J.W. Winkley was the editor of The New Thought Magazine Practical Ideals and one of the first New Thought MD's.

Links to J.W. Winkley's Works:

• First Lessons in the New Thought or, The Way to the Ideal Life

J. W. Winkley, wrote two books, First Lessons in New Thought, and John Brown, the Hero. The first proved to be quite a money maker prompting him to create 3 subsequent editions in which he continued his examination of the various strains of New Thought, making minor corrections while detailing how New Thought / Mental Science / Mind Cure was evolving.

Winkley began his path into New Thought in the same manner as many of the early New Thought pioneers, as a young abolitionist. In Winkley's case, he ventured to Kansas Territory with his brothers in 1856 as anti-slavery Free State settlers opposing slavery. It did not take long for them to be dragged into the conflict to which Horace Greeley gave the name "Bleeding Kansas."

"During the past month the Ruffians have been actively at work, and have made not less than five intrenched camps, where they have, in different parts of the Territory, established themselves in armed bands, well provided with arms, provisions, and ammunition. From these camps they sally out, steal horses, and rob Free State settlers (in several cases murdering them), and then slip back into their camp with their plunder."

Following the Osawatomic fight of August 30, "young Winkley, in the log-cabin of the missionary Adair, husband of Brown's half-sister, saw John Brown sternly mourning over the body of his son Frederick, killed on the morning of the fight, on the high prairie above Osawatomie."

This encounter led to the Winkley brothers recruitment into John Brown's company of Jayhawkers. Which was the name given to Free-Staters who were known to help run away slaves which was deemed an economic crime (theft.) These Free Staters wanted to defeat the proslavery Southern Missouri Slavers who desired that the Kansas Territory be admitted to the Union as a slave state.

With the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 Congress had left the question of whether a state would be free or slave up to the settlers in that territory to determine by vote. The result had been that thousands of "Border Ruffians" from the neighboring state of Missouri (often pronounced Misery by locals) poured into the Kansas Territory with the goal of making it a slave state.

Brown operated an independent unit of anti-slavery militia seeking revenge for Border Ruffian attacks on settlers and in particular for the Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas by pro-slavery forces under the leadership of Sheriff Samuel J. Jones.

Jones and other Border Ruffians were supported by secret funding from pro-slavery Southern fundamentalists led by Senator David Rice Atchison.

The previous year, Atchison had called on pro-slavery Missourians to uphold slavery by force declaring "kill every God-damned abolitionist in the district."

On March 30, 1855, Atchison led 5,000 Missouri Ruffians into Kansas seizing control of the polls and stuffing the ballot boxes with tens of thousands of fraudulent votes for pro-slavery candidates. They elected a pro-slavery legislature, then attempted to convince the general public with a "fake news" campaign pushing lies that the locals wanted Kansas to be a slave state.

Fortunately, real journalists documented Atchison's crimes.

This led to Senaator Charles Sumner exposing Atchison's role in the invasion, tortures, and killings of settlers in Kansas in his epic "Crimes Against Kansas" speech on May 19, 1856.

For two days, Sumner listed crime, after crime, in detail, using the documentation provided by newspapers and letters of the time, showing the tortures and violence committed by Atchison and his Missouri Ruffians.

The fallout of Atchison's crimes led the Winkley Brother's to fall in with the not yet famous John Brown in order to combat the Missouri slavers.

It was not long before members of Brown's militia, noticed that the young Winkley "was possessor of a peculiar psychical faculty" they called "finding the way."

"From a boy, a mere child, he may say, it was known among [Winkley's] playmates that he could lead them safely and surely to any place or object, when there was doubt about its locality, and could also discover the whereabouts of things lost."

This faculty enabled John Brown and his men under the guidance of Winkley to outmaneuver the "Ruffians of Misery" as some called them.

"This gift was brought into play many times during the two years of Kansas events sketched here, and served us well."

The recognition of Winkley's psychic ability inspired a lifelong interest in spirituality. His multiple brushes with death inspired him to become a doctor.

Winkley's spiritual explorations followed the same course of many of the early New Thought pioneers. He was a strong proponent of Human Rights writing:

"The truth, we think, may be told in a word: John Brown belonged to the 'old order,' which is passing away. Heaven speed its end! He was a man of war ... we must turn to our higher ideal, — those of the 'new order,' the men of peace." pg 124, John Brown, the hero; personal reminiscences by J. W. Winkley 1905

Stumbling upon Christian Science Winkley became intrigued, but at first confused about the difference between Mental Science versus Christian Science. His ongoing work revealed to him that the "Eddyists" believed everything to be an illusion. This led to his enthusiastic participation in the New Thought / Mental Science Movement, Winkley established the Church of the Divine Unity in 1886. He also worked on the early New Thought periodical Mental Healing Monthly, as well as being one of the founders of the Metaphysical Club.