Transcendentalism is a belief centered on the mutual benefit of humanity and the environment, and this idea has had recurring effects on societies around the world since its prominence in the mid-1800s. American countercultural movement of the 60s is a great example of the revival of transcendentalist ideas. One group in particular, hippies, are known for their advocacy of free thought, love, and peace, not to mention their staunch resistance to war and bellicose action. The influence of transcendentalism is visible, and the ideas of popular thinkers have had a greater impact than they expected. Henry David Thoreau was a major contributor to the Transcendentalist movement; his greatest works explicitly influence hippie ideology. His most revered work was inspired by his adventure at Walden Pond in which he attempts to awaken and enlighten his mind. In his book Walden tells us to “spend a day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the road by every nutshell and mosquito wing that falls on the tracks.” Here Thoreau explains that life should not be lived at a frantic pace but at a pace that would be enough to connect the mind and nature as one, from this the hippies deduced that they should lose themselves in the natural processes of nature. The hippies did not stop picking up creed there, Thoreau's "simplicity, simplicity, simplicity". of Walden was good enough to create a whole new lifestyle for this time period. From this time large groups of counterculturalists began to gather in San Francisco and share their ideas with each other. Getting around was not on the American agenda as the Vietnam War was being fiercely fought at the time, however Thorea... half of the paper..., 1854.) 12.Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Thoughts on Modern Literature,” The Dial 1.1 01 January 1840: 30-33 John Lennon Robert D. Richardson, Emerson: Mind on Fire: a Biography (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996) 245-251. Tom Hayden, “Port Statement Huron's Students for a Democratic Society, 1962” Michigan State University, 1962, May 28, 2014 http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/huron.html.Henry David Thoreau, On The Duty of Disobedience civil. (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.) 8.H. Patricia Hynes, Silent Spring (New York City; Pergamon Press, 1989) 3.Henry David Thoreau, The Duty of Civil Disobedience. (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.) 9.Addie Baxter, “Hippies were outspoken, anti-war activists, and anything but slackers” Reading Eagle, January 1, 2010, May 28, 2014 http://www2.readingeagle. com /article.aspx?id=183468