The creative use of imagination E-Book

Neville Goddard

• Herausgeber: ALEMAR S.A.S.
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The purpose of this book is to bring about a psychological change in you, the individual. Humanity, understood psychologically, is an infinite series of levels of consciousness and you, individually, are who you are based on where you are in the series. Consciousness is the only reality, and where you are psychologically conscious determines the circumstances of your life. The ancients knew this great truth, but our modern teachers have yet to discover it. There is only one substance in the world. Our scientists call it energy while the scriptures define it as consciousness. We are told that the universe was caused by water, but if this is true, then it could not evolve into anything other than water. But if the basic substance is energy (or consciousness), it can be made to manifest as iron, steel and wood, to name but a few. Man, seeing a variety of forms, thinks of innumerable substances, but what he sees is only a change in the arrangement of the same basic substance: consciousness.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1. Your Infinite Worth

Chapter 2. Take Not The Name In Vain

Chapter 3. Desire

Chapter 4. Are You Making Wine?

Chapter 5. Seeing God

Chapter 6. All Is Consciousness

Chapter 7. Righteousness

Chapter 8. The Perfect Will Of God

Chapter 9. Be Ye Doers Of The Word

Chapter 10. The Pearl Of Great Price

Chapter 11. Self-Remembering

Chapter 12. Your Destiny

Chapter 13. Your Personal Autobiography

Chapter 14. The Human Spirit

Chapter 15. The Feeling Of "I"

Chapter 16. The Wine Of Eternity

Chapter 17. Awake, O Sleeper

The creative use of imagination

Neville Goddard

Preface

This book, as all things, came into being because of a thought acted upon. Neville left us October 1, 1972 and, since that time, I have invested many hours transcribing the hundreds of tapes I have of his lectures. Neville explained that the ark of life contained and could be understood on three levels: the literal, psychological and spiritual. The lectures which are available deal mainly with the spiritual. However, because those who are now hearing his words on tapes and reading his lectures, did not hear him speak on the second (or psychological) level, I realized the need to provide that psychological plane as a foundation for the higher, spiritual level. And so, the thought was planted in my mind. What if there were some lectures that taught this principle on a practical level? Wouldn't it be wonderful if such a series could be found and made available for those who would desire it. And then one day I received a letter from a lovely lady in San Francisco who said she was moving into a retirement home and wanted to send me some notes she had from Neville's lecture series in San Francisco in 1952. These notes constitute this book.

I had a thought. Wouldn't it be wonderful if... and acted upon it by feeling the thrill of the thought's completion. I have never met the lady or heard from her since receiving the notes, but I have proved, once again, that imagination (thought) fulfills itself. The living proof is in your hands.

Now, let me tell you a bit about me. Born and raised in a small town in Kansas, I moved to California in 1942 as a good Protestant. But I had a hunger that no organized religion could fill, so I drifted from one belief to another, seeking yet not finding what I was searching for, possibly because I did not know what it was. Then one day I heard a man called Neville, and I knew that, although the outer me did not understand his words, the inner me was singing the Hallelujah Chorus, for I had found the cause of all life.., that my very thought, mixed with feeling, was an imaginal act which created the facts in my world.

I remember the first night I lay in my bed and dared to claim, "I AM God." Afraid that the ceiling would crash down on me, I quickly covered my head -- just in case. And when nothing happened, I gathered more courage and set out to prove for myself that imagination could create reality. I did not believe it could, and I wanted to prove Neville wrong. That was back in 1964, and I haven't succeeded yet. Not all of my imaginal acts have come to fruition, but I now know that the fault does not lie in the teaching, but in my belief in myself. And, as I have grown in my belief and trust and faith in what I have imagined, I have gained confidence in my own wonderful human imagination.

Several years ago, I put together a group of lectures of Neville's and called the book "Immortal Man." At the time, I was afraid to change his words even though felt I could make the message clearer if I did.

Shortly after its publication, I turned to self one night and asked, "Is it all right to change the words as long as I do not change the meaning? I know that if truth were told so that it could be understood, it would be believed. I know your words are true, Neville, but think I can make them clearer." I fell asleep questioning myself and, in the night, I had this dream: I am on my way to work. As I enter the building I see, directly before me, a beautiful restaurant whose tables are filled with diners, enjoying their meal. Neville is standing next to a fireplace, speaking to a group nearby. Thrilled to find him there, I am eager to show him the book of his lectures I had just published and question him regarding the change of words. But as I turn to take the case I am carrying into my office, get the book and return, he glances up and catches my eye. Instantly changing my mind, I turn and go directly into the restaurant to join him. But when I arrive, I discover that he has vanished, leaving the ladies to tell me that he is gone and will never return again.

Heartsick, I return to the lobby with its hard, tile floor when, suddenly the case I had been carrying fell from its handle. The moment it hit the floor, the case opened, my book fell out and lay open at its center seam. As I looked down in horror, I saw that I had been carrying a brief ease which contained a tape recorder that had turned on due to the fall, and Neville's voice was ringing out loud and clear. Embarrassed, I stooped down to turn off the volume, only to discover that all the knobs had fallen off the machine and there was no way for me to turn him off. As I tried to push the case over to the far wall in order to pick it up, I awoke with these words ringing in my ears, "I am IN you, AS you." From that moment on, my fears have vanished and, since that time, I have gained confidence in my writing. These are Neville's words - Neville's thoughts - yet we are so closely woven in the tapestry of thought that the words are now mine.

The lectures you will read are Neville's words, Yet they may not have been the exact words he spoke back in 1952. The material I had to work with were notes someone had taken in shorthand, transcribed, and duplicated. I have taken the notes and elaborated on them. The words are true and, hopefully understandable enough so you can test them and discover for yourself that when the truth is applied, it is made alive by a spiritual experience.

Always bear in mind that when Neville speaks of "man," he is speaking of generic man (man/woman). Man is the external world, the natural man; while imagination is the internal world, the man of spirit. God (imagination) became the natural man that the man of nature may become God who is Spirit.

Always think of yourself as two beings, one who sees through the organs of sense and the other who sees through the mind of imagination. And always remember God's name as he revealed it to Moses. "I AM. That is who I AM. And by this name, I shall be known throughout all generations. I AM that I AM." I the trinity, in unthinkable origin, AM God the Father. And I in creative expression AM the Son, for imagination is born of consciousness. Therefore I, in universal interpretation, in infinite imminence, in eternal procession AM God, the Holy Spirit.

Margaret Ruth Broome

Chapter 1. Your Infinite Worth

The purpose of these talks is to bring about a psychological change in you, the individual. Humanity, understood psychologically, is an infinite series of levels of awareness and you, individually, are what you are according to where you are in the series. Consciousness is the only reality, and where you are conscious of being psychologically, determines the circumstances of your life. The ancients knew this great truth, but our modern teachers have yet to discover it. There is only one substance in the world. Our scientists call it energy while scripture defines it as consciousness. We are told that the universe was caused by water, but if this is true, then it could not evolve into anything but water. But if the basic substance is energy (or consciousness), it can be made to manifest itself as iron, steel and wood, to name but a few. Man, seeing a variety of forms, thinks of numberless substances, but what is seen is only a change in the arrangement of the same basic substance -- consciousness.

Ephesians tells us that, "All things, when admitted, are made manifest by light." The word "light" recorded here means awareness; consciousness." The state the individual admits into his consciousness is the cause of one man being rich and another poor. The poor man admits to being in the state of poverty by saying, "I am poor," just as the rich man admits wealth by saying, "I am rich." Anything you, an individual, claim yourself to be (be it good, bad or indifferent, right or wrong) must be made manifest in your world, for by claiming the state, you have consented to its life.

There is only one cause, and that is consciousness. Your consciousness is the center from which your world mirrors and echoes the state you presently occupy. Now, a state can be defined as all that you believe and consent to as being true. So, if you want your world to change, you must determine what you want to accept and consent to as true before you can change it. To arrive at a certain definition of self, you must begin by uncritically observing your automatic reaction to an event, for your reaction defines your state. And you can, without getting out of your chair, rebuild your world by changing your level (or state) of being. This is done by observing yourself uncritically as you react to life. If you do not like the circumstances of your life, acknowledge its cause. Be willing to admit that the circumstances are only objectifying what you are conscious of, then change your consciousness and your world will change. If you react to that which is being objectified, you bind yourself to a certain, level of awareness, but if you refuse to react, the thread is broken. Stop being conscious of something unlovely, for every unlovely thought causes you to walk in psychological mud. Rather, identify yourself with beauty, with love (the Christ in you) and you will ascend the infinite level of your own being and change the circumstances of your life.

Your state of awareness, like a magnet, attracts life. Steel, in its demagnetized state is a whirling mass of electrons, but when the electrons are faced in one direction, the steel is magnetized. You do not add to the steel to make it magnetic or take anything away to demagnetize it. This same principle is true for you. You can change your world by rearranging your thoughts and having them travel only in one direction, and that is toward the fulfillment of your desire.

Watch your reactions to life, for any change in the arrangement of your mind which can be detected by self-observation, will cause a change in your outer world. It is important to learn to be passive to that which is unlovely and unacceptable to you. In that way, you are awakening the dynamic one within. And when you find your inner being, you will discover that the qualities you condemn in others are really in yourself. Then you will know the secret of forgiveness, for as you forgive yourself, the others are forgiven.

All things (not just a few) are made manifest by the light, and everything manifested is light. The moment you consent to a thought, it is made manifest. It could not come into being unless you consented to its expression by being aware of it. The universe moves with motiveless necessity as it has no motive of its own. Rather, it moves under the necessity of manifesting the arrangements of the minds of men. This teaching is to awaken you to your light, and the awakening begins by self-observation.

If you have a secret affection for living in the mud of self-pity and condemnation, your world will mirror those feelings. But if you will rearrange your mind and live in the heavenly feeling of harmony and love, your manifested world will change. If, today, you would spend five minutes in uncritical observation of yourself, you would be surprised to discover how deceitful you are. It is a terrible shock, I know, but every shock of this type will let in the light of awareness, and life is an ever-increasing illumination. As the light comes in, you become more and more conscious of who you really are.