Norman Vincent Peale

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Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was a Christian preacher and author (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking".

Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio and died in Pawling, New York. He was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University, and Boston University.

Raised as a Methodist and originally ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922, Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America in 1932, and began a 52-year tenure as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. During that time the church's membership grew from 600 to over 5,000, and he became one of New York City’s most famous preachers.

In 1945, Dr. Peale, his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, and Raymond Thornburg, a Pawling, New York businessman founded Guideposts magazine, a non-denominational forum for celebrities and ordinary people to relate inspirational stories. For its launch, they raised $1,200 from Frank Gannett, founder of the Gannett newspaper chain, J. Howard Pew, a Philadelphia industrialist and Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

A prolific writer, The Power of Positive Thinking is by far Peale's most widely read work. First published in 1952, it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks. The book has sold around 7 million copies (amazon.com) and translated into 41 different languages. Some of his other popular works include The Art of Living, A Guide to Confident Living, The Tough-Minded Optimist, and Inspiring Messages for Daily Living.

For 54 years (from 1935 to 1989), Peale hosted the weekly radio program The Art of Living. It is possible that his sermons were mailed to around 750,000 people a month.^{[citation needed]} He was also the subject of the 1964 film One Man's Way.

In 1947, Peale co-founded (along with educator Kenneth Beebe) The Horatio Alger Association. This organization aims to recognize and honor Americans who have been successful in spite of difficult circumstances they have faced.

Other organizations founded by Peale include the Peale Center, the Positive Thinking Foundation and Guideposts Publications, all of which aim to promote Peale's theories about positive thinking.

For his contributions to the field of theology, President Ronald Reagan awarded Peale the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor in the United States) on March 26, 1984.

Peale was a practicing Freemason (33°) [1].

Contents 1 Norman Vincent Peale Quotations 2 Peale's "Positive Thinking:" Modern Analysis and Criticism 3 Controversy 4 Trivia 5 A selection of his books 6 External links

[edit] Norman Vincent Peale Quotations

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

You can have peace of mind, improved health and an ever-increasing flow of energy. Life can be full of joy and satisfaction.

Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.

Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.

Getting people to like you is merely the other side of liking them.

When you wholeheartedly adopt a 'with all your heart' attitude and go all out with the positive principle, you can do incredible things.

[edit] Peale's "Positive Thinking:" Modern Analysis and Criticism

“Positive thinking,” as described by Peale could be broken down into a three step process of practicing repeated mental suggestions, attaining “divine” or God’s power to use for oneself, and eliminating and avoiding all negativity in life. The first step in positive thinking is focused on the use of repeated mental suggestion. Peale describes positive thinking as first and foremost as “simply a series of practical and workable techniques for living a successful life,” (Epilogue: Power of Positive Thinking).

The reader was instructed through constant repetition to bypass his conscious mind and implant suggestions into his unconscious mind where they would operate automatically, without the interference of conscious will. “Let them sink into your unconscious and they can help you overcome any difficulty. Say them over and over again. Say them until your mind accepts them, until you believe them – faith power works wonders,” (p.104).

Peale promised the reader that if they followed and practiced his techniques, they could attain success over almost any adversity. “It is a power that can blast out all defeat and lift a person above all difficult situations.” (p.175). Peale insisted that the only way to acquire these attitudes was through the unconscious and through his techniques. Peale repeatedly instructed his readers that their conscious will, their self knowledge, self determination, courage and intelligence might not be enough to live a successful life. He described these conscious acts of will as unreliable, untrustworthy and not always sufficient to meet the demands of life. The conscious, self-determining self was to be rejected, or “surrendered,” so that Peale’s techniques and the unconscious were now the determining and motivating factors in the individual’s life.

The payoff for this rejection of self, according to Peale, was the attainment of God’s power. “I hereby draw power from You as an illimitatable source,” (p.45) is one Peale formula. Peale further said that regular prayer was insufficient to meet the demands of life, that in order for prayer to really work the reader had to use his techniques. Peale said controlling the unconscious, using his techniques, was the only channel to attain God’s power. “Surface skimming, formalistic and perfunctory prayer is not sufficiently powerful” (p.17) says Peale when describing his “prayers” for overcoming an inferiority complex. Formalistic prayer used for thousands of years by Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and other mainstream religions didn’t produce sufficient results according to Peale.

Peale also promised his readers that if they followed his techniques that they could always think positively and remove all negativity from their lives. Negative attitudes were not to be tolerated but avoided at all costs according to Peale. Negative thoughts were to be repressed, cancelled out and destroyed through his techniques. “It is important to eliminate from conversations all negative ideas, for they tend to produce annoyance and tension inwardly," (p.33).

Peale’s readers were instructed to never doubt or question a statement Peale made or this would cut off the “power flow.” Any negative doubting of Peale or whether his techniques worked were to be immediately canceled, and the reader was instructed to immediately repeat the Peale phrases.

The Peale statements, and the words that made them up were actual “things” according to Peale. “Thoughts are things,” (p. 169) and the repetition of his phrases were more important than actions. Repeating positive only statements would cause only positive things to happen. But according to Peale, the reverse is also true. Thinking negatively causes negative things to happen. Thus the fear of negativity, of avoiding all negative, fearful attitudes is part and parcel of positive thinking. There can be no positive thinking without this avoidance of negative thinking, according to Peale. “Never think of the worst. Drop it out of your thought, relegate it. Let there be no thought in your mind that the worst will happen. Avoid entertaining the concept of the worst, for whatever you take into your mind can grow there,” (p.103).

[edit] Controversy

Peale's works came under criticism from theologians, mental health experts, scholars, and politicians. Critics appeared in the early 1950s after the publication of The Power of Positive Thinking, warning that Peale's message was dangerous and that he was perhaps a con man and fraud.

One criticism of The Power of Positive Thinking is that the book is full of anecdotes that are hard to substantiate. Almost all of the experts and many of the testimonials that Peale quotes as supporting his philosphy are unnamed, unknown, or not sourced. Examples include a "famous psychologist," (p. 52 Fawcett Crest, 1990 edition), a two-page letter from a "practicing physician," (p.150), another famous psychologist, (p. 169), a "prominent citizen of New York City," (p. 88) and dozens, if not hundreds more unverifiable quotations. Similar scientific studies of questionable validity are also cited. While some of the testimonials are referenced, most of the material appears to be greatly exaggerated, and it raise serious ethical questions regarding not only Peale but also the integrity of the publisher(s) of this book. As psychiatrist R. C. Murphy exclaimed "All this advertising is vindicated as it were, by a strict cleaving to the side of part truth," and referred to the work and the quoted material as "implausible and woodenly pious." ("Think Right: Reverend Peale's Panacea", The Nation, May 7, 1955, p. 398-400).

Further criticism could be grouped under the idea that Peale advocates a dangerous form of self-hypnosis, and serious ethical charges that his message teaches fear, hatred, intolerance and other anti-Christian theology.

Peale asserts that his hypnotic techniques will give the reader absolute self confidence and deliverance from suffering. Several critics, in turn, assert that such claims are actually a form of autosuggestion (autosuggestion), hidden under a thin guise with the use of terms which may sound more benign from the reader's point of view "techniques", "formulas," "methods," "prayers," and "prescriptions.") Some mental health contemporaries contend that in this way Peale practices deception which could be injurious to the reader. Constant repetitions of autosuggestions in the mind may interfere with clear thinking, undermining independent thought on the matters of self and religion to be found in the works.

Scholar Donald Meyer in his book The Positive Thinkers (Pantheon Books: 1965, p.264) described TPoPT as the "Bible of American autohypnotism," defined by Meyer as the "automatized power of positive thinking." (p.268). Meyer further suggests that Peale is fully aware of the nature of his methods, yet does not reveal them to the reader. Peale never refers to his techniques as hypnosis.

Psychiatrist R.C. Murphy writes "Self knowledge, in Mr. Peale's understanding is unequivocally bad: self hypnosis is good." Murphy adds that the repeated hypnosis defeats an individual's self motivation, self knowledge, unique sense of self, and sense of reality: "As a whole, the book seductively offers to replace the inner growth force by an external authority which says "I will do it for you" or at least "I will lead you all the way." ("Think Right: Reverend Peale's Panacea," Nation, May 7, 1955, p. 398-400).

Psychologist Albert Ellis, the founder of cognitive therapy and influential psychologist of the 20th century, compares the Peale techniques with those of the hypnotist Emile Coue, whom he disagrees with strongly. Ellis' writings repeatedly warn the public not to follow the Peale message. Ellis contends the Peale approach is dangerous, distorted, unrealistic. He compares the black or white view of life that Peale teaches to a psychological disorder (Borderline Personality Disorder), perhaps implying that dangerous mental habits which he sees in the disorder may be brought on by following the teaching. "In the long run [Peale's teachings] lead to failure and disillusionment, and not only boomerang back against people, but often prejudice them against effective therapy." (Overcoming Resistance: Rational Emotive Therapy With Difficult Clients, New York: Springer Publishing, 1985, p. 147).

Serious ethical charges against Peale's teachings, including Christian theological elements, are expounded in a 1955 article by psychiatrist R.C.Murphy in 1955, (p.398-400), published by "The Nation," titled "Reverand Peale's Panacea:"

"A subtler influence is [Peale's] denial of unpleasant unreality. With saccharine terrorism, Mr. Peale refuses to allow his followers to hear, speak, or see any evil. For him, real human suffering does not exist; there is no such thing as murderous rage, suicidal despair, cruelty, lust, greed, mass poverty or illiteracy. All these things he would dismiss as trivial mental processes which will evaporate if thoughts are simply turned into more cheerful channels. This attitude is so unpleasant that it bears some search for its real meaning. It is clearly not a genuine denial of evil but a horror of it. A person turns his eyes away from human bestiality and the suffering it evokes only if he can't stand to look at it. By doing so he affirms the evil to be absolute; he looks away only when he feels that nothing can be done about it.... The belief in pure evil, an area of experience beyond the possibility of help or redemption is automatically a summons to action: 'evil' means 'that which much be attacked.' Any thing which strengthens the belief that evil exists as a tangible force outside of oneself thereby endorses the cruelties which men commit against each other.... We are encouraged to give up our striving and feel free to hate as much as we like and wherever we see the work of Beezlebub, whether under our own roofs or on the other side of the ocean. Thus Mr. Peale's book is not only inadequate for our needs but even undertakes to drown out the fragile inner voice which is spur to religious growth. While people honestly seeking help will find it almost anywhere they look, the book as a whole is anything but friendly towards religious experience." (May 7, 1955, pp. 398-400).

Meyer would seem to heartily agree with this assessment, presenting similar warnings of a relgious nature. In his article "Confidence Man" (The New Republic, July 11, 1955, pp. 8-10), Meyer says that the reader is promised absolute power to achieve anything he wants by using the Peale techniques. "In more classic literature, this sort of pretension to mastery has often been thought to indicate an alliance with a Lower rather than a Higher power." The mastery Peale speaks of is not the mastery of skills or tasks, but the mastery of "negative thoughts." The Peale way of life is grim and depressing, fearful of the challenges of life, resigned to the status quo, and destined to become full of frustration, anger, and impotence. Negative thoughts about life experience are not to be challenged, confronted, much less changed or even allowed to remain in the adherent's mind. "[B]attle it is; Peale, in sublime betrayal of the aggression within his philosophy of peace, talks of 'shooting' prayers at people." (July 11, 1955, pp. 8-10.)

Adlai Stevenson was famously quoted as saying "I find Paul appealing and Peale appalling."

Psychologist Martin Seligman, the originator of a movement he terms "positive psychology" and a scholar of the experience of human happiness, says "positive thinking" (bearing no resemblance to his own "positive psychology"), is unproven and dangerous. He cautions readers not to confuse the two approaches. "First, positive thinking is an armchair activity. Positive psychology, on the other hand, is tied to a program of empirical and replicable scientific activity.... Where accuracy is tied to potentially catastrophic outcomes (for example, when an airline pilot is deciding whether to de-ice the wings of her airplane) we should all be pessimists.... Positive psychology is a supplement to negative psychology, not a substitute." (Authentic Happiness, Free Press, 2002, pp. 288-299)

Yet Peale is not without supporters. The Rev. Billy Graham said at the National Council of Churches on June 12, 1966 that "I don't know of anyone who had done more for the kingdom of God than Norman and Ruth Peale or have meant anymore in my life for the encouragement they have given me. (Hayes Minnick, BFT Report #565 p. 28). He does not expound a unique contribution by Ruth Peale.

[edit] Trivia

• Modern televangelist and minister Robert H. Schuller was mentored by Peale. Like Peale, Schuller has also authored many religious self-help books, including Move Ahead With Possibility Thinking (1973).
• Peale is sarcastically referred to as a 'deep philosopher' in the Tom Lehrer song 'It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier' (on the album An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer, 1959).
• In the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of The Simpsons, a building with the sign "Birthplace of Norman Vincent Peale" is destroyed.
• A clip of Peale's radio program is heard briefly in the film Grey Gardens (1975), and Peale himself appears as a character in the musical based on the film (2006).
• A widely reprinted editorial in the Los Angeles Times says that the 2006 book and DVD The Secret both borrow some of Peale's ideas, and that The Secret suffers from some of the same weaknesses as Peale's works.| accessdate = 2007-01-13
• M*A*S*H (TV series) episode 135 (The Smell of Music) contains a grossly injured soldier (guest star: Jordan Clarke) who rejects counsel from Col. Potter (Harry Morgan) stating “Doc, if there’s one thing I don’t need right now is a Norman Vincent Peale sermon . . .”

[edit] A selection of his books

• The Power of Positive Thinking, Ballantine Books; Reissue edition (August 1, 1996). ISBN 0-449-91147-0
• Guide to Confident Living, Ballantine Books; Reissue edition (September 1, 1996). ISBN 0-449-91192-6
• Six Attitudes for Winners, Tyndale House Publishers; (May 1, 1990). ISBN 0-8423-5906-0
• Positive Thinking Every Day : An Inspiration for Each Day of the Year, Fireside; (December 6, 1993). ISBN 0-671-86891-8
• Positive Imaging, Ballantine Books; Reissue edition (September 1, 1996). ISBN 0-449-91164-0
• You Can If You Think You Can, Fireside Books; (August 26, 1987). ISBN 0-671-76591-4
• Thought Conditioners, Foundation for Christian; Reprint edition (December 1, 1989). ISBN 99910-38-92-2
• In God We Trust: A Positive Faith for Troubled Times, Thomas Nelson Inc; Reprint edition (November 1, 1995). ISBN 0-7852-7675-0
• Norman Vincent Peale's Treasury of Courage and Confidence, Doubleday; (June 1970). ISBN 0-385-07062-4
• My Favorite Hymns and the Stories Behind Them, Harpercollins; 1st ed edition (September 1, 1994). ISBN 0-06-066463-0
• The Power of Positive Thinking for Young People, Random House Children's Books (A Division of Random House Group); (December 31, 1955). ISBN 0-437-95110-3
• The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking, Fireside; Fireside edition (March 12, 2003). ISBN 0-7432-3483-9
• Stay Alive All Your Life, Fawcett Books; Reissue edition (August 1, 1996). ISBN 0-449-91204-3

[edit] External links

• Marble Church
• Norman Vincent Peale Biography plus listing of his books
• Collection of Information on Norman Vincent Peale
• Guideposts
• Collection of Quotes by Norman Vincent Peale
• Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans