Abraham Borrows Esther's Body and Prentice Mulford's Words...

*Bolding in quotes is always Kyra's emphasis

Esther (doctored) and Prentice Mulford

Abraham Hicks' 2011 audiences are eagerly welcoming Abraham's latest catch phrase--"constructing thought-ways." In recent workshops, Abraham preaches that when we think thoughts, we are constructing thought-ways that will play into our future experience. Simply put, when you are thinking thoughts on things you want or don't want, "that's the construction of thought-ways that can ultimately lead you to something more"  because "your thoughts are constructing" and  "manifestation follows them" (West Los Angeles, CA 01/29/2011). The new phraseology has thrilled many self-professed Abers. Abraham Hicks discussion forums have lit up with excitement as Abers express their enthusiasm about the new clarity that the concept presents about how they can create their own reality.

This is not the first time Abraham has used new vocabulary to express their archaic message, which dates back to the early 1900s New Thought movement. In recent years, a passé Abraham Hicks concept known by Abers as "vibrational escrow" evolved into "the vortex." At the same time, Abraham Hicks' Art of Allowing (a re-vamped version of the New Thought concept "the principle of nonresistance") workshops began using the analogy of a "stream" and pushing against or going with the current to represent when you are resisting or allowing things you want. Words like "upstream" and "downstream" became norms for Abraham listeners. Now, Abraham has added the idea of "constructing thought-ways" to the mix. Abers enjoy the analogy, but did it spring into Esther's mind via Abraham, or via an accomplished New Thought author from the early 1900s?

For those who don't know, Abraham Hicks' claim to fame, the "Law of Attraction," was a wildly popular New Thought concept, discussed by many many authors from the early 1900s to present. Authors such as Napoleon Hill, William Walker Atkinson, and Charles Fillmore cited the "Law of Attraction", by name, in many of their materials. Esther, Jerry, and Abraham do not give any of these authors credit for inspiring them with the words. Despite Jerry's self-professed familiarity with Ernest Holmes, Charles Fillmore, and Napoleon Hill (all who wrote extensively on the subject), he clearly states in he and Esther's New York Times Bestselling book The Law of Attraction (a transcription of audio recordings from 1988/1989) that he had never heard the words "Law of Attraction" before Abraham.

On top of this, various Abraham analogies about the supposed "law" have clearly been borrowed from past New Thought authors. These include the notion of our minds being like radio transmitters/receivers, our thoughts being like magnets, the principle of nonresistance (called Law of Allowing by Abraham), "birds of a feather," and more. With Jerry's self-admitted exposure to materials that would have discussed all these things, it is a little difficult to believe that Esther divined this information via Abraham. It is equally difficult to believe that Abraham's latest "constructing thought-ways" analogy was not borrowed from Prentice Mulford's 1889 book, Thoughts are Things.

In Mulford's book, he explains, "Of whatever possible thing we think, we are building, in unseen substance, a construction which will draw to us forces or elements to aid or hurt us, according to the character of the thought we think or put out." He goes on to write, "When we dread a misfortune, or live in fear of any ill, or expect ill luck, we make also a construction of unseen element, thought,--which by the same law of attraction, draws to it destructive, and to you damaging forces or elements." Now, Abraham, via Esther, expresses this same message to packed audiences.

If Abraham has really delivered the "constructing thought-ways" analogy to Esther via blocks of thought, one can only speculate as to why their "leading edge" workshops are so jam-packed with late 1800s/early 1900s terminology. To many, the answer is simple. There is no Abraham; never was. To Abers, there is an endless list of excuses to explain away the similarity. Regardless of the origins of Abraham's phraseology, Esther and Jerry will continue to reap massive profits off of packaging old wine into new bottles.