Neville Goddard Word Study: Revision

Executive Summary

Revision is a daily imaginative practice for correcting and curing the past. By reviewing the day's events and mentally rewriting any undesirable or imperfect scenes, an individual can alter the causes of their present reality. This act, which Neville equates with repentance and forgiveness, effectively repeals the original event and its consequences, causing the revised version to advance from imagination into future experience.

Key Concepts

• Revision is the act of mentally replaying a past scene as it ought to have been played.
• It is a daily practice, best performed at the end of the day by reviewing all its episodes, conversations, and meetings.
• The revised scene must be experienced in imagination repeatedly until it takes on the tone of reality.
• Revision results in "repeal," changing the effects of the past on the present and future.
• Unrevised negative events do not fade away; they advance into the future to be experienced again.
• The technique applies to recent events, distant memories, inner conversations, and even physical conditions.

Detailed Explanation

Revision is defined as the act of going back in memory to replay a scene from the past as you wish it had occurred. This is not passive daydreaming but a potent creative act founded on the principle that imagining creates reality. According to this teaching, the causes of any present evil are the unrevised scenes of the past. Therefore, to truly change your life, you must first change the past by revising it in your imagination. This act of correction is called "repeal."

The process is a practical, daily discipline. At the end of each day, you are to review all its events without judgment. When you come to any scene, conversation, or meeting that was displeasing or less than perfect, you stop and rewrite it. You then experience this new, revised version in your imagination as though it had happened in the flesh, replaying it until it feels completely real. This same principle applies to your inner world; internal conversations that contradict your desire must also be revised to align with your wish fulfilled.

The effect of a successfully revised scene is profound. That imaginal act does not recede into a forgotten past but advances into your future to confront you as a tangible experience. In this way, you use the "pruning shears of revision" to remove unwanted experiences from your life and prevent their recurrence. Persistence is essential. Even if the external confirmation does not appear immediately, the revised event is a fixed fact in imagination that will, in time, appear in your world.

Important Quotes

This going into the past and replaying a scene of the past in imagination as it ought to have been played the first time, I call revision—and revision results in repeal.

— The Law And The Promise

At the end of my day, I review the day; I don't judge it, I simply review it. I look over the entire day, all the episodes, all the events, all the conversations, all the meetings,

— The Pruning Shears Of Revision

Revision is repentance and revision results in repeal. When you revise a memory that is fixed you have repealed it.

— Christ In Man

Related Concepts

• Imagination: Revision is a direct and purposeful application of the principle that "Imagining Creates Reality." It is the faculty you use to rewrite and re-experience past events to change your world.
• Law of Assumption: The practice requires you to assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. By experiencing the revised scene as real, you are assuming it has already happened, which is the key to its manifestation.
• Consciousness & Inner Speech: Revision extends to your inner world. You must revise internal conversations that contradict your desired state to ensure they align with your wish fulfilled.
• States: Revision is a method for changing states of consciousness. By revising the memory that created or sustains a negative state, you effectively repeal the state itself and move into a new one.

Common Misunderstandings

• Revision is not about ignoring the past. It is about actively changing the past by rewriting it in imagination. The causes of the present are in the unrevised past, so it must be confronted and altered.
• It is not only for major life events. Revision is described as a wise and daily practice, like using "pruning shears" to tend to all the day's events, conversations, and meetings, no matter how small.
• Results are not always instantaneous. One must persist in revising until the new scene feels real. Even then, you may need to wait for the confirmation to appear in the outer world. The revised act is already a fact in imagination and will manifest.

Practical Applications

• Daily Review: At the end of each day, review all its events, conversations, and meetings. Do not judge them; simply review them.
• Rewrite Undesirable Scenes: If any part of the day was unlovely, imperfect, or displeasing, stop and mentally rewrite it to conform to the ideal you wished you had experienced.
• Re-experience in Imagination: After rewriting the scene, replay it in your imagination over and over until it feels completely real and takes on the tones of reality.
• Revise Specific Events: Apply this technique to any past event, such as a failed job interview. Imagine hearing words of congratulations instead of the news of rejection.
• Revise Inner Talk: Monitor your inner conversations. If they contradict your desire, revise them to match the feeling of your wish already being fulfilled.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of revision?

The purpose of revision is to change the past in imagination, which in turn alters your present and future. It repeals the effects of negative past events and prevents them from recurring.

How often should I practice revision?

The source material recommends it as a daily practice, ideally performed at the end of each day to review and correct any undesirable moments before you sleep.

What if I revise something and don't see results right away?

You must persist in the imaginal act until it feels real. If confirmation does not appear the next day or week, you are told to wait, because the act is done in imagination and will come into your world.