After his discharge from the Army, he chose not to return to his career in pharmacy. He traveled extensively, taking courses in several universities both in the United States and abroad. A person who had a particularly strong influence on Murphy was Thomas Troward, who was a judge as well as a philosopher, doctor, and professor. Troward became Murphy's mentor. From him he not only learned philosophy, theology, and law, but also was introduced to mysticism and particularly, the Masonic order. He became an active member of this order, and over the years rose in the Masonic ranks to the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite. Murphy chose to become a minister and bring his broad knowledge to the public. As his concept of Christianity was not traditional and ran counter to many of the Christian denominations, he founded his own church in Los Angeles. He attracted a small number of congregants, but it did not take long for his message of optimism and hope rather than the “sin-and-damnation” sermons of so many ministers to attract many men and women to his church. Murphy was a proponent of the New Thought movement. This movement was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by many philosophers and deep thinkers who studied this phenomenon and preached, wrote, and practiced a new way of looking at life and obtaining desires. Murphy wrote more than 30 books. His most famous work, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, was first published in 1963. It became an immediate bestseller and sold millions of copies worldwide. Personal life and death In the 1950s, Murphy married, earned a PhD in psychology from the University of Southern California and started writing. After his first wife died in 1976, he remarried to a fellow Divine Science minister who was his longstanding secretary. He moved his ministry to Laguna Hills, California, where he died in 1981. His wife, Dr. Jean Murphy, continued in this ministry for some years afterwards. Bibliography This is It!: The Art of Metaphysical Demonstration wheels of Truth (1946) The Perfect Answer (1946) Supreme Mastery of Fear (1946) St. John Speaks (1948) Love is Freedom (1948) The Twelve Powers Mystically Explained (1948) Riches are Your Right (aka Special Meditations for Health, Wealth, Love, and Expression) (1952) The Miracles of Your Mind (1953) The Fragrance of God (1953) The Magic of Faith (1954) The Meaning of Reincarnation