In August 1897 two leaders of the New Thought movement - Dr James Porter Mills and Mrs Anna Mills - visited Adelaide from the US. As a result, the Christian Metaphysical Society was formed with jeweller and former Unitarian Joachim Wendt as its president. Eventually the society had 200 members. The movement grew out of Christian Science and interest in alternative healing at the end of the nineteenth century. Originally interested in hypnosis, the movement focussed on the healing power of the mind. New Thought is a teaching rather than a belief, holding that the inner reality of the universe is mind and idea, and holding to the mental potential of each individual. In 1911 the group re-formed as the Adelaide Truth Centre under the leadership of Grace Aguilar. The society was still meeting in the 1920s.