Neville Goddard on The Wish Fulfilled

Executive Summary

The wish fulfilled is a radical psychological transformation where you mentally inhabit the reality of your desire before it appears externally. It is achieved by deliberately assuming the feeling you would experience if your goal were already accomplished. This act of appropriation, sustained in imagination, is the method for altering your future and bringing your desires into being, as the subconscious mind only gives form to that which you feel yourself to be.

Key Concepts

• Assume the Feeling: The core action is to feel as though the desire is already accomplished. You must experience in imagination what you would experience in reality if your prayer were answered.
• Psychological Transformation: This is not a passing thought but a radical change in consciousness. It requires the submission of your whole self to the ideal you wish to embody.
• Deny the Senses: You must believe you possess what your reason and senses currently deny. The practice involves ignoring the outer world and appropriating the inner feeling of fulfillment.
• Sustain the Feeling: The assumption must be maintained until it becomes your habitual state and hardens into fact. You must live and act upon this inner conviction.
• Prayer as Feeling: Prayer is not asking, but is the act of feeling the wish fulfilled. A joyful heart, born from this feeling, is the only acceptable offering to your own consciousness.
• The Drowsy State: A relaxed, sleepy state is ideal for impressing the subconscious mind, as it favors attention without effort.

Detailed Explanation

To assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled is to undergo a radical psychological transformation. It is the central mechanism for changing your future, as a person's experiences are determined by their concept of themselves. By assuming the feeling of a desire already being a fact, you alter your future to align with that assumption. This is because assumptions, even if false at the outset, will harden into fact if they are sustained.

The secret to this practice is self-abandonment. You must mentally abandon yourself to your wish fulfilled, driven by a love for that state, until you live in the new state and no longer in the old one. This requires faith—believing in what is currently unbelievable—and a commitment to the feeling until it achieves the sensory vividness of reality. This inner, imaginal change must precede any outer change; without it, all external actions are merely futile readjustments of surfaces.

This method is synonymous with prayer. Prayer is defined as the elevation of the mind to the level of the thing sought, which is accomplished by assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled. You hold your attention on this idea until it fills your mind, crowding out all other ideas. The subconscious gives form to your desires only when it is impressed with this feeling of fulfillment. For this reason, the drowsy state before sleep is a particularly effective time to practice, as the subconscious is more receptive. In this state, you can repeat a short phrase implying fulfillment, such as "Thank you," to permeate your mind with the feeling.

Ultimately, you must become what you desire to experience. You will not find your fulfilled desire until you are that desire. The process involves mentally constructing a life-like scene dramatizing the wish fulfilled and enacting it in imagination over and over until it takes on the tones of reality. By denying the evidence of the senses and appropriating the feeling of the wish fulfilled, you realize your desire.

Important Quotes

Man, by assuming the feeling of his wish fulfilled, alters his future in harmony with his assumption, for, assumptions though false, if sustained, will harden into fact.

— How To Manifest Your Desires

Denying the evidence of the senses and appropriating the feeling of the wish fulfilled is the way to the realization of your desire.

— Feeling Is The Secret

Commit yourself to the feeling of the wish fulfilled, in faith that this act of self-commission will become a reality. And it must become a reality because imagining creates reality.

— The Law And The Promise

If I could define prayer for anyone and put it just as clearly as I could, I would simply say, "It is the feeling of the wish fulfilled."

— Remain Faithful To Your Idea

Related Concepts

• Imagination: The wish is fulfilled first in imagination. You must experience in imagination what you would experience in reality, because imagining creates reality.
• Law of Assumption: The core technique is to assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. This assumption, when sustained, hardens into fact.
• Consciousness: To change your present state, you must rise to a higher level of consciousness by assuming the feeling of what you want to be. Prayer is directed to your own consciousness.
• Prayer: Prayer is not supplication but is defined as the act of getting into action mentally by holding the attention on the idea of the wish fulfilled.
• States: The practice involves mentally moving out of your old state and living in the new state of the wish fulfilled.
• I AM: You draw from within yourself not what you want, but what you are. You are that which you feel yourself to be.

Common Misunderstandings

• It is not mere wishful thinking. It is a "radical psychological transformation" and a "submission of the whole self" to the feeling of the wish fulfilled, not a fleeting, passive thought.
• It is not about physical action. The change is psychological. Outer change follows the inner, imaginal change. Actions unaccompanied by an imaginal change are described as "futile readjustment of surfaces."
• It is not a search for something outside yourself. Searching for a thing, such as love, only manifests its absence. You must assume you already are that which you desire to be.

Practical Applications

To apply this teaching, you must first identify your desire. Then, mentally construct a life-like scene that dramatizes the wish fulfilled—an event that would happen after your desire was realized. In a relaxed and drowsy state, such as before sleep, assume the feeling that this scene is happening now. Enact this drama in your imagination over and over again until it takes on the tones of reality. You can aid this process by repeating a short phrase that implies fulfillment, like "Thank you." The key is to deny the evidence of your senses, live from the conviction of this inner reality, and sustain this new state of consciousness.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the definition of prayer according to this teaching?

Prayer is the feeling of the wish fulfilled. It is the mental act of assuming the feeling you would have if your desire were already a reality.

When is the best time to practice assuming the wish fulfilled?

A drowsy, relaxed state is most effective, particularly the state before falling asleep, as it facilitates impressing the subconscious mind with minimal effort.

Do I need to take physical action to make my desire happen?

No, the change is purely psychological. All outer change is the result of a prior imaginal change. Actions taken without first changing your state of consciousness are futile.

What if my senses tell me my desire isn't here?

You must deny the evidence of your senses and reason. The method requires you to appropriate the feeling of the wish fulfilled in spite of all evidence to the contrary.