The
law of attraction is the
New Thought spiritual belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person's life.
[1][2] The belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are made from "
pure energy" and that like energy can attract like energy, thereby allowing people to improve their health, wealth, or personal relationships. There is no empirical scientific evidence supporting the law of attraction, and it is widely considered to be
pseudoscience or religion couched in scientific language.
Advocates generally combine
cognitive reframing techniques with affirmations and
creative visualization to replace limiting or self-destructive ("negative") thoughts with more empowered, adaptive ("positive") thoughts. A key component of the philosophy is the idea that in order to effectively change one's negative thinking patterns, one must also "feel" (through creative visualization) that the desired changes have already occurred. This combination of positive thought and positive emotion is believed to allow one to attract positive experiences and opportunities by achieving resonance with the proposed energetic law.
While some supporters of the law of attraction refer to scientific theories and use them as arguments in favor of it,
[3][4] it has no demonstrable scientific basis.
[5] A number of researchers have criticized the misuse of scientific concepts by its proponents.
[6][7][8][9]
History
The
New Thought movement grew out of the teachings of
Phineas Quimby in the early 19th century. Early in his life, Quimby was diagnosed with
tuberculosis. Early 19th century medicine had no reliable cure for tuberculosis. Quimby took to horse riding and noted that intense excitement temporarily relieved him from his affliction. This method for relieving his pain and seemingly subsequent recovery prompted Phineas to pursue a study of "Mind over Body".
[10] Although he never used the words "Law of Attraction", he explained this in a statement that captured the concept in the field of health:
the trouble is in the mind, for the body is only the house for the mind to dwell in, and we put a value on it according to its worth. Therefore if your mind has been deceived by some invisible enemy into a belief, you have put it into the form of a disease, with or without your knowledge. By my theory or truth, I come in contact with your enemy and restore you to your health and happiness. This I do partly mentally and partly by talking till I correct the wrong impressions and establish the Truth, and the Truth is the cure.
[11]
In 1855, the term "Law of Attraction" appeared in
The Great Harmonia, written by the American spiritualist
Andrew Jackson Davis, in a context alluding to the human soul and spheres of the afterlife.
[12]
The first articulator of the law of attraction as general principle was
Prentice Mulford. Mulford, a pivotal figure in the development of New Thought thinking, discusses the law at length in his essay "The Law of Success",
[13] published 1886–1887. In this, Mulford was followed by other New Thought authors, such as Henry Wood (starting with his
God's Image in Man,
[14] 1892), and
Ralph Waldo Trine (starting with his first book,
What All the World's A-Seeking,
[15] 1896). For these authors, the law of attraction is concerned not only about health but every aspect of life.
[16][17]
