Correct prayer as described by Neville Goddard

Revision 12/09/2003
Copyright 2003 Shawn Regan
Neville, in all his books and lectres is giving s the !or"la !or correct prayer# $his
!or"la is as si"ple as ass"ing the !eeling o! the thing desired bt can be "ore
involved# $his paper tries to bring all the di!!erent aspects o! Neville%s correct prayer
together#
&Prayer is the most wonderful experience man can have. Unlike the daily
murmurings of the vast majority of mankind in all lands who by their vain
repetitions hope to gain the ear of God, prayer is the ecstasy of a spiritual
wedding taking place in the deep, silent stillness of consciousness#& '
Neville
&Praying, then, is recognizing yourself to be that which you desire to be
rather than begging God for that which you desire#& ' Neville
&f your prayer brings no response, there is something wrong with it. !he
fault generally lies in too much effort. "erious confusion arises when man
identifies the state of prayer with an act of will. !he sovereign rule is to
make no effort. f this is observed, you will intuitively fall into the right
attitude#& ( Neville
#t is not what you want that you attract$ you attract what you believe to
be true.# ' Neville
$he core o! the process is to create a state o! "ind where yo !eel yo already have
obtained the thing desired# )hether this thing be a physical possession or a character trait
or nion with the divine yo, by sing yor i"agination and ignoring all yor physical
senses tell yo to the contrary, ass"e it is already so in yor i"agination and "ind# *o
live in the state as i! it were already so# +nce a state o! "ind is ass"ed in i"agination
Neville tells s it is only a short "atter o! ti"e be!ore the oter physical world will re!lect
the inner "ental one#
The 10 aspects of correct prayer
1. Sleep
&###carrying the action into sleep thickens fancy into fact#& ' Neville
Neville "entions !re,ently how power!l it is to !all asleep steeped in the i"agination o!
the wish desired# )hen yo are laying in bed at the end o! the day and beco"ing drowsy
create, with as little e!!ort as possible, the scene in yor "ind that will indicate yor
desire has been obtained# -! yo se too "ch e!!ort yor ego will re"ain active and yo
won.t be able to !all asleep#
)hy this is so e!!ective/ 0sther 1ick.s 2braha" "entions that i! yo take an idea to sleep
yo have 3 hors o! being nconscios where yo cannot ndo or negate this
"ani!estation# Neville says so"ething very si"ilar in 4Resrrection5#
#%nce asleep man has no freedom of choice. &is entire slumber is
dominated by his last waking concept of self. t follows, therefore, that he
should always assume the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction
before he retires in sleep.# ' Neville
- believe it "ight be that or scene o! !l!ill"ent being carried into sleep has a good
chance o! "aking it into a drea"# 2 drea" is a !ll sensory reality like or waking one#
)hat better way to e6perience or wish !l!illed than to &live it& in a drea"#
&Use this interval preceding sleep wisely 'ssume the feeling of your wish
fulfilled and go to sleep in this mood. !hen, deep asleep in a
dimensionally larger world, you will see and play the parts you will later
repeat on earth#& ' Neville
2. Meditation
&n fact, the greater energies of the mind seldom break forth save when the
body is stilled and the door of the senses closed to the objective world#& '
Neville
Neville talks abot achieving a type o! &controlled waking drea"& where one is
"aintaining the !eeling o! the wish !l!illed while shtting down the bodily senses# )ith
the senses ,iet one can connect deeper with the powers o! i"aginal "ani!estation#
#t is a state in which you are conscious and (uite able to move or open
your eyes but have no desire to do so.# ' Neville
&)rowsiness facilitates change because it favours attention without effort.
*ut it must not be pushed to the state of sleep, for then you are no longer
able to control your movements. !he most effective way to embody a
desire is to assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled and then, in a relaxed
and drowsy state, repeat a short phrase over and over again like a
lullaby. "ay, +!hank you, thank you, thank you,, as though you were
addressing a higher power, thanking him for giving you your desire#& '
Neville
&-our future is best changed when you control your thoughts while in a
state akin to sleep, for then effort is reduced to its minimum. n that state
your attention is relaxed, yet controlled within the feeling without being
forced or using effort. magination, not will power will create reality#& '
Neville
&.ith the body immobilized, feel the greater you come out of your physical
body and perform the proposed motion. f you are going to walk, do not
see yourself do it, but feel you are walking. f you are going to climb
stairs, feel yourself climbing#& ' Neville
4/y third way of praying is simply to feel thankful. f want something
either for myself or another, immobilize the physical body, produce the
state akin to sleep and just feel happy and thankful. &aving assumed the
feeling of the wish fulfilled, with my mind dominated by this single
sensation, go to sleep#5 ' Neville
3. Visualiation
#0ow, this is what mean by spiritual sensation. magine that you are
holding a rose in your hand. "mell it. )o you detect the odor of roses1
.ell, if the rose is not there, why is its fragrance in the air1 !hrough
spiritual sensation 2 that is 2 through imaginal sight, sound, scent, taste
and touch, you can give to the image sensory vividness. f you do this, all
things will conspire to aid your harvesting and upon reflection you will
see how subtle were the threads that led to your goal.# ' Neville
$he "ore senses we can engage "entally the better in or process o! visali7ation#
2nything we can se to help bring s to the state the better# -! yo are wanting to "ove to
a new city then always carry a pictre o! this new city with yo# $hroghot the day sit
down and ga7e into yor pictre# -"agine the !eeling o! living in that city inside the scene
in yor pictre# See the streets, s"ell the scents in the air, !eel the war"th or coolness the
h"idity or lack o!, hear the sonds local to that area#
3!hrough spiritual sensation 2 through your use of imaginal sight, sound,
scent, taste and touch 2 you will give to your image the sensory vividness
necessary to produce that image in your outer or shadow world.4 '
Neville
3!he world is a mirror where2in everyone sees himself reflected. !he
objective world reflects the beliefs of the subjective mind. "ome people are
self2impressed best by visual images, others by mental sounds, and still
others by mental actions. !he form of mental activity which allows the
whole power of your attention to be focused in one chosen direction is the
one to cultivate, until you can bring all to plan on your objective at the
same time.4 ' Neville
!. Continuous "rayer
&5very moment of your life, consciously or unconsciously, you are
assuming a feeling#& ' Neville
)hen yo reali7e that every "o"ent we are ass"ing a state yo see the i"portance o!
being in control o! one%s "ind and thoghts# $o let one%s "ind indlge in negative or
nprodctive thoghts is conterprodctive# Neville calls this 4-nvesting or thoghts5#
-n or sal "ode o! consciosness we are spending or thoghts by letting or "ind
!reewheel boncing !ro" thoght to thoght in an associative "anner# -n investing we
control where or thoghts are placed# $he longer and "ore !re,ently we can "aintain
the state o! the thing desired the ,icker will be its "ani!estation#
&!he desire which realizes itself is always a desire upon which attention is
exclusively concentrated, for an idea is endowed with power only in
proportion to the degree of attention fixed on it#& ' Neville
&.e match ourselves to our ideals by constantly remembering our aim and
identifying ourselves with it.# ' Neville
&&ave a set, definite aim or your mind will wander, and wandering it eats
every negative suggestion#& ' Neville
&'fter you have assumed the feeling of the wish fulfilled, do not close the
experience as you would a book, but carry it around like a fragrant odor.
nstead of being completely forgotten, let it remain in the atmosphere
communicating its influence automatically to your actions and reactions#&
' Neville
&"aturate your mind with one sensation and walk as though your desire
were already a fact#& ' Neville
&' single sensation must dominate the mind if you want to pray
successfully#& ' Neville
45arnest, concentrated thought focused in a particular direction shuts out
other sensations and causes them to disappear. -ou have only to
concentrate on the state you desire in order to see it#5 ( Neville
&6ecognizing the power of feeling, pay strict attention to your moods
and attitudes#& ' Neville
4.hat you are inwardly saying and doing is far more important than what
you outwardly express, and can be changed. f you have never uncritically
observed your reactions to life, then you are unaware of its cause. *ut
when you become conscious of your thoughts, you can change them#5 (
Neville
#/astery of self2control of your thoughts and feelings2is your highest
achievement. &owever, until perfect self2control is attained so that in spite
of appearances you feel all that you want to feel, use sleep and Prayer to
aid you in realizing your desired states. !hese are the two gateways into
the subconscious.# ( Neville
#7therefore he 8the perfectly disciplined man9 never entertains a feeling
which does not contribute to his happiness7# ' Neville
#. $eelin%
&###you must assume the feeling of the fulfillment of your desire until you
are possessed by it and this feeling crowds all other ideas out of your
consciousness#& ' Neville
-! yo trly desire so"ething when yo ac,ire it yo shold achieve an e"otional peak
o! sorts# 8y i"agining the !eeling o! receiving what yo wish yo can concentrate on this
!eeling and a"pli!y it ntil the only thing yo are aware o! is this wonder!l !eeling o!
the wish !l!illed#
3!here is a definite feeling associated with every idea in the mind of
man.# ' Neville
#:eeling is the one and only medium through which ideas are conveyed to
the subconscious. !herefore, the man who does not control his feeling may
easily impress the subconscious with undesirable states. *y control of
feeling is not meant restraint or suppression of your feeling, but rather the
disciplining of self to imagine and entertain only such feeling as
contributes to your happiness.# ' Neville
#.hatever the mind of man can conceive and feel as true, the
subconscious can and must objectify.# ' Neville
&.henever you become completely absorbed in an emotional state, you
are at that moment assuming the feeling of the state fulfilled. f persisted
in, whatsoever you are intensely emotional about you will experience in
your world. !hese periods of absorption, of concentrated attention, are
the beginnings of the things you harvest. t is in such moments that you
are exercising your creative power 2the only creative power there is#& '
Neville
&:eeling is the secret of successful prayer. :eel yourself into the situation
of your answered prayer by living and acting upon your conviction.
:eeling gradually unfolds the soul;s hidden capacities. t is the ferment
without which no creation is possible#& ' Neville
&. Ne%ativity
&9prune your imagination by withdrawing your attention from all
unlovely and destructive ideas and concentrating on the ideal you wish to
attain#& ' Neville
+ne o! the "ain the"es taght in the :orth )ay schools is the re"oval o! negativity#
$he negativity yo allow yorsel! to indlge in keeps yor energies !ro" rising above the
base level o! daily h"an dra"a# $he negativity yo pt yor attention on, throgh the
law o! "ani!estation, will eventally !ind its way into yor li!e and perpetate negative
conditions in yor li!e# $his is an e6cellent place to start yor Neville work# 2ss"e a
positive otlook, see everyone at their best and everything at its best regardless o! yor
"e"ory o! the"#
)hen yo start catching yorsel! either abot to or in the "idst o! engaging a negative
thoght or e"otion yo will !eel very e"powered# *o see that yo actally have a
choice abot what yo !eed yorsel! "entally# *o%ll see that yo really have the ability
to "ake changes in yorsel! and yor li!e# *o are starting to observe yor ato"atic
behavior and beco"ing "ore conscios in the process#
&*egin now to discipline your mind by observing your thoughts. .atch
them all through the day and refuse to listen to any thought that is
unlovely#& ( Neville
2nother incentive to eli"inate negativity is the rebond e!!ect or what Neville
calls the 4;olden Rle5#
3!he warning was given to man in the famous Golden 6ule < 3)o
unto others that which you would have them do unto you.4 -ou
may desire something for yourself or you may desire for another. f
your desire concerns another make sure that the thing desired is
acceptable to that other. !he reason for this warning is that your
consciousness is God, the giver of all gifts. !herefore, that which
you feel and believe to be true of another is a gift you have given
him. !he gift that is not accepted return to the giver. *e very sure
then that you would love to possess the gift yourself for if you fix a
belief within yourself as true of another and he does not accept
this state as true of himself, this unaccepted gift will embody itself
within your world. 'lways hear and accept as true of others that
which you would desire for yourself. n so doing you are building
heaven on earth.4 ' Neville
)hen yo direct negative thoghts toward another there is a good chance they
will get rebonded to yo# 2lways directing negative thoghts at others there is a
garantee that so"e o! the negativity will retrn to yo#
#' person who directs a malicious thought to another will be
injured by its rebound if he fails to get subconscious acceptance of
the other. 3's ye sow, so shall ye reap.4 :urthermore, what you
can wish and believe of another can be wished and believed of
you, and you have no power to reject it if the one who desires it for
you accepts it as true of you. !he only power to reject a subjective
word is to be incapable of wishing a similar state of another < to
give presupposes the ability to receive.# ( Neville
+n the other hand when yo direct positive thoghts toward others yo are
spposed to also receive bene!it#
#!he good you subjectively accept as true of others will not only
be expressed by them, but a full share will be realized by you.# '
Neville
'. (nner )ialo%
&-our inner speech is perpetually written all around you in happenings.
=earn to relate these happenings to your inner speech and you will
become self2taught#& ' Neville
-t is i"portant to beco"e aware o! the thoghts rnning throgh one.s "ind# +bserving
the "ind is di!!iclt bt can be achieved throgh non'<dge"ental detatched observation
o! one%s sel!#
&'n uncritical observation of our inner talking will reveal to us the ideas
from which we view the world#& ( Neville
&!ake yourself in hand and uncritically observe your thoughts and
reactions to life. )on;t condemn your thoughts, but subdue them#& '
Neville
0asier is to be on watch !or one.s negativity# -t is i"portant to re"ove attention to all
negative thoghts !ro" one.s "ind# )hen a negative thoght enters the "ind, and yor
"ind is so trained, instead o! indlging and identi!ying with the thoght yo i""ediately
place yor attention on so"ething positive# So"e will se this re!le6 to place their
attention back to the &- 2"& or their idea o! ;od, others will trn their perspective on the
negative idea to positive trying to see the positive aspect o! what they had perceived
negatively#
&-ou deny a thing by taking your attention away from it. !o drop a thing,
problem or ego from consciousness you dwell upon God 2 God being
'/#& ' Neville
&9inasmuch as the state with which we are identified mirrors itself in our
inner speech, then to change the state with which we are fused, we must
first change our inner talking#& ' Neville
&"top all of the old mechanical negative inner talking and start a new
positive and constructive inner speech from premises of fulfilled desire#& '
Neville
&!hrough controlled inner talking from premises of fulfilled desire,
seeming miracles are performed#& ' Neville
&'ll of us can realize our objectives by the wise use of mind and speech.
/ost of us are totally unaware of the mental activity which goes on within
us. *ut to play the same of life successfully, we must become aware of our
every mental activity, for this activity, in the form of inner conversations,
is the cause of the outer phenomena of our life#& ' Neville
*. "resent Mo+ent
0verything happens now# 0ven when yo re"e"ber so"ething it is a present "e"ory o!
an past event# Correct prayer "st be done in the present tense# :eel yorsel! into the
state o! the thing desired now, not in so"e !tre ti"e !ra"e#
#.hat you must strive after is being. n order to do, it is necessary to be.
!he end of yearning is to be.# ' Neville
&.hen you say, ; '/,; you are declaring yourself to be, first person,
present tense$ there is no future. !o know that '/ is to be conscious of
being. >onsciousness is the only door#& ' Neville
&0ever visualize yourself at a distant point in time and space. /ake your
action take place here and now? !he difference between feeling yourself
act here and now and visualizing yourself in action as though on a movie
screen, is the difference between success and failure.& ( Neville
,. Ti+e
#!here is always an interval of time between the impression and its
expression, between the conscious claim and its embodiment. !his interval
is called the "abath, the period of rest or non2effort 8the day of
entombment9.# ' Neville
-n his book 4*or :aith is *or :ortne5 Neville acknowledges the ele"ent o! ti"e
involved in "ani!estation# 2lthoght ti"e is lti"ately an illsion it is an illsion we
"st contend with ntil we transcend physical li"itations# $he ti"e it takes to "ani!est
so"ething wold depend on the !eeling intensity and the diligence o! the practitioner#
#'cting at high tension, an imaginal act is an immediate objective fact.
@eyed low, an imaginal act is realized in a time process.# ' Neville
#/an is such a slave to time that, if after he has appropriated a state of
consciousness which is not now seen by the world and it, the appropriated
state, does not immediately embody itself, he loses faith in his unseen
claim$ forthwith he drops it and returns to his former static state of being.
*ecause of this limitation of main have found it very helpful to employ a
specified interval of time in making this journey into a prepared mansion.#
' Neville
30ow 8consciousness9 go to a point in time and there prepare a place.# '
Neville
#.ith this belief firmly established decide what would be a relative,
rational interval of time in which such a desire could be realized. 'gain
let me remind you not to shorten the interval of time because you are
anxious to receive your desire$ make it a natural interval. 0o one can give
you the time interval. %nly you can say what the natural interval would be
to you.# ' Neville
#>onfidence in yourself as determined by conditioned consciousness
always shortens the interval of time. f you were accustomed to great
accomplishments, you would give yourself a much shorter interval in
which to accomplish your desire than the man schooled in defeat.# '
Neville
10. -evision
Neville "entions that i! he is to be re"e"bered !or anything that it wold "ost likely be
!or the e6ercise o! revision# Revision is si"ply changing yor "e"ory o! an event in
yor li!e# $he idea is to take a "e"ory o! a negative physical event and convert it into a
positive i"aginal event#
Revision, also poplar in the N=> world and given to s also by Seth, works by
spplanting a "e"ory with an e,ally valid i"aginal event#
&n the evening, review all the episodes, events, conversations and
meetings of your day. 's you recall them, rewrite those you wish changed.
!his is done by revising the event, conversation or meeting. 6evise each
scene until it becomes so real you feel you are actually experiencing it.
-ou will discover that, as you revise your days, your tomorrows change.
People who disappointed you today, will encourage you tomorrow,
because you have changed their nature. &aving changed the seeming
other, he will bear witness to the change which took place in you.# (
Neville
.hat Ne/t0
*o%ve gotten everything yo thoght yo wanted in li!e and still !eel so"ething is
"issing in yor li!e#
3's long as you are born of the flesh you have to suffer. !his is the way of
the flesh. )o not try to improve your life. -ou;re making a big mistake. :or
there is no (uestion about it, if you use positive thinking and use your
mind, you may appear to improve your life. *ut remember, this world in
which you live is a world of duality. :or every up there is a down. :or
every forward there is a backward. :or every good there is a bad.
!herefore, whatever improvement comes in your life, it will last for a
while, then will subside, then you become miserable again. -ou;ll start
sticking up for your rights and fighting for your survival. !hen as you get
what you want, you;ll be happy again. -ou;re like a yo2yo. -ou go up and
down, up and down. 'nd no matter how much talk to you about this,
you;re going to keep on doing this.4 ( -obert 1da+s fro+ 2Silence of
the 3eart4
2t so"e point yo will start to reali7e !l!ill"ent doesn%t co"e !ro" anything otside
yorsel!#
48t i! yo pt yor energy into it, and yo practice it every chance yo
get, and yo pt this !irst in yor li!e, yo will see a"a7ing reslts#
2"a7ing reslts# 8t yo have to pt it !irst in yor li!e# $hink right now#
)hat is !irst in yor li!e/ ?on.t tell "e bt <st think# )hat co"es !irst in
yor li!e/ Can yo take it with yo when yo die/5 ( -obert 1da+s
fro+ 2Silence of the 3eart4
Neville "entions or tre prpose is so"ething greater than sccess in the
"aterial world#
&n the early stages, your every venture will be successful. -ou will
increase your income and have the things of this world that you so desire.
*ut after awhile you will realize that they are only toys to amuse you until
the spirit of >hrist awakens from within. !hen you will know you are not
here to amass a fortune, but to redeem society#& ' Neville
$he lti"ate goal is nion with the divine or to awaken the Christ within# Neville
"entions in several lectres the day when he 4awoke !ro" the drea" o! li!e5# +nce
awakened we no longer !ind the need to acc"late physical ob<ects# +r interests lie
"ostly in the inner world o! which this physical world is a shadow#
&!ame the violence that is housed in you. !ranscend it? )o not fight
against conditions, as they only reflect the turmoil within you, their
observer. !urn your attention around, as you would physically turn your
back upon that which you do not want to see#& ' Neville
&t is important to learn to distinguish between your identity 8your ##9
and the state you occupy#& ( Neville
4God is not there. &e is in your mind, dreaming he is you#5 ( Neville
#!herefore call the perfect one into being by living in the feeling, 3 am
>hrist,4 for >hrist is the one concept of self through which can be seen
the unveiled realities of eternity.# ( Neville
#nstead of believing in God or in Aesus < believe you are God or you are
Aesus.# ' Neville
( 1M
Neville has so"ething in co""on with the great -ndian tradition o! 2dvaita @edanta
which is 4- 2A5# +r sense o! identity is the one thing that transcends this physical sel!
and links s to the higher sel!# )hen we hold onto this sense o! 4- 2"5 it will lead s to
the divine# 2ttention "st be trned !ro" otward throgh the physical senses to back
inward toward the divine sel!#
&0ow, you cannot change your ## until you first find it. !his is done by an
uncritical observation of self. !he discovery of your self 8your ##9 is
essential, for it is the sole cause of everything you observe#& ' Neville
4"ilently feel yourself to be '/. )o not condition it, but lose yourself in
the feeling of being formless and faceless. .hen this expansion of
consciousness is attained, move into the form of the new concept by
feeling yourself in your desired state. )o this and you will discover that
within this deep of self, all things are divinely possible. 'nything you can
conceive of being, while in your formless awareness, will seem to be a
natural attainment#5 ( Neville
3%ur usual attitude is of ; am this;. "eparate consistently and
perseveringly the ; am; from ;this; or ;that;, and try to feel what is means
to be, just to be, without being ;this; or ;that;.4 ( Nisar%adatta Mahara5
&n order to catch that which is beyond your present consciousness, you
must launch into the deeper waters where your desires swim. !his is done
by taking your attention away from your present problem, or limitation
and dwelling upon just being. "ay to yourself over and over again, # am$
am$ am.# )o not condition this declaration, just feel yourself to be.
Persist until you slip the anchor that binds you to your problems and you
will move out into the depth of their solution#& ( Neville
#Unconditioned consciousness is God, the one and only reality. *y
unconditioned consciousness is meant a sense of awareness$ a sense of
knowing that '/ apart from knowing who '/$ the consciousness of
being, divorced from that which am conscious of being.# ' Neville
The Catch 1ll State
$his see"s to be the one catch all and wonder!l way to practice correct prayer#
Bst ass"e an ecstatic state# Re"ain in this state then yor oter world will
re!lect this state#
4)uring the course of a day may imagine many things, but instead of
imagining lots of small things, would suggest that you imagine
something so big it includes all the little things. nstead of imagining
wealth, health and friends, imagine being ecstatic. -ou could not be
ecstatic and be in pain. -ou could not be ecstatic and be threatened with a
dispossession notice. -ou could not be ecstatic if you were not enjoying a
full measure of friendship and love. .hat would the feeling be like were
you ecstatic without knowing what had happened to produce your
ecstasy1 6educe the idea of ecstasy to the single sensation, #sn;t it
wonderful?# )o not allow the conscious, reasoning mind to ask why,
because if it does it will start to look for visible causes, and then the
sensation will be lost. 6ather, repeat over and over again, #sn;t it
wonderful?# "uspend judgment as to what is wonderful#5 ( Neville