Ralph Waldo Trine, not Emerson

I read a quote once that I thought was extremely powerful so I made a note of the man to whom it was attributed, Ralph Waldo Trine. I wasn't familiar with Mr. Trine and intended to look him up.

That was a few years ago. I found the note I'd made about him in a book last night so this morning I belatedly followed through. As always, I'm amazed at what one can discover by a little research online.

First, here's the quote that "spoke" to me:

There are many who are living far below their possibilities because they are continually handing over their individualities to others. Do you want to be a power in the world? Then be yourself. Be true to the highest within your soul and then allow yourself to be governed by no customs or conventionalities or arbitrary man-made rules that are not founded on principle.

Sounds like something one of our latter-day, self-help-motivation gurus might have said, doesn't it?

In truth, this was written decades ago, for Mr. Ralph Waldo Trine was born in 1866 and died in 1958. The Secret people have nothing on Mr. Trine.

He was one of the most popular of the New Thought writers. He was a philosopher, mystic, teacher, and author of many books and one of the early mentors of the New Thought Movement. His writings influenced his contemporaries including Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science.

Mr. Trine was a practitioner and innovator in the area of life-transforming thought, and he sold more books than any other New Thought author. His influence and his writings spread far beyond New Thought circles to the general public.

Ralph Waldo - guess his parents admired Emerson - was born on September 6, 1866, in Mount Morris, Illinois. His university educational background was in history and political science and even won a $100 prize for his essay on "The Effects of Human Education on the Prevention of Crime."

As a graduate student at Johns Hopkins, he became a special correspondent for The Boston Daily Evening Transcript. He married Grace Hyde, a graduate of the School of Expression, later Curry College. Grace Hyde Trine was an author and poet. They had one son Robert. They lived at Mt. Airy, New York, where he was deeply involved in the metaphysical seminars at Oscawana.

Trine started writing career in his early 30s. His influences were Fitche, Emerson (of course), and Henry Drummond, the Scottish scientist and evangelist. Trine expanded on many of the themes in Drummond's inspirational classic, "The Greatest Thing in the World."

Trine's remarkable book, "In Tune with the Infinite" was published in 1897 and sold over 2 million copies and was read by everyone from Queen Victoria and Henry Ford to the general public. Henry Ford always said his success was directly related to having read Trine's book. In fact, Ford ordered the book in quantity and gave copies to other high profile industrialists.

The truths found with the book's pages have been rewritten and restated by many, especially during the last twenty years. Some think the restatements aren't as clear as the original.

By recognizing the power of our thoughts and by harmonizing our own with the Divine will, we will attract perfect peace, health, love, prosperity and success.

Trine wrote more than a dozen books. He continued writing well into his 70s. In his old age, he lived in an elder care facility for religious professionals in Claremont, California, where he gardened and tended fruit trees. He died there at the age of 91.

Today, few know who he was or what he left as a legacy to the world. Chances are if you've read any of the popular motivation teachers, then you're being influenced in part by his philosophy and inspiration. His work is worth being discovered for itself.

You can purchase in eBook form some of his books including In Tune With The Infinite: Fullness of Peace, Power and Plenty. Just follow the link.

Just knowing about him and all he accomplished makes that quotation I saved even more special.