Your own wonderful human imagination is the actual creative power of God within you. It is your savior. If you were thirsty, water would be your savior. If you needed a job, employment would be your savior. Your imagination is the power to save you from whatever circumstances you now find yourself. You can experience your heart’s desire through the use of your imagination. Nothing is impossible to your imagination. Your imagination is unlimited in what it can accomplish. If you can imagine something, you can achieve it. Let me give you an example. If you were unable to walk and were confined to a wheelchair, you could close your eyes and imagine yourself running on the beach or wading in the water. If you would imagine yourself doing this until it took on the tones of reality, you could accomplish a healing that would allow you to actually walk or run.
The way to use your imagination creatively is this. Relax in a chair or on a bed and close your eyes. First determine what it is you wish to experience. Then, in this state of complete relaxation, bring to mind the end result of what it is you desire. In other words, if you were seeking a promotion at work, the end result might be that people would congratulate you on your promotion. You might move to a larger office. You would enjoy an increase in pay. Take anyone of these events and, with your eyes closed, actually hear your friends congratulate you on your promotion. Feel their hand in yours as they tell you how happy they are for you. By actually feeling that you are being congratulated, your imagination will go to work to bring about that state in your outer world. You need not be concerned about how this will be accomplished. Your imagination will use whatever natural means are necessary to bring it about. “I AM the beginning and the end.” “My ways are past finding out.” What you do in imagination is an instantaneous creative act. However, in this three-dimensional world, events appear in a time sequence. Therefore, it may take a short interval of time to realize in the outer world what you have just experienced in imagination. After you have performed this act in your imagination, open your eyes and go about your normal, natural affairs, confident that what you have done must come to fruition in your world. Make your inner conversations conform to your imaginal act. You have planted a seed and you will soon see the harvest of that which you have sowed.
When you go into your imagination, make sure that you are actually performing the action, hearing the words, touching the object, or smelling the aroma in your self-conceived drama. What you do in your imagination is not merely a daydreaming which you see events in your mind’s eye. You must enter the dream as if you were actually there. You must make “then” now and make “there” here. To make this perfectly clear, imagine that you would experience driving a new car after you have achieved your goal. In that case, you would not merely see a new car in your mind’s eye. You must actually enter the dream. Feel yourself seated behind the steering wheel. Smell the newness of the interior. Feel yourself enjoying a comfortable ride. Feel the happiness that would be yours after accomplishing your dream.
That which you experience in imagination is an actual creative act. It is a fact in the fourth dimension of space and will make its appearance in this three-dimensional world just as surely as planting a seed will result in the growth of a particular plant. Once you have planted this seed in your imagination, do not uproot it by being anxious about how it will be accomplished. Each seed has its own appointed time. Some seeds take a few days; others a little longer. Feel confident that what you have planted will appear in your world. Your imagination will draw all that it needs to make your dream an actual reality. It if takes others to play a part in order to accomplish your end, your imagination will draw that person into your drama to play his or her part in the sequence of events. Your only responsibility is to remain faithful to your imaginal act until you experience it in your outer world. You can repeat your imaginal act each night before falling asleep. In fact, you may wish to enact this drama over and over again until it feels normal and natural to you as you drop off to sleep. Your imagination will work out the means to realize your dream while your conscious mind sleeps.
Bring your five senses into play as you perform your imaginal activity. Actually hear a friend’s voice congratulating you or feel yourself hugging that person. If you wanted a new piano, run your hand over the smooth wood, touch the keys, and listen to the sound. If you wanted to receive a dozen roses, actually smell the fragrance and touch their velvety petals.
Finally, you must be persistent in attaining your desire. Continue to imagine what you want until you have actually obtained it. You do nothing else to obtain your desire. If it is necessary to take some action, you will be led to do so in a normal, natural manner. You do not have to do anything to “help” bring it about. Remember that it is God, Himself, who is doing the work and He knows exactly how to accomplish it. If you think of your desire during the day, give thanks that it is already an accomplished fact . . because it is!
Dream better than the best you know.
ONE CAUSE
Nothing is impossible! There are two ways to interpret this statement . . both of which are correct. The obvious meaning is that it is possible to achieve anything you want. It can also be interpreted to mean that it is impossible for nothing to exist. Everything we are aware of or perceive in some way is something. It is inconceivable that something can come from nothing or that something can become nothing. It is a fact that nature abhors a vacuum and always rushes in to fill it with something. Some force or power created all that is. According to the Bible, creation is finished. Not only is creation finished, but God said it was good.
Have you ever considered what God could have used to create all there is? If creation is finished, how is it possible to pray to God to create something in your life that did not exist yesterday or today? Is it difficult to believe that God said His creation was good? If all of creation is good, why do people experience problems and how can wars, crime, starvation and other undesirable conditions exist?
The answers to these questions are contained within the following pages. Your understanding of these answers will enable you to see that it is impossible for nothing to exist. You will also see that you can obtain anything you desire because nothing is impossible to the creative power that resides within you. You can be and you can have all that you desire to be and to have. There is no limit to what you can accomplish for yourself and others. It doesn’t matter what your present circumstances are. The principle you have unconsciously used to bring about the undesirable conditions in your life can be consciously applied to make your every dream come true.
Creation is finished and it is good! God created the earth and all that is in it and God said it was good. Man has puzzled over these statements for centuries. If man really understood the meanings, he would not be confused nor would he feel anxious about his past, present or future. The understanding of these two statements would enable man to realize that he, alone, controls his actions and the circumstances of his life.
Let us take the first statement. God created the earth and all that is in it. God is infinite; therefore, God must have been before any form came into being. What substance could He have used to create all that exists?
There can be only one answer. God created everything that exists from the only substance available . . Himself. God (thought/consciousness) spoke the Word and brought everything into being out of himself. Everything you perceive is made of the one substance . . God. The one substance back of everything is energy and that energy is God or the “Word.”
Although scientists and medical men can analyze the various chemicals of which the body is made, none can combine these chemicals to form a living person. Since God created all that is out of Himself, it follows that God is the creator and the creation. God is expressing life through each and every one of us. It could not be otherwise.
Let us take the second statement. God said that His creation was good. That statement has confused man who believes that if God is good, another power must have created that which is not good. Yet, man also acknowledges that God is infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. These qualities of God must include all forms, all events, and all situations. If it were possible to remove all that is discordant or inharmonious from the world, it would not be possible to experience the reverse of that condition.
Perhaps this statement can be understood more easily if you will think of the principle of mathematics. In adding the sum of five and six, it is possible to obtain the incorrect answer of twelve. To eliminate that possibility, the number twelve would need to be removed from the whole of numbers. It would, therefore, be impossible to add six and six and reach the correct answer of twelve. You can see that by eliminating the possibility of a potential wrong answer, all numbers would eventually be eliminated and mathematics would not be possible. However, just as mathematics exists and can be used by anyone who has gained an understanding of how to use the principle to obtain correct answers, so the principle of creation can be understood to obtain desired results.
Because God has given all of us free will, you can choose the states you wish to occupy. God does not pre-determine your fate nor does God punish you for mistakes or misdeeds. Because a man may not understand the law of mathematics, he may be adversely affected when he makes a mistake in subtracting an amount in his check register. The law of mathematics is not punishing him. The law simply is and can be used correctly or incorrectly. God has allowed you complete freedom to choose that which you will encounter. When you come to the realization that you are God in form and expression, you will seek to experience greater good and nobler purposes for yourself and others.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Word is thought or imagination. God imagined the world into being and became that which He conceived. This is the principle on which all creation rests. Since God became man to give man life, man must contain that same creative principle within himself. “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” We have created our personal world through thought. If you are experiencing lack, limitation, illness, disharmony or any other unwanted condition, you have either consciously or unconsciously brought these conditions into your experience. The majority of people do not realize that thought, belief, and imagination has created their individual worlds. There is no other cause for the conditions of your life. You may choose to disbelieve this, but whether you believe it or not, all that you behold in the outer world was conceived within your own consciousness prior to your experience of it.
That which you think about with feeling, that which you believe to be true and that which you imagine yourself to be or to have is the cause of everything in your personal world. You may believe that there is some other cause; you may blame others for your problems; you may believe that the events were wrought by fate or chance, but if you are objective and observe your own beliefs and thought patterns, you will see that your world accurately reflects all that you believe to be true of yourself and others. There is no one and nothing to change but the ideas from which you think. We think from ideas that we consent to as true and we imagine situations that match our beliefs. Consciousness is the only reality. It is the creative principle that brings into your experience the exact duplicate or reflection of that which you imagine to be true. The world in which we live mirrors all that we believe and imagine to be true, be it good, bad, or indifferent.
The sooner that man rids himself of the belief in a second cause, the sooner will he realize that nothing happens to him except that which originates in his own consciousness. I do not deny that man believes that if he contracts a certain germ or virus that he will manifest a particular illness or disease. If he contemplates the cause, he may conclude that it is because he came in contact with someone else who had the bug. He doesn’t realize that in some way, his own feelings about health or illness attracted the illness he is experiencing. If viruses or germs were truly the cause of disease, everyone who came in contact with a particular virus would be affected. The outer world merely reflects that which a man is in his own consciousness.
It doesn’t matter what you have been taught; you can change your beliefs and so change the circumstances of your life. The Bible states that when you pray, believe that you have received and you shall have it. Most of us have read that statement or heard it at some time. Few people have actually prayed in that manner. Have you ever been ill and prayed for health? If you needed money, did you believe when you prayed that you already had the sum you asked for? Most people pray to God to change something in their lives or to give them something they do not have. If their prayers were not answered, they think that God had a reason for withholding that particular thing. They think that perhaps God didn’t grant their request because He didn’t want them to attain their desire for some reason known only to God. Man sometimes thinks that God doesn’t answer prayers because man is undeserving of that which he seeks. Man must learn to believe in that which he does not, at the moment, see in order to grant himself that which he desires to have. Man’s payers are always answered, for he always receives that which he believes. The law that governs prayer is impersonal. Belief is the condition necessary to realize the desire. No amount of pleas or ritual will bring about the fulfillment of your desires other than the belief that you are or have that which you want.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The full meaning of that statement must be understood. If the meaning were understood, man would have no problem in accomplishing his aims. Most men believe that nothing is impossible to God . . that God could do anything if he chose to do it. So man believes he has faith in God and prays to God for that which he wants. If his prayer is not granted, he thinks that he either did not pray long enough or hard enough or that God chose to withhold his request.
However, faith is the actual substance of that which is hoped for. It is the evidence of the thing you want which you do not see in the outer world. That which you want to do or be has already been created. Therefore, it actually does exist. It is possible to bring into your world anything in creation by your belief that you already have it. Faith that what you want is already a fact is the means by which you activate the invisible state. That state then is later reflected in your outer world. Creation is finished. God can create nothing that is not already existent. Faith or belief that you already are or have that which you desire is the only means by which to experience your desires. No limitation is imposed on that which you can have except your failure to assume possession of the quality or thing desired.
HOW THE LAW WORKS
The law of identical harvest or cause and effect is impersonal and can be used to bring into your experience anything you can conceive. Since creation is finished, every possible state already exists. Your fusion with a particular state (imagining with feeling what you would experience were you in that state) causes that state to be projected on your screen of space. This law cannot be changed or broken and always reproduces in your outer world the exact duplicate of any belief you consent to as true. If you would change your world, you must change your beliefs. Since consciousness is the only cause, you cannot blame others for the conditions which presently exist nor can fate or chance be the cause of that which you are now experiencing. Nothing can alter the course of events in your life except a change in your own consciousness. Whatever is appearing in your world now, although it appears real and an unalterable fact, is a reflection of previous activity in your own consciousness. Therefore, a change in consciousness will reflect that change in the future just as surely as past beliefs reflect the present.
Man is pure formless consciousness and that which he conceives himself to be is an illusion or reflection of the particular ideas he holds true. These illusions exist only so long as man focuses his attention upon them and gives them life.
The conscious mind forms beliefs and opinions from the evidence of the senses or the perceived outer world. The creative power within each of us accepts as true that which the conscious mind impresses upon it. Your creative power takes those ideas, which are thought of with feeling, and projects them in your outer world. It is important to remember that not all thoughts are creative.
Only those which are believed to be true or which are joined with feeling create the circumstances and events that you will encounter. Therefore, emotions such as anger, fear, love or joy are creative. You must guard the emotions which you allow to enter your consciousness just as you would discriminate in allowing a stranger into your home. You cannot allow negative emotions to fill your mind without suffering the consequences of experiencing the state with which those emotions are joined. Fear of loss brings loss into your world. You could take every outward precaution to guard against loss, but if you fear loss, you will most certainly experience it in your affairs. Feelings of love and joy create happy events and loving relationships. Feeling abundant brings riches into your life. A person who is unloving or suspicious and feels that others take advantage of him, draws to himself that which he believes. No matter what he does externally, his relationships with others will reflect that which he accepts as true. He may want a loving relationship but he can draw to himself only that which he is conscious of being.
Like literally does attract like. As within, so without. Consciousness is reality and that which is perceived by our senses and appears so real is but the shadow of that which we believe ourselves and the world to be.
CONSCIOUS USE OF THE LAW
At this time, I’m going to talk about who I am and what I am doing. If that sounds ego centered, it is. There have been 66 books written about who I am. I’m going to quote some statements from a few of those books. You have heard many of these quotes but didn’t realize that they were talking about the being that I am. The first quote is taken from the Book of Exodus. Here, Moses is talking to God and he said, “When I go back to the people, who shall I say has sent me?” The voice answers, “Tell them I AM has sent me unto you. That is my name forever and the name I shall be known by throughout all generations.” The Ten Commandments state, “Thou shalt not use the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” “Shalt not” is a command. “Shalt not” means you must not. It means that under no circumstances must you do it. That name is I AM.
Now, first of all, we have all forgotten His name. We say, “I am” hundreds of times a day and we don’t know we are using the name of God. Secondly, we try to break the Commandment all day long. We pay no attention to what we say following “I AM.”When we say, “I AM” and follow it with something we would not like in our world, we are using the Name of the Lord . . but not in vain. The Bible states we cannot use the Name in vain. Nothing we say preceded by “I AM” is in vain. That’s his Name. It is God Himself and because it is God, it is creative. God gave us Himself. He is “I AM” and that is who I am. I can never forget that I AM. I may forget who I AM or where I AM but I can never forget that I exist.
Whenever I say “I AM”, I AM [is] creating something. Prayer is believing that we have already received that which we ask. When I say, “I AM,” I am attaching my awareness of being to something. Now, you can lie and not believe what you are saying, but you cannot believe something about “I AM” and not create it. We are creating morning, noon, and night by our “I AM” statements. If you say, “I don’t feel well” and you believe it, you are perpetuating illness in your life. You must change those statements to “I feel wonderful.” We were taught, “Let the weak man say, ‘I AM strong.’” But, you can’t say it like a parrot. We have to pray (say I AM), believing that it is true, and then we will receive.
First, we must be like the Watchman at the Gate. We must watch every thought that contains I AM. If you are observant, you will see that you have created every circumstance and experience of your life.
Another important word to watch is “if.” The conscious mind is very subtle in expressing doubt (Satan or the Devil). We may be able to keep our minds focused on what we want by using positive “I” statements. If we are not careful, we may let a little “If” sneak in without recognizing its implication. We could say, “I feel wonderful” but then follow it with “If the pain continues, however, I will see a doctor on Tuesday.” “If s” are always followed by something negative and that is simply doubt creeping in to steal the good seed we have sown. Remove the word “if’ from your vocabulary, as it is not productive of that which you would like to reap. “If” puts everything in the past or future tense, and I always experience what I believe I AM. I AM is not future tense. Getting well is not being well. I must believe that I AM already what I want to be.
Remember, “Every word that goeth forth from my mouth shall not return unto me void.” Do you believe it? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”What’s his Name? I AM. So, begin to monitor every word (I AM) that you say. Do you see a pattern? Don’t the circumstances of your life reflect what you have been saying? You have been misusing the creative power that is God (I AM). Now that you are aware of what you have been doing, watch every word and make it conform to what you wish to bring into your life. Eventually, you will have faith that what you are stating, though there is no outward evidence to support it, is a fact in consciousness and will shortly project itself so that you may experience it in the outer. Knowing that God actually became you because He is I AM, you must realize that you are using your power to create every time you use that Name.
CHOICE . . FREEWILL
Creation is finished and you have free will to choose the state you will occupy. Therefore, it is important to determine the ideas from which you think. Any concept that is accepted as true will externalize itself in your outer world. Choice of what you will focus your attention upon is the only free will that you can exercise. Once a thought is accepted and charged with feeling, the creative power within proceeds to externalize it. Whether your assumptions are conscious or unconscious, they direct all action to their fulfillment. It is a delusion that, other than assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled, you can do anything to aid its realization. Your own wonderful human imagination determines the means it will use to bring your assumptions to fruition.
Each of us is subject to a sea of ideas. We listen to the radio, watch the news on television, or hear some gossip. If what we observe calls forth an emotion, we have reacted and, thereby, planted a seed which will sprout at some future time. Thoughts do not recede into the past. Rather, they advance into the future to confront us so that we may see that which we have planted, either wisely or unwisely.
It is a worthwhile exercise to awake in the morning and imagine yourself at the end of your day, having accomplished all that you wanted and feeling happy and contented. If there is a situation that you will encounter later in the day that is of concern to you, spend a few moments imagining the outcome you wish to experience. These imaginal activities will now advance into your future to reveal the harvest you so wisely planted.
DESIRE
Desire is a gift of God. Man is required to do nothing more than accept the gift by simply giving thanks for the unseen reality before he observes it in his outer world. Through desire, God beckons us to lift our awareness to higher and higher levels of consciousness. During our journey through this dream of life, it is necessary to experience all possible states so that we may return as God, the Father, but enhanced by having experienced both good and evil. The desire to do more, to be more, and to have more than you are presently expressing is the urge for expansion.
You may question whether a desire to kill or injure someone can be inspired by God. The answer is that no man actually desires to kill or harm another. He may wish to be free from that seeming other and, through his limited understanding, he feels that the only way he can achieve such freedom is by destroying the other. Man does not realize that the desire for freedom contains within itself the power and the means to fulfill itself. Because of his lack of faith, man distorts these gifts from God. He does not realize that God, the wisdom and power within him, has ways that he, as man, knows not of and those ways are past finding out.
Learn to be grateful for the desires you have been given. They already exist and are ready for embodiment in your world. You are not called upon to do anything to aid their realization except to free your mind of any doubt as to how they will come about and completely accept them as you would a gift from a loved one.
BE OBSERVANT
The importance of objectively observing your thoughts cannot be stressed enough. It is easy to slip into thought patterns that can hinder us in achieving our desires. It then becomes easy to blame others or attribute our frustrations to second causes.
Being a rather impatient person, I am usually anxious to get home after work and I particularly dislike waiting in lines. I began to notice that no matter what time I chose to pick up a few items at the market, I would encounter problems at the check stand such as price checks needing to be done, people writing checks who had trouble locating their identification, and various other kinds of delays. I found myself dreading these occasions, and I wanted to do something about this annoying situation. As I began to observe my thoughts, I found that, while standing in line, I would say to myself, “I always have to wait.” Then I realized that those statements made over and over again had created that which I did not wish to experience. I consciously changed that statement to, “No matter when I stop at the market, I never have to wait.” Of course that new statement has worked just as well as the old negative one.
As you begin to observe your thoughts, do not be discouraged if you find that your inner conversations do not match the way you would feel if you have achieved your goal. You must first become aware of what you are doing with your creative power before you can begin to change it. I ask you to go down to the “potter’s house” and see what he is doing. If the vessel is spoiled, then rework it into the kind of vessel that will please you.
As you begin observing your thoughts, you cannot avoid the realization that you alone are the cause of all that comes into your world. You, alone, can change it.
APPEARANCES
That which is confronting you in your world now is the result of your past thoughts, beliefs, feelings and imaginal activity. These appearances will continue in being as long as you give them life through your conscious awareness of them. You must disregard the evidence of your senses as it pertains to any undesirable condition in your life. You must imagine and feel that you have already attained that which you want to experience rather than that which you do not want to continue in being. This may appear difficult, yet you have probably exercised this principle unconsciously to produce negative results.
When I was in my early twenties, I found myself in a situation that was very unpleasant to me and I wanted to get out of it. After attending a lecture by Neville, I waited to speak to him afterwards. I briefly told him of my unhappy circumstances and was hoping he would offer some advice as to how to change them. He smiled at me and said, “Don’t accept it.” At that time in my life I did not fully grasp what Neville had been teaching. I thought he had misunderstood my question, and I tried to clarify my problem by stating that I had already made the choice to be in the situation I now found so unpleasant. Neville again smiled and said, “Don’t accept it.” I left his presence quite frustrated, thinking he had not understood my problem. I continued to read the two books I had by Neville. I gradually understood that regardless of the circumstances which surrounded me, I did not need to accept them as final. I began to imagine what I wanted rather than focus my thoughts on my negative surroundings. An event took place two weeks after I began my imaginal acts that was instrumental in bringing about my heart’s desire five months later . . that of a brand new home. Meanwhile, the situation that had been so depressing to me improved, and I spent the next five months planning what I would do in my new home.
Think about some past disappointment you may have had. Perhaps you were looking forward to attending a special event with someone. In your anticipation of it, did you think, “This is too good to be true, something will probably happened to spoil it.” Something probably did happen to create conflict or to cause you to miss it entirely. Man finds it relatively simple to disregard the promise of something good by thinking of all the reasons why he cannot achieve it.
People around you may be quick to point out that you are being unrealistic when you mention a desire that appears difficult or impossible to reach. We should all be unrealistic in the face of the army of doubt if we would experience our wish fulfilled. We are called upon to disregard the “facts” which would deny the achievement of our heart’s desire. Habit is the only thing that keeps our thoughts moving along the old familiar negative ruts. No one can change your thought patterns and, therefore, your life but you. It is worth all the effort it may take to center your attention and feel as if you already possess that which you want in place of things as they are. Consciousness is the only cause and the only reality. Every negative experience was produced by first giving attention and feeling to that condition. What consciousness has made, it can unmake. Your responsibility is to impress upon your mind the change you wish to express. Your imagination is the creative power that can and will accomplish the end without effort and in a natural way.
Appearances confirm our former habitual patterns of thought. That which you imagine yourself to be today will project itself in your world tomorrow. Persistence in assuming that you are the person you wish to be, despite your present circumstances, is the only condition imposed upon you to embody that ideal.
INNER CONVERSATIONS
All of us are mentally speaking within ourselves every waking moment. Our inner conversations must match the wish fulfilled if we would realize our desire. If our desire is for a better job and we imagine ourselves being congratulated because we are gainfully employed in a wonderful position, we must also make our inner conversations conform to that end. We must be certain that we are not saying within ourselves something like, “That boss of mine doesn’t believe in promoting people;” or “It would be difficult to find any job at my age, never mind a better one,” or similar statements that would imply that we do not have that which we desire. We must persist in the feeling of our imaginal act by making our mental conversations conform to what we would say had we already realized our aim.
If, for instance, we wished to own a new car, we could imagine a new car parked in our garage or imagine ourselves driving it, or imagine our friends admiring it. We must then make our inner conversations reflect the type of conversations we would engage in were we really the owner of a new car. Our conversations could consist of discussing our new car with friends such as telling them of the wonderful fuel mileage we are receiving, or hearing our friends tell us how much they enjoy riding in our new car, etc.
Our inner conversations are just as creative as our deliberate imagining of the wish fulfilled. In fact, if they are of the opposite nature, they can negate what we have imagined. You must watch what you are saying internally to make sure that these conversations coincide with your wish fulfilled. If you become aware that these inner talks contradict what you would like to achieve, revise them so that they follow along the track that would indicate that you already have what you desire or are already the person you wish to be.
REVISION
Your present world reflects the sum total of all that you believe to be true of yourself and others. That which you imagine yourself to be today goes forward and will confront you in the future. If you have forgotten your imaginal activities of the past, that which you see appearing in your world indicates the kind of seeds you have previously sown.
Assuming the feeling of your wish fulfilled is using your imagination creatively to bring into your world that which you desire to experience. You can use the art of revision to change the effects of prior thoughts and beliefs.
If, for instance, you had gone to an interview for a job you truly wanted but later learned that someone else was hired, you can revise that news to make it conform to what you wish you had heard. If you react by feeling depressed or assume any other negative attitude, you will then experience the same type of rejection in the future. Your reactions, whether positive or negative, are creative of future circumstances. In your imagination, you can hear words congratulating you on getting a wonderful new job. That imaginal act now goes forward and you will encounter this pleasant experience in the future.
As you review your day, it is important to revise each negative reaction so that you can remember it as what you wished had happened rather than storing that memory as it did occur. What you think of with feeling or emotion is an actual fact. That which you experience in the physical world is merely a shadow, reflecting the reality of your imaginal activity. Therefore, when you revise a conversation, an unhappy experience, or a quality about yourself, you are literally experiencing it in reality (your consciousness). The outer world is a delayed reflection of the inner and is confined to a dimension of space where events occur in a time sequence. Revision, then, literally changes the past. It replaces what occurred in the outer world with the revised version. The revised scene then gives off its effect by going forth to change future events.
Dwelling on past irritations or hurts perpetuates them and creates a vicious circle that serves to confirm these negative emotions. The circle can be broken by starting now to revise anything that you no longer wish to sustain in your world. By revising the past, you rid yourself of any effect it may have on your future. Revision is truly the key, which can be used to unlock the doors that have kept you trapped in a particular state. “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
All states exist and are a fixed part of creation. Anyone can enter a state consciously or fall into a state inadvertently. You may move into different states throughout your lifetime or you may occupy a single state. Desire is what usually motivates us to move from one state to a higher level. Since a state is total and complete in itself, when we enter a state we are compelled to behave in a manner dictated by that state. For instance, in the state of poverty, we would find ourselves constantly in need of funds. We would have difficulty making ends meet and have no way to enjoy luxuries. Should we be given a large sum of money, if we remain in the state of poverty (filling our mind with thoughts of lack and limitation,) we would soon find ourselves without funds and again experiencing the same difficulties. The reverse would be true if we occupied a state of wealth.
When we are in a state we see only the contents of that state and are compelled to act in accordance with all that the state entails. While in a particular state, you believe certain things are true and would find it difficult to understand another point of view. In the state of poverty, it is easy to focus your thoughts on the problems of providing food, shelter and clothing. When you succeed in moving out of this state, you no longer find it difficult to acquire these things. Most people attribute this change of fortune to a change in circumstances. However, unless you have moved from the state of poverty, no change in circumstance would be permanent. Rather, moving out of one state and into another in your imagination automatically creates a change in your outer world.
The Bible has personified every type of state and calls these states by names known to us as Moses, Noah, Job, Peter, Andrew, and Jesus. Throughout our journey, we enter these states and experience all that they offer. The last state we will enter is the state of Jesus Christ. In this state, we become aware that we are God, the Father, and that we have a son symbolized as David, who personifies the sum total of all humanity. The journey begins with Adam, who fell asleep and dreamed the dream of life, and then entered the myriad states to gain the experiences necessary before awakening. When you enter the state of Jesus you know yourself to be God, and your journey into this world of death is then complete.
THE PLAY
As Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances… and each man in his time plays many parts.” This world, which seems so real, is as much a dream as the dreams we encounter while asleep. Our waking dream seems so real because it has continuity while our dreams at night appear to be random sequences, taking place in unfamiliar surroundings and situations.
God is the dreamer, dreaming the play into existence, and God plays all the parts. Everyone who appears in your world is God playing that part for you, the author. “No man comes unto me, save I call him.” Each of us is writing his or her own script. If you are dissatisfied with the play, it is up to you to rewrite the script to make it conform to your idea of what the play should be. You cannot demand that the actors in your play change the character they are portraying. All changes must take place in the mind of the author.
If there is someone in your world who is the source of annoyance or irritation to you, that person has no choice but to play the part called for in your script. There is nothing you can do on the outside to bring about changes in another. You can use the art of revision to change a line of dialogue, to replace a certain character with another, and to write happy endings to the sub-plots of the play.
When you begin to view this waking dream objectively, you will be able to verify that you have been the author of both the pleasant and unhappy acts in your play. You can radically change the play by using your imagination creatively, by assuming your wish fulfilled. You can change the script on a daily basis by revising the scene that did not please you. The character who disturbed you today will not do so tomorrow if you write the dialogue you wish to hear and alter that role in your imagination.
When you awaken to know that you are God, the Father and author of this magnificent play, you will understand that: “each man in his time plays many parts.”
YOUR REAL PURPOSE
God became you so completely that he forgot that he was God. In becoming man, God reached the limit of contraction and opacity. God totally forgets that he is God in order to become and animate His creation, man. God then goes through all of the experiences of knowing good and evil and even death, in confidence, that man will eventually awake from this dream of life to once again know that he is God. There is only God in the universe, fragmenting himself as humanity, and God plays all the parts in this time-space dream.
Your own wonderful human imagination is God in action. I AM is Christ in you (your savior). And Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
God speaks to us through desire, urging us to reach higher and higher levels of awareness. Exercising his own wonderful human imagination to achieve these desires, man is actually experiencing God in action. Through faith in his imagination, man will eventually conclude that Christ (the Power and Wisdom of God) is within him as his imagination. At the end of this fabulous journey or dream of life, man will awaken to remember that he is God, the Father, enhanced by the experiences he put himself through; when he forgot that he was God. Man’s sole purpose is to experience scripture (all of the states of consciousness personified as men in the Bible).
Man’s goal is to reach the state called Jesus Christ. Then he will know that he really is the Father (Jesus) and that his son is Christ (all of humanity fused into one being). Man may have many goals in the meantime . . to accumulate possessions, to become powerful, to become famous, or to express anything that he desires. Eventually the hunger to know God will come upon him, and he will then have the experiences that are necessary to bring to his remembrance that he truly is God, the Father.
CASE HISTORIES
This Story concerns a woman (who will be referred to as Mrs. A.B). She knew that “imagination creates reality” and had taught this principal to her three children, ages 12, 10, and 6. She had practiced this principal for years to obtain the things she desired. Although her husband had also heard this teaching, he had not put it into practice and actually was quite skeptical about results. One Sunday afternoon, this family went for a drive and came upon a new tract of homes for sale. As this was a lovely rural area, they stopped to look at the new models. They all loved the area, and the homes were large and beautiful with all sorts of modern amenities. On the way home, they talked about how wonderful it would be to own a new home in this tract. They already owned a home; however, they had borrowed money on it and had very little equity that could be derived from its sale. The husband said that although he would like to buy the home, it was not possible as they could not raise the money required for the down payment. Even if they sold their present home, the real estate agent’s commission would equal the little equity they would realize.
Mrs. A.B. told her husband that the only way they could obtain the down payment would be to sell their home on their own, thereby keeping the commission for themselves. The husband was very pessimistic about this but told his wife to go ahead and place an ad in the paper although he knew “it wouldn’t do any good.” He was sure that there was no chance of selling the house in this way. The wife placed a small ad in the newspaper advertising their house for sale.
A few nights later when the husband had gone to bed early, she and her children drove to the tract of new homes. She felt that if she could walk through the new house and capture the feeling of actually living there, she would obtain her “dream home.” It was dark when they got there, but they found one of the houses unlocked. She and the three children walked through the house. The children decided on which bedroom each would occupy if they actually lived there. The mother instructed the children to actually sleep in the new house in their imagination that night, and she intended to do the same. For the next few days, they imagined living in their new home and taking walks in the woods that were adjacent to the tract.
That same week, a man answered the ad in the paper. He did not seem very enthusiastic about buying the house but returned later that day with his wife. He told Mrs. A.B. that they had decided to buy the house for the price she was asking. When Ms. A.B. expressed concern as to how they would go about placing the home in escrow, he told her that he was a real estate agent and would go through the company he worked for. This family received the exact amount of money necessary for a down payment on their new home. The escrow was very short, and the family moved into their new home a month later.
Mrs. A.B. knew that if she imagined herself sleeping in her new home, she would eventually sleep there in the flesh. Her children also learned how to obtain their heart’s desire through the use of imagination.
Mrs. C.D. had recently been divorced and needed to work to support her children as her husband refused to pay child support. Although her lawyer suggested taking him to court for nonpayment, the woman did not wish to do this. As part of the divorce settlement, she was awarded a very old and not very reliable car. One Friday night as she was driving home from work, it was raining very hard and most intersections were flooded. She was about a mile from her home when she stopped at a Stop sign. A truck coming toward her from the opposite direction went through the intersection, spraying a great deal of water as he drove past. The engine of the woman’s car died and she was unable to start it again. She removed her shoes before stepping out of her car as the water was more than ankle deep. She raised the hood and began to dry off the distributor cap with her handkerchief. She was crying at this point and her tears mingled with the rain. She finally got her car started and managed to get home to her children. She realized that it was necessary to have a dependable car if she was to work and support her children. She had no money for a down payment on a newer car and she did not earn enough to make car payments.
She went to work the following Monday and a co-worker asked her to go to lunch. The coworker had just purchased a new Pontiac Tempest and insisted that Mrs. C.D. drive her new car back to the office. Although Mrs. C.D. protested that she did not wish to drive someone’s new car, she did get behind the wheel and drove back to work. While she was driving the new car, she captured the feeling that this was her car and she felt the thrill of owning it. For the rest of the week, while she drove back and forth to work in her old car. Mrs. C.D. imagined that she was driving a brand new car of her own.
The next Friday, Mrs. C.D.’s ex-husband called and asked if she would like to have a new car. This was the first time since their divorce several months earlier that he had offered to do anything for her, including paying child support. The ex-husband was now working for a new car dealership and told her that, as a salesman, he was eligible to buy a certain make of car for no money down and with very low monthly payments. He said he was willing to make the monthly payments in lieu of child support and asked her to come to the dealership to pick out the color she wanted. It just so happened that the make of car eligible for this special deal was a Pontiac Tempest, the same make and model as the car she had driven that belonged to her co-worker.
Mrs. C.D. was able to obtain, through her use of imagination, what she could never have obtained through her own efforts at that time. Her ex-husband, who had offered her no monetary support for months, was the avenue chosen to provide her with the car she needed.
This is the story of Mrs. E.F., who had a desire to live near the ocean and used her imagination to fulfill her desire. She did not wish to sell her present home but wanted to lease it for a year before making the decision to move to the beach permanently. Mrs. E.F. told two of her friends about her wish. One friend, who had used the principle of imagination, told Mrs. E.F. that she would imagine visiting her at the beach in her new home. One week later, Mrs. E.F. traveled to Hawaii for a scheduled vacation. While there, she received a call from a friend who lived n San Diego. This friend told Mrs. E.F. that a perfect little house had just come on the market as a year. . around rental and she thought this house would be perfect for Mrs. E.F. Her friend also said that this was a very desirable rental and that Mr. E.F. would need to make a decision immediately as the rental would very likely not be available when she returned from Hawaii. Mrs. E.F. told her friend to tell the owners that she would take it, trusting her friend’s recommendation. Upon Mrs. E.F.’s return from Hawaii, she told her grown daughter that she had decided to rent a house at the beach in San Diego. Her daughter called her later that day and said that the mother of a friend of hers wanted to lease a house. The woman came by the next day, said she loved the house, and would like to lease it for a year. Mrs. E.F. gave notice at work and was able to move within a month. Since she was a nurse, she had no trouble finding a wonderful new job at a nearby hospital. Mrs. E.F. has since bought a house near the ocean and has spent 17 happy years living at the beach.
Mrs. E.F. imagined that she was living at the beach, and her friend imagined that she was visiting her there. They did this for one week. It is interesting that while she was on vacation in Hawaii, events moved swiftly to bring about her desire. She did nothing to find a new home nor did she do anything to rent her present home. Imagination was able to draw the necessary people into her life so that her wish could be fulfilled.
“What should be done after we have imagined our wish fulfilled? Nothing. “ You think you can do something, you want to do something, but actually you can do nothing to bring it about. God, our own wonderful human imagination, knows what things are necessary to bring about our desires. It is only necessary to go to the end, to live in the end. “My ways are past finding out.” “My ways are higher than your ways.” If we trust our imagination, it will “accomplish all that we ask of it.” Imagination can do all things . . have faith in it, and nothing shall be impossible to you.
This story concerns a young man (referred to as E.P) who was a wonderful athlete and was good at many different sports. During this particular time in his life, he became interested in paddling outrigger canoes. He joined a team and was soon competing in local races. In his second year of pursuing this sport, he was on a team that competed in the 50-mile race from Molokai to Honolulu. The Hawaiian outrigger teams usually took first place and were considered “unbeatable.” E.P.’s team came in 7th and that was considered quite remarkable considering the great number of teams that competed from all over the world along with the Hawaiian participants. After this race, E.P. began imagining that his team had won the race. He spent the next year forming a new team, practicing, and building his own outrigger canoe. He was convinced that if he imagined himself winning the race, his team would come in first.
He, next year, his team and at least a dozen others flew to Hawaii from Southern California to compete in the annual race. There were several teams with much more experience who were considered likely to place in the top ten, although the Hawaiians were still considered the favorites. At the end of the race, E.P.’s team finished first, ahead of the Hawaiians and all the other teams. E.P. now holds a paddle engraved with the words “World Champion” which was given to him upon his team taking first place.
After winning this coveted title, this young man went on to coach other teams. He also began manufacturing paddles for outrigger canoes. His paddles are known throughout the world and are used by outrigger teams who are among the top teams in the world.
E.P. now makes his home in Hawaii and enjoys coaching teams, manufacturing paddles, fishing and sailing his own boat. He also uses his boat as an escort craft for the annual outrigger races.
Mrs. J.K. was living in her twin sister’s home after having been divorced. Mrs. J.K. had three children, a son and girl and boy twins. Her sister and her husband had three boys. Needless to say, this was a crowded household. Mrs. J.K. was very desirous of getting married and living in her own home. She had been dating a man but decided that she did not wish to continue the relationship and broke it off. Many of her friends attempted to “fix” Mrs. J.K. up with eligible men they knew, but she was not interested in going on blind dates. Several of her friends commented that if she wished to meet an eligible man, she would need to get out and go places. The twins believed in the creative power of imagination, and they had a friend who also knew of the power of imagining. The three women determined that they would imagine a ring on Mrs. J.K.’s finger, which would imply that she was married. They did this for several weeks. During this time, Mrs. J.K. also imagined herself living in her own home. However, when she attempted to do so, she found herself imagining a home exactly like her sister’s.
One day, Mrs. J.K. received a call from a friend who asked her to come to her home and help her wallpaper her kitchen. Mrs. J.K. agreed to help her friend who lived a few blocks away in the same tract of homes. While she was there, a male neighbor came to visit her friend. The friend introduced Mrs. J.K. to her neighbor. He later called Mrs. J.K. and they began to date. Five months later, Mrs. J.K. married this man. The interesting part of this story is that all of these people lived in the same large tract of homes. There were only four homes in the tract of 1200 that had the same floor plan. Yes, this woman’s husband owned one of the homes that had the same floor plan as Mrs. J.K.’s twin sister. Even though Mrs. J.K. imagined herself living in her own home, she had only been able to imagine herself living in a house identical to her sister’s.
This is a story about the friend, Mrs. L.M., who had introduced Mrs. J.K. to her new husband. During their friendship, Mrs. J.K. had tried to explain the principle of imagination to her friend who was very doubtful that “it” would work. One day, Mrs. J.K. asked her friend to come to one of Neville’s lectures. Mrs. L.M. agreed to attend but was not at all convinced that imagining she had what she wanted would result in obtaining it. But, she decided to imagine a very simple thing . . the receipt of a handkerchief. She imagined that someone had given her one and then dropped the whole idea. Much to her surprise, she received a handkerchief in the mail from the mother of a friend who came to her house for lunch while she was in town for a visit. This woman sent Mrs. L.M. a handkerchief with a thank you note. Mrs. L.M. was not only surprised when she received the gift, she became very frightened as she thought there was something supernatural about it. Mrs. L.M. had attempted to disprove that imagination produces the thing desired. When she received the handkerchief she had imagined, she interpreted it to be some sort of Black Magic and didn’t want to know anymore about this teaching.
I could relate hundreds of incidents involving dozens of people in which imagination was used to bring about the desired results. I have chosen just a few stories to illustrate that imagination can be used to solve all manner of problems and bring into your experience your every heart’s desire.
Let us go into the Silence.
