Transcendentalism 
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that highlights divinity as the preservation of all humanity and nature. Like romanticism, it originated in Europe during the eighteenth century and made its way into America as a reaction to rationalism. Thoreau was a significant influential transcendentalist of his time and is still admired today for it. According to Elizabeth Witherell, "Thoreau was respected within this circle, but he was always a prickly individualist. He cared little for group activities, whether political or religious, and even avoided organized reform movements until the moral imperative of abolition commanded his attention" (1). I think this best defines a lot of his transcendental views since a lot of them revolved around the idea that individuals should find their own personal purpose in life. 
A major theme seen in Thoreau's Walden is self-reliance, which goes hand in hand with transcendentalism. When Thoreau is describing Walden pond we see a lot of transcendental ideals here. "A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continuously receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate with land and sky. There is a significant allegorical meaning to this quote rather than a physical one. Thoreau compares the body of water to the human soul, and through a transcendentalist lens it makes sense. He is basically saying that the human soul is merely a juncture between Earth and Heaven which leaves Earth to be some sort of a peaceful realm. He further continues this allegory when comparing the depth of the Walden pond to the depth of the human soul.

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