Law of Attraction Article

A Brief History

This informative article, courtesy of Stephen Winters, will walk you through the beginnings of LOA. Who where the pioneers of this movement and where does this philosophy originate. You'll be surprised at what you'll read. As always keep an open mind as you take a plunge into this fascinating journey.

The Law of Attraction Article - A Brief History

'The Secret' Movie

The self help and self improvement phenomenon has been widely discussed on television by such mainstream figures as Larry King and Oprah Winfrey.

It's hardly surprising that many people consider LOA a relatively new creation, a kind of self help pilates or Atkins diet, if you will. However, it's been around for quite some time, and takes a good deal of its inspiration from Classical and Ancient beliefs.

Before we proceed with a brief (and potted) history, here's a quick in-a-nutshell definition for those of you who don't quite know what the Law of Attraction is. LOA is a radical spiritual philosophy that states that 'like attracts like', that 'you get what you think about; your thoughts determine your experience'.

The principles that form the foundations of LOA can be found in one of the world's oldest religions: Hinduism. It is possible that a fascination with Hinduism lead the idea to be adopted and developed in later theosophical works published by a number of leading Victorian spiritualists. Madame Blavatsky, for example, used the expression 'The Law of Attraction' in her 1877 book 'Isis Unveiled: the Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Traditions'.

As A Man Thinketh

A quarter of a century later, James Allen (publisher and editor of the magazine 'The Light of Reason') alludes to the same principals in his highly-regarded self help book 'As a Man Thinketh', taking his inspiration from the Jewish proverb 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is'.

The central belief behind the book is that noble thoughts make a person noble, whilst lowly (or 'bestial') thoughts make a person miserable. One of Allen's most memorable quotations is "Mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance".

The New Thought Movement

Four years after 'As a Man Thinketh' was published, with the development of the New Thought Movement, the concept of LOA begins to gain considerable pace. In 1906, the book 'Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World' by William Walker Atkinson is published.

A year later, 'Prosperity Through Thought Force' by Bruce MacLelland appears in print. One of the founding members and leading lights of the original Theosophical Society, William Quan Judge wrote about The Law of Attraction in 1915, as did Annie Besant (founder of the Central Hindu College at Varanasi) in 1919.

Thereafter, a steady stream of metaphysical authors and theosophists make reference to the LOA, including Florence Scovel Shinn (author of the self help book 'The Game of Life and How to Play it' 1925), Alice Bailey and Sri K. Parvathi Kumar.

So you can see, the likes of Esther Hicks, Beth and Lee McCain and, most recently, Rhonda Byrne, far from being pioneers of a strange and new system of self help and self improvement, are in fact part of a long and enduring tradition.

The Author

This Law of Attraction article was written by Stephen Winters, a freelance writer and editor specializing in the self-help, personal development and self-improvement field. He writes and edits for The Happiness Superstore and recently created an annotated version of James Allen's classic 'As a Man Thinketh', now available at free-ebooks.net

For a wide range of products relating to self help, personal development and self improvement, visit The Happiness Superstore. Potentially life-changing products, from as little as $3.00!

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