I have been considerably impressed by Neville Goddard in the last few months. His teachings are profound! A game-changer! Depending on your unique perspective, of course. Particularly, his concept regarding the Law of Assumption has influenced many people and helped them immensely on their manifestation journeys.
This post will cover some of Neville’s ideas and how to practically apply them in your life. Spiritual learning comes from application and experience. Try out this way of thinking, and discover if it resonates for you.
Neville Goddard
Neville Goddard shared his manifestation philosophy in the mid 1900’s. He was born in 1905, grew up in Barbados, and was raised with a large family of 8 siblings. His family owned a great amount of land, although they lived modestly.
Neville moved to New York city when he was 17 to pursue a career in theater, and became a Broadway dancer and actor. He was always interested in spirituality, and found himself exploring many different religions, even joining occult groups.
A man came into his life who shared spiritual revelations with him. This man, Abdulla, was an Ethiopian rabbi, who seemed to be expecting Neville. His first words to him were, “Neville, you are 6 months late”. He knew Neville was coming, but was expecting him sooner.
Abdulla taught Neville many spiritual truths, derived from ancient Egyptian beliefs, the bible, the Torah, and others spiritual sources. Neville experienced the validity of these teachings by applying them in his own experience. He shared the Universal laws that he learned in his books and lectures, up to his death in 1972.
Neville’s teachings
“You become according to your resigned will, and your resigned will is your concept of yourself and all that you consent to and accept as true.”
-Neville Goddard
What you accept as true will manifest
You will see this idea repeated across the beliefs and philosophies of the world. What you believe about yourself and your world, will be affirmed by your experience of the world.
I just saw this idea implied in a Netflix movie I started watching, Black Holes- The edge of all we know. Stephen Hawking, who has studied black holes for many years, has found that black holes, which have such a strong gravitational pull that light can’t even resist being sucked into them, actually emit radiation. After pulling massive amounts of matter into itself, the black hole begins to shrink and emit radiation. What comes back out is shown to be “completely random and bear(s) no relation to what fell in”.
According to Hawking, a black hole could “spit out anything. It can spit out a piano, it can
spit out a trombone; anything can come out”. Meaning the physical laws that we believe to govern the universe, might be false. Our memories and past might be just an illusion. This sounds like what Einstein realized in his contemplation of reality and time; everything we see and remember could be an illusion.
If nothing is really real, what makes it real to us? Our belief! What you believe to be true, and where you put your focus, is what manifests for you. Science is starting to realize this universal truth!
This opens up all possibilities!
Consciousness is the only reality
When we have been living our entire lives believing that we are at the mercy of our circumstances, the people around us, what our job will pay us, and what we are diagnosed with from a doctor, we are under the illusion that our world determines our experience.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth!! Its the complete opposite, in fact. Neville taught that consciousness creates reality. What you imagine and believe to be true, manifests as your reality.
So, why do we experience so many things that we don’t want? Because that’s what we were conditioned to believe about the world. Somewhere along the way we forgot that we are all connected by one mind, and that we are the cause and the environment is the effect. For many generations, it may have been passed down that we are the product of our circumstances. And, what we believe is manifested.
Neville Goddard stresses the importance of imagining with feeling what you desire. This is a powerful way to influence your subconscious, impressing it with what you intend to experience. I have seen this play out in my life time after time! Many times what I imagined will happen exactly as I saw it in my mind, down to the words said by other people. It actually works!
“You don’t accept one thing in the world final unless it conforms to the ideal you want to realize in the world.”
-Neville Goddard
Don’t accept everything you see as true
Neville Goddard stresses that its important to only accept as true that which “conforms to your ideal”. What you accept as true is what you will manifest, so you will need to be selective.
This involves what has already been manifested in your reality. Because consciousness is the cause, what you are experiencing is the result of past beliefs. You may be experiencing something that you don’t want to continue to manifest. For these things, you will need to change your concept of them, turn away from them, and focus on what you want to see instead.
This can be a challenge! I’m manifesting health, and when you are experiencing negative reactions from your body, its hard to ignore them. Actually, its hard not to let it completely take over.
The trick is to not necessarily ignore what you don’t want, but to change the meaning. I can choose to see this journey with my body as a powerful way for me to quantum leap to higher levels of faith and manifest even more amazing things in my life; I can see this experience as a blessing, and a way to inspire others to manifest whatever they desire. This change in perspective will release the resistance and align my focus to the good I desire to embody in my life.
No one to change but self
A powerful concept of Neville’s is that “everyone is you pushed out”. Because we are all one consciousness, anyone in your awareness is an aspect of you that is reflecting what is within.
If you ever want to know what’s going on deep inside yourself, get involved in customer service! Dealing with people is a sure way to find out what energy you are vibrating at. I work in customer service, and this has proven to be true in my experience. I can also see how this plays out for my co-workers. The ones who have a negative outlook have bad experiences with the most difficult customers; the ones who maintain a more positive attitude, experience harmonious and enjoyable interactions.
I’ve used this concept to change relationships with specific co-workers. I changed my perception of myself, got down to what was really causing the discourse, and I imagined a better relationship. I saw myself and them differently, and the entire relationship changed to reflect this. I didn’t tell them to be different, or try to “teach them a lesson”. I changed myself and my concept of reality, and then my reality changed. This is powerful stuff!
The Law of Assumption
One of the most influential ideas that Neville puts forth is the Law of Assumption. He believed that “assumptions harden into fact” and are the quickest, easiest way to manifest all you desire.
The Law of Assumption is actually “living from the end”. You assume that your desired reality is now, and act and behave from that assumption. You think and feel as though your dream has already happened.
Creation is complete, everything exists, and we simply manifest the energy that is available by being in the state that reflects that experience.
“Assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled and observe the route that your attention follows.”
-Neville Goddard
How the Law of Assumption works
There are authors which agree with this concept in their own words. Abraham/Hicks teaches that we ask the Universe for what we want, and allow it to come by enjoying our life as though its already happened. Price Pritchett in his book The Quantum Leap Strategy, says that we can acquire the reality we want at quantum speed by assuming we can’t fail, and making drastic and bold moves in complete confidence of our success. The bible states that “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
The power of assumption cannot be denied. Ever heard of “fake it til you make it”? Or how about “just act like you belong”. When you live from the assumption, you embody that state, and what you desire manifests into fact.
What you believe is what you experience. If you live as though all your dreams have come true, feeling that gratitude, feeling that fulfillment, excited about everything in your life, then you will begin to see your life transform. It must!
How to use the Law of Assumption to manifest
There are many techniques to get into the feeling of your wish fulfilled. The best way to use the Law of Assumption, is to experiment and practice it until it becomes a way of life.
Here are some ways to practice using the Law of Assumption to up your manifestation game:
- “I am” affirmations- affirmations are a powerful way to reprogram your subconscious mind and change your self-image to the one you desire. The best times to use affirmations are first thing in the morning, during the day such as when you are thinking a limiting thought, and just before bed. You can also listen to them while you sleep. Your subconscious mind is always awake, and when you are drowsy or asleep, your conscious mind is quiet and you can easily influence your subconscious.
- Visualizing “the end” in imagination– with repeated practice, you can find yourself so immersed in your visualization, that when you come out you are almost disoriented because you truly felt you were in your imagined scene. The more you embody that end result, the more your subconscious will believe it to be true. Then, your world will begin to shift and change to become what you desire. Its so exciting when you start to see this happen! Synchronicities, a change in your actions, a change in your thinking, people coming into your life, it will all line up automatically.
- Make bold moves- what proves that you are truly assuming you have what you want? If you assume you are wealthy, maybe you go on a trip and pamper yourself. If you assume you are healthy, maybe you dress up and embrace your beauty. If you assume that you do what you love every day, maybe you set a deadline to quit your job and do what you love full time. Maybe its time to make a bold move and let the Universe reward your faith. This doesn’t mean go out and spend all your money on lottery tickets and “assume” you will win. Although, that could be an experience you are meant to have, and it might teach you lessons that will ultimately lead you to your true desires. You will know which bold move is one that you can stretch yourself to believe. Its a stretch, and different than what you’ve ever done before, but you’ve laid the groundwork. You’ve built your faith. You’re ready to believe. You will know. Trust your intuition.
“You must so want it that you are willing to remain faithful to your change in position.”
-Neville Goddard
How to persist in the assumption
For me, the hardest part of using the Law of Assumption, is persisting in the belief regardless of what my physical reality tells me. I used to be so swayed by what people said, that if they said something negative it would manifest in my life almost immediately. I would look to people to validate what I did and determine what I saw.
This has become obvious lately, on my journey to health. If someone were to say that my skin looks really red, or if they looked at me with sad, worried faces, I would let that mean that I was sick and things were getting worse. This would completely effect my mood and my energy. Then, inevitably, things would get worse.
My journey is teaching me that I get to be the interpreter of all the information. Just like during meditation, when I practiced letting negative thoughts float by like clouds in the sky, not attaching to them. I needed to practice this with my daily experiences as well.
You can persist in assuming your dream fulfilled by relating everything as contributing to its fulfillment. Anything that seems to be in opposition to what you are manifesting, let it float by like a thought you will not give meaning to, or change it to mean that what you desire is actually happening. You have the power to give everything meaning. Nothing means anything unless you believe it does.
You determine how reality works.
Don’t think of what you want, think from it
There is a crucial difference between thinking about what you want and thinking from it. I’m still working on this one! I’m sure that I keep things from manifesting by thinking about them from a place of lack. When I think about what I want, I might be actually wishing that I had it, and focusing on it intently because its not here yet.
When you think from what you want, you are feeling that you have what you want already. This could mean feeling peaceful and calm. Or it could mean you don’t even think about the thing anymore because its already taken care of. Maybe you’re filled with gratitude as you dwell on having all you desire now, and you know you are complete and whole within.
I think mastering this way of thinking and feeling takes practice. This is a whole new way of living, and it could take time to truly realize that your dreams are done, and live your life from that place. But with persistence, you will achieve this skill.
How to apply the Law of Assumption in your daily life
I have daily habits which facilitate my assumptions of having all that I desire. The only way you can successfully become a different person is to be consistent. You can’t do something once or twice and expect it to become apart of your psyche. These changes require repetition, especially in the beginning.
Every day:
- Journal- write in your journal what you appreciate from the previous day, and the situations/people/events that affirm that your assumptions are true. Focus on synchronicities, inspired thoughts, behaviors which show you that your dreams are a done deal.
- Meditate/visualize- practice this for at lease 20 minutes per day. You can work yourself up to this amount of time. But meditation is super helpful in learning to focus your attention and determine what you choose to manifest. This activity will build your manifestation muscles! You will get in touch with your infinite self and your power within.
- Be present– practice being present in every activity you are performing. Decide right now that everything you do is exactly what you want to be doing. Put your heart and soul into it. Enjoy every moment. How you live right now, will determine how you will live in the future. If its something you don’t necessarily enjoy doing, you can either eliminate it, reduce it, change it, change your thoughts about it, or come to peace with it. The choice is ALWAYS yours. You are the interpreter of everything. You have the power.
- Enter into the ideal state before sleep- as you are drifting off to sleep, this is the prime time to influence your subconscious mind. Try to never go to sleep in fear, anger, or discouragement. Find a way to enter into the feeling of your fulfilled dreams. Your subconscious is highly impressionable when you’re sleepy, and your last thoughts and feelings are what your subconscious will be focusing on while you sleep. I like to imagine myself as having manifested my desires. You can also focus on gratitude before falling asleep. Or you can engage in the invisible counsel, as Napoleon Hill did (Think and Grow Rich), and imagine conversations with your higher self or people you aspire to emulate.
Live by faith not by sight
This is my mantra!! The Universe is teaching me this lesson in the most loving ways.
Living by faith and not by sight is the opposite of how many of us are conditioned to go through life. Its hard when you’re taught to believe that the environment is the cause, and that we are victims to its movements.
We determine the environment! Whatever we believe and vibrate, is what we experience. Therefore, when we decide to have a new belief, it only makes sense that we won’t see it in our environment until our subconscious accepts the new belief.
Staying loyal to the vision no matter what and having faith to the very end, is how dreams come true. Don’t quit before the miracle happens! Stick with it, until the change occurs within, and then the change will follow without. ?
