The Higher Thought Centre was a non-denominational church, founded to enable all people to study the principles of religion, free from restrictions or spiritual dogma.

Higher Thought traces its origins to an American-based philosophical movement, 'New Thought', that gained popularity in the late nineteenth century. Higher Thought/New Thought involved a rejection of the old aspects of Christian theology that dwelt on sin, distress and suffering; and embraced instead the mental-healing movement which emphasised new life and light, and pointed the way to the mastery of all sorrow and suffering.

The 'father' of New Thought, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866), practised a spiritual science or 'science of life and happiness', which considered that physical, mental and spiritual health was interlinked. He treated physical ailments using techniques that emphasised spiritual well-being, which he believed mirrored the healing methods of Jesus. Over time his approach was adopted by many other spiritual healers who sprang up in the United States. Other names associated with New Thought are Mary Baker Eddy (founder of Christian Science), and the transcendentalist writers Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The movement also had links with new European psychological theories, particularly those of Carl Jung.

The first New Thought convention under that name was held in Boston in 1899. During those sessions, The International Metaphysical League was formed. At the League's second convention in New York the following year, an unnamed New Zealander was one of the vice-presidents to the executive board. An International New Thought Alliance was formed in 1914 as an umbrella organisation. In 1918, vice-presidents of the Alliance outside North America included two New Zealanders: a Mr M. Walker of Auckland, and a Mrs Marie Barrie of Marlborough. Mr Walker was present at the Higher Thought Temple opening ceremony in Auckland in 1928.

The New Thought movement was introduced to New Zealand in 1905 by New Zealander Philip O'Bryen Hoare. References to the 're-establishment of the Centre in 1922' suggest that there were periods when the organisation was less than active, and meetings in Auckland over twenty years evidently failed to find a permanent home. The consecration of the Higher Thought Temple in Wellington (now Union) Street in March 1928 was consequently a milestone in the history of the Centre of Higher Thought in Auckland. The building was constructed by the Craig Brothers to a design by Henry Robinson. Both had previously been involved in the construction of the local headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Queen Street, Auckland (Theosophical Society Hall, NZHPT registration # 2650, Category II historic place), where Robinson was a member of the congregation. Robinson's design for the Higher Thought Temple may have been inspired by the work of American architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1929), many of whose buildings featured similar grand arches. Sullivan believed that in order to have an architecture commensurate with the society he hoped would develop, it was necessary to supersede outmoded traditions and rules made for other eras and societies. Sullivan's architectural philosophy and the tenets of Higher Thought/New Thought both reflect the development of modern philosophies befitting the 'New Age' of humanity, which many considered to be emerging in the early twentieth century.

Constructed just before the start of the Great Depression, the Temple's hall had seating for 184 with a further 86 seats in the gallery. The society's president of the time, Thomas W. M. Silcock, an accountant by profession, and his wife Hilda Grace Silcock were instrumental in establishing the Temple. Mrs Silcock, as the President of the Women's Progressive Club of New Zealand, conducted courses at the High Thought Temple on matters such as the cosmology of number; and (through her Sol-Ra Ministry) provided instruction on correct diet, the harmonising of colour and other matters necessary for those seeking a 'glorious, radiant, prosperous life'.

The new Temple was reported to be the first institution of its type built in New Zealand. The Radiant Hall, constructed in Christchurch in 1928 by baking powder magnate Thomas Edmond, however also illustrates increasing interest in the broader New Thought philosophy in New Zealand during the 1920s. Radiant Hall, a building in the Spanish Mission Style, survives today as the Repertory Theatre, 144-148 Kilmore Street West (NZHPT registration # 1919, Category II historic place). Both buildings reflect the comparatively high profile of alternative spirituality philosophies in New Zealand since its inception as a colony. It has been argued that this phenomenon can be attributed to aspects such as the relative weakness of Established churches, and the preponderance of immigration by individuals or families rather than larger communities with retained cultural identities.

Higher Thought New Zealand was incorporated in 1930 and remains an incorporated society. The Auckland Body is remembered for its generosity towards small specialised groups who sought health for themselves and others, or to spiritual aspiration groups committed to higher thought who did not have a temple of their own. The building was purchased in the 1980s by the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA), a Qabalistic Church that holds services every second Sunday and has weekly study evenings. The New Zealand order of BOTA is recognised as one of the most important venues of the Western Mystery Teaching tradition in the Southern Hemisphere. Its leader, the Rev. William Chesterman (1907-2003), was contemporaneously president of Higher Thought New Zealand and leader of the New Zealand Chapter of BOTA, and had helped put BOTA on a strong footing at its headquarters in Los Angeles after the death of its leader Ann Davies in 1975. Chesterman had previously been associated with Alistair Wallace, a long-time leader of the Havelock North Temple of the Golden Dawn, whose activities were known as The Havelock Work. Chesterman had become involved in this movement through architect James Walter Chapman-Taylor (1878-1958), who was closely associated with Theosophy and Anthroposophy and built the Havelock North Temple of the Golden Dawn 'Whare Ra'.