The Forgotten Ones: Reclaiming Animals in the Light of New Thought Philosophy

Exploring the Spiritual Meaning Behind the Mass Suffering of Sentient Beings

"If we are all divine expressions of infinite Mind, then the pain of the smallest creature matters as much as the prayers of the most devout."

Jeannie from Messy Vegans recently wrote: "You've had so many great articles lately. I would love to get your take in a future article about how farmed animals fit into New Thought with regards to what happens to them when they die and more importantly WHY there are billions of animals living short, brutal lives on this planet. And why is there so much injustice in the world. What is the purpose for that? These are my biggest questions lately. I am looking for something to help me make sense of it and would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for your advocacy."

This question cuts to the core of both our ethical choices and our spiritual worldview. From a New Thought perspective, these are not questions to be answered lightly. They deserve our full spiritual attention and demand a reckoning with the power of consciousness, the responsibility of thought, and the imperative of compassionate action.

The New Thought Framework: Oneness and Responsibility

New Thought teaches that all life is interconnected. God, or Infinite Mind, is not an external deity but the very substance of reality. Each being—human or animal, tree or tide—is an expression of this One Mind, individualized in form. If this is true, then the suffering of animals is not marginal to spiritual life. It is central.

There is no divine hierarchy that says a human's pain matters more than a cow's, or a pig's terror is less significant than a child's. Each life contains the same divine essence. Emma Curtis Hopkins once wrote, "There is no great and small to the soul that maketh all." In that view, to ignore the mass suffering of animals is to turn away from divine reality itself.

But if all are divine expressions, why do some suffer so horribly? And why in such vast numbers?

Carnism as Collective Error

New Thought emphasizes the creative power of thought. What we think, believe, and affirm shapes reality. As Ernest Holmes said, "Change your thinking, change your life." But what about our collective thinking?

The industrial abuse of animals is not just a material system, it is a metaphysical distortion. Carnism—the invisible belief system that normalizes eating animals—is a shared error of thought. It has been conditioned into us for centuries, passed down as culture, tradition, or necessity. But in the light of spiritual awareness, it cannot survive scrutiny.

Billions of animals suffer because billions of people still live in unconscious alignment with a system that denies the sacredness of life. Their short, brutal lives are a mirror, showing us where our collective consciousness remains trapped in domination, fear, and false separation.

What Happens to Them When They Die?

There is no official New Thought doctrine on the afterlife, but the general view is that consciousness does not die with the body. Neville Goddard spoke often about the continuity of consciousness, and this can be applied to animals as well.

Many in the New Thought tradition believe that animals, like humans, return to Source. Their energy, their innocence, their capacity for joy and fear—none of it is wasted. It is taken up into a greater consciousness. And perhaps, in ways we cannot yet understand, their souls continue to evolve.

If we believe in a just universe, then we must believe their suffering is not final, and that some higher reconciliation exists beyond this physical world. But it is not enough to hope for cosmic justice. We are called to bring justice into form here and now.

Earth as a School: The Role of Injustice

New Thought does not sugarcoat suffering. It teaches that Earth is not a perfected realm, but a learning environment. It is a school of consciousness, where our thoughts become tools or weapons depending on how we wield them.

Injustice is not the will of God, but the misuse of the divine gift of free will. We are not puppets; we are creators. And when we create from fear, scarcity, or superiority, we create systems of harm.

The scale of animal suffering today is not divine punishment or cosmic design. It is a reflection of humanity's spiritual immaturity. Yet every injustice is also a call to awaken. It is an invitation to remember who we are: not consumers, not dominators, but co-creators of a loving reality.

The Purpose of Pain: Awakening Through Compassion

Why do innocent beings suffer? The question echoes through every spiritual tradition. But New Thought offers a distinctive response: suffering exists not as a divine decree, but as an alarm bell. It is a signal that something in consciousness has gone astray.

The pain of animals calls to the part of us that remembers oneness. It stirs our empathy. It challenges our habits. It interrupts our spiritual sleepwalking.

And when we listen—really listen—we are changed.

We Are the Turning Point

Farmed animals suffer because they have been hidden from our awareness. But we are beginning to see. More and more people are awakening to the truth that what we do to others, we do to ourselves.

New Thought insists that the material world is not fixed. It is plastic to the mold of mind. That means we can change this reality. We can affirm a world where compassion overrules cruelty, where justice is not an abstraction but a meal shared without blood, and where no sentient being is bred for torment.

This is not wishful thinking. It is a spiritual imperative. If we truly believe in the power of thought, then we must stop thinking of animals as meat, property, or commodities. We must begin to see them as fellow travelers, sparks of the same divine flame.

The next revolution will not be technological. It will be spiritual. It will come when enough of us reject the idea that domination is normal, and embrace the truth that love is power.

We are the turning point. Let’s bend the arc of history toward kindness.

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Further Reading:

• This Is a Beautiful World by Rev. Michael Beckwith

• Your Faith Is Your Fortune by Neville Goddard

• Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes

About the Author:
Michael Corthell, founder of The Vegan Project Global, writes about veganism, as well as the intersection of consciousness, compassion, and justice. Subscribe to explore more essays that speak truth to power and kindness to suffering.