The Law and The Promise

Neville Goddard | Summary | Unlock Reality with Your Imagination

Neville Goddard’s "The Law and the Promise" explores the power of imagination in creating reality. Goddard contends that the world is imaginal and that by assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled, individuals can influence and create their circumstances. The book is full of anecdotes and stories that illustrate this principle, detailing how people have manifested their desires through conscious imagining, from material possessions to personal relationships.

 Main Themes 

This document summarizes key themes from excerpts of Neville Goddard's "The Law and The Promise." The book explores the power of imagination as the primary creative force in shaping reality, urging readers to consciously utilize it to manifest their desires. 

1. Neville Goddard's core teaching is that imagining creates reality. He asserts that our imagination is not merely a faculty for daydreaming but the very power that shapes our world. By consciously controlling and directing our imagination, we can influence and manifest the events and circumstances of our lives.

2. Goddard explains that imagining is spiritual sensation. When we vividly imagine something as if it were real, engaging all our senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) in the imagined scene, we impress this image upon our subconscious mind. This, in turn, sets in motion a series of events that lead to the manifestation of that imagined reality in our physical world.

3. Goddard emphasizes the importance of living in the feeling of the wish fulfilled. Instead of merely wishing for something, we must mentally inhabit the state of having our desire already manifested. This means experiencing the emotions, thoughts, and actions that would accompany the realization of our wish. By consistently dwelling in this state, we make it psychologically real, which then facilitates its physical manifestation.
4. Goddard views moods as powerful creative forces. He argues that moods are not simply effects of circumstances but rather causes. By cultivating and sustaining the mood of the wish fulfilled, we attract and align ourselves with the corresponding experiences in our reality. He encourages us to act on the assumption that we already possess what we desire, as this embodies the desired mood and sets the creative process in motion.

5. Mental traveling is a technique where we shift our consciousness to a different location or experience without physically moving. Goddard explains that we are not bound by our physical senses and can transcend limitations of space and time through our imagination. By focusing our attention and engaging our senses as if we were present in a different reality, we can influence and experience that reality.

6. Goddard speaks of the "Promise" as a mystical experience of rebirth, symbolized by the birth of the Son (David) within oneself. This signifies the awakening of God (Imagination) within the individual. This spiritual transformation leads to a profound shift in consciousness, enabling us to experience the world as creators rather than merely reactors. It is the ultimate fulfilment of God's plan for humanity - the realization of our divine nature.

Key Ideas and Facts

• Imagination Creates Reality: The central tenet of the book is that our imagination is not merely fantasy, but the very blueprint from which our reality is constructed. Goddard asserts: "Imagining Creates Reality" and "The future is the imaginal activity of man in its creative march."
• Dwelling in the Feeling of the Wish Fulfilled: Goddard emphasizes the importance of not just visualizing a desire, but inhabiting the emotional state of its fulfilment. This is achieved through "spiritual sensation" - engaging imaginal senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to imbue the mental image with vivid reality. He advises: “Imagine that you are holding a rose in your hand. Smell it. Do you detect the odour of roses? Well, if the rose is not there, why is its fragrance in the air?"
• Revision and Mental Falsification: The book encourages revising past events and "mentally falsifying" present circumstances to align with desired outcomes. This involves consciously replacing negative or undesirable imagery with positive and fulfilling ones. Goddard uses the parable of the unjust steward to illustrate this principle: “How much do you owe my master?” He said, “A hundred measures of oil”. And he said to him, “Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty!” (Luke 16:5,6). This parable of the unjust steward urges us to mentally falsify the facts of life, to alter a theme already in being.
• The Power of Moods: Moods are presented as potent creative forces. Goddard argues that moods are not just consequences of circumstances, but powerful attractors that shape future experiences. He urges readers to cultivate the mood of the wish fulfilled: "Men regard their moods far too much as effects and not sufficiently as causes. Moods are imaginal activities without which no creation is possible."
• Shifting the Centre of Imagining: Goddard describes the ability to mentally "travel" to different places and experiences by shifting the focus of awareness. This is not literal physical travel, but a change in consciousness through focused imagination. He explains: "The centre of conscious imagining can be shifted and what are now mere wishes - imaginal activities keyed low - brought into penetrative focus and entered. Entrance commits us to the state."
• The Creative Moment: Any instance where we consciously choose to imagine things as we desire them to be, instead of reacting to present circumstances, is deemed “The Moment” of creation. This, according to Goddard, is where true power lies. He quotes Blake: “There is a Moment in each Day that Satan cannot find, Nor can his Watch Fiends find it; but the Industrious find This Moment & it multiply, & when it once is found It renovates every Moment of the Day if rightly placed.”
• God as Imagination: Goddard identifies God with human imagination, suggesting that the divine creative power resides within each individual. He quotes Blake to support this idea: “Man is all imagination, and God is man, and exists in us and we in Him. The eternal body of man is the imagination - that is, God, himself."
• The Promise: The book refers to a "Promise" of a mystical birth or spiritual awakening that leads to the realization of our divine nature and the fulfilment of our desires. Goddard details his own mystical experiences as evidence of this transformative process.

Quotes

• "All that is desired can be imagined into existence."
• "There is no fiction. Imagining fulfils itself in what our lives become."
• "Objects, to be perceived, must first penetrate in some manner our brain; but we are not - because of this - interlocked with objects."
• "If the fool would persist in his folly, He would become wise."
• "Mental Things are alone Real; what is called Corporeal, Nobody Knows of its Dwelling Place: it is in Fallacy, and its Existence an Imposture. Where is the Existence Out of Mind or Thought? Where is it but in the Mind of a Fool?"
• "Man is the shuttle, to whose winding quest and passage through these looms God ordered motion, but ordained no rest."

Conclusion

Goddard’s work encourages readers to actively participate in shaping their realities through conscious, deliberate use of imagination. The book offers a compelling perspective on the power of the mind and invites us to embrace our inherent creative potential.

 Glossary of Key Terms

Dwelling Therein: Fully immersing oneself in the feeling of the wish fulfilled, mentally inhabiting the desired state as if it were already real.

Spiritual Sensation: Engaging all five senses within the imagination – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch – to imbue the imagined scene with vividness and a feeling of actuality.

Revision: The act of mentally revisiting past experiences and altering them to align with a desired outcome.

Shifting the Centre of Imagining: Consciously choosing to focus attention on a different aspect of reality, effectively moving oneself into a new state of being.

Reacting vs. Acting: Reacting implies passively responding to external circumstances, while acting involves proactively creating our reality through deliberate imaginative engagement.

The Moment: Any instance where we consciously imagine things as we desire them to be, rather than as they currently appear.

The Promise: The eventual birth of the divine within each individual, signifying a profound spiritual transformation and union with God.

The Potter: A metaphor for imagination as the creative force shaping our reality.

Jesus Christ: The embodiment of awakened imagination within man, representing the potential for spiritual evolution and self-realization.

David: The symbolic son born from within, representing the fulfilment of The Promise and the realization of our divine nature.