Does Neurolinguistic Programming have occult roots?

It's trickery and dishonest.
The whole "if you tell yourself you're happy you will be" thing, meanwhile your house is falling down around you.

I can't comment on the occult.

"LIVE WITH PASSION!!!" -- Tony Robbins

not really
Obama uses NLP
the magick is in men's minds

I believe it was concieved as the result of a series of occult rituals. If you read the intro, a few scholarly guys isolated in a cabin came up with this marvellous system. Bullshit. They either unlocked or channeled the information from higher dimensions.

Disagree with this characterization of NLP. Ever hear the expression "your face will get frozen if you keep frowning?" Many sad people just have practiced being sad for so long it becomes their default mood. Practicing being happy can actually result in more happiness. A lot of the things that have gone wrong in our lives are best understood for insight, yes, but don't let the bad keep you down.

NLP and other trance-related practices work on a deeper level than the conscious. So while telling yourself that you are happy may not work normally, it can if you do it in a trance state of consciousness, which can then carry over into normal waking life. Of course it's important to be realistic, like in a "house falling down" situation. Surely it's better to better your attitude. Better than accepting a terrible situation and retreating into a cynical, sullen attitude.

no, it came from the intense studies done about the human mind and how it receives and interprets information for the sake of selling a product. it comes from advertising.