My Neville GoddardEternal State
Executive Summary
In this lecture, Neville explains that all of creation is finished and exists as an infinite number of eternal states. The physical world is a collection of these states, which are in themselves "dead" or inanimate. You are the "operant power," a living soul whose imagination animates these states, bringing them to life as your experience. By understanding this, you can consciously choose and move into any state you desire—be it wealth, health, or a different location—by assuming the feeling of being there until it becomes your objective reality.
Key Concepts
- All conceivable situations already exist as eternal states; they are not created but are entered.
- The physical world is a "dead" structure, and you are the living power that animates it through your perception and imagination.
- To change your life, you must change the state you are occupying by modifying your body of belief.
- You move into a new state by assuming the feeling of your wish fulfilled and persisting in that assumption.
- Your individual identity is permanent and distinct from the states you pass through; you are the actor, while states are the parts you play.
- A future spiritual birth, the awakening of Christ within, will ultimately deliver you from this world of "death" and transform you into a life-giving spirit.
Detailed Explanation
The core teaching of this lecture is that the entire space-time history of the world is a fixed and finished structure. Everything you can possibly conceive of—every situation, every outcome, every place—already exists as an eternal state. Citing the poet William Blake, Neville explains that these states exist "independent of creation." The world you perceive is not an active, independent reality but a collection of these dead, inanimate scenes.
You are the living, animating power within this world of death. Your consciousness, your imagination, is the force that enters a state and brings it to life. When you perceive a scene, you animate it, and you become so lost in your own animation that you believe it is separate from you. You are like the mythological figure Proteus, able to assume any shape or play any part by entering the corresponding state. The people and conditions you encounter are shadows of your own being, parts of the scene you have animated.
Because all states exist now, you can consciously move from your current state to any other. The method is to use your imagination to adjust your senses to the desired reality. You must ask yourself what you would see, think, and feel if your desire were already a fact. By assuming this new state with sensory vividness and conviction, you are performing an act of faith. Falling asleep while immersed in the feeling of the wish fulfilled impresses this new state upon your consciousness. Following this imaginal act, events will begin to rearrange themselves to compel the objective realization of your assumption.
Neville distinguishes between operating this principle—moving through eternal states as a "living soul"—and our ultimate destiny. He speaks of a future awakening, an act of God's mercy, where Jesus Christ resurrects from within you. This spiritual birth delivers you from the "body of death" and transforms you into a "life-giving spirit," able to create in the truest sense. Until that time, you have the power to choose your state and, consequently, your experience in this world.
Important Quotes
Eternity exists and all things in eternity independent of creation which was an act of mercy.
— Eternal State
All things exist in the human imagination, and all phenomena are solely produced by imagining. Where there is no imagining, everything vanishes.
— Eternal State
Someone looking at my physical body would see me sleeping in Los Angeles, yet I would be sleeping in New York City, for I am all imagination and must be where I am imagining myself to be.
— Eternal State
Simply know what you want, animate the scene and those playing their parts will begin to move towards the fulfillment of your desire.
— Eternal State
Common Misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: You create your reality from scratch.
- Correction: This lecture teaches that all things already exist as eternal states. You do not create them; you select and animate a pre-existing state with your imagination.
Misunderstanding: Other people have independent agency to resist your desire.
- Correction: The lecture posits that the world is "dead" and you are the sole animator. Others are figures in the scene you bring to life, and they will play their parts to aid the birth of your assumption without their consent.
Misunderstanding: When you leave a state (like poverty), it ceases to exist.
- Correction: All states are eternal and "remain forever." When you move from one state to another, the former state still exists for others to enter.
Misunderstanding: Changing your state changes your fundamental identity.
- Correction: Your "individual identity is forever." You are the actor, and states like rich or poor are just different parts you play. The actor remains the same regardless of the role.
Practical Applications
To apply this teaching, you must first decide what you want to experience or who you want to be. The process is an internal, imaginative one:
- Sit quietly and close your eyes to your current physical surroundings.
- Assume you are already in the state you desire. If you want to be in another city, assume you are there now. If you want to be wealthy, assume you are wealthy now.
- Give this new state sensory vividness. Ask yourself questions from that perspective: What would I see? How would I feel? What would my thoughts be? Answer these questions carefully within your imagination.
- Hear friends congratulate you on your good fortune; feel the reality of the unseen experience.
- Persuade yourself that this imagined reality is true and fall asleep while dwelling in this assumption. This is your act of faith.
- After this imaginal act, the world will begin to change to conform to your assumption, bringing people and events together to make it your objective reality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an 'eternal state' according to this lecture?
An eternal state is any conceivable situation, condition, or body of belief that already exists as a permanent, unchangeable part of the universe's structure. States are not created by you; you simply enter and occupy them with your consciousness.
How do I change my circumstances?
You change your circumstances by changing the state you are occupying. This is done by assuming you are already the person you want to be, living in the reality you desire, and persisting in this imaginal act until it feels completely real and natural.
Are other people independent of my imagination?
This lecture teaches that the world is a 'dead' scene and you are its sole animator. When you enter a state, you animate all the parts, and the people in it will play their roles to fulfill your desire without their consent, as they are part of the scene you have brought to life.
Does my identity change when I move from a state of poverty to wealth?
No. The lecture states that your 'individual identity is forever.' States like 'rich' or 'poor' are merely parts you play as an actor, but the actor—your true self—remains unchanged.
Full Lecture Transcript
Read Neville Goddard's complete lecture below — the actual transcript this study guide is drawn from. Highlight any passage and ask the AI to explain it.
Neville 09-09-1968 ETERNAL STATES
Sit quietly and ask yourself who you are, where you are and what you are. Your answers will reveal your state of consciousness: your body of belief. Paul said, “We do not look to the outer things, but to the things unseen, for the outer things are transient, but the unseen things are eternal.” Your beliefs, seen by the mystic, are personified. They form a state, which completely controls your behavior. Any modification within your body of belief will result in a change in your outer world. Blake tells us, “Eternity exists and all things in eternity independent of creation which was an act of mercy. By this you will see that I do not consider either the just or the wicked to be in a supreme state, but to be everyone of them states of the sleep which the soul may fall into in its deadly dreams of good and evil when it leaves paradise following the serpent.” Now, Blake uses the word “mercy” only as one who sees that states are eternal; that in God’s mercy he created all things, not just a few, so that any situation which can be conceived, already exists in eternity. When Blake said, “Eternity exists and all things in eternity independent of creation which was an act of mercy,” he meant that everything you see is dead, a part of the eternal structure of the universe. You are its operant power. When you enter a scene it becomes animated. Then you become lost in your own animation and think it is independent of your perception. Looking at it, you cannot believe you are causing the animation, but you are. You and I are living souls, buried in a world of death. We are destined to be life-giving spirits through an act of mercy, but until that time we animate what we perceive. Questioning self, Blake asks: “O miserable man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?” May I tell you, no earthly power can do it, only God. Peter tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This is true, for only by God’s act of great mercy can we be born anew. Now buried in a world of eternal death, you are animating dead forms, believing they are independent of your perception of them. This you will continue to do until God’s great mercy awakens Jesus Christ within you. If Christ was not buried in you, he could not awaken in you, and if he is not in you he could not emerge from you. Therefore, like Paul, you carry in your body the death of Jesus. It is the tomb in which he is buried. His awakening delivers you from a body of death, but until that time you must live in, and adjust to, the dead body you wear. Now, until you are born from above, you operate the power which gives life to this world. For the world is a dream filled with dead scenery, while you are Proteus. As you enter the scene you cause the parts to be made alive. Not knowing this, you think there are others, and fight the shadows of your own being.
All things exist in the human imagination, and all phenomena are solely produced by imagining. Where there is no imagining, everything vanishes. If lack is now in your world, and you cease to be aware of it by imagining plenty, lack disappears; therefore, any modification in your body of belief will cause a change in your life. Now embedded in death, we resurrect into life by the act of mercy. Scripture calls this transformation Jesus Christ, for it is he who is buried in us; and when he awakens and rises, we are born from above, thereby setting us free from this body of death. Until that moment in time you can enter a state, partake of it and move on to another. This is how it is done. Although I am living here in Los Angeles, I desire to be in New York City. While lying on my bed tonight, I close my physical eyes to the room surrounding me and assume I am in New York City. Then I ask myself these questions: lf I were now in New York City, what would I see? Would I think of Los Angeles as three thousand miles to the west of me? Where are my friends and loved ones? How are my finances now that I am here? Then I would answer these questions carefully and fall asleep in New York City. Now, an assumption is an act of faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God. “By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that things seen were made out of things that do not appear.” Someone looking at my physical body would see me sleeping in Los Angeles, yet I would be sleeping in New York City, for I am all imagination and must be where I am imagining myself to be. By this action I am adjusting myself imaginatively to a state I desire to objectively realize. And if I have imagined with conviction, by giving New York City all of the sensory vividness of reality, things will immediately begin to happen to compel me to make the journey. I do not imagine lightly anymore, because I now know every imaginal act will come to pass. When I first stumbled upon this principle, I thought it was stupid. The idea that imagining creates reality was nonsense. How could anyone believe a thing into being without any external evidence to support it? How could any imaginal act be the causative fact, which fuses and projects itself? Although I did not believe it could, I imagined, and got that which I did not want! So I acquaint you now with what I know about this principle of imagining and lead you to your choice and its risk. There is always a risk, for you may not want what you have imagined after you get it, so I warn you to select wisely. Do you know what you want from life? You can be anything you want to be if you know who you are. Start from the premise, "I am all imagination and pass through states," for eternity (all things) exist now! Having experienced a state and moved into another one you may think the former state has ceased to be, but all states are eternal, they remain forever. Like the mental traveler that you are, you pass through states either wittingly or unwittingly, but your individual identity is forever. Whether you are rich or poor, you retain the same individual identity when you move from one state into another. If you are not on guard, you can be persuaded by the press, television, or radio, to change your concept of self and unwittingly move into an undesirable state. You can move into many states and play many parts, but as the actor, you do not change your identity. When you are rich, you are the same actor as when you are poor. These are only different parts you are playing. You annexed your physical body for the experiences you are now having, but you are not the body you wear. The day will come when you will awaken to this fact. Then, like Proteus, you will assume any shape for the part you want to play. If it takes a fish, you will be a fish. If it takes a man, you will be a man, for that is who God is. Learn to adjust your senses to what you desire to be. Just as I moved to New York City, you
can move into the state of wealth, fame, or any state you desire. Determine what it would feel like, and adjust your thinking by assuming you are feeling it now. Look at your world mentally. Your present level of objective fact may be the same as it was before, but in your imagination hear your friends congratulate you on your good fortune. Then believe in the reality of this unseen experience. Like Paul, look not to things seen, but to things unseen; for the things seen are temporal, while the things unseen are eternal. Two hundred years ago Blake made the statement, “Eternity exists and all things in eternity, independent of creation which was an act of mercy.” Three thousand years ago the unknown writer of Ecclesiastes said it even more beautifully: “There is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing for which it is said, ‘This is new?’ It has been already in ages past, but there is no remembrance of things to come after, among those who will come later.” This past year one of our great physicists, Professor Richard Fineman of Cal Tech, said the same thing, yet not as beautifully as Blake or the unknown author of Ecclesiastes. This is what Professor Fineman said: “The entire space/time history of the world is laid out and we only become aware of increasing portions of it successively.” For this Professor Fineman received the Nobel Prize and maybe $50,000, while Blake, who saw it mystically and recorded it poetically, went to an unmarked pauper’s grave. Professor Fineman based his conclusion on his study of the disintegration of the atom. Noticing the peculiar behavior of a little positron when placed in fluid, he realized that the entire space/ time history of the world is already laid out, and man only becomes aware of portions of it successively. I have seen the same thing in vision and know that the world is dead. I have entered a room such as this, to discover that I am the spirit animating it. By arresting the activity in me that caused the scene to become alive, everything froze. The waitress walked not. The birds flew not. The diners dined not. Then I knew that when I released its activity in me, everything and everyone would continue to complete their intention. Releasing my power, the waitress completed the serving, the bird flew to the limb of the tree, and the grass began to wave, as the leaf which was arrested in space fell to the ground. Now I know I am the center of creative power. The day will come when you, too will awaken and exercise your creative power, knowingly. That is our destiny, for we all will awaken as God and use this power to create in the true sense of the word. Try to remember that there is no limit to God’s creative power, or your power of belief. Persuade yourself that things are as you desire them to be. Fall asleep in that assumption, as that is your act of faith. Tomorrow the world will begin to change, to make room for the garment of your assumption. If it takes one person or ten thousand to aid the birth of your assumption, they will come. You will not need their consent or permission, because the world is dead and what would be the purpose in asking dead people to help you? Simply know what you want, animate the scene and those playing their parts will begin to move towards the fulfillment of your desire. Try it before you pass judgment upon it. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it will prove itself in performance and then it will not matter what the world thinks. If there is evidence for a thing, does it really matter what someone else thinks about it? I encourage you to try it, for if you do you will not fail. Now let us go into the silence.
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