Following the publication of Rhonda Byrne's book" The Secret "and the subsequent release of the very successful" The Secret "DVD, the term" The Law of Attraction "into popular consciousness. The self-help and self-improvement phenomenon has been extensively discussed on television by such mainstream figures as Larry King and Oprah Winfrey.

It is hardly surprising that many people believe, The Law of Attraction is a relatively new institution, a kind of self Pilates or Atkins diet, if you will. But it is quite some time, and occupies a large part of his inspiration from classical antiquity and beliefs.

Before we proceed with a brief (and potted) history, here is an in-a-nutshell definition for those of you who do not quite know what the law of attraction is. The Law of Attraction is a radical spiritual philosophy, which says that "like attracts like", that "you get what you think, your thoughts determine your experience."

The principles, the basics of The Law of Attraction can be found in one of the world's oldest religions: Hinduism. It is possible that a fascination with Hinduism mean that the idea be adopted, and in later Theosophical works published by a number of leading Victorian spiritualists. Madame Blavatsky, for example, uses the term "The Law of Attraction" in her book 1877 "Isis Unveiled: Secrets of the ancient wisdom traditions." A quarter century later, James Allen (publisher and editor of the magazine "The Light of Reason") plays on the same principles in his highly regarded self-help book prototypical "like a man Thinketh", his inspiration from the Jewish proverb: "Like a man holds in his heart, so is he. " The central conviction behind the book is that noble thoughts make a noble person, while low (or "bestial") thoughts make a person miserable. One of the most memorable All prices, "" The mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, "".

Four years after "like a man Thinketh" was published, with the development of the New Thought movement, the concept of The Law of Attraction begins to gain increased. 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 appear 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 Annie Besant (founder of the Central Hindu College in Varanasi) in 1919.

Thereafter, a steady stream of metaphysical and authors theosophists on The Law of Attraction, including Florence Scovel Shinn (Author of self-help book "The Game of Life and How to Play it" 1925), Alice Bailey and Sri K. Parvathi Kumar.

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

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