<P> Law of attraction proponents claim that it affects our relationships because whatever we focus on we experience more of; if an individual focuses on another person's good qualities, for example, those positive qualities will be magnified, and vice-versa . They also claim that by visualizing that a certain person is treating you in a positive manner, then you will attract experiences that match those visualizations . It also claims that a person can attract a romantic relationship with a person who has the characteristics wished for, by creating a mental image of the ideal person and by visualizing the imagined scenes as being real . Similarly, the idea that improving one's self - confidence, charisma and overall subconscious willingness to receive love can attract a partner . These areas can be improved with the help of visualization exercises and manifestation techniques . </P> <P> It is claimed that when someone visualizes clearly and in detail what they want to achieve, and focuses upon that image, that they set in motion through the law of attraction a chain of events that eventually culminates in the materialization of that vision . Charles Haanel says in The Master Key System, "You must see the picture more and more complete, see the detail, and, as the details begin to unfold the ways and means for bringing it into manifestation will develop . One thing will lead to another . Thought will lead to action, action will develop methods, methods will develop friends, and friends will bring about circumstances, and, finally, the third step, or Materialization, will have been accomplished ." </P> <P> The New Thought concept of the law of attraction is rooted in ideas that come from various philosophical and religious traditions . In particular it has been inspired by Hermeticism, New England transcendentalism, specific verses from the Bible, and Hinduism, </P> <P> Hermeticism influenced the development of European thought in the renaissance . Its ideas were transmitted partly through alchemy . In the 18th century Franz Mesmer studied the works of alchemists such as Paracelsus and van Helmont. Van Helmont was a 17th - century Flemish physician who proclaimed the curative powers of the imagination . This lead Mesmer to develop his ideas about Animal magnetism which Phineas Quimby, the founder of New Thought, studied . </P>

Where did the law of attraction come from