Law of attraction (New Thought) facts for kids

The Law of Attraction is a spiritual idea from the New Thought movement. It suggests that your thoughts, whether positive or negative, can bring similar experiences into your life. The belief says that people and their thoughts are made of "pure energy." It claims that similar energies attract each other. This means you could improve your health, money, or relationships just by thinking about them.

However, there is no scientific proof for the Law of Attraction. Scientists widely consider it to be a pseudoscience, which means it looks like science but isn't.

People who believe in the Law of Attraction often use special techniques. They try to change their way of thinking (called cognitive reframing). They also use positive statements (affirmations) and imagine their goals clearly (creative visualization). The idea is to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. A big part of this belief is to "feel" as if your desired changes have already happened. This mix of positive thoughts and feelings is supposed to help you attract good experiences.

Some supporters mention scientific theories to back up the Law of Attraction. But these ideas have no real scientific basis. Many researchers have pointed out that scientific ideas are often misused by those who promote this belief.

How the Law of Attraction Started

The New Thought movement began in the early 1800s. It was influenced by the teachings of Phineas Quimby. Quimby had tuberculosis, a serious illness. He noticed that riding horses and feeling excited made his pain go away for a while. This experience made him think about "Mind over Body."

Quimby never used the exact words "Law of Attraction." But he explained a similar idea for health. He said that problems are in the mind. He believed the body is just a home for the mind. If your mind is tricked into believing something, it can create a disease. He thought he could help people by correcting wrong thoughts and bringing out the truth.

In 1855, the words "Law of Attraction" appeared in a book called The Great Harmonia. It was written by Andrew Jackson Davis. He used the term when talking about the human soul and the afterlife.

The first person to explain the Law of Attraction as a general idea was Prentice Mulford. He was a key figure in New Thought. Mulford wrote a lot about this law in his essay "The Law of Success" (1886–1887). Other New Thought writers followed him. These included Henry Wood and Ralph Waldo Trine. For them, the Law of Attraction was about more than just health. It was about every part of life.

The 1900s saw a big rise in interest in this topic. Many books were written about it. Some became huge bestsellers. These include Think and Grow Rich (1937) by Napoleon Hill. Also, The Power of Positive Thinking (1952) by Norman Vincent Peale. And You Can Heal Your Life (1984) by Louise Hay. The ideas from Abraham-Hicks are also based on the Law of Attraction.

In 2006, the Law of Attraction became very popular again. This happened with the movie The Secret. A book with the same name came out in 2007. Both the movie and book got a lot of attention. A sequel, The Power, came out in 2010. It said the Law of Attraction is really the law of love. This updated version of the Law of Attraction is now often called manifestation.

What Believers Say It Does

Supporters of the Law of Attraction believe it is always working. They think it brings people the situations and experiences they think about most. It also brings what they desire or expect.

Charles Haanel wrote in his 1912 book, The Master Key System:

The law of attraction will certainly and unerringly bring to you the conditions, environment, and experiences in life, corresponding with your habitual, characteristic, predominant mental attitude.

Ralph Trine wrote in In Tune With The Infinite (1897):

The law of attraction works universally on every plane of action, and we attract whatever we desire or expect. If we desire one thing and expect another, we become like houses divided against themselves, which are quickly brought to desolation. Determine resolutely to expect only what you desire, then you will attract only what you wish for.

In her 2006 film The Secret, Rhonda Byrne stressed thinking about what you want. She also said to add as much emotion as possible to that thought. She claims this mix of thought and feeling is what attracts your desires. Other similar books include The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. It says people can create their own reality. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy suggests you can reach goals by controlling your mind.

While some people share stories that methods from The Secret worked for them, many experts are critical. The New York Times Book Review called The Secret a pseudoscience. They said it creates an "illusion of knowledge."

Where the Idea Comes From

The New Thought idea of the Law of Attraction comes from different philosophical and religious traditions. It was inspired by Hermeticism, New England transcendentalism, parts of the Bible, and Hinduism.

Hermeticism influenced European thinking during the Renaissance. Its ideas spread partly through alchemy. In the 1700s, Franz Mesmer studied the works of alchemists. This led Mesmer to develop his ideas about Animal magnetism. Phineas Quimby, who started New Thought, studied Mesmer's work.

The Transcendentalist movement in the United States also greatly influenced New Thought. George Ripley, a key figure in that movement, said its main idea was "the supremacy of mind over matter." This means the mind is more powerful than physical things.

New Thought writers often quote verses from the Bible. For example, Mark 11:24 says: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

In the late 1800s, Swami Vivekananda visited the United States. He gave talks about Hinduism. These talks had a big impact on the New Thought movement. They especially influenced William Walker Atkinson, one of its early leaders.

Why Some People Criticize It

The Law of Attraction became very popular in the early 2000s. This was thanks to books and films like The Secret. This film and book explain the idea that you can attract anything you think about consistently.

However, many people have criticized these claims. Mary Carmichael and Ben Radford, writing for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, said that "neither the film nor the book has any basis in scientific reality." They also pointed out a difficult side of the belief: if something bad happens to you, like an accident or illness, it suggests it's your fault.

Others have questioned how the Law of Attraction uses modern science. For example, they say it misrepresents how brainwaves work. Scientists like Victor Stenger and Leon Lederman criticize attempts to use quantum mysticism to explain things that seem impossible. They believe this is a sign of modern pseudoscience.

Skeptical Inquirer magazine criticized the Law of Attraction because its claims cannot be easily tested or proven wrong. Critics say that the evidence given is usually just personal stories. These stories are often shared by people who had positive experiences. This can lead to confirmation bias. This means people only notice things that support their beliefs.

Physicist Ali Alousi said the Law of Attraction is not measurable. He also questioned how thoughts inside your head could affect things outside of it.

The main idea of The Secret and the Law of Attraction is that positive thoughts and clear visualization will directly impact your life. While being positive can make your life better and help you deal with tough times, it can also be misleading. Believing that positive thinking alone will make good things happen can make people ignore the importance of hard work and never giving up.

People Who Supported It

Many people have written about or supported the Law of Attraction over the years:

• In 1891, Prentice Mulford used the term "Law of Attraction" in his essays.
• In 1897, Ralph Waldo Trine wrote In Tune with the Infinite. He stated that "The Law of Attraction works unceasingly throughout the universe, and the one great and never changing fact in connection with it is, as we have found, that like attracts like."
• James Allen, known for As a Man Thinketh, wrote many books and articles on similar themes between 1901 and 1912.
• In 1904, Thomas Troward claimed that thought comes before physical form. He believed that a thought creates a starting point that will attract everything needed to become real.
• Emmet Fox wrote about the power of prayer and metaphysics. He taught that thoughts are our most important creations. He spoke about "building the mental equivalent of what you want."
• In 1906, William Walker Atkinson used the phrase Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World. He also stated that "like attracts like."
• In 1907, Bruce MacLelland's book Prosperity Through Thought Force summarized the idea as "You are what you think, not what you think you are."
• In his 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles said that believing in what you want and focusing on it will make it happen. He also claimed negative thinking would bring negative results.
• William Quan Judge and Annie Besant, both Theosophical authors, discussed the Law of Attraction. Besant compared it to gravitation and linked it to karma.
• Napoleon Hill wrote two famous books on this theme. The Law of Success in 16 Lessons (1928) directly mentioned the Law of Attraction. It suggested it works through radio waves from the brain. His second book, Think and Grow Rich (1937), sold millions of copies. Hill emphasized controlling your thoughts to succeed. He also spoke about the energy of thoughts and their ability to attract other thoughts.
• Israel Regardie wrote books about the Law of Attraction as a universal law. In The Art of True Healing (1937), he taught a meditation technique. He claimed the Law of Attraction could help with physical health and other parts of life.
• In 1960, W. Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill co-wrote Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude.
• Richard Weiss, in his 1988 book The American Myth of Success, noted that "non-resistance" is a popular idea in New Thought. It is taught along with the Law of Attraction.
• The 2008 book Money and the Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks was a bestseller.
• Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret, The Power, and The Magic, was influenced by Wattles' book.
• Norman Vincent Peale was an American minister and author. He wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, a very popular self-help book. It teaches that positive thinking can help you overcome challenges and achieve success.

See also

In Spanish: Ley de la atracción para niños