The Mother of the Metaphysical Movement in England.

The Higher Thought Centre[1], formally established in Kensington in 1900 with Alice M. Callow as its Secretary, has been almost entirely forgotten. It published a journal, Expression, numerous short pamphlets, and a quarterly record of its work “in London and the provinces.” It hosted ongoing lectures on meditation and healing, as well as occasional lecture series by such well-known progressive thinkers as Edward Carpenter[2] and Mrs. Havelock Ellis[3], and served as a centre for visiting Ba’hai and Sufi religious leaders. Like so many of the metaphysical movements of the time, its adherents embraced women’s rights, forming, in 1910, a Women’s Silent League of Freedom to practice silent meditation “to bring about the desired results.” It opened Higher Thought Centres in Canada and Australia, and in 1914 it joined the International New Thought Alliance (although it continued to struggle to differentiate itself from American New Thought).


It was in 1902 that Thomas Troward was accidentally introduced to the "Higher Thought Centre" of London through a Mrs. Alice Callow, who happened to meet him in one of Lyon’s smaller tea rooms. He was busy writing and she happened to notice it was of Higher Thought or Divine Science. She was the secretary of this new organization at Kensington called Higher Thought Centre.

Resolution passed October, 1902, by the Kensington Higher Thought Centre.
"That the Centre stands for the definite teaching of absolute Oneness of Creator and Creation--Cause and Effect--and that nothing which may contradict or be in opposition to the above principles be admitted to the 'Higher Thought' Centre Platform.
"By Oneness of Cause and Effect is meant, that Effect (man) does consist only of what Cause is; but a part (individual personality) is not therefore co-extensive with the whole."

The INTA meetings of 1915 and 1918 were attended by Callow.

Master Mind Magazine, October 1911 to March 1912 By Annie Rix Militz

In 1914 The Times of London published a humorous column on “Dinner Party Cults” that targeted “some minor religions and confessions” and promised to advise on “discussions to avoid.” The fashionable dinner party need not be populated by “cranks” for the conversation to turn predictably and tediously to the “vaguely philosophical, mildly improving” minor religions: “Now it is Higher Thought, now Theosophy, now some form of Mental Healing ....” “Dinner Party Cults.” The Times. May 6, 1914: 11.

[1] Alice Callow traced the earliest beginnings of the Centre to events in 1886 and 1891. See Alice Callow, The Early History of the ‘Higher Thought’ Movement in England [1917].

The history of the movement in England did not differ essentially from its development in the United States. In England as in America, interest was aroused by Christian Science, then came a gradual reaction and the establishment of independent branches of the movement, Leaders of The Higher Thought appeared after a time, and it became customary for New Thought leaders from America to visit London and other cities, exchanging views with English leaders and holding classes. Among these may be mentioned Mr. Patterson, Dr. Julia Seton, who established the New Thought Centre, and Mrs. Militz, in connection with her lecturing tours of the world. The Woman’s Union, on Eburv Street, London, led in time to the Higher Thought Centre, 40 Courtfield Gardens, Kensington, and some of the Ieaders, notably Miss Alice Callow, secretary, have been connected with the work in :London from the beginning. Similar centres were established in different parts or England and Scotland, also in Ireland. With the coming of The New Thought Alliance to London in 1914, the devotees 'of the movement in the British Isles became identified with the international movement and the Alliance has since been recognized as the world's New Thought society,
A History of the New Thought Movement
By Horatio W. Dresser
1919

THE ARTIST.

A youthful artist bent over his easel enraptured; he felt he was succeeding beyond his wildest hopes in realizing his Ideal on canvas. The picture was small, but the sketch already showed all the promise of an immortal beauty, and the artist had resolved that it should he worked up to a pitch of absolute perfection.

Absorbed in his work« he hardly noticed the entrance of one who touched him on the shoulder. Turning, he saw it was the Great Master in whose Studio he had attained his skill, and whom he reverenced more deeply than words can say. It was an honour that had never been his before, that the Master should visit him in his studio, and he hastily rose, and with a glow of pride submitted his work for approval. The Master looked at it long and earnestly.

“It is well," he spoke at length. “But now tell me, is it Art or the artist you most hope to serve in working out this Ideal which I perceive underlying your painting?”
“0h, my Master, surely Art!" cried the young artist, half reprumsabfully fully. “How have I forfeited your belief in my singleness of purpose?”

“Then listen. If truly it be the purpose of your life to serve Art, are you prepared to leave your canvas as it is and to undertake part in a Work that is destined to live eternally? Such an one is now in progress, and I am seeking to form a band of artists who will give their allegiance to work at it night and day untiringly till it be finished. It is no easy task that I have essayed, for the canvas is so vast it most needs prove tedious in the details of the working, and the picture will live as the Master's work, so that no personal fame will attach to those who work under him. Yet those I seek must have been trained in a certain School, must possess the utmost skill and an impassioned enthusiasm.

“I do not wish to lure any with false hopes; what I ask is a deliberate sacrifice for the sake of Art. I know yon have the required ability — it is simply a question of your willingness. Take time to deliberate; it would not be well for you to draw back when once the work is undertaken."

The young artist followed his Master's words with varying emotions. "My Master," he now said firmly, "I have worked in your studio ever since I knew how to hold a brush— all that I know of my art has been through you; my confidence in you is absolute. If you can assure me that in my place you would accept the course you have laid before me, I am ready to do so."

The Master's face softened, and a smile lay upon his lips.

"Nay," he said,** I would not ask you to adopt a course which has not my personal approval — I have indeed myself, long years ago, passed through such a test of devotion as I now propose to you. Come, we will go together to the Palace."

The artist took one long farewell look at his beloved canvas. then, turning its face to the wall, he left all and followed him."
Alice M. Callow, in Expression.
From:
THE ESOTERIC.
A MAGAZINE
-OF-
PRACTICAL ESOTERIC THOUGHT
VOLUME XII.
FROM JULY, 1898, TO JUNE, 1899.

[2] Edward Carpenter (1844 –1929) was an English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist. As a philosopher he is particularly known for his publication of Civilization, Its Cause and Cure in which he proposes that civilization is a form of disease that human societies pass through.




[3] Mr. & Mrs. Havelock Ellis
Henry Havelock Ellis, known as Havelock Ellis (1859 – 1939), was a British physician and psychologist, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, including transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis. Like many progressive thinkers of his era, he supported eugenics and served as president of the Galton Institute.

Edith Mary Oldham Ellis née Lees (1861 – 1916) was a British writer and women's rights activist. She was married to the famous sexologist Havelock Ellis.

She met Havelock Ellis in 1887 at a meeting. The pair married in November 1891. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional; she was openly lesbian and at the end of the honeymoon he went back to his bachelor rooms. She had several affairs with women, which Ellis was aware of. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Havelock Ellis's autobiography, My Life (1939).

Her first novel, Seaweed: A Cornish Idyll, was published in 1898.
A Prospectus. Stories And Essays, by Mrs. Havelock Ellis. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Free Spirit Press. 1924.
Stories And Essays, by Mrs. Havelock Ellis. 2 vols. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Free Spirit Press. 1924.
Personal Impressions Of Edward Carpenter, by Mrs. Havelock Ellis. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Free Spirit Press, 1922.