Abraham Hicks is the name given to the teachings of Esther Hicks, who says she communicates with a group of non-physical teachers called Abraham, and her late husband Jerry Hicks, who helped bring the material to the public. The core message is a version of the law of attraction that uses emotions as guidance. This page explains the main ideas and links to our guides for each practice.
Who are Esther and Jerry Hicks?
Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks (1923-2011) were an American couple who, from the mid-1980s by their own account, ran workshops and published books, recordings and cruises around the "Abraham" teachings. Jerry managed much of the publishing side and Esther gave the talks. Their best-known book, Ask and It Is Given (2004), sets out most of the practices below.
The teachings became widely known in the 2000s, partly through books and video clips passed around online. Today most people meet Abraham through short YouTube excerpts, and the official site at abraham-hicks.com lists the books and events.
What "Abraham" means in this context
Esther Hicks describes Abraham as a collective non-physical consciousness that speaks through her. That is her claim and the movement's starting point. There is no way to test it from the outside, so this page describes what Abraham Hicks teaches without asserting that it is true.
You can take the practices without accepting the source. Many readers treat the material as a set of reflection prompts about emotion and attention. If you want the wider background first, our guide to the law of attraction covers where the idea comes from.
The core ideas at a glance
Here is the short map. Each row is Abraham Hicks' idea as described in the books, with a plain reading of how someone might use it and a link to a fuller guide where we have one.
| Idea | What it says | How people use it | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law of attraction | Like is drawn to like; what you focus on grows | Notice where your attention keeps going | Law of attraction explained |
| Emotional guidance scale | Your feelings show how aligned you are with a wish | Pick a thought that feels one step better | Below |
| The vortex | A place where your wishes are "held" while you allow them | Settle into a calm, positive state before acting | Below |
| Focus wheel | A written process that moves you towards a wish thought by thought | Write true, hopeful statements around a wish | Below |
| Segment intending | Set an intention for the next part of the day | Two minutes before a meeting or a walk | Below |
| Appreciation practices | Appreciation raises your emotional state | A rampage of appreciation, or holding a thought for 17 seconds | Rampage, 17 seconds |
The law of attraction, Abraham's way
Abraham Hicks describes the law of attraction as the basic law behind everything: what you give attention to, you bring closer. What sets this version apart is the focus on how you feel. The thought matters, but the emotion that comes with it is treated as the real signal.
Abraham also describes "inspired action", meaning steps that come from feeling good and clear rather than from pressure. That is worth holding on to, because the teaching is often summarised as "just feel good", which leaves out the part where you still do things.
The emotional guidance scale
In Ask and It Is Given, Abraham lists 22 emotional states from the most hopeful (such as joy, appreciation and love) to the heaviest (fear, grief and powerlessness). The idea is that you cannot jump from despair to joy, but you can reach for the next thought that brings a little relief, and then the next.
In practice it is a way of naming what you feel and choosing a slightly kinder thought. That fits well with what therapists call emotion labelling, which is linked to easing distress. It is a decent everyday tool. It is not a treatment for depression or anxiety, and if low mood lasts, please talk to a doctor or therapist. Our guide to how to raise your vibration shows small ways to do the reaching.
A gentle warning. The scale can be misread as "you must always feel good." Feelings such as sadness and anger carry information, and the scale as written asks you to move towards relief gradually, taking in what is real on the way.
The vortex
The vortex is Abraham's picture of where your wishes wait. In this picture, each desire you form is "held" for you in a non-physical place, and you enter it by feeling good, relaxed and open. Vortex meditations, guided audios that ask you to imagine this space, are among the most searched Abraham practices.
Read simply, it is a description of settling your mind before you decide or act. Some people find it soothing. Others feel pressure to reach a special state. If a practice is making you tense, shorten it or drop it. The purpose is to feel calmer, and nothing here is graded.
The focus wheel
The focus wheel is a written process from the book. You draw a circle, write your wish in the middle, and write statements around the edge that feel true and slightly hopeful. Abraham suggests starting with statements you can genuinely believe, such as "I'm learning what I want", and moving gradually towards bigger ones.
As an exercise it resembles cognitive reframing: you look for thoughts that feel possible. The rule that helps most is to write only what feels true today. Forced statements tend to fall flat. Pair the wheel with a first small action, and you have a full practice.
Segment intending
Segment intending means setting a short intention for the next slice of your day: the commute, the meeting, the evening call. You say, in your own words, how you would like it to go, then move on. It takes about a minute and involves no visualisation at all.
This pairs well with what psychologists call implementation intentions, plans of the form "when this happens, I will do that", which have decent research support for helping people follow through. Try it before one thing tomorrow and see how it feels.
Rampage of appreciation and the 17-second idea
Two Abraham practices are about appreciation. In a rampage of appreciation, you list what you like about a person, place or day, letting one appreciation lead to the next. In the 17-second idea, you hold a single pleasant thought for 17 seconds, on the theory that a thought held that long begins to build on itself. We have separate pages on the rampage of appreciation and the 17-second method.
The appreciation part has good company in research. Studies on gratitude practices, summarised in this Harvard Health article, link them to better mood and well-being. The numbers, like 17 seconds, come from Abraham and have no independent test.
How it differs from Neville Goddard
Abraham Hicks starts from feeling: choose the better-feeling thought, and align. Neville Goddard starts from assumption: imagine the wish fulfilled and stay faithful to it. You can see both in the same person's practice, but if you like structure, Neville's methods, listed on our Neville Goddard techniques page, are more procedural. Abraham's are more about tone and mood.
A research note, honestly
Here is where things stand. No study has shown that a group called Abraham exists, or that thoughts attract events through a law of attraction. Those claims sit in faith and personal experience. Criticisms are worth knowing: some readers feel the teaching can shift blame onto people for things outside their control, and the material is sometimes used to sell expensive events.
What can be supported is the practical side: naming feelings, gratitude, intentions and steadier attention are all studied and modestly helpful. So take what is useful, keep your feet on the ground, and see our page on whether manifestation works for a longer look.
Trying it gently
A low-pressure week could look like this. On day one, name your feeling in a word. On day two, pick a thought one notch kinder. On day three, try one focus wheel with four true statements. On day four, do a segment intention before something small. On days five and six, try one rampage of appreciation in a notebook. On day seven, write down what you noticed, and whether any of it changed a real choice.
If it helps, keep a single note per day. Watching your own patterns tells you more than any scale can, and it makes the practice yours.
Where manifestlings fits
If you want a small, cozy way to keep a daily practice going, manifestlings is one option. It is a virtual pet, a dreamling, that grows on what you practise, alongside a wish you can look at again, a short game made from your words, small rituals, care on the real clock and a guided meditation with 4-2-6 breathing.
It is coming soon to the App Store for iPhone, with Android later. You sign in once, and every new account starts with 7 days of Premium free, followed by a free core. It works with any method on this page, and it does not promise a result.
Questions people ask
What is the Abraham Hicks emotional guidance scale?
It is a list of 22 emotional states from hopeful (joy, appreciation, love) to heavy (fear, grief, powerlessness) in the book Ask and It Is Given. The idea is to reach for the next slightly better-feeling thought, one step at a time.
What is the vortex in Abraham Hicks?
Abraham Hicks describes the vortex as a non-physical place where your wishes are held, which you enter by feeling calm, positive and open. Many people use vortex meditations as guided relaxation.
How do you do the focus wheel?
Draw a circle, write your wish in the middle, then write statements around it that feel true and slightly hopeful. Start with believable ones and build gradually. Add a small real-world step afterwards.
Is there scientific evidence for Abraham Hicks teachings?
No study supports the claim that Abraham exists or that thoughts attract events. Some practices, such as gratitude and naming emotions, are researched and modestly helpful on their own.
