Abraham Hicks: Who They Are and What They Teach

Esther Hicks was born in 1948 in Utah. In 1985, after reading the Seth books by Jane Roberts, she began to speak as Abraham, a group of non-physical teachers who describe themselves as many voices speaking as one. She and her husband Jerry started holding workshops in the late 1980s, and they have been held ever since. Jerry passed away in 2011, and Esther carries on the work.

So "Abraham Hicks" is not one person. It is the name of the teachings that come through Esther, and of the books and talks she and Jerry made together.

The teachings rest on three ideas. The first is the law of attraction: like attracts like, so what you focus on and feel grows. The second is deliberate creation: you choose your thoughts on purpose, instead of only reacting to what is in front of you. The third is the art of allowing: once you have asked, you relax and let it come, instead of pushing against it.

They often say that the asking is easy and the allowing is the work. Life shows you what you want, often through what you don't want. Your only job is to line up with it, by feeling good about it. If you are new to the idea, start with the law of attraction, explained simply. For the easy part, here is how to ask the universe, step by step.

The emotional guidance scale is a ladder of 22 feelings, from the best to the hardest. In Abraham Hicks' book Ask and It Is Given, it runs like this: 1 joy, appreciation, freedom and love; 2 passion; 3 enthusiasm and happiness; 4 positive expectation and belief; 5 optimism; 6 hopefulness; 7 contentment; 8 boredom; 9 pessimism; 10 frustration and impatience; 11 overwhelm; 12 disappointment; 13 doubt; 14 worry; 15 blame; 16 discouragement; 17 anger; 18 revenge; 19 hatred and rage; 20 jealousy; 21 insecurity, guilt and unworthiness; 22 fear, grief, despair and powerlessness.

The point is not to jump from the bottom to the top. It is to reach for the next step up. From despair, anger can feel like relief, and that is progress. Find where you are, then look for a thought that feels a little better. For a gentle way to do it, see these steps to raise your vibration, or take our free vibration test to see where you are today.

The focus wheel is a process from Ask and It Is Given for days when a desire feels far away. Draw a circle on a page, like a clock, and write what you want in the middle. Then, in each of the twelve spots around the edge, write a statement about it that you already believe and that feels good, like "I know people who have this" or "Things often work out for me." By the time you go all the way around, the desire in the middle feels closer and easier to hold.

Abraham Hicks teaches that holding a pure thought for 17 seconds starts it gaining momentum, and that 68 seconds of steady focus lets it really take hold. That is the 17 seconds practice, and it is a lovely place to start. Other favorites are the rampage of appreciation, where you list things you love one after another until the good feeling builds, and simply going to sleep early on a hard day, since sleep is said to reset your momentum.

Ask and It Is Given is the usual first book, because it explains the teachings and holds 22 practical processes, including the focus wheel and the emotional guidance scale. The Law of Attraction (2006) is a shorter, gentle introduction. Money and the Law of Attraction (2008) is about feeling good about money, and The Vortex (2009) is about love and relationships. Start with one, and read it slowly.

Esther Hicks appeared in the first version of The Secret, the 2006 film that brought the law of attraction to millions of people. Her part was removed from later editions, and she and Jerry released their own series afterward. Many people find Abraham Hicks after The Secret and stay for the focus on feeling good. Here is what The Secret teaches.