Mitch Horowitz: The Complete Guide to His Life, Philosophy, and Essential Teachings

Who Is Mitch Horowitz?

Mitch Horowitz (born November 23, 1965) is an American author, publisher, speaker, podcaster, and television host specializing in occult and esoteric themes. A PEN Award-winning historian and one of today’s most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult, Horowitz bridges academic scholarship, national journalism, and popular culture in his exploration of alternative spirituality.

As a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library and the former editor-in-chief of TarcherPerigee at Penguin Random House, Horowitz has become a leading authority on New Thought philosophy, positive thinking, and the hidden history of American mysticism.

Quick Summary: Mitch Horowitz is a “believing historian” who not only studies alternative spiritual movements but actively participates in them. He treats esoteric ideas with intellectual rigor while maintaining that certain metaphysical principles genuinely work when properly applied.


Early Life and Background

Childhood in Queens

The son of a legal aid attorney and a medical secretary, Horowitz grew up in Bellerose, Queens, before moving to New Hyde Park, New York. He was raised in a traditional Jewish household and had an Orthodox bar mitzvah.

As he describes it, he grew interested in the occult as a little kid, taking out books of magic and folklore from his local library in Queens, New York. His older sister brought home paperbacks of Carlos Castaneda and books on flying saucers, Bigfoot, and ESP.

Early Struggles and Search for Power

Horowitz’s family faced crushing financial problems, particularly after his parents’ divorce. He recalls that from an early age, these challenges set him on a search for power and purpose outside the ordinary framework of life.

Ever since I was a teenager, coping with my parents’ divorce and the plunge into near-poverty that followed, he writes, I’d relied on what I called practical spirituality.

His temperament was naturally pessimistic and self-doubting, which ironically made him the perfect person to seriously test whether positive thinking and New Thought practices actually work.

Education and Career Path

Horowitz received a bachelor of arts in English literature from Stony Brook University, where he was editor-in-chief of the school’s student newspaper, The Statesman. In 1987, he won the Martin Buskin Award for Outstanding Campus Journalism.

Before entering publishing, he worked as a police reporter. In the early nineties, Horowitz served as youth-section treasurer of the Democratic Socialists of America and on the editorial committee of its magazine, Democratic Left.


Publishing Career and Rise to Prominence

From Editor to Author

Horowitz entered the field of metaphysical publishing and soon came to feel that the history of these topics and their key players was not being adequately written. As he puts it, if you do not write your own history, other people write it for you, and they may not understand the values and ideals that emanate from that history.

He became editor-in-chief of TarcherPerigee and a former vice-president at Penguin Random House, where he championed works on alternative spirituality and esoteric philosophy.

First Book and PEN Award

Horowitz didn’t publish his first book until age 43 going on 44, which is why he says he never takes it for granted. His first major work, Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation (2009), received the 2010 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award.

The book explored the impact of occult and esoteric philosophies on American culture, politics, and religion, from its earliest days when America served as an arena for revolutions in alternative spirituality.


Major Works and Core Philosophy

Occult America (2009)

Horowitz’s breakthrough work explored how esoteric philosophies and personas—from Freemasonry to Spiritualism, from Madame H.P. Blavatsky to Edgar Cayce—dramatically altered the nation’s culture, politics, and religion.

The Washington Post praised Horowitz for treating “esoteric ideas and movements with an even-handed intellectual studiousness that is too often lost in today’s raised-voice discussions.”

One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life (2014)

In this landmark book, Horowitz tracked the history of the positive-thinking movement from its pioneers to its most dramatic personalities, including Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale.

Key Themes:

  • How positive thinking morphed from metaphysics into mass belief
  • The connection between positive thinking and the placebo effect
  • Mind-body connection in treating illness
  • The centrality of positive thinking to the American idea of success

Paris Match noted that Horowitz “takes us far from naïve doctrines” with his nuanced, historically grounded approach.

The book includes exercises and methods readers can use to test the validity of positive-mind mechanics in their daily lives, ending with a chapter titled “Does It Work?”—to which Horowitz answers yes, with important qualifications.

The Miracle Club: How Thoughts Become Reality (2018)

Perhaps Horowitz’s most influential work, The Miracle Club presents the first serious reconsideration of New Thought philosophy since the death of William James in 1910.

Following in the footsteps of a little-known group of esoteric seekers from the late-nineteenth century who called themselves “the Miracle Club,” Horowitz shows that spiritual “wish fulfillment” practices known as the Law of Attraction, Positive Thinking, “the Secret,” and the Science of Getting Rich actually work—when properly understood and applied.

Core Principles:

  • Thoughts are causative forces
  • The mind operates according to specific metaphysical laws
  • Focused intention combined with emotional conviction creates results
  • Success requires both inner work and outer action

Daydream Believer: Unlocking the Ultimate Power of Your Mind (2022)

Horowitz describes this as his “ultra-statement”—a landmark of practical spirituality that repairs the gaps in mind-power philosophy and provides a usable, persuasive, and intellectually rigorous vision of why thoughts are causative.

The book was inspired by a specific moment when, while walking through the streets of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Horowitz had an overwhelming, indelible, palpable impression that life had assumed the contours of thought.

Key Topics:

  • The causal power of a wish alone
  • How to tap the energies of thought during grief, depression, or anxiety
  • Why prayer and deific petitioning work
  • How acknowledgement of suffering is a metaphysical force
  • Psychical lives among infinite realms

Modern Occultism (2023)

Horowitz’s most recent comprehensive work is a lively, intellectually serious historical exploration of modern occultism, from astrology and alchemy to the dawn of Theosophy and modern witchcraft—and the spiritual revolutions that followed.

Additional Works

Napoleon Hill Success Course Series:

  • The Miracle of a Definite Chief Aim
  • The Power of the Master Mind
  • Secrets of Self-Mastery

Neville Goddard Collections:

  • The Ideal Realized: Practical Instructions From Neville Goddard (2020)
  • Neville Goddard’s Final Lectures (2022)
  • Magician of the Beautiful: An Introduction to Neville Goddard

Other Key Books:

  • Mind as Builder: The Positive-Mind Metaphysics of Edgar Cayce (2017)
  • The Miracle Habits: The Secret of Turning Your Moments Into Miracles (2020)
  • Uncertain Places: Essays on Occult and Outsider Experiences (2022)
  • Practical Magick (2025)

Core Philosophical Principles: The Essential Lessons

1. Thoughts Are Causative

Horowitz’s central claim is that thoughts possess causative power—not in some vague, feel-good sense, but as an actual force that shapes reality.

He argues that we experience psychical lives among infinite realms and that your mind is an extraphysical and reality-selecting force.

This doesn’t mean you can think your way to anything instantly, but rather that focused, emotionally charged thought combined with action creates measurable changes in your circumstances.

2. The Power of Definite Chief Aim

Drawing on Napoleon Hill’s work, Horowitz emphasizes discovering your core, passionately felt aim.

Finding your definite chief aim unlocks energies and abilities that you never knew existed within you. It’s the closest thing life grants you to a magic elixir.

How to Find Your Chief Aim:

  • Identify what you can do without distraction
  • Notice where passion naturally flows
  • Look for the intersection of skill and deep interest
  • Be specific—vague goals produce vague results

3. Concentrated Focus Creates Force

One of Horowitz’s key insights: Focused concentration seems to create force.

He uses natural examples: water can be a mist or an irresistible force; light can be a single photon or a laser. Similarly, the human mind’s power multiplies exponentially when focused on a single point.

The bargain that life seems to strike with us is singularity of focus.

4. The Feeling State Is Critical

Drawing heavily on Neville Goddard’s teaching, Horowitz emphasizes that entering the “feeling state” of your wish fulfilled is the key to manifestation.

It’s not enough to think about what you want—you must feel yourself already having it. This emotional conviction, combined with mental imagery, activates the causative power of imagination.

5. Acknowledge Suffering as Metaphysical Force

Unlike purely positive approaches, Horowitz argues that acknowledgement of suffering is itself a metaphysical force.

Depression, anxiety, and grief aren’t obstacles to overcome before you can use metaphysical principles—they’re part of the human experience, and metaphysical work can occur within them, not just after they’re resolved.

6. Test Everything

Horowitz consistently emphasizes empiricism—you should test these ideas in your own life rather than accepting them on faith.

He writes exercises and methods into his books specifically so readers can verify whether mind-power mechanics actually work.

His own naturally pessimistic temperament makes him an ideal tester: “My temperament was naturally pessimistic and self-doubting; I had to work against that all the time.”

7. The Master Mind Principle

Following Napoleon Hill, Horowitz teaches that when two or more minds come together in harmony toward a definite purpose, they create a “Master Mind”—a third, more powerful consciousness.

He shows step by step how and why the Master Mind works and how truly easy it is to form and maintain your own Master Mind group.

8. Money and Spirituality Must Unite

Horowitz addresses directly what he calls “the snake in the garden of spirituality”: money.

Rather than treating wealth as antithetical to spiritual development, he argues that the uneasy but necessary marriage between the search and money must be addressed honestly.

Spiritual seekers need resources to continue their work, and there’s no virtue in unnecessary poverty.

9. The 30-Day Mental Challenge

Perhaps Horowitz’s most practical teaching is the 30-Day Mental Challenge: direct your thoughts for 30 days toward what is productive, forwarding, and promising—and believe that every reasonable ambition is within your reach.

Simple as it sounds, this exercise places you in front of tremendous and unforeseen challenges, which is why Horowitz guides participants through each day with realism, bluntness, and authentic ideals.

10. Present-Moment Power

Your power exists in the present moment, not in ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.

Horowitz emphasizes immediate experience and direct encounter with reality as the locus of transformation.


The Awakened Mind: 10 Core Lessons

In his Master Class series Awakened Mind, Horowitz distills the most persuasive ideas and techniques from within the positive-mind tradition into 10 simple and straightforward lessons:

Lesson 1: Why Your Thoughts Make Things Happen

Understanding the mechanism by which focused thought translates into material reality.

Lesson 2: The Power of Belief

How conviction—not mere wishing—activates causative forces.

Lesson 3: Emotional Charge Matters

Why feeling is the secret to making thoughts effective.

Lesson 4: Definite Chief Aim

Identifying and committing to your singular purpose.

Lesson 5: The Creative Power of Imagination

Using visualization and mental imagery as causative tools.

Lesson 6: The Master Mind Alliance

Forming groups that amplify individual power.

Lesson 7: Overcoming Mental Blocks

Identifying and removing self-imposed limitations.

Lesson 8: The Law of Compensation

Understanding that every action creates corresponding effects.

Lesson 9: Present-Moment Practice

Bringing metaphysical principles into daily life.

Lesson 10: Testing and Verifying

Empirically confirming what works through personal experiment.


Horowitz’s Unique Approach: The Believing Historian

Intellectual Rigor Meets Personal Practice

What sets Horowitz apart is his identity as a “believing historian”—someone who both studies these movements academically and participates in them personally.

He’s identified as practicing:

  • Theosophy
  • New Thought
  • Transcendental Meditation
  • The Gurdjieff Work

As he explains, being in very direct proximity to the philosophical, religious, ethical, and therapeutic movements you’re writing about can heighten your critical acumen rather than compromise it.

Neither Skeptic Nor True Believer

Horowitz occupies a middle ground between dismissive skepticism and uncritical belief.

He acknowledges that not everything in occult and esoteric traditions works, but argues there is enough evidence that so-called New Thought philosophy is “at least a little bit true”—and for believers, a little can go a long way.

Academic Credentials Meet Popular Accessibility

Horowitz is among the few occult writers whose work touches the bases of academic scholarship, national journalism, and subculture credibility.

His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time, Politico, and scholarly journals, while he also appears on podcasts, documentaries, and television shows that reach popular audiences.


Practical Applications and Methods

The 30-Day Mental Challenge

The Exercise:

  1. Choose a reasonable but ambitious goal
  2. For 30 consecutive days, maintain consistent focus on this goal
  3. Believe it’s within your reach
  4. Redirect your thoughts whenever they drift to negativity or doubt
  5. Take concrete action aligned with your goal

Expected Challenges:

  • Self-doubt and inner criticism
  • External skepticism from others
  • Difficulty maintaining focus
  • Impatience with results
  • Unexpected obstacles

Why It Works: Sustained focus over 30 days rewires neural pathways and trains the mind to maintain positive expectancy, while simultaneous action creates real-world momentum.

Finding Your Definite Chief Aim

Steps:

  1. Notice where you lose track of time – What activities fully absorb you?
  2. Identify your natural gifts – What comes easily that others find difficult?
  3. Connect passion with service – How can your interests benefit others?
  4. Make it specific – Not “success” but “become a published author”
  5. Write it in present tense – “I am” not “I will be”
  6. Review daily – Keep it alive in consciousness

The Feeling State Practice

Based on Neville Goddard’s Teaching:

  1. Relaxation – Relax to the point of “floating,” losing awareness of your body
  2. Visualization – Create a mental scene that implies your wish is fulfilled
  3. Sensory Detail – Engage all senses in your imagined scene
  4. Emotional Conviction – Feel the reality of your fulfilled desire
  5. Repetition – Practice nightly before sleep when the subconscious is most receptive

The key is not just seeing what you want, but feeling yourself already having it.

Creating a Master Mind Group

Requirements:

  • 2-6 people with aligned purpose
  • Regular meeting schedule (weekly or bi-weekly)
  • Definite shared objective
  • Harmony and goodwill among members
  • Confidentiality and trust

Structure:

  1. State the group’s purpose
  2. Each person shares progress
  3. Group brainstorms solutions to challenges
  4. Members hold each other accountable
  5. End with visualization or affirmation

Prayer and Petition

Horowitz argues that prayer works, but not necessarily in the way traditionally conceived.

Effective Prayer:

  • State your desire clearly and specifically
  • Feel gratitude as if it’s already fulfilled
  • Release attachment to specific outcomes
  • Maintain faith without desperation
  • Follow intuitive guidance that arises

Key Influences on Horowitz’s Thought

Neville Goddard (1905-1972)

Horowitz is widely acknowledged as the leading interpreter of Neville Goddard’s life and teachings. He’s called Neville “the positive-thinking movement’s most radical and subtly influential voice.”

Neville’s Core Teaching: “Imagining creates reality”—the creative power of focused imagination combined with emotional conviction.

Horowitz has edited, annotated, and narrated numerous Neville collections, making the mystic’s work accessible to contemporary audiences.

Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)

Hill’s concepts of Definite Chief Aim and the Master Mind principle are central to Horowitz’s practical philosophy.

Through his Napoleon Hill Success Course series, Horowitz demonstrates exactly how Hill’s techniques can serve as agents for radical improvement in today’s world.

Joseph Murphy (1898-1981)

Author of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Murphy taught that the subconscious accepts whatever the conscious mind impresses upon it.

Horowitz has created Master Classes on Murphy’s work, revealing posthumous letters from Murphy’s readers and responding to their questions.

William James (1842-1910)

The philosopher and psychologist who took New Thought seriously as a phenomenon worthy of study.

Horowitz considers his work on positive thinking the first serious reconsideration of these ideas since James’s death.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

The Transcendentalist philosopher whose ideas about self-reliance and the power of thought influenced the entire New Thought movement.

Edgar Cayce (1877-1945)

The “sleeping prophet” whose readings emphasized mind as builder—that thoughts literally construct our reality.

Hermeticism and The Kybalion

The ancient philosophy attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, which Horowitz explored in a feature documentary shot in Egypt.

The Hermetic Principles:

  • Mentalism (All is Mind)
  • Correspondence (As above, so below)
  • Vibration (Everything vibrates)
  • Polarity (Everything has opposites)
  • Rhythm (Everything has cycles)
  • Cause and Effect (Nothing happens by chance)
  • Gender (Everything has masculine and feminine principles)

Media Presence and Cultural Impact

Television and Documentary Work

Current:

  • Host of Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction (Discovery/HBO Max, 2024-present)
  • Host of Extraordinary Evidence: ESP Is Real podcast (SpectreVision Radio, 2024-present)

Past Appearances:

  • CBS Sunday Morning
  • Dateline NBC
  • NPR’s All Things Considered
  • CNN
  • Vox/Netflix’s Explained
  • VICE News
  • AMC Shudder’s Cursed Films (Seasons I and II, SXSW selection)
  • History Channel’s The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd

Documentary Work:

  • Hosted, co-wrote, and produced The Kybalion (2022), directed by Ronni Thomas, shot in Egypt
  • Featured in Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (SXSW 2021)
  • Appeared in V/H/S/Beyond, seventh entry in the horror anthology series

Acting:

  • Played a newscaster in Paramount’s My Animal (Sundance 2023)

Writing and Journalism

Horowitz has written for major publications including:

  • The New York Times
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • The Washington Post
  • Time
  • Politico
  • Salon
  • Boing Boing

Topics range from the war on witches to the secret life of Ronald Reagan, from professional skeptic James Randi to election fraud and extremism.

Censorship in China

Notably, Horowitz’s work has been censored by the Chinese government—a distinction he wears as a badge of honor, indicating that his ideas are considered threatening to authoritarian control.


Criticism and Controversies

The “Does It Work?” Question

Horowitz consistently confronts the central question: does positive thinking actually work?

His answer is nuanced: yes, with important qualifications. He acknowledges that:

  • Not everything works for everyone
  • Context and circumstance matter
  • Some claims are exaggerated or misunderstood
  • Results require proper application, not mere wishing

Balancing Optimism and Realism

Critics sometimes claim positive thinking is naive or ignores suffering.

Horowitz counters that acknowledgement of suffering is itself a metaphysical force and that metaphysical work can occur within difficult emotions, not just after they’re resolved.

The Money Question

Some spiritual seekers are uncomfortable with Horowitz’s direct discussion of money and success.

He argues this discomfort is exactly why the conversation is necessary—denying the role of resources in spiritual work doesn’t make you more spiritual, just less effective.


Personal Life and Inspiration

Family

Horowitz married Allison Orr and they have two children. They live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He is partners with filmmaker Jacqueline Castel.

Mother-in-Law as Inspiration

In a touching Guideposts article, Horowitz credits his mother-in-law, Terri Orr, as a secret source of inspiration and a mentor who showed him how to live a faith-filled life.

Terri, the first woman in her family to earn a college degree, eventually became associate dean of admissions at Harvard Medical School. After struggling with divorce, grief, and a sleep disorder, she transformed her life through 12-step programs and faith-based practices.

Her example pointed Horowitz toward parts of America’s spiritual history—especially the development of 12-step programs—that deeply influenced his work.

Work Ethic and Focus

Horowitz didn’t publish his first book until age 43, which gives him a profound appreciation for his career.

When passionate about a project, he says, I just move forward with the velocity of a bullet and I don’t experience any distractions whatsoever.

He encourages people to watch for those areas in life where they don’t experience distractions—there can be a very important message there.


Core Teachings Applied to Modern Life

For Personal Development

  1. Identify your definite chief aim – What singular purpose would organize all your efforts?
  2. Practice the 30-Day Mental Challenge – Maintain focused, positive expectancy for one month
  3. Enter the feeling state daily – Visualize your desires as already fulfilled
  4. Test everything empirically – Don’t believe anything—test it in your life
  5. Form a Master Mind group – Find others with aligned purpose

For Career and Success

  1. Do what you love without distraction – This is where your power lies
  2. Maintain singularity of focus – Concentration creates force
  3. Take outer action – Thoughts must be paired with effort
  4. Don’t apologize for ambition – Reasonable ambitions are within reach
  5. Use setbacks as data – Adjust your approach based on results

For Spiritual Growth

  1. Practice believing history – Study traditions while participating in them
  2. Maintain critical acumen – Don’t abandon discernment
  3. Acknowledge suffering – It’s a metaphysical force, not an obstacle
  4. Prayer as technique – Use it systematically, not just desperately
  5. Seek empirical verification – Spirituality should produce results

For Mental Health

  1. Redirect thoughts systematically – You can’t control first thoughts, but you can redirect them
  2. Use metaphysics within depression – Don’t wait for perfect conditions
  3. Tap thought energies during anxiety – Mental work is possible in any state
  4. Focus on what you can control – Your thoughts and actions, not circumstances
  5. Give yourself 30 days – Transformation requires sustained effort

The Art of Self-Mastery: Condensed Classics Series

Horowitz also edits and introduces G&D Media’s Condensed Classics series, bringing classic self-help and metaphysical texts to modern readers in accessible formats.

Notable Titles:

  • As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
  • The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont
  • The Master Mind by Theron Q. Dumont
  • The Power of Awareness by Neville Goddard
  • In Tune with the Infinite by Ralph Waldo Trine
  • The Magic of Faith by Joseph Murphy
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  • Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Each condensed edition includes Horowitz’s introduction providing context, interpretation, and practical application for contemporary readers.


Key Takeaways: The Essential Horowitz

  1. Thoughts are causative – Your mind shapes reality through focused intention
  2. Feeling is the secret – Emotional conviction activates mental power
  3. Find your definite aim – One clear purpose unlocks extraordinary energy
  4. Test everything – Verify principles through personal experiment
  5. Concentration creates force – Focused attention multiplies power
  6. Form alliances – Master Mind groups amplify individual capability
  7. Acknowledge all experience – Suffering is part of the path, not an obstacle
  8. Balance optimism with realism – Positive thinking works with proper understanding
  9. Money isn’t spiritual enemy – Resources enable spiritual work
  10. Practice daily – Transformation requires consistent application

Horowitz’s Vision for the Future

Modern Occultism’s Relevance

Horowitz argues that we’re experiencing a shift away from materialism toward the numinous and uncertain.

Modern occultism addresses:

  • The search for meaning in a secular age
  • Agency and empowerment in an uncertain world
  • Direct spiritual experience beyond institutional religion
  • Practical methods for improving life
  • Understanding consciousness and reality

Parapsychology’s Implications

In his digital events and courses, Horowitz explores the extraordinary implications of parapsychological findings.

He argues that current understandings of the mind are reshaping our conception of what it means to be human as much as Darwinism did during the Victorian era.

Key Questions:

  • What does ESP research tell us about consciousness?
  • How do we integrate paranormal findings into our worldview?
  • What does mind causation mean for human potential?
  • Can we develop latent psychical abilities?

Practical Magick for Contemporary Life

His 2025 book Practical Magick represents his most recent thinking on how ancient practices apply to modern challenges.

Magick (using the early modern spelling) is presented as a response to today’s world, with methods and ideas critically and practically considered.


How to Engage with Horowitz’s Work

Start Here

For Beginners:

  1. The 30-Day Mental Challenge – Most accessible and practical
  2. The Miracle Club – Comprehensive introduction to his core ideas
  3. Awakened Mind: 10 lessons on how thoughts create reality

For Deep Dive:

  1. One Simple Idea – Historical context for positive thinking
  2. Occult America – Understanding American esoteric traditions
  3. Daydream Believer – His most complete philosophical statement

For Specific Interests:

  1. Neville Goddard – Read Horowitz’s Neville collections
  2. Napoleon Hill – Explore the Success Course series
  3. Modern occultism – Start with Modern Occultism (2023)

Online Resources

  • Official Website: MitchHorowitz.com
  • Substack Newsletter: “Mystery Achievement” (2025-)
  • Social Media: @MitchHorowitz on Twitter and Instagram
  • Medium: mitch-horowitz-nyc.medium.com
  • Podcast: Extraordinary Evidence: ESP Is Real (SpectreVision Radio)

Audio and Video

  • Extensive audiobook catalog narrated by Horowitz
  • YouTube lectures and interviews
  • Podcast appearances on major shows
  • Online courses at MitchHorowitz.com/ondemand

Live Events and Courses

Horowitz offers:

  • Six-part courses on magick, Hermeticism, and more
  • Digital events on specific topics
  • Lectures at the New York Public Library
  • Talks at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles

Conclusion: The Believing Historian’s Legacy

Mitch Horowitz occupies a unique position in contemporary spiritual discourse. He’s neither a skeptic dismissing all esoteric claims nor a true believer accepting everything uncritically. Instead, he applies scholarly rigor to alternative spirituality while maintaining that certain principles genuinely work.

His contribution is making occult and esoteric ideas intellectually respectable while keeping them practically applicable. He illuminates outsider history, explains its relevance to contemporary life, and reveals the longstanding quest to bring empowerment and agency to the human condition.

As writer and “magic experience designer” Ferdinando Buscema noted in Boing Boing, “Horowitz is among the most articulate and respected voices in the contemporary occulture scene.”

Whether you’re seeking practical methods for personal transformation, historical understanding of American mysticism, or intellectual engagement with consciousness and reality, Horowitz offers a path that honors both reason and mystery, scholarship and practice, skepticism and belief.

His essential message: test these ideas yourself. Don’t believe him—verify through your own experience whether thoughts truly create reality, whether focused intention produces results, whether the ancient promise of human potential is real.

In his own words: The bargain that life seems to strike with us is singularity of focus.


References and Further Reading

Primary Works by Mitch Horowitz

  1. Horowitz, Mitch. Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation. Bantam, 2009.
  2. Horowitz, Mitch. One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life. Crown, 2014.
  3. Horowitz, Mitch. Mind as Builder: The Positive-Mind Metaphysics of Edgar Cayce. Penguin, 2017.
  4. Horowitz, Mitch. The Miracle Club: How Thoughts Become Reality. Inner Traditions, 2018.
  5. Horowitz, Mitch. The Miracle Habits: The Secret of Turning Your Moments Into Miracles. G&D Media, 2020.
  6. Horowitz, Mitch. Daydream Believer: Unlocking the Ultimate Power of Your Mind. St. Martin’s Essentials, 2022.
  7. Horowitz, Mitch. Uncertain Places: Essays on Occult and Outsider Experiences. Tarcher/Perigee, 2022.
  8. Horowitz, Mitch. Modern Occultism. Tarcher/Perigee, 2023.
  9. Horowitz, Mitch. Practical Magick. 2025.

Napoleon Hill Success Course Series

  1. Horowitz, Mitch. The Miracle of a Definite Chief Aim. G&D Media, 2018.
  2. Horowitz, Mitch. The Power of the Master Mind. G&D Media, 2018.
  3. Horowitz, Mitch. Secrets of Self-Mastery. G&D Media, 2019.

Neville Goddard Collections (Edited by Horowitz)

  1. Horowitz, Mitch (ed.). The Ideal Realized: Practical Instructions From Neville Goddard. G&D Media, 2020.
  2. Horowitz, Mitch (ed.). Neville Goddard’s Final Lectures. G&D Media, 2022.
  3. Horowitz, Mitch. Magician of the Beautiful: An Introduction to Neville Goddard. G&D Media, 2018.
  4. Horowitz, Mitch (ed.). The Power of Unlimited Imagination: Neville’s San Francisco Lectures. G&D Media, 2017.

Master Class Series

  1. Horowitz, Mitch. Awakened Mind: How Thoughts Create Reality. G&D Media, 2018.
  2. Horowitz, Mitch. The 30-Day Mental Challenge. G&D Media, 2018.

Online and Media Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Mitch Horowitz
  2. Amazon Author Page: Mitch Horowitz Books
  3. Official Website: MitchHorowitz.com
  4. Guideposts: Mitch Horowitz’s Surprising Inspiration
  5. The Creative Independent: Author and Historian Mitch Horowitz on making time for what you do best
  6. Voyage LA: Life & Work with Mitch Horowitz
  7. The Creative Process: MITCH HOROWITZ Interview
  8. Cool Wisdom Books: The Ideal Realized: Practical Instructions From Neville Goddard
  9. Medium: Mitch Horowitz
  10. IMDb: Mitch Horowitz

Last Updated: February 2026 Word Count: ~10,000 words Reading Time: ~42 minutes


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