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Don't over complicate the life you live in. If we pay too much attention to want others want us to do rather than how we need to live the way we should, we could miss the chance of living peacefully at rest with yourself. Simplify your life. Don,t board it up with society filled walls.

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This quote Ties to the main idea of being your own guide. You can live through your own words, and with it you can learn how to love yourself as well as others. The quote also includes hints towards the transcendentalist belief of nature spirituality.

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God has made this world beautiful. He created this world with hope. He wrote us into this world, and he hopes for us to appreciate it.

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The only person you can depend on is yourself. you will make yourself into the person you want to be. No one can help you choose the life you wanna live.

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"The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it"

You can't expect success if you don't try for it. Gaining the prize without working will only lead to disappointment. You can only

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The photo shows how different Emerson and Thoreau are. Emerson lectures about transcendentalism. He believes in it but hes scared to live in it. Thoreau isn't afraid. Hes living his life in his beliefs.

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This image shows the transcendentalism philosophy of being one with nature. Going outside to clear your mind, and being one with the world around you. Letting their energy be your own energy.

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This graphic art design shows the transcendentalism point of a free mind. How the mind can reach greats heights when you let it. Freeing your mind can help you reach any goal you seek.

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"Time is but a stream i go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while i drink i see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its's thin current slides away. but eternity remain."

I drew this photo in tribute to Thoreau's quote about the river. It reflects on the ongoing loop that is time. It will never stop, but shall keep moving as long as its never interrupted.

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I chose to go hiking near the Chattahoochee River with nothing but a camera. I started out by taking a moment to breathe and relax as I will be transcending into the nature that surrounds me. I captured this photo by the river. It gave off a calm feel to it because of the color scheme in the leaves that contrasted the branches. The hike was successful. I've grown closer to the idea of transcendentalism.

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Values and Beliefs of Transcendentalists

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Values and Beliefs of Transcendentalists

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By: Jeremy Bradley
Article 2

This Article goes in depth of the many beliefs of transcendentalism. It explains how to embrace spirituality and idealism.

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When you read the works of famous authors like poet Walt Whitman, you may not initially realize that their words are infused with the thoughts of a 19th century movement. Transcendentalism was a philosophical and literary movement in the 1800s associated with a small yet active group of educators, activists and religious leaders. This list included Whitman's contemporaries like Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott and Margaret Fuller. Over time, the number of people influenced by transcendentalism increased with many of the core values and beliefs of the movement still affecting American cultural and political views today.

Guiding Principles

Transcendentalists believed that society and social institutions, such as organized religion and political parties, corrupted the purity of individuals. Therefore, the guiding principle of transcendentalism, is the belief that people are at their best when they are self-reliant and independent. Emerson's 1842 lecture "The Transcendentalist" summed up the movement's values. However, since the vast majority of transcendentalists were nonconformists and eccentrics, Emerson's work did not purport to speak for the entire movement. However, it is possible to identify some basic beliefs and principles by reading the works of other group members and coupling this with an understanding of their sources and influences.

Idealism and the Metaphysical

While some transcendentalists were Christian, that was not a key requirement for joining the intellectual movement. A key value of the movement was a celebration of the body, sex and the physical appetite, ideas that would have made many Christians of the time uncomfortable. This idealized view of the body was coupled with a sense of metaphysics, or a higher order of things. Transcendentalists believed that there was a higher law that guided the way society and its institutions worked. This idea of natural law continues to influence much of jurisprudential philosophy in the 21st century.

Embracing Spirituality

Despite their varied religious beliefs, transcendentalists generally viewed spirituality as a necessity for the "pure life." East Asian literature and sacred writings from Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam influenced this focus on spirituality. A belief in a cosmic unity and in the ultimate connection between all living things was at the core of transcendentalism.

Optimistic Outlook

Unlike their contemporaries including Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville, transcendentalists strongly expressed their social criticism and moral disgust regarding society while still ultimately believing people are more or less good with a purpose to serve while on earth. Transcendentalists viewed society as wasting away thanks to wayward political institutions and a lack of spiritual awareness. Despite these beliefs, the writings of the transcendentalists are generally optimistic in tone.

About the Author

Jeremy Bradley works in the fields of educational consultancy and business administration. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree.

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Values and Beliefs of Transcendentalists | Synonym

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When you read the works of famous authors like poet Walt Whitman, you may not initially realize that their words are infused with the thoughts of a 19th century movement. Transcendentalism was a philosophical and literary movement in the 1800s associated with a small yet active group of educators, activists and religious leaders.

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American Transcendentalism and Analysis of Ralph Waldo Emerson 

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American Transcendentalism and Analysis of Ralph Waldo Emerson 

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by: Steven A. Carbone II
Article 1

This article mostly explains the history behind American Transcendentalism. It goes through the history of Emerson, and the life of self-reliance. The article is a good read if you want to go deeper into the discovery of Transcendentalism.

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What began in New England in the early nineteenth-century as a reform of the Congregational Church grew into what some scholars consider to be one of the most monumental movements of religion, philosophy and literature in American history. Humbly, American Transcendentalism began its transformation of the American intellect through a circle of friends, some of whom were former Unitarian ministers themselves. They desired to further reform the church, which they viewed as a "social religion that did not awaken the individual's realization of his own spirituality" (Versluis 290). These Transcendentalists drew upon the philosophies and religions of the world to push forth their ideas of the importance of the self in spiritual life. At the forefront of this movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Himself a former Unitarian minister, Emerson was and still is viewed as the highest profile member of the "Transcendental Club" that was responsible for the re-thinking of American spirituality (Barna 60).

Emerson's statement regarding the importance of the individual in moral and intellectual development is "Self-Reliance." His essay supports the American Transcendental movement's philosophical pillar: that the individual is identical with the world, and that world exists in unity with God. Through this logic, it follows that the individual soul is one with God, thusly eliminating the need for an outside institution (VanSpanckeren Net). In order to fully understand American Transcendentalism, and Emerson's place in it, the movement's origin and evolution must first be explored.

The roots of American Transcendentalism reach back into the eighteenth century. Religion in New England had been dominated by Calvinist ideologies, set forth by the Puritan settlers. Calvinist doctrine included the idea of the inherent corruption of human nature and the concept of salvation coming only by the discretion of God himself (Robinson "Transcendentalism" 14). It is important to note here that the Calvinist belief was that the individual had absolutely no control over their ultimate spiritual fate through their actions in life. This orthodox belief asserts the Holy Trinity, through which God presents himself, elects those men chosen for salvation or condemnation - a fate decided before the creation of the world (Hutchison 3).

In the mid eighteenth century, there arose a desire to reform these Calvinist beliefs in order to create a more positive and liberal view of human nature. A number of ministers in Boston wished to bring about a fresh New England theology that stressed the ethical and pious behavior of the individual in the self-determination of their own salvation. This group of liberals, in the early nineteenth century, began to criticize the Congregational Church and its Calvinist ideals, stating that they hindered the individual's moral growth. This group of liberals eventually gathered behind a spokesman named William Ellery Channing, who argued the case for this fledgling Unitarian movement (Robinson "Transcendentalism" 14-15).

William Ellery Channing, in 1819, assumed the role of "unofficial spokesperson for American Unitarianism." His sermons and speeches beseeched his audiences to seek the truth for themselves in scripture, in order to pour their findings and feelings into poetry and passion for their newfound ideals (Barna 64-65). Channing's message stressed the fundamental belief that God was innately part of human nature and that this oneness with God would be supported by rational and reasonable interpretation of Biblical scripture (Hutchison 13).

Channing's efforts to re-define Unitarianism and establish the self- culture were simultaneously setting the foundation upon which the Transcendentalist movement would be built (Barna 65). Channing's message of self-development through moral and intellectual growth was reaching a new generation of participants, including Emerson. Plagued by a lack of self-confidence at this time, Emerson was struggling with the decision to commit himself to a career in the ministry. Channing's poetic style from the pulpit encouraged Emerson, who had previously found Unitarian theological and doctrinal preaching distasteful. Emerson eventually decided, in 1832, to resign from the Unitarian ministry in order to pursue a career as an essayist and orator (Robinson "Transcendentalism" 15-16). This departure from conservative Unitarianism marked the beginnings of the Transcendentalist movement. In and around Massachusetts, the majority of new Transcendentalists came from Unitarianism. The Unitarian intellectuals of the time still believed and asserted that Christ's divinity was proven by the miracles documented in the Bible - a claim found by the new Transcendentalists to be unreasonable (Capper 683).

In its earliest days, Transcendentalism was known mostly as a religious movement. Further reform of the church, including more open-minded reading of the Scripture and the questioning of miracles found in the Bible were considered to be most radical for the time. The movement, early on, was pushing for a less formal, less ritualistic religious experience (Worley 267). In 1836 the "Transcendental Club," comprised of Emerson and a number of his renowned contemporaries, began meeting. This was also the year in which Ralph Waldo Emerson anonymously published his first book, Nature (Versluis 290). From this point forward, the movement took a turn towards a more broad range of target subjects, including philosophy, theology, politics and literature. The diversity of the subject matter of their criticism and writing can be attributed to the range of intellectual interests the group shared, as well as their use of sources from the western tradition and from abroad (Capper 683).

It was in this period that Emerson penned his second collection of Essays, which was published in 1841. Included in it is Emerson's "Self-Reliance." It is a near reflection of the self-culture introduced earlier in the Unitarian reform by W.E. Channing. Emerson uses the essay as a vehicle for stressing the importance of the individual's intellectual and moral development, and for making a defensive statement supporting individualism itself (Belasco 683).

"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages" (Emerson 684). From the outset of his essay, Emerson asserts that man should be focusing his attention to his inner self for guidance rather than relying on external religion and religious and philosophical figures. In doing this, he sets out to support the ideology of the individual that lies at the core of Transcendentalism. Robinson indicates that "Self-Reliance" deals with the fall of humanity, and it's saving throw, disciplined attention to the inner self (Robinson "Grace and Works" 226). As one progresses through Emerson's work in "Self-Reliance," it becomes evident that he works through several themes.

Acceptance of self is an important theme explored in the essay. The will of an individual can lead him away from the "oneness" that is essential to the Transcendentalist ideology. Reliance on, and acceptance of the self are the keys to achieving that "oneness," by way of trusting one's own thoughts (Barna 67). "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine Providence has found for you" (Emerson 685). Emerson goes on to describe the childlike mind, which trusts wholly, without the self-doubt typically encountered in an adult mind. Robinson describes this state of mind as a self-possession and self-acceptance on a sub-conscious level, allowing for true, natural intuitive action (Robinson "Grace and Works" 226). For progress as a true individual under the Transcendentalist way of thought to be possible, self-acceptance was paramount. This could occur only through complete trust in a person's own intuition without influence from outside forces of tradition, religion or government (Warren 208).

Somewhat connected to self-acceptance is the theme of non-conformity. Complete trust in one's self requires the abandonment of reliance on outside sources. Emerson speaks of society as a "joint-stock company" where its members are satisfied with sacrificing their liberty and culture for the sake of security. He continues, "The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-Reliance is its aversion" (Emerson 686). Non-conformity to society is the ultimate action of a self-reliant person, while conformity is the converse of self-reliance (Buell 173).

Emerson points to the essences of virtue, genius and life as stemming from intuition. This is considered to be the primary human wisdom, or intuition, with all later teachings considered to be "tuitions" (Emerson 691). It's Emerson's assertion here, as in his "Divinity School Address," that man can only truly develop the self and follow naturally occurring intuition by removing himself from the influences of the outside world. Emerson's statement continues to be that he can learn nothing from other people and traditions: It is the same assertion that created hostilities during his infamous speech at Harvard (Warren 208). Emerson's tone in "Self-Reliance" is less severe than that of his "Address," but is still strong in its message of individualism and self-trust coupled with the rejection of external distractions. He continues the criticism of the church, and man's reliance upon it: "Man is timid and apologetic. He is no longer upright. He dares not say 'I think,' 'I am,' but quotes some saint or sage" (Emerson 692). Reid describes the essay as pithy, and full of self-assertions and extreme self-righteousness. He also blasts Emerson's extreme view of isolationism (Reid 307).

Repeatedly throughout "Self-Reliance," Emerson returns to these ideas and themes to support his point that fortune and peace is attainable only through reliance on and trust in one's self. His work is a direct reflection of the ideals brought forth by Transcendentalism mostly in part because Emerson himself was at the helm of the movement as its most renowned member. Emerson took a movement that began as a fight for reform in the church, and transformed it through his writing and his participation in the Transcendental Club, into a veritable revolution of the American way of thought and philosophy. Perhaps it all began in Emerson's mind as a way to deal with the loss of his wife through completely isolating himself from all external thought and society, but it created a whirlwind of reformed thought. On reading "Self-Reliance," Emerson's influences are apparent, and his subject matter aligns perfectly with the messages and ideology of the Transcendentalists: "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself" (Emerson 701).

Barna, Mark Richard. "Transcendentalism Was A Religious and Intellectual Movement." American Romanticism. Ed. Jennifer A. Hurley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. 60-67.

Belasco, Susan and Linck Johnson. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Volume One: Beginnings to 1865. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2008.

Buell, Lawerence I. "Reading Emerson for the Structures: The Coherence of the essays." The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Vol. LVIII. No. 1. (1972): 58-69. Excerpted and reprinted in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Joann Cerrito. Vol. 38. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1993. 173-79.

Capper, Charles. "Transcendentalism." A Companion to American Thought. Eds. Richard Wightman Fox and James T. Kloppenberg. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995. 683-685.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Volume One: Beginnings to 1865. Eds. Belasco, Susan and Linck Johnson. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2008. 684-701.

Hutchison, William R. The Transcendentalist Ministers. Hamden: The Shoe String Press, 1972.

Reid, Alfred S. "Emerson's Prose Style: An Edge to Goodness." American Renaissance: A Symposium. (1970): 37-42. Excerpted and reprinted in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laura Lanzan Harris. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1981. 305-07.

Robinson, David M. "Grace and Works: Emerson's Essays in Theological Perspective." American Unitarianism: 1805-1865. (1989): 121-42. Excerpted and reprinted in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Joann Cerrito. Vol. 38. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993. 223-30.

Robinson, David M. "Transcendentalism and its Times." The Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Eds. Joel Porte and Saundra Morris. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 13-29.

VanSpanckeren, Karen. "The Romantic Period, 1820-1860: Essayists and Poets." American Literature. 3 May 2008. 25 November 2008.

Versluis, Arthur. "Transcendentalism." Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Vol. 3. Ed. Paul Finkelman. New York: Charles Scribener's Sons, 2001. 290-93.

Warren, Joyce. "Transcendentalism and the Self: Ralph Waldo Emerson." The American Narcissus: Individualism and Women in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction. (1984): 23-53. Excerpted and reprinted in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Joann Cerrito. Vol. 38. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993. 208-13.

Worley, Sam McGuire. "Transcendentalism." Encyclopedia of American Studies. New York: Grolier Educational, 2001. 266-68.

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American Transcendentalism and Analysis of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance"

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What began in New England in the early nineteenth-century as a reform of the Congregational Church grew into what some scholars consider to be one of the most monumental movements of religion, philosophy and literature in American history. Humbly, American Transcendentalism began its transformation of the American intellect through a circle of friends, some of whom were former Unitarian ministers themselves.

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by: Shel Silverstein

"No teacher, preacher,parent,friend, Or wise man can decide, Whats right for you"

The poem focuses strongly on Self-reliance. It tells you to not listen to anybody else but you. Don't depend on others, depend on yourself.

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In this video, the creator talks about how Transcendentalism flows through you. He also explains some of the history behind it. Overall, this is a great video to watch on your free time to learn about transcendentalism.

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Transcendentalism! (The Divine Nature Within YOU)

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This is One out of Three podcasts about the life of Henry David Thoreau. IT is filled with quotes from his beautiful writing, and explanations of his writings. The podcast also includes how Thoreau thought about living how he was living.

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A Wild & Disobedient Life

Henry David Thoreau, on his 200 th birthday, is an American immortal who got there the hard way - against the grain of his town and his times. By now he's the heroic non-conformist who modeled his brief life on religious convictions: that every human being has an original relation with divine spirit, and that on earth a man must become a majority of one. So he made a dissenting record living apart, and walking the woods more like a Native American, he felt, than a Yankee. Never to church, never married, never voted and didn't pay his taxes. He talked to the trees as almost-people, and he caressed the fish in his stream like almost-children. Manly and able "but rarely tender," he won Emerson's obituary praise that flatters us, too: "no truer American existed," Emerson said, than Henry Thoreau. The prophet of Concord is our subject this hour on Open Source.

We begin with Thoreau's bicentennial biographer Laura Dassow Walls, visiting this week from the University of Notre Dame. There's news and insight in her book that's drawing high praise already. She shares with us how her life first intersected with Thoreau's:

I was a teenager. I was learning girl culture of 1970 and conformity and trying to figure out how to get along and worried about future and what college to go to what kind of job I could have - what kind of a job could a woman have. And they were limited. So, for instance, secretarial work was still something we were encouraged to think about. We took home Ec classes and thought of ourselves as homemakers. And here was this voice who said maybe you could go to the woods, maybe you could confront life, maybe you could figure out what it is to be alive.

The polymath and writer Lewis Hyde is a thoroughly modern transcendentalist, author of a treasured book-length essay, titled The Gift, about the making of art in a commercial society. In conversation this week we asked Lewis Hyde to speak of form and language-the almost King-James-Version Biblical rhythms in Walden- and whatever they tell the world about the scope of the project Thoreau set for himself:

So every time you can reduce your necessities you increase your freedom. And so, I think, it's worth in any life to pause and think which of the things you feel you have to do you really have to do because to the degree that you can discard some of them you increase the range of your own freedoms.

Susan Gallagher helps us examine the ways in which the issue of slavery underlies everything Thoreau's writing about: freedom, conscience and the crime inside the US Constitution.

Just as historians once underestimated the power of slavery in shaping American society, I think that they've underestimated the power of slavery in shaping Thoreau. He described slavery as an existential threat. He says 'right we are now in hell. We are losing our lives. And then John Brown comes along in 1859 and he says this is the best news that America has ever heard. John Brown is the first man who ever lived. And how did he live? By dying. You die for a purpose and you die because you refuse to wrestle the plank from the drowning man. You refuse to make your survival depend on the extinction of the liberty of another. Liberty is more important than life.'

Susan Gallagher teaches history and political science at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and she edits a vital, earthy Thoreau website at mappingthoreaucountry.org.

Our final guest, a natural-born, walking, talking Thoreauvian named Kevin Dann came up with a brilliant answer to our question: who, in our day, has taken up Thoreau's role? Dann is the author of Expect Great Things, a phrase and now a book that has the feel of the great man himself. There will be a prize for any listener who can top Dann's choice as the reincarnation of this fellow Thoreau.

This episode is the first in a 3-part series on Thoreau and American philosophy. Stay tuned for more transcendental radio and check in for updates on our Twitter page.
See a full transcript of this show on Medium.

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Henry David Thoreau, on his 200 th birthday, is an American immortal who got there the hard way - against the grain of his town and his times. By now he's the heroic non-conformist who modeled his brief life on religious convictions: that every human being has an original relation with divine spirit, and that on earth a man must become a majority of one.

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"Its my life" by Bon Jovi
-"Its my life, its now or never, i aint gonna live forever" This lyric tells the audience that life is too short to live by someone else's rules. Live how you wanna live not how people tell you to.
-"My heart is like an open highway" It is saying that if he follows his heart/himself he will get where he needs to go
-"Luck aint enough you gotta make your own breaks" You have to rely on yourself if you want to get stuff done. You cant wish for something and expect for it to suddenly appear.
-"Dont bend, dont break, baby dont back down" Don't give up. Push through life push through society push through and you'll reach your goal.

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"Oh No" by Marina and the Diamonds
-"I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy" shes making her own story. instead of someone writing it out for her shes doing it herself.
-"Don't do love, don't do friends
I'm only after success" instead of going after what people expect you to go after, she is going after what she wants to go after and she doesn't need anyone to do so.
-"TV taught me how to feel
Now real life has no appeal" The TV doesn't show you what its like in the real world. this lyric is taking a modern feel to transcendentalism and showing how electronics can block your mind from what you want to do in life.
-"If you are not very careful
Your possessions will possess you" Telling you to not focus and rely on your possessions if you want to figure yourself out, because they can shield you from who you really are.

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"Natural" by imagine Dragons
-"Will you hold the line?
When every one of them is giving up or giving in, tell me" Will you stay when everyone else leaves? will you be different and push through instead of give up"
-"Will heaven step in? Will it save us from our sin? Will it?" Will we be saved from the destruction of this world? the war, the pain, the stereotypes?
-"You gotta be so cold
To make it in this world" anyone can make it in the world if you are like everybody else. lifeless people too busy to live because they are stuck in a constant loop of work.
-"Just another product of today" same concept as the lyric above, you are just like everyone else unless you do something about it.