The Power of Positive Thinking shows, organized the American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry, and co-founded the spiritual newsletter "Guideposts" with his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale. "The Power of Positive Thinking" was published in October 1952 and continues to be Peale's most widely read work. It lived on the New York Time's best-sellers list for 186 weeks, 48 of which were spent in the No. 1 nonfiction spot. The book sold more than 5 million copies worldwide — 2.5 million from 1952 to 1956 — and was eventually translated into over 40 languages. Other books published by Peale around 1952 include "The Art of Real
The Power of Positive Thinking psychic fragments, then ideas like 'mind-drainage' follow. So does the reliance on self-hypnosis, which is the cornerstone of Mr. Peale's philosophy.” Murphy concludes that Peale's techniques for positive thinking relate too closely to hypnosis and are inadequate for the readers’ needs of self-improvement. Albert Ellis, an influential psychologist of the 20th century and the founder of cognitive therapy, also criticized Peale's techniques for their similarities with hypnotism. He compared the techniques presented with those of the hypnotist Émile Coué and asserted that the repeated use of these hypnotic techniques could lead to significant mental health problems. Ellis stated that eventually