Neville Goddard on Law of Assumption

Executive Summary

The Law of Assumption posits that the only cause for the events in your life is your own state of consciousness. To change your circumstances, you must first change your state. This is accomplished by assuming the feeling of your wish already being fulfilled. You must experience in imagination what you would experience in the flesh if your desire were a reality. By persisting in this new assumption, even when it is denied by your senses and reason, it will inevitably harden into objective fact.

Key Concepts

• Your state of consciousness is the only creative cause.
• An assumption is the act of feeling that you are already what you want to be.
• You must persist in your assumption, remaining faithful to your new self-concept.
• An imaginal change must precede any change in your outer world.
• You must ignore the evidence of your senses that denies your assumption.
• An assumption, if sustained, will harden into fact automatically.

Detailed Explanation

The foundation of this principle is that a person's state of consciousness is the ultimate cause of everything that happens to them. All that befalls you, all that is done by you, and all that comes from you is a direct result of your current state. The conviction that there are causes outside of your own consciousness is a delusion.

The mechanism for changing your life is therefore a psychological one, brought about by your attitudes rather than your acts. The process begins by identifying what you desire to be or possess. Then, you must experience in imagination what it would be like if your goal were already realized. This involves assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled and giving this inner state all the tones of reality and sensory vividness you can muster. You must mentally abandon yourself to this new state.

Persistence is the key to success. You must affirm that you are already what you hope to be and live internally as though you were. This assumption may seem false to the outer world and be contradicted by your physical senses, but if you persist in it, it will harden into fact. This requires faith, which is the ability to believe what is unbelievable to your rational mind. By remaining faithful to your assumption, you die to your former concept of self and are reborn into the new one.

Once you have successfully assumed the consciousness of being what you desired to be, you can no longer continue wanting it. The desire is fulfilled within. You must then shut the door on your senses, which may still show you the old reality. A sustained assumption invariably awakens and makes visible in your world that which it affirms. The objective manifestation of your assumption is not your concern; it will come into view automatically as a result of your changed consciousness.

Important Quotes

We must affirm that we are already that which we hope to be and live as though we were, knowing like Dr. Millikan, that our assumption, though false to the outer world, if persisted in, will harden into fact.

— Radio Lectures

There can be no outer change until there is first an imaginal change. Everything you do, unaccompanied by an imaginal change, is but futile readjustment of surfaces.

— The Law And The Promise

I, by my assumption, awaken and make visible in my world what I assume, for assumptions if sustained invariably awaken what they affirm.

— Thinking Fourth-Dimensionally

Related Concepts

• Imagination: The entire process is an imaginal one. You must experience your wish fulfilled in imagination, giving it sensory vividness. An imaginal change is the prerequisite for any outer change.
• I AM: Your assumption rearranges the cause-substance, which is I AM. When you affirm “I am strong,” you are using the name of God to define your being and bring forth that state.
• Consciousness: The law is entirely about changing your state of consciousness. Your consciousness is the ultimate substance and primal cause of all things.
• Desire: The process begins with a desire, a state you wish to experience. The assumption is the act of moving from desiring a state to being conscious of already embodying it.
• Feeling Is the Secret: The teaching emphasizes assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled. You must commit yourself mentally to this feeling in faith that it will become a reality.

Common Misunderstandings

• Action is the cause of change. The source material states that the drama of life is psychological, determined by attitudes, not acts. Physical actions without a corresponding imaginal change are described as "futile readjustment of surfaces."
• You must wait for external proof. The teaching is clear that you must assume you are what you want to be before there is any evidence. You must persist in the assumption even when it is false to the outer world and denied by your senses.
• An assumption is a single thought. The teaching requires persistence and faithfulness to the new state. It must become your habitual attitude to bring about a true transformation, not just a passing mood.

Practical Applications

To apply this law, you must first identify a clear desire—a state you wish to express or possess. Next, you must concentrate your attention on the idea of identifying yourself with this ideal. In your imagination, construct an experience that you would have if your desire were already a fact. Feel what it would feel like, give it sensory vividness, and mentally abandon yourself to this state.

You must then persist in this assumption. This means that when you are not actively imagining, you carry the feeling of being that person. You must deafen your ears and blind your eyes to all that denies the reality of your assumption. When you have truly assumed the new state, you will no longer feel the hunger of desire for it, because you are now conscious of being it. Remain faithful to this new self-concept, and it will harden into fact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the true cause of my life's circumstances?

According to the source material, your own state of consciousness is the only cause of everything that befalls you.

Do I need to take physical action to make my assumption real?

No. The process is a psychological one. An inner, imaginal change must precede any outer change. Actions taken without first changing your consciousness are described as futile.

What should I do if my assumption feels false and my senses deny it?

You must persist in the assumption despite what your senses and the outer world tell you. An assumption, though it may seem false, if persisted in, will harden into objective fact.