Psychiana was a

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 ...

denomination created in 1928 by Frank Bruce Robinson (1886–1948), with headquarters in

Turnstone Flats Turnstone Flats is a property in the northwest United States, located on the southeast corner of Third and Jackson streets in Moscow, Idaho. The building that stands on the corner was built as a headquarters for a religion called Psychiana. Th ...

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

. It began and largely remained a

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

enterprise, recruiting people through advertising in popular magazines and through direct mail solicitations. The first advertisement for Psychiana, which Robinson himself penned and took around to local publishers in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

in 1929, featured a picture of Robinson with the headline, "I TALKED WITH GOD (yes I did, actually and literally)." Those who expressed an interest in Robinson's promises of health, wealth, and happiness by responding to one of his ads were offered a series of bi-weekly lessons by mail on a subscription plan. Robinson had his own printing presses and started a small publishing company, which offered many of his own books on various spiritual themes, as well as his memoir, ''The Strange Autobiography of Frank B. Robinson''.

Themes

Thematically, Robinson's ideas, as expressed in Psychiana, grew out of the metaphysical tradition and can be classified under the

umbrella. Robinson adopted concepts such as affirmations, positive thinking,

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

and mental healing into Psychiana's lessons and emphasized health and material prosperity as possible rewards for dedicated and hardworking Psychiana students. Robinson said that the name he chose, "Psychiana," came to him in a dream. He unabashedly referred to himself as a prophet, and envisioned his movement as becoming a worldwide, revolutionary spiritual force; at the same time, he made little effort to establish any kind of organizational structure beyond his headquarters office in Idaho, preferring to keep the operation strictly on a correspondence level.

Controversy

Psychiana burgeoned during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, but Robinson offended many of his contemporaries, not only by the "businesslike" nature of Psychiana, but also with his harsh criticisms of conventional

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Deportation proceedings were initiated against him in a federal court in Idaho, his opponents claiming that he was a foreign national illegally residing in 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 ...

. During the trial, Robinson contended that although he had been raised in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he had been born 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 ...

while his father was visiting the U.S., and was therefore a U.S. citizen. Nonetheless he was ordered to leave the country. Robinson traveled to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, where he stayed briefly while Idaho Senator

William Borah William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken History of the United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in History of Idaho, Idaho's history. A Progressivism ...

intervened on his behalf and helped him to obtain a visa. Robinson was soon back in Idaho and became a naturalized citizen of the

in 1942. Robinson had a penchant for

mink coat Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...

s and other trappings of wealth, and was accused of taking financial advantage of his followers.

Mitch Horowitz Mitch Horowitz (born November 23, 1965) is an American writer in occult and esoteric themes. He is the former editor-in-chief of TarcherPerigee. A frequent writer and speaker on religion and metaphysics in print and on television, radio, and onl ...

devotes a chapter to Robinson in his 2009 book ''Occult America'', writing that by all accounts Robinson was sincere in his devotion to Psychiana and truly believed he was offering useful guidance and advice.Horowitz, Mitch (2010). Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation. NY, Bantam Additionally, writes Horowitz, Psychiana was wildly successful, but much of the movement's income went to cover postage costs for mailing thousands of Psychiana pamphlets. Robinson's annual income was estimated at the equivalent of about $130,000 in 2009 dollars—above the average income, but not outrageously so and within the reach of many white collar workers and hardly rising to the level of an opulent lifestyle. Upon Robinson's death in 1948, his wife, Pearl Robinson, and son, Alfred Robinson, tried to continue the operation of ''Psychiana''. At the end of five years, however, Alfred shut the business down, refusing a buyout offer from St. Louis and giving ''Psychiana'''s archived materials to the University of Idaho. It is said that Alfred, a Presbyterian, did not agree with his father's theological beliefs.

References

{{reflist

External links

University of Idaho Library
- A brief history of Psychiana Moscow, Idaho New religious movements New Thought denominations 1928 establishments in Idaho 1953 disestablishments in Idaho Religious organizations established in 1928 Religious organizations disestablished in 1953

Themes

Controversy

See also

Further reading

References

External links