Where the Law Came From
According to some who have studied it, the universal great Law of Attraction has been with us since the beginning of time, perhaps even at the moment of creation and the beginning of thought. Others say it is impossible to pinpoint exactly when the concept entered human consciousness.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. — Genesis 1:1–3
In the Beginning
Some people say that the entire universe and our world were first conceived in the mind of our Creator and then were manifested through the creative energies of the universe out of the realms of infinite potential and substance. Further, they suggest that God created humans as sentient beings with minds that could also imagine and create. New Age spiritual seekers refer to the Creator as Divine Mind, the Universe, the Source, and many other names. For those with a more traditional viewpoint, the Creator is God. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, sets forth the creation story, which begins in the mind of God. With His intention and declaration, heaven and earth and everything therein were formed.
The Creator has been called by myriad names, including God, Divine Mind, Divine Intelligence, Elohim, Holy One, Yahweh, Powers That Be, Abba, Divine Father, Divine Mother, Universe, Source, Allah, Friend, Maker, Primordial Consciousness, Everlasting Lord, Supreme Being, Alpha and the Omega, Ishvara, and the Beloved.
Ancient Possibilities
Some self-help experts say the Law of Attraction possibly dates as far back as 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, where it found expression in the mystical traditions and beliefs of the ancients. Magicians of long ago certainly observed and wrote about affinities between things before the advent of science. Translations of ancient texts suggest that our spiritual ancestors thought a lot about the heaven and earth and pondered the relationships between things. The Emerald Tablet of Hermes, whose date of origin is uncertain, contains verses by Hermes, purportedly an Egyptian sage. His verses assert that all things in the world are interconnected and that thoughts impact things. The tablet contains the verse that has been translated to become the well-known adage “as above, so below.”
Wattles and Peale
Others say the Law of Attraction concept is decidedly more modern and is possibly just an updated version of the teachings of the late Wallace D. Wattles (1860–1911) and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993). Wattles, who was born into poverty and became wealthy, wrote about the science of getting rich. Peale became famous for his ideas about the power of positive thinking. Both men emphasized the role of conscious and intensely focused thought in achieving the desired goal. Both men believed in a higher power at work in human lives. Wattles referred to it as “formless” intelligence and substance.
Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking, a popular self-help guide first published in 1952, advocated that people trust that God's higher power was always with them. He observed that when they affirmed, visualized, and believed that God's power was at work in their lives, they energized their belief, actualized that power, and achieved astonishing results.
Peale, a clergyman, spoke and wrote of the power and presence of God. Today many people believe that divine consciousness permeates the universe and that when they align themselves in harmony with that consciousness, they become co-creators of their destinies with the Divine. Individuals can tap into the realm of infinite potential and substance. Through their thoughts, they draw into their lives all circumstances, situations, relationships, experiences, and things. The process is continuous and unending.
