
The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Sp ...
), where
Emmet Fox
Emmet Fox (30 July 1886 – 13 August 1951) was an Irish New Thought spiritual leader of the early 20th century, primarily through years of the Great Depression, until his death in 1951. Fox's large Divine Science church services were held in Ne ...
had become minister in 1931.
[Gale Group "Joseph Murphy" ''Religious Leaders of America'', 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC]
Career
Murphy traveled to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and spent a lot of time with Indian sages, learning
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...
. He later on formed a new church in America with Hindu ideologies.
In the mid-1940s, he moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where he met
Religious Science
The Religious Science movement, or Science of Mind, was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Scie ...
founder
Ernest Holmes
Ernest Shurtleff Holmes (January 21, 1887 – April 7, 1960) was an American New Thought writer, teacher, and leader. He was the founder of a spiritual movement known as Religious Science, part of the greater New Thought movement, whose spir ...
, and was ordained into
Religious Science
The Religious Science movement, or Science of Mind, was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Scie ...
by Holmes in 1946, thereafter teaching at
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, and later at the Institute of Religious Science in Los Angeles. A meeting with Divine Science Association president Erwin Gregg led to him being re ordained into Divine Science, and he became the minister of the Los Angeles Divine Science Church in 1949, which he built into one of the largest
New Thought
The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...
congregations in the country.
When the United States entered World War II, Murphy enlisted in the Army and was assigned to work as a pharmacist in the medical unit of the 88th Infantry Division. At that time, he renewed his interest in religion and began to read extensively about various spiritual beliefs. After his discharge from the Army, he chose not to return to his career in pharmacy. He traveled extensively, taking courses in several universities both in the United States and abroad.
A person who had a particularly strong influence on Murphy was
Thomas Troward
Thomas Troward (1847–1916) was an English author whose works influenced the New Thought Movement and mystic Christianity.
Background
Troward was a divisional Judge in Punjab in British-administered India. His avocation was the study of comp ...
, who was a judge as well as a philosopher, doctor, and professor. Troward became Murphy's mentor. From him he not only learned philosophy, theology, and law, but also was introduced to mysticism and particularly, the
Masonic order
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. He became an active member of this order, and over the years rose in the Masonic ranks to the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite.
Murphy chose to become a minister and bring his broad knowledge to the public. As his concept of Christianity was not traditional and ran counter to many of the Christian denominations, he founded his own church in Los Angeles. He attracted a small number of congregants, but it did not take long for his message of optimism and hope rather than the “sin-and-damnation” sermons of so many ministers to attract many men and women to his church.
Murphy was a proponent of the New Thought movement. This movement was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by many philosophers and deep thinkers who studied this phenomenon and preached, wrote, and practiced a new way of looking at life and obtaining desires.
Murphy wrote more than 30 books. His most famous work, ''The Power of Your Subconscious Mind'', was first published in 1963. It became an immediate bestseller and sold millions of copies worldwide.
Personal life and death
In the 1950s, Murphy married, earned a
PhD in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
and started writing.
After his first wife died in 1976, he remarried to a fellow Divine Science minister who was his longstanding secretary. He moved his ministry to
Laguna Hills, California
Laguna Hills (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in south Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby— Laguna Niguel and L ...
, where he died in 1981. His wife, Dr. Jean Murphy, continued in this ministry for some years afterwards.
Bibliography
*
This is It!: The Art of Metaphysical Demonstration'
wheels of Truth (1946)Supreme Mastery of Fear (1946)St. John Speaks (1948)Love is Freedom (1948)The Twelve Powers Mystically Explained (1948)
*''Riches are Your Right (aka Special Meditations for Health, Wealth, Love, and Expression)'' (1952)
The Miracles of Your Mind (1953)*''The Fragrance of God'' (1953)
The Magic of Faith (1954)*
ttps://books.google.co.in/books/about/Believe_in_Yourself.html?id=XQSQAAAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y Believe in Yourself (1955)br>
How to Attract Money (1955)Traveling With God (1956)*''Peace Within Yourself (St. John Speaks revised)'' (1956)
*
ttps://books.google.co.in/books/about/How_to_Use_Your_Healing_Power.html?id=skEQEAAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y How to use your Healing Power (1957)br>
Quiet Moments with God (1958)*''Pray Your Way Through It'' (1958)you
The Healing Power of Love (1958)Stay Young Forever (1958)Mental Poisons and Their Antidotes (1958)*''How to Pray With a Deck of Cards'' (1958)
Living Without Strain (1959)*
ttps://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-Religion-Joseph-Murphy/dp/145002694X Nuclear Religion (1961)*''Lord Teach Us to Pray (is the 2nd chapter of Traveling With God)'' (1962)
Why Did This Happen to Me? (1962)The power of your Subconscious Mind (1963)The Miracle of Mind Dynamics (1964)The Amazing Laws of Cosmic Mind Power (1965)Your Infinite Power to Be Rich (1966)The Cosmic Power Within You (1968)*
*
nfinite Power for Richer LivingPsychic Perception: The Magic of Extrasensory power (1971)
*
ttps://www.amazon.com/Telepsychics-Magic-Power-Perfect-Living/dp/0139023879/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Telepsychics: The Magic Power of Perfect Living (1973)he Cosmic Energizer: Miracle Power of the Universe (1974)Great Bible Truths for Human Problems (1976)Within You Is the Power (1977)Songs of God (1979)How to use the laws of Mind (1980)*
ttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230107.Collected_Essays_of_Joseph_Murphy Collected Essays of Joseph Murphy (1987)ref>
See also
*
Napoleon Hill
Oliver Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is best known for his book ''Think and Grow Rich'' (1937), which is among the best-selling self-help books of all time. Hill's works insisted th ...
*
Charles F. Haanel
Charles Francis Haanel (May 22, 1866 – November 27, 1949) was an American author, philosopher and a businessman. He is best known for his contributions to the New Thought movement through his book ''The Master Key System''.
Personal ...
*
Wallace Wattles
*
Uell Stanley Andersen
References
External links
Biography Joseph Murphy Trust
Joseph Murphyat
Goodreads
Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...
Joseph Murphyat
ThriftBooksJoseph Murphyat
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
Joseph Murphyat
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Joseph
1898 births
1981 deaths
American self-help writers
American spiritual teachers
American spiritual writers
Divine Science clergy
Former Jesuits
Irish emigrants to the United States
New Thought writers