Five Lessons

1. The Human Imagination Is the Creative Power of God

"Consciousness is the one and only reality. There is no other cause in the world."

Neville's core philosophy: The creative force traditionally called God exists solely within you, as your imagination. This power is constantly out-picturing your mental images and emotively charged thoughts into reality. Without this awareness, we suffer, believing we are responding to external stimuli rather than creating our experiences.

Practical implications:

• Your imagination is the source of all creation in your life
• Everything you experience is a reflection of your inner states
• By consciously directing your imagination, you can shape your reality

2. Clarify Your Desires to Align with Your True Self

"Desire is the mainspring of action. We could not move a single finger unless we had a desire to move it."

Honest self-reflection: Neville emphasizes the importance of clarifying your deepest desires. This requires looking beyond superficial wants and societal expectations to uncover what truly resonates with your innermost self.

Steps to clarify desires:

• Question your initial wants to uncover deeper motivations
• Be willing to confront uncomfortable truths about yourself
• Recognize that your true desires are the voice of your divine nature
• Understand that self-expression and creativity are inherently valuable

3. Enter a State of Relaxed Immobility to Access Creative Power

"Drowsiness facilitates change because it favors attention without effort, but it must not be pushed to the state of sleep in which we shall no longer be able to control the movements of our attention but a moderate degree of drowsiness in which we are still able to direct our thoughts."

The hypnagogic state: Neville taught that we heighten our apparatus of mental creativity when we enter the "in between" state called hypnagogia, the stage between wakefulness and sleep. In this state, our minds are deeply sensitive and impressionable.

Techniques to enter this state:

• Choose a time when you naturally feel drowsy, like before sleep or after lunch
• Find a comfortable position where you can fully relax
• Allow your body to become still and your mind to quiet
• Maintain a level of awareness that allows you to direct your thoughts

4. Vividly Imagine Your Desire Fulfilled

"Experience in imagination what you would experience in the flesh were you to realize your goal and you shall in time meet it in the flesh as you met it in your imagination."

The power of mental scenes: Neville instructed his students to form a simple, vivid mental scene that implies the fulfillment of their desire. This scene should be experienced from a first-person perspective, not as if watching a movie.

Guidelines for effective visualization:

• Choose a scene that naturally implies your desire has been fulfilled
• Make the scene simple and specific
• Experience the scene from within, not as an outside observer
• Engage all your senses to make the experience as real as possible
• Repeat the scene until it feels natural and real to you

5. Combine Mental Imagery with Emotional Resonance

"Feeling is the secret."

Emotion as the catalyst: Neville emphasized that merely visualizing is not enough. The mental scene must be accompanied by the genuine emotions you would feel if your desire were fulfilled.

Techniques to engage emotions:

• Allow yourself to feel the joy, relief, or excitement of your desire fulfilled
• Use an inner monologue to enhance the emotional state
• Practice "method acting" techniques to fully embody the desired state
• Focus on the feeling of gratitude for having received your desire

6. Persist in Your Mental Creation Despite External Circumstances

"An assumption, though false, if persisted in will harden into fact."

Faith in the unseen: Neville taught that persistence in your mental creation is crucial, even when external reality seems to contradict your desire. The bridge of events between your current state and your desire's fulfillment may not be immediately apparent.

Strategies for persistence:

• Maintain your mental scene and emotional state regardless of current circumstances
• Avoid discussing your inner work with others who may doubt or discourage you
• Trust that the perfect means for fulfillment will reveal themselves in time
• Continue to act appropriately in the physical world while maintaining your inner conviction

7. Test the Law of Assumption Through Personal Experience

"If there is evidence for a thing, does it matter what the world thinks?"

Empirical approach: Neville consistently challenged his listeners to test his teachings through personal experience. He believed that the effectiveness of his method was the ultimate proof of its validity.

How to test the law:

• Choose a clear, specific desire to work with
• Apply Neville's technique faithfully for a set period
• Keep a journal of your experiences and any "bridge of incidents" that occur
• Evaluate the results objectively, considering both successes and apparent failures
• Be willing to persist and refine your practice based on your experiences

8. The Bible as Psychological Drama, Not Historical Fact

"The ancient teachers attached psychological truths to phallic and solar allegories."

Metaphorical interpretation: Neville taught that the Bible is not a historical document but a collection of psychological truths expressed through allegory and symbolism. Each character and event in the Bible represents an aspect of the human psyche and the process of spiritual awakening.

Key biblical concepts reinterpreted:

• The story of creation as the act of imagination
• Jesus as the awakened human imagination
• Miracles as demonstrations of the power of focused mental imagery
• Resurrection as the realization of one's divine nature

9. Embrace the Responsibility of Your Creative Power

"You and your Father are one and your Father is God."

Divine identity: Neville's philosophy places enormous responsibility on the individual, asserting that we are all expressions of the divine creative power. This realization demands that we take full ownership of our experiences and creations.

Implications of this responsibility:

• Recognize that you are the author of your life experiences
• Avoid blaming external circumstances or other people for your situation
• Use your creative power consciously and ethically
• Understand that changing your inner state is the key to changing your outer world

10. Silence and Discretion Amplify Your Creative Acts

"Do not discuss it. Do not look to someone for encouragement because the thing might not come. It has come."

The power of secrecy: Neville advised against discussing your inner work or desires with others. He believed that speaking about your goals prematurely could dissipate the energy needed for their manifestation.

Benefits of discretion:

• Protects your desire from doubt and negativity from others
• Prevents premature action that might interfere with the natural unfolding of events
• Allows you to maintain a pure and focused mental state
• Builds inner confidence and self-reliance
• Enhances the surprise and joy of manifestation when it occurs

Last updated: September 28, 2024