Category: Neville Goddard Lecture

Neville Goddard—01/27/1969

Inspiration is a divine action which qualifies the individual to receive and communicate sacred revelation. The prophets, apostles, and incurrent eyewitnesses are those who receive such inspiration. 

The prophets’ visions are foreshortened. They see as present what is really future. Prophesying of the grace that is to be yours, they searched and inquired what person or what time was indicated by the spirit of Christ in them, when they predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you! 

The apostles are sent by the Risen Lord to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament and to share their experiences with all. 

Individual man, having been conditioned to believe that God is somewhere in space as someone on the outside, cannot believe that everything he beholds is within his own human imagination. But it is. 

We are told: “He who receives you, receives me, and he who receives me, receives him who sent me. If Christ is in you, although your body is dead, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will raise you also through his Spirit within you.” (Matthew 10 & Romans 8) The first quote, from Matthew, tells you that God is in you, for the writers of the New Testament identify the Christ who governs your life with Jehovah, who inspired the prophets. 

Paul tells us that Christ is in you, although your body is dead. This I know to be true. I have stopped time and witnessed how dead this body is. Time and again I have moved into a society, arrested the activity in me that causes the animation I am observing, and everyone has stood still. They appear to be as dead as the statues of clay or marble in a museum. I have entered a room to become possessed by the motion that inspires things. I have arrested this action, and everything has stood still. I have walked among those present to discover they are all dead. Now I know that Paul’s statement is true: “If Christ is in you, although the body is dead, he who raised Christ from the dead will raise you also, through his Spirit within you.” 

But how do I convince you that the Lord God Jehovah is actually in you? That Jehovah is dreaming he is you, and in the end will awaken as you? How do I convince you that you will witness the images the prophets used? They tell us that Christ is the Rock. That you have forgotten the God who gave you birth. 

The prophets equate the Rock with the Lord God Jehovah. This I know to be true. One day I sat in the silence, when quartz appeared before my vision. As I watched, the rock fragmented into numberless pieces and instantly molded itself into the human form, seated in the lotus posture in profound meditation. As I realized I was looking at myself, the form began to glow. It increased in intensity until it reached the limit of translucency. Then it exploded and my vision came to its end. Now I know I am the Rock that begot me. 

Out of that solid state of death comes life, for you put this limit of contraction and opacity called Man upon yourself. At the present time three and a half billion of us walk the earth, individualized, because the being which gives us life is asleep. 

Believing the world is taking place independent of our perception, we do not realize that our dreams are projecting themselves on this screen of space, and that we are in conflict with our dreams. But one day God will awaken within your dead body; and when he does, all of the imagery of scripture will surround you, identifying you as the central figure of the Bible — the Lord God Jesus Christ. 

Scripture is all about God, as there is no one else. God and his name are one! That name is I AM! Falling asleep, God breathed upon your body and it became animated, as He dreams your world into being. One day God will awaken and all of your confusion will end. Then you will take off your garment of death to return to the being you were before that the world was. You will be enhanced beyond your wildest dreams, for there is no limit to your expansion and translucency. A limit was set to contraction and opacity, which is the body of death called Man; but your expansion and translucency is limitless. 

Who would have thought that the imagery recorded in the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy was true: “Of the Rock that begot you, you are unmindful and have forgotten the God who gave you life.” In this verse God is equated with the Rock that fragmented itself and is defused in all. 

Although now a universally diffused individuality, the Rock’s name forever and ever is I AM! Every child born of woman says, I am! That is the fragmented rock. In the end, when the fragments gather together to form one being, you – wearing your face – will realize no one exists independent of your perception, for the world is contained within your own wonderful human imagination, and projected by you. 

When I tell you what I know from inspiration, it is true, for it happened to me. And when it does, I turn to the Old Testament to find a passage in the word of God that parallels my experience. If I do, then I have two witnesses that agree in testimony, making it conclusive. 

I saw myself begotten out of a rock, for the rock fragmented, then gathered itself together to form a person I knew to be myself – not the being I shave in the morning, but myself raised to the nth degree of perfection. That being was meditating me, and I must become as perfect as He is. And when I am He awakes and I am eternal life, the one who came down into a body that was dead, to dream the dream of life. Everyone is this completely diffused being. Knowing that you are, you are mentally saying I am; and that is God’s name forever and ever. 

Now, not everything in the Bible is inspired. Paul’s passages about marriage are not. Paul confesses he is not married and wishes that everyone were as he is; but if that were true there would be no offsprings. Paul did say: “It is far better to marry than to burn.” In other words, it is better to have union with what he calls the marriage state, than to long for such satisfaction. This was his opinion, not his inspiration. In his letter to the Romans, Paul states his opinion about the homosexual – only because he forgot that in the Old Testament God made everything and pronounced it good and very good. If God made everything, then God made the homosexual, did he not? So not every word of scripture is inspired; but you will know the passages that are, for when you awake, scripture unfolds in you. 

It is said that, beginning with Moses and all the prophets and the psalms. Paul interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things that concerned him. Remember: in Paul’s day there was no New Testament. It was written to record the passages of the Old Testament which were fulfilled. So when you read the New Testament, pay strict attention to any passage that is quoted by the Risen Lord and taken from the Old Testament. 

In the tenth chapter of John, the Risen Lord says: “I and my Father are one. Why do you condemn me for saying I am the Son of God? Is it not written in your law…” – (and he quotes the 82nd Psalm) saying: “‘I say, you are gods’? If it is written, ‘Ye are gods and scripture cannot be broken, why do you condemn me, whom God consecrated and sent into the world?’ “Here is the Christ in you, quoting scripture after having risen from the sleep of death. And the moment Christ awakens in you, you are the Risen Christ! 

There is only one Risen Christ and everyone is being gathered together into that one being. Although we have different talents, everyone will know God’s embrace, qualifying him for apostleship. 

If you are meant to experience scripture consciously, you will be sent, and tell your experiences to those who will be drawn to you, to show them the parallel between what happened to you and what the word of God said through His inspired prophets. When the prophets inquired, they were told that they were not serving themselves, for their time had not come. But scripture has been fulfilled now, and the time is here for all to awaken. 

We are in the act of awakening as God, and when the visions come they cannot be stopped. Coming suddenly and unexpectedly, their power possesses you as though something is wearing you. Then you begin to see and hear that which kings and prophets long to see, and cannot because the time has not fully come for them. 

As passage after passage of scripture unfolds within you, you will recognize the inspired ones as they take place; but not everything written in scripture was inspired. They wrote certain dietary laws based upon what they called the need of the time, but these are not inspired. There are passages in both the Old and the New Testament that were not inspired, but man-made traditions which have enslaved the minds of men. We are asked: “Why do you deny the word of God for the traditions of your fathers?” If you are going to accept the man-made traditions, you will never know the inspired word of God. 

The inspired word of God comes to certain individuals because God is rebuilding his shattered temple with living stones. This temple is not made with human hands, but with the redeemed. When one awakens, he becomes a living stone in that one divine body. 

Now, “If the Spirit of Christ is in you, although the body is dead, he who raised Christ from the dead will raise you also through his spirit, which dwells in you.” If His Spirit wasn’t dwelling in you, He could not raise you. I know that when I awoke, there was no one there to lift me up. The wind was there so the invisible God was present, but I saw no other garment. I awoke within myself and when I came out, my body lying on the bed appeared to be dead. 

Have you ever been in a recovery room in a hospital? In 1952, I had my gall bladder removed and my body was wheeled into a recovery room after the operation. When I came to, I looked at the four others who were there, and thought they were dead and we were in a morgue. Well, these mortal bodies we wear are dead. They are animated and seemingly alive because of the presence of God in them. That God, you are! You cannot go to eternal death in that which cannot die, for God is life. The body God wears returns to dust, out of which it was made; but you cannot die, for you are God Himself! 

Spirit entered your body of flesh as your breath of life. At that moment God became human, and humanity became a living being. Inspired scripture happens each time the Risen Lord prepares to disappear from the visible world. His breath is his baptism with the Holy Spirit, which quickens your dead body into a life-giving spirit. 

Having experienced scripture, when I disappear from this world I cannot go without, for – containing all within myself – I must go within. 

This is the mystery of inspiration. You will be possessed by a vision, to find yourself playing the central role in a drama that is taking place within yourself. And when the vision fades you will search the scriptures to find the inspired word of God you have just fulfilled. 

When you tell your experiences to all who will listen, few will believe you, for they have been conditioned to believe in some little external Jesus Christ and prefer to remain that way. 

It is the Christ within man who is his hope of glory. That is the Christ who fulfills scripture. Having had scripture fulfill itself in me, I have interpreted to you in all the scriptures the things concerning – not a man called Neville, but God’s power, in me, called Christ. 

Do not be embarrassed when I tell you that you are God. Instead, walk believing you are that important. You don’t have to become arrogant, but you must assume you are God. Think about it! Stop believing in God and start believing as God. Do this and the visions will come to confirm your assumption. 

Scripture is all about Christ, the Jehovah you are. The spirit and the flesh are one; therefore, when David appears, in vision, you are revealing your true identity to yourself. This I know, for I have found David. He called me Lord. I know I am the Rock that begot him, for I have played all of the fragmented parts and put them together to form David. 

When David calls you father, the Rock of his salvation, you will remember you are the Lord. Then you will tell salvation’s story, and if God is still asleep in those who hear, they will think you are mad. That’s all right, as all inspired men – being judged by the garment they wear – will appear mad to those who hear them. When you claim you have a spirit, you will be called mad, just as it is said of the Risen Christ in the tenth chapter of John. 

Today, as in the past, people believe scripture will be fulfilled in a secular manner. But while occupying their garment of death, everyone will individually fulfill God’s word. 

You are destined to know the power of stopping and starting time. Possessed by the Spirit, you will be taken into a room. Knowing intuitively who you are and the power you are feeling, you will arrest that activity within you and everything will stand still. As you examine that which was so alive and seemingly independent of your perception only a moment ago, you will discover it is all dead. Then, releasing their activity in your imagination, everything will once more become animated and continue its purpose. If a bird was in flight when you arrested it, it will continue to fly when released. If someone is carrying food to a table when arrested – although you can keep them in that position for as long as you like – when you release the power you know yourself to be, they will continue to serve the meal as if nothing had happened. 

Can you imagine doing that? I tell you it is true, but as long as you identify yourself with a body of death and believe it is you, you will not realize you are your own hope of glory. 

The body you care for and keep well is dead, while I – the awareness who entered it – AM a living being, who will experience scripture while in this dead body. I came into the world and took upon myself the body of a slave when I was born in the likeness of man. Now, wearing the human form, I AM obedient unto death, even death upon the cross of man. While in this state, I will experience the word I inspired the prophets to write, for I AM the God in you! 

Having created an incredible adventure, I prophesied that I would die and overcome death. The prophecy has been fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled in all, for I am God, capable of overcoming my last enemy, which is death. I will awaken in my grave and come out unassisted to find myself greater than I was before the adventure. 

Those who think of me in terms of the outer form I wear will see the things that were foretold; but not me, for I AM spirit and cannot be seen with the mortal eye. Having eyes that see not and ears that hear not, I will give them eyes that they may see and bore ears that they may hear what kings and prophets long to see and hear, but cannot. A retreat will not cultivate inspiration. It doesn’t come that way. The fire that rises within you is the same fire that descends like a bolt of lightening and splits you in two. You cannot consciously lift this power through contemplation. Only He who first descended can ascend into the kingdom of heaven. Descending like a bolt of lightening, the curtain of the temple is split, releasing His spirit that was trapped inside. Then your power is raised back into the heavenly state from which you came, for you are the God of scripture who said: “I say, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. Nevertheless you will die like men and fall as one man, O princes.’ ” 

From now on, think of yourself as spirit, not flesh and blood. People are so proud of their physical line, yet if they knew its background they might be ashamed of it. Many a person has paid a fortune to trace his lineage and then spent another fortune to forget it. 

Recently I read of a questionnaire which was sent out to various church officials in England, asking what they thought was going to happen to them when they died. One minister replied: “I assume I will enter into the joy of the Lord, but why bring up such an unpleasant subject?” This is true the world over, because man does not know he is immortal and cannot die. 

You came into a world of death. The body you now wear will return to dust from whence it came; but you, its occupant, cannot die. Rather, you will simply dream yourself into another body of death, animate it in a terrestrial world like this, and continue to do the same things you are doing here. You will be in an environment which the depths of your being finds best suited for what He still wants to do, and you will continue doing it until you awaken in that garment and fulfill scripture. 

Then you will take off your garment of death and return to the glory that was yours before that the world was. We knew each other intimately before we descended, and we will know each other just as intimately when we take off all of these masks and ascend. 

In this world, we wear separate, individual bodies; but in eternity we form the one body. We are many, yet one. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” In that state there will be only one Lord, one God and Father of all, and all form that one. No matter what type of dreams an individual has, in the end they will be but dreams; for when he awakes and returns, we will love him as dearly as we did before the descent. 

Inspiration is a gift of God, which cannot be acquired. Because God is in you, scripture is inspired from within. At the present time, Christ – God’s power and wisdom – is personified as you. Although the body you wear is dead, He who raised Christ from the dead will raise you also. Christ in you is the one who rises. His spirit is your breath. Breathing his inspiration, you hear and feel the wind. Then you who radiate the glory of that God breath will awaken as God Himself. 

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—10/28/1966

Tonight’s subject is “The Miraculous Child.” This child will not appear to the world, for they are so fixed in their misconceptions of Scripture, and there is no dead weight so heavy. But tonight I wish you would pay special attention, as I want to introduce you to this miraculous child. For “Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, if he is not born in thee, thy soul is still forlorn.”

God participates in human history and is known in those through whom his timeless purpose is working in time. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ, and he appears, symbolized as a child. This miraculous child is not Christ, but a sign that Christ is born, in you. Now listen to one in whom God’s timeless purpose has been fulfilled in time.

Always remember that all the characters of Scripture are states of consciousness personified. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, none of these forefathers of Jesus appear in any Near Eastern work whatsoever. They do not appear either as individuals or as tribes. Appearing only in Scripture, they are eternal states through which God passes as he unfolds his purpose in you. And his purpose is to give himself to you as though there were no other, just God and you, and finally only you, for you are He.

The promise of a child begins in the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis. This promise was made to Abraham. Although Sarah was beyond the age of child bearing, when the child was born they called him Isaac which means, “he laughs”. Now, you would think he was born of human stock, but this child is a prototype of that which must be born in you. All the ancient prophecies were eschatology, for their visions were only about the last days.

Another prototype child appears in the name of Moses, which is the ancient perfected of the Egyptian verb “to be born”. Something is to be born. We think it is a man called Moses because he came out of the deep. But we find this story unfolding, and unfolding until we come to the point called David. Then we are told, “Go to my servant David and say, ‘When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your son after you. He will come forth from your body. I will be his father and he shall be my son.’” Again the child is promised.

Now we move into Isaiah, “For unto us a child is born, a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’” Here we find this promise unfolding and unfolding, yet in the very last book of the Old Testament the father is still waiting for the son saying, “A son honors his father, if I am a father, where is my honor?”

The first chapter of the New Testament begins with the fulfillment of this promise. In it we read that this child is born, not of blood, or of the will of man, or of the will of the flesh, but of God. It’s an entirely different birth. Then he tells us, “This shall be a sign unto you. Blessed is she who believes that which she has heard, that there shall be a fulfillment of those things which were spoken unto her from the Lord.” The shepherds of the field appear and are told, “Unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” The shepherds enter Bethlehem and, believing, they find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.

As a Christian you were taught that these events took place on earth. That a little child was born of a woman who didn’t have a husband, or know a man. It hasn’t a thing to do with that. The child is only a sign, a sign that your savior is born and the only savior is God. “I am the Lord your God the Holy One of Israel, your Savior and besides me there is no savior.” There is only God. God, your I AM is the root, the creator of humanity and its offspring because I became what I created. Bursting the shell, I will come out, transcending what I was prior to my fall into my own creation.

I am telling you what I know from experience. The day will come when you will experience it too. My days of being consciously in this word are at an end. Like Paul I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. There is nothing else for me to do, for I have experienced within myself all that I promised I would.

How will you know when it happens? You will not see signs on the outside, yet there are signs that come to all who are moving toward the end. Everyone, who is hungry, not for bread or for milk but for an experience of God, is here to fulfill the prophecy of Scripture. And Scriptural prophecy has not a thing to do with America, Russia, Europe, China or any part of the world as the prophets of the modern age will tell you. The Bible is not secular history, but the history of salvation. It has nothing to do with any land, but it is all about you who walk the lands of the earth.

Every day the morning mail brings me confirmation of those who are nearing the end. Two letters came this week that I would like to share with you. One lady writes, “I am 59 years old. I did not complete college because I had small sons and the demands of my family life were too great. But during the time I attended college I had a recurrent dream that I must prepare for an exam. As the years have progressed the dream persisted. Now I feel the sense of urgency knowing I must prepare for the great exam. Recently, when I closed my eyes I saw human faces, like the great paintings of Michelangelo, yet they had no eyes. And in the midst of these bodies I saw an infant who smiled at me. As he laughed I felt as though he were in heaven and I his observer. Then I had a vivid dream where I saw my son who was the most beautiful child imaginable. Do these experiences have any Biblical significance?”

The significance of her dream is the great exam. If you have ever been on TV, you know there is such a thing as an idiot sheet, a moving sheet in bold writing. All of these profoundly wise men who speak to you while standing in front of a TV camera, are simply reading an idiot sheet. I am using his analogy for a purpose; for I want to tell this lady that in the immediate future she is going to be given the great exam. Everyone in the world will be called for this exam. You will be called and taken in Spirit, into the presence of the Risen Christ and the exam will begin. He will ask you only one question, “What is the greatest thing in this world?”

Well it’s just like looking at the idiot sheet, for you are looking at the embodiment of love and as you look at the exalted Christ only one emotion permeates you and that is love. So put your heart at rest, for you cannot fail. You don’t have to study; the answer will be automatic. Then love will embrace you and change your lowly body to be of one form with his glorious body. Our translators cannot bring themselves to believe in the literal word of Scripture, so they translate this sentence to read, “He will change our lowly bodies to be like the body of Christ” but the literal translation is “to be one form with.” You aren’t like Christ; you become him. Your lowly body is completely refashioned to be of one form with, not like, his glorious body. When you look at that body you see the human form divine and it’s all love. So in the end there is only one body, one God, one Man and you are He.

Now let me tell you of a letter that came from a gentleman. He said, “I came home on Monday night, sat down in my chair and closed my eyes. As I began to relax a blaze of light appeared before me, and as I looked at the light I could see a pool of golden liquid pulsating light in its center. Then the light formed itself into a beautiful rose which expanded and expanded reaching toward the perimeter of this vast area when I was called to dinner.” Then he asked if this held any meaning.

In the second chapter of the Songs of Solomon we are told, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.” Who is I am? God. Here is Scripture unfolding within him. He saw the rose, not separate or superimposed upon the light, but the light itself formed the rose. Listen to the words, “I am the light of the world and I am the rose of Sharon.” Sharon means “prosperity; a straight path; the right way; abundance.” When the rose appears in the consciousness of man, it means great abundance. Abundance need not be measure in dollars and cents, but in a sense of well-being, a sense of peace; a sense of rest. The rose is God. I am the rose of Sharon.

Now, to repeat: God participates in the history of man and is known in those through whom his birth is taking place. God is working in you and as he works, Scripture unfolds in you. Scripture has been fulfilled in me. Like Paul, beginning with Moses and the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms, I have interpreted to you in all the Scriptures the things concerning myself. I am not speaking of anything else, only God.

Yesterday, about 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon, as is my custom, I was reading the Bible. My wife was resting in preparation for our dinner engagement, when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Wearing only my shorts and, thinking it may be a delivery boy, I went to the door and here was a nun who said she had a message for me from God. Then, she began to tell me all about the many devils and terrible things that were going to happen to me if I didn’t get on his side. Finally I stopped her and said, “I am reminded of what Frank Lloyd Wright once said, ‘We are both doing God’s work, you in your way and I in his.’” Then I excused myself and as I closed the door a thought came to me. “He has awakened from the dream of life. Tis we who, lost in stormy vision, keep with fancy an unprofitable strife.” You find a devil and you make more devils because you recognize them and what you recognize you project and make real in your world.

All I can tell you is what I have experienced concerning Scripture. This miraculous child is a fact. The day will come when you will experience everything said of this child. There will be those who will make a hasty journey to see that which has happened in Bethlehem. They will find the child and, knowing whose child it is, they will call you by name. If your name is John they will declare it is John’s baby. Then you will pick up the child, look into its heavenly face and as he laughs the vision comes to its end. And then you will know the reality of the child that was given to you as a sign that the savior was born. There is only one savior who is God. So if the savior is born, God is born. He came down into man and raises man by being reborn, from man, for I am the root and the offspring of David.

Now, the lady and gentleman whose dreams I shared with you tonight do not know one another. Her name is Vera. Born in Russia, she came there to be a dancer in New York City and has now opened a lovely dress shop in the Disneyland Hotel. Jimmie was born in Italy. I have known them both for years, but they have never met. Last night I had a dream. Here is Vera, a lady, quite small and about 50 years old. And Jimmie, also about 50, handsome, wonderful and well put together as he always is, is looking at her. In my dream Vera is his mother and she is hugging me. Jimmie is disturbed and scolds her for displaying her feelings toward me. Then she turned to him and said in a very Russian accent, “And why shouldn’t I? He is your father.” Well, the bewildered look on his face when he heard that bit of news was so priceless I started to laugh. I woke myself up laughing and even woke my wife. Here it is 3:30 in the morning and I am laughing so hard my wife says, “What on earth is wrong with you?” I told her I had a dream and would share it with her in the morning. Then I got out of bed and went into the living room to laugh some more. But his was a true revelation.

If I am the Father of David and I know I am and David is the personification of all the generations of men and their experiences, and Jimmie is a man, am I not his Father? Am I not the Father of humanity if I am the Father of the essence of humanity, which is David? David has called me Father in fulfillment of the 89th Psalm. If I am David’s father, and he is the personification of all the generations of men and their experiences, am I not Jimmie’s father? It’s all the unfolding of Scripture, for there is nothing but God in this world. And when he unfolds himself in you, you will know it too. Those who have not experienced Scripture will think you are as mad as a hatter, but the day will come when you will know that you too are the Father of humanity, because you are going to be the Father of the sum total of all the generations of men personified as the eternal youth whose name is David. And if he is the essence of humanity, are you not, then, the Father of humanity?

In the very last chapter, the twenty-second chapter of Revelations we read “I am the root and the offspring of David.” The creator entered his own creation, then emerged from it; therefore he is now the offspring. But by creating it, is he not its Father? And by entering it, not pretending, but actually becoming it he accepted all the limitations of the human flesh. Now playing all the parts, he cannot come out until the very end of the drama. And when the play is over he, as you, emerge. Then the essence of the whole vast creative world stands before you as a son, and David calls you “Father”.

All this wonderful symbolism unfolds within man. And when the child comes it’s a miraculous child. The government, the full responsibility, all the authority will be on his shoulders. He will close and none shall open. He will open and none shall close. That’s the responsibility that is placed upon his shoulders. His name is Wonderful Counselor, for [he] has infinite wisdom now. Mighty God, possessing divine wisdom and divine might. His third name is Everlasting Father, as he is the eternal Father of humanity and the essence of humanity summarized in the eternal youth called David. Then comes the final title, Prince of Peace. Not just the peace after the conflict of war, but a full and complete enjoyment of everything in this world, for he has found peace. Then you are told, “Of his greatness there shall be no end.” And where does all this take place? In the individual you!

God actually participates in the history of man and is known in those through whom his timeless purpose is working in time. While you are walking, in time, his timeless purpose is working in you. Everyone will experience it, and no one will fail because God became each one of us that we, each of us, may become God.

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—01/31/1969

Baptism on this level is a symbolic representation of being raised to the realization of being God the Father. In his letter, Paul tells the Ephesians that there is only one baptism. This occurs prior to the realization of being God the Father. And in Paul’s letter to the Romans he states: “We are buried with Christ by a baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we also may walk in newness of life.” 

Baptism implies complete immersion. It is said that when Jesus rose out of the water the heavens opened, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon him. 

Has it ever occurred to you that you are immersed in a body which is 90 per cent water? This is the great water in which God is buried and will remain until – now individualized as you – He will rise out of the water to see the heavens become transparent and the Spirit – in bodily form as a dove – descend with his gift of a new form, a new manner of existence, and a new unification, so that each – while preserving his individuality – becomes God the Father. 

In his great eulogy, Paul places baptism as sixth in order. Beginning with the one body, Paul speaks of the one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and finally the one God and Father of all. So this baptism takes place just before you become aware of being – not just God the Father, but the Father of all! 

Now it is said that when the heavens opened to complete translucency, Christ – now risen – not only saw the Spirit take on bodily form as a dove, but heard a voice speak directly to him. This event takes place in an individual’s soul, and is not seen or heard by anyone else! 

Jesus is the personification of redeemed humanity. He represents all those who have fulfilled scripture. His story takes place in the soul of the individual who has the experience, and it is not shared by another on this level. “I have had a baptism to be baptized with, and now I am constrained until it is accomplished.” All scholars interpret this statement to mean the crucifixion, but it is not. 

The crucifixion began with a creative act, when the Spirit of God moved upon and was baptized into these bodies of water. At that moment we were united with Christ in a death like his. After incubation, we will all hatch out and be united with Him in a resurrection like his. 

Now inundated in a world of illusion, the Spirit is hovering, incubating, and one day will be raised out of this body of water. Then the heavens will open and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, will descend. 

Bear in mind that Jesus represents redeemed humanity. His is the one body into which every being is incorporated. Jesus is the one Spirit, the one and only hope of man, and the only Lord. He is the only faith by which one should live, and the one baptism culminating into becoming the one God and Father of all. This is baptism in the true sense of the word. 

In 1926 my mother came to see me in New York City, and was quite upset when she discovered my two-year-old son had not been baptized. She believed that if he died without being baptized he would not go to heaven, so we had him baptized for her sake. 

But we are told that unless you are born of water – which you are dwelling in right now, and the Spirit – which is a spiritual experience, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. When this vision possessed me, my head became transparent. Through its translucency I saw a dove floating above me, and I had fulfilled the story in Genesis. 

Man is not a fantasy of the earth and water, but the true ark of God, containing everything within him. The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. When Noah stretched forth his hand he received the dove and brought her in unto himself, and there she remained. 

In my own case, I came out of the water from which I was inundated. I extended my right hand and the dove lit upon it. Then I brought the dove to my face and it smothered me with love, as the voice of God – personified as a woman – said, “They avoid man because he gives off such an offensive odor; but his love is so great that he penetrated the ring of offense to demonstrate his love for you.”

Just recently I was reading the dialogues of the pilgrims of Buddha (translated from the Sanskrit by Mr. Rhys Davids), where he said: “In the eyes of the gods, human beings are seen as disgusting, revolting, and are accounted as such.” I know in my own case the voice of God spoke similar words, but not in the same manner. And on this level they may not be wrong, when you think of the tremendous amount of advertising is placed upon deodorants. But I do not believe Buddha was speaking of human beings in that manner. 

We are here for a purpose. Ours was a deliberate descent, and not because of anything we did that was wrong. And when our incubation is over, we will once more rise from this world of death to be infinitely greater than we were prior to our descent. This water-body called man is the limit of our contraction and opacity, but there is no limit to our expansion and luminosity. 

Do you know that when a body weighing 300 pounds is cremated, the amount of ash which remains could be placed in a Campbell’s soup can – so where did the 300 pounds go? It evaporated, because it was all water! We are all individually wearing a garment of water. We are buried with Christ by baptism unto death. And just as Christ rose by the glory of the Father, we too will rise in newness of life. 

When this happens to you, no one here will know it, for they cannot see the events you encounter. No one will see the dove descend upon you, the transparency, or hear God’s voice tell you of his love. These events transpire in your soul, and when you share your experience with others some will believe you, while others will not. The majority will not believe, for having been conditioned to think of Jesus as a little individual who lived and died two thousand years ago, they cannot think of him as the personification of redeemed humanity. They cannot see Christ as a cosmic presence buried in all, but only as a mortal man – and that is not his story. 

If you cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless you are born of water and the Spirit, then you must emerge (be born out of) the water in which you, as Spirit, first entered. 

Your birth as Spirit qualifies you for the new form, the new manner of existence, the new unification of Christ on an entirely different level. One person at a time is called to enter into and form that one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all who is above all, through all, and in all. 

Whether you have been baptized here or not does not matter, for it is only a symbolic representation of this – the final mystery in the great series. And when you have experienced the true baptism, you are an entirely different being. No one in the outer world can see the being you know yourself to be. But you will become completely absorbed into that one body, one Spirit, one God, yet you will never lose your individuality. That’s the great mystery and that’s the purpose of it all. 

We were individualized before we descended, and tend forever and ever towards ever greater individualization. Having descended into these bodies of water, Spirit hovers over the water, incubating something precious that is buried there until it hatches. And when the water breaks the heavens open, and the Spirit in bodily form as a dove, descends. Then the voice of God declares his love, for he has raised up his glory and you become one with God the Father. 

When this experience is yours, you will remain here to share your experiences in the written form, that in the tomorrows your words may spark something in those who read them. In this world of Caesar money and security, love and affection, are sought; but the day will come when nothing will satisfy the individual but an experience of God. Then he will know the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

Your baptism in the Christian faith is only a symbolic representation of this great mystery of dying, being buried, and rising again with Christ. But you do not have to be baptized here in order to fulfill scripture. 

I hope you will soon fulfill the real baptism and know the mysteries of scripture. My mother had me baptized at the age of three or four. At the time I had no knowledge of what was taking place; but in the real baptism I was the sole actor, alone on the stage where the vision took place. 

In his book, John implies that others saw the event, as he put words in the mouth of John the Baptist. Luke suggested others were there, but told us he was only telling a story, saying: “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished within us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from above were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seems good to me also, having followed all things accurately, from above…” 

The phrase “from the beginning” is a translation of the Greek word “anothen”, which means “from above”. This same word is translated as from above, when the Risen Christ spoke to the Sanhedrin [member] Nicodemus, saying: “Unless you are born from above you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Luke is telling you that he has had the heavenly experience and knows what he is talking about, but he does not claim his story is chronologically exact. Luke rearranges the story, ending with the crucifixion, yet knowing that it came first. 

Tennyson once said: “Truth embodied in a tale shall enter in at lowly doors.” Luke told his story as though it took place in the outer world, and unfortunately the world has accepted it on that level. Luke cannot be condemned for telling it that way, for it has kept the story alive. But it was written for you, most excellent one who loves God, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. 

Having been told these stories, you have been informed of the truth which will one day come to the surface. Believing they happened to one man, you have worshiped an exterior Christ, joined a church, and done all that the church demands of you. But one day the true story will erupt within you. Then there will be no judgment concerning what the evangelist did. 

Both Matthew and Mark claimed only the one having the experience saw the clarity of the heavens and the descent of the dove. Luke and John told of witnesses, but I know from experience: you and you alone bear witness to yourself. 

That is why, when you tell others that the story written about Jesus Christ has unfolded in you, they cannot believe it. In their eyes you are a human being with limitations and frustrations, while they are looking for something entirely different. They do not know that the reenactment is coming to them, for he said: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am constrained until it is accomplished.” 

When you are baptized with this baptism, you become one with the one body waiting for all to come. You awaken as the one Spirit waiting for everyone to awaken. And as that one being, you will wait for all to set their hope fully upon this grace which comes at the unveiling of Jesus Christ. You will be constrained until everyone is once more brought into the one body, the one Spirit, the one God and Father of all. 

After baptism you will take off the garment of flesh for the last time, to become one with God the Father who is above all, through all, and in all; to once more hover and wait for those you have incubated to rise from the dead garments of water where they are buried. 

Now is the time to set your hope fully upon the true baptism, when the heavens open and you come out of the water to find the Spirit of God hovering above you. And because you are fulfilling scripture, you will do exactly what Noah did. You will extend your hand. The dove will light upon it and you will bring it into yourself. In my experience, the dove smothered me with love. Then God, in the form of a woman, told me that His love was so great he penetrated the ring of offense. Prior to that experience I had never thought of myself as being offensive; but to those who contemplate this world the ring of death is very offensive. 

Throughout the letters of Paul, much is said of this baptism. In the third chapter of Galatians, Paul tells that baptism removes all human divisions of race, class, or sex. That after the baptism we are in Christ and are neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, male nor female. Having resurrected from division, we are baptized into the one Risen Lord who is one with every race and every creed; for the Risen Lord is above all divisions. 

After baptism you will no longer see people in your dreams, for everything changes. Your little body will remain limited and weak, however, until you are relieved of it. Having fought the good fight and finished the race, you will have kept the faith and received the crown of righteousness and the wreath of the victor. So set your hope upon this – the final of the seven eulogies. 

The great confession of Israel, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,” parallels the Christian creed as the one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one baptism, found in the 4th chapter of Ephesians. 

On the first day of January, 1963, I was baptized by the Holy Spirit. Now I, like Paul, spend my days from morning to night telling the story of the fulfillment of God’s promise to the fathers, while many believe and may disbelieve. But I will keep on telling it until I depart this world. 

Everyone must and will be baptized into the body of the Risen Lord as the Risen Lord, without loss of identity. Then he will be given a new form, a new manner of existence, and a new unification; because, having been united with Christ in death, h is unified with Christ in a resurrection into a completely new unification. 

There is no loss of identity, yet you know you are God the Father of all. I will know you more intimately there than I could ever know you here. I knew you before you descended, and I will certainly know you after we ascend. We can never lose our individuality, but will simply know a greater and greater individuality in that one body, one Lord, one God and Father of all. 

Although I urge you to set your hope fully upon this grace that is coming to you, no one knows when it will happen. Do not think that what you have done has any restraining power, because it has none. Everyone has had thoughts which he is ashamed of. I am a perfect example of one who could never have judged myself as kindly or gently, as compassionately or mercifully, as I was judged to become – so how could I claim another as not qualified! 

I did not come to judge you. I do not know what you have done and I really do not care, but I urge you not to put a barrier upon yourself because of the things you have done of which you may be ashamed. When His mercy shines upon you, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow, so it doesn’t really matter. 

I am not encouraging you to go out and violate your codes, but I urge you not to carry the burden of your past with you. Let it go if you can, and set your hope fully upon this baptism, for the Father is hovering over you. You do not see him because you are immersed in water, but he is incubating you, and one day you will break through the surface and be baptized into the body of the one God and Father of all. 

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—11/07/1969

In the 64th chapter of the Book of Isaiah we read: “O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay. Thou art our potter; we are the work of thy hand.” When you hear the words Lord, Father, and potter, do you think of another? I certainly hope not. 

The word “Lord” is Jod He Vau He [pron. “Yod Hey Vav Hey”] which is defined as “I AM”. Your own wonderful I AMness is the Lord, your Father. And the word “potter” means “imagination” that which is shaping your world. Imagination is the Lord, the potter, the shaper of your world, molding it into its present form. 

“God is Man and exists in us and we in Him. The Eternal Body of Man is the Imagination which is God Himself.” (William. Blake)

Let me share a story I read in the October 26th magazine section of the New York Times. It was a letter written by one while in prison on an island in the Asian Sea. This gentleman was under house arrest, watched 24-hours a day, and only allowed to go for a short walk before dinner. Every morning at 9:00 and every evening at 6:00 he had to sign in at the police station before returning to his room. 

Now, these are his words: “I began to imagine the tree in the village of Paula the day after my escape. I watched the man whose job it is to sit in the square and watch me as he drank his coffee. I smelled the fresh baked bread coming from the bakery and heard the cobbler opening his shop, and knew it was now 9:00. At 9:30 I would imagine an official speak to the man seated in the square, look up at my apartment intently as the man told him he had not seen me on my balcony that day. 

At 10:00 the police would come to investigate and knock down the door. By 10:30 the news would scatter abroad and all would know that I had escaped. Throughout the day the villagers would pass in their silent way, secretly casting a knowing glance at each other, rejoicing in my freedom. Then I would imagine my friends gathering around their little short-wave radio, hearing the news of my escape. It seemed I felt the greatest thrill when I reached the scene where they all knew that I was free.” 

At first this was only a day-dream, and then he began to believe in its reality. Oh yes, there were physical means by which he escaped, but they came into being as a result of his imaginal activity. I tell you, to attempt to change the circumstances of your life before you change your imaginal activity relative to it, is to struggle against the very nature of things; for this is a world of imagination, created by God – your reality and all imagination. 

All things exist in Divine Imagination who is reproducing Himself in you, the human imagination; therefore, all things exist in you. 

Now, you don’t have to be a prisoner physically to use this law. You could be imprisoned financially, socially, or intellectually. All you need is a keen desire to change. And you can, by doing the same thing this gentlemen did; by imagining the scene that would take place the day after your wedding; the day after you received your promotion; the day after you were financially set free to live graciously. Choose your day-after, and then imagine the scene that would take place. This gentleman started by letting the villagers know of his escape imaginatively. 

Now, you have friends. They know your present position and the conditions that surround you. If they are not as you would like them to be, let your friends know – not verbally or outwardly – but in your imagination. See them seeing you as they would have to see you, the day after they know things are just as you want them to be. Then wait in confidence for ways to open that you could not devise. No one knows how or when it will happen, but it will. You will find yourself walking across some bridge of incident that you did not consciously devise, which takes you to your freedom – whatever that end may be. 

I tell you, “Man is all Imagination and God is Man and exists in us and we in Him. The Eternal Body of Man is the Imagination and that is God Himself.” When this God awakes within you, His birth clothes you with everything said of Him in scripture. It is said that He is the light of the world; that He is love; that He is the power and the wisdom of the universe. May I tell you, when He awakes in you, you will be clothed with power, with wisdom, with light, and with love. And those whose eyes are opened into the inner, eternal world of thought will see you clothed as God. 

But if the eye is not opened, they will see you only as the little garment that you wear, with all of its weaknesses and limitations. This you will continue to wear until that silver cord which ties you to it, is released. Only then will your heavenly inheritance be fully realized. But at night, while your garment of flesh sleeps here, you are detached, and move into the world of eternity where you are fully conscious of what you are doing. Then a quick series of events will pull you back to this waking surface of the mind, and you will tell your story in the hope that all who hear it will believe you. One day they will believe, for they will have an identical experience. No one can fail, for grace cannot be earned. It is a gift, given to all when God awakens in all, individualized as the one in whom he awakens. 

This man started by simply imagining what the villagers would do if they knew he was free. Being a general under the leadership of the king, the legitimate ruler of the island of Greece, he was imprisoned when the opposition took over, as were many intelligent, brilliant minds of the day. 

If they could only see the secret of his story, they too would be set free. Not by the same means I am sure, because God is infinite in his creative power. He has ways and means we know not of. It’s not the story of the means that is important, but the principle; for the means follow the principle. 

He simply imagined a scene which would imply the fulfillment of his desire. He began to imagine seeing his friends gathered around the short-wave radio in secret, hearing the news of his escape. The man sat in the square and drank his coffee every day, just as the baker baked his bread and the cobbler opened his shop; but the knowledge of his escape was news – and not an everyday occurrence – for his friends to celebrate. But this day was different and that gave him the thrill of his life to imagine. 

Start now to create the scene which, if true, would imply the fulfillment of your desire. If you will, there is no power that can stop its coming into being; because your Lord is your Father, who is your potter, and your desire is clay in His hand. So “Rise and go down to the potter’s house” said the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, “and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house and there he was working at his wheel. Although the clay in his hand was spoiled, he didn’t discard it but reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 

When someone comes into your world, don’t discard him by turning your back because he is ill, financially troubled, or not successful in his own eyes. Rather, see his desire as clay in your imaginal hands. Take that same vessel (person) and rework him into another state as it seems good to you to do. 

If he is unemployed, rework him into a man who is gainfully employed and happier than he has ever been in his life. That’s all you do. What means will be applied toward his employment is not your concern. Your only desire is to be the perfect potter. 

The individual came into your world as a spoiled vessel, not to be discarded, but to be reworked into another vessel as it seems good to you – the potter – to do. Read it in the 18th chapter, the 2nd through the 4th verses of the Book of Jeremiah. “Arise! Go down to the potter’s house and there I will let you hear my words. So I went down to the potter’s house and there he was working at his wheel, but the vessel in his hand which he was making of clay was spoiled, so he reworked it into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to do.” And when you do, you will know who the potter is! 

This law is true for anyone you may encounter. He need not be a blood relative. He may be someone a friend spoke of; but may I tell you: in the end we are all related, for we are all intermingled and really one. We are not as separate as the world thinks we are. I could not see you this moment if you did not penetrate my brain; so you are literally within me, even though you seemingly exist in the surrounding world independent of my perception. 

Now, if you should change on the outside and I become aware of it, the corresponding change would take place within me relative to you. Your change could take place socially, intellectually, financially, or even in your physical appearance; but if I encounter the change, it penetrates me. My acceptance of it will cause me to modify the image of you that I hold. 

Now, must I wait for the change to appear on the outside before I can change my image of you; or can I produce the change in me first, and then see a corresponding change on the outside? I can if I know that the potter is my own wonderful human imagination and is creating everything that is taking place in my world. “O Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay. Thou art our potter, we are the works of thy hand.” The potter, the Lord, and the Father, are the same being; the same awareness; the same Imagination. 

Believe my words! Trust your imagination! Having reproduced himself in you, all things now exist in your imagination. If you desire changes, produce them first on the inside. Penetrate that which exists in you, as that penetration will compel the outside to conform to the changes which you, the potter brought to pass. The only way to prove this is to try it. Imagine a scene which would take place after your desire has been fulfilled. 

Do not concern yourself as to how it is going to happen; simply go to the end. The most creative thing in you is your power to imagine a thing into existence. We are told in the Book of Hebrews that, “The things which are seen are made out of things which do not appear.” No one can see your thoughts when you sit down to imagine. They are unseen by the outer world, but you know what you have done. Now, because imagination and faith are what creates and sustains your world, if you do not have faith in what you have imagined, it will not come to pass. It cannot, because imagination and faith are two sides of the same coin. 

What I tell you I know from experience. I am not theorizing or speculating. I have tested my creative power and have now awakened from the dream of life. I have had the same experiences as one called Jesus Christ in scripture. Now I can say with him, “I am the light of the world.” And those who have the incurrent eyes have seen me in my garment of light. 

A friend of mine shared this experience with me last Monday night. She said, “My friend Sharon and I were with you as you prepared to go to the platform. You looked very pale and weak in your dark blue suit, so we bought you some chocolate pudding, chocolate ice cream, and a chocolate bar, to give you strength. As you stepped on the platform, the form we know disappeared and in its place you appeared as light. You were a giant of a man, towering over all, yet nothing but light. As I gazed into your face your light began to intensify and became so great that I awoke.” Then, as an afterthought she said, “The candy, pudding, and ice cream, we bought you cost $0.28.” So now I owe her $0.28. 

She saw me become the light that filled the room; and she saw correctly, for I know this to be true. You see, her eyes were given to her by the one to whom I gave my eyes. Now she, too, can see the truth of which I speak; yet, in the giving a spiritual gift is not lost, but retained, to increase its power, its wisdom, and itself. 

I am telling you the truth. I live in that world of light. One day I will drop this little thing she saw clothed in a dark blue suit, to be one with my heavenly Father who sent me. But before I go I must give her $0.28, for – like Socrates, who owed a cock, asked that after he had taken the hemlock his debt be paid – I do not want to leave here owing anyone. 

I tell you, you are all imagination and not a prisoner of anything or anyone, rather you have imprisoned yourself. You have brought all of your experiences into being and you can change them now that you know who you are. 

When you hear the word Lord, don’t think of another. The word is Yod Hey Vav Hey and means I AM, as do the words Father and potter. Your awareness of being is your I AM, your potter who molds your world. To him and him alone lies all of the responsibilities for what is done in your world. 

Your own wonderful human imagination is the cause of the restrictions on the freedom that you enjoy today. There is no other cause but the Lord, who is the Father, who is the potter, and if he is your own wonderful human imagination, to whom can you turn to praise or blame for the circumstances of your life? The blind leaders of the blind blame society or the government for the causes of the phenomena of their life. 

But I tell you, there is no other cause; for there is no one outside of self. Society, the government, your family, or friends, are all within you. Although they appear to be pushed out, there is not a thing that does not now exist in you; as Divine Imagination (the Lord God Almighty) has reproduced Himself in you – the human imagination; and Divine Imagination contains all things within Himself. 

Do not look to another as the cause of your misfortune. If you are perceiving a thing, it is penetrating your brain; therefore it exists in you. That which you are perceiving appears to exist in the surrounding world independent of your perception of it, but don’t wait for it to change. If you desire a change in that which you are perceiving, you must produce the change in yourself. Ask no one to help you; simply persist in your new thoughts and let your changed thinking reproduce itself in your outside world, for it is only an outpicturing of the world of thought within you. Try it. You can change your world as this prisoner did. In his imagination he moved in time to the day after his escape. You can do the same. Would your friends know of your success the day after it was achieved? Would they get together to discuss it? Make their gathering the scene from which you start. What would they say? Would some of them be jealous? Some happy for you? Put them all together and eavesdrop on their conversation. Then believe in what you have heard. Persist and your success is assured. 

Tonight I have felt impelled to talk about the law because people seem to forget, and since we are still in the world of Caesar, the law is important. The Book of Psalms begins: “Blessed is the man who delights on thy law, meditating day and night. In all that he does, he prospers.” 

Although to me the promise is the one grand objective, for it is the true reality of all; while here in this world of Caesar, rent must be paid, clothes and food bought with Caesar’s coin, so the law is important. It will not fail you, I promise, but it does not operate itself. When you know what you want, don’t pray to any outside God, for the true God is within you. In fact, God is not even near, as nearness implies separation. God is your I am, and there is no place you can go and not be aware of being. 

I know that I am not this garment I wear, for I have seen it on the bed when I am not in it; but I have never been anywhere where I am not aware that I am. That “I am” is the Lord – he who I could never be so far away from as even to be near; because nearness implies separation, and I can’t be separated from the Lord. 

“O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay. Thou art our potter; we are the works of thy hand.” When I, all imagination, entered death’s door, I found a male garment waiting there. Blake said it so beautifully: “When weary man enters the grave he finds his Savior in the cave. Some find a female garment there and some a male, woven with care.” I found a male garment, others find a female garment; but I – the finder – am Man, not male or female. And I- Man -am one with God; for I and my Savior are one. I and my Lord are one. I and God are one. And I and the potter are one. 

Entering the cave which is the human skull, we find a garment woven by the female with care. Immortality occupies the garment you wear and walks in it, believing He is the restriction he wears – from the cradle to the grave – until He awakes. And on that day you will know who you really are; for you will know yourself to be the Lord God Jehovah who is Jesus Christ. 

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—05/23/1969

In all the revelations that await you, there is none so fundamental and so filled with ecstasy, as when you discover that the Bible is all about you. What joy will be yours, when the word of God as recorded in the books of Genesis to Revelation is revealed, and you – an individual – become the living Word and the interpreter of the Bible. The day is coming when you will discover that you are the one who was sent; that you are the Word of God who cannot return empty, but must accomplish that which God purposed, and prosper in the thing for which you were sent. I was thrilled beyond measure when I realized that I was the Word which became flesh. Now clad in a robe dipped in blood, I am (as you are) the Word of God, who was in the beginning with God and was God.

I tell you: you were sent for a divine purpose, which is to fulfill – thereby making alive – the word we call scripture. There is no other purpose for being here. You did not come to be rich, famous, known, strong, or weak, but to fulfill this fantastic play in a living way. The word in the written form is dead. The letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive. You, all Spirit, are the living word which interprets the seeming dead letter. You are destined to discover that the story of Jesus – from his conception by the Holy Spirit to his ascension into heaven – is a sign granted by God to those who will receive it.

Today you may think of Jesus as someone external to yourself, and the Bible as records of events which took place thousands of years ago, recorded by prophets who were servants of a God unknown by you; but when the revelation unfolds within you, you will know you are the Word made flesh. You will discover that you are the Jesus of scripture, and will say within yourself: “I am Mary, and birth to Christ must give, if I in blessedness for now evermore would live,” as you bring forth yourself as the Word which was in the beginning with God and was God.

One day you will see the entire Bible unfold within yourself – yet outwardly there will be no change. You will remain a little man (or woman), as you were prior to the unfolding of the Word within you; yet everything said of Jesus, the pattern man, you will experience in the first person, present tense. I, individually, have experienced everything said of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Now I know that in the volume of the book it is written of me, and I can’t tell you the thrill that will be yours when it happens to you. Your concept of the world will change, as you know that no matter what a person achieves here, it means nothing. You will grant everyone’s wishes, knowing that no matter what their desires may be, they will fade into nothing. If they owned the earth and enslaved all, it would still be as nothing, for it will vanish like smoke or wear out like a garment. But the individual, who is the Word, cannot and will not return void. The Word did not come to own the earth, but to fulfill scripture. Scripture must be fulfilled in every individual. I have interpreted scripture to you in all the things concerning myself. They were written of me and I have shared their meaning, from experience.

We are the Word spoken by God; but remember: God Himself is the Word. The author of this play is playing all the parts, for there was no one else to play them. God had to actually become the actor in this drama called life, and he cannot return empty, but must and will play every part completely and perfectly. Then the final revelation will be played, and God – the Word – will unfold.

Today people seem so shocked to discover that one of our judges has turned aside from his ethical code, yet what man can cast a stone? No one who has ever walked this earth can claim he is innocent of a similar experience, for scripture tells us that to want it, is to have committed the act. “You have heard it said, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ but I say unto you that anyone who lusts after a woman has already committed the act with her in his heart.” The drama of life is psychological, and everyone is guilty of lust for personal gain. Why should we be shocked and offended when we see injustice in high places? All of our officials are guilty, for – by example of those above them – they are encouraged to use their vocation for personal gain. This very night there are those earning a fortune, giving lectures on subjects they know nothing of, and the halls will be filled, because they have publicized themselves. Everyone wants to go see, touch, and hear, one who is known in the world of Caesar.

When I brought out my first book in 1941, I went to see a man who was an agent for such speakers as Mrs. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill. The gentleman explained to me that he could not sell me, because I was unknown. He told me that if I would go out and shoot someone and get off with lots of publicity, he could sell me night after night for hundreds of dollars. He said: “I could sell Mrs. Roosevelt every week for $1200 per lecture. She is a mother of many children, yet I could sell her if her subject was: ‘What it feels like never to have known a man,’ for the public would come to hear and see Mrs. Roosevelt. Go out and get yourself publicized and I will sell you across the country, because I sell names.” Today someone in Congress will get up and make an outrageous statement. It will be carried on tonight’s television and tomorrow’s press, as they build up his name and he makes more money for them. This goes on over and over again in this world.

But that is not the play, for the real play is sacred. It is written in scripture and the Book is sealed. Revelation breaks the seal, as that which was a dead word begins to unfold from within. You will not observe events taking place on the outside. There was never any physical virgin birth. You must be born from within. Now housed in your own wonderful skull – which is the Mary of scripture – it is from that Holy Mother that you must be born. As Mary, I gave birth to Christ; and now, forever in blessedness, I live and share my experiences with those who have not yet brought him forth – for the Word cannot return empty. It has to fulfill this pattern. Jesus is the pattern man, and no one can change that pattern. It begins with the resurrection, when God awakes and leaves his tomb. Three witnesses appear – three wise men – to see the sign as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes. As you fulfill this pattern, your awareness grows in wisdom and power, and you become a witness to the truth of scripture which, prior to your awakening, was never understood. Now, another act in the play is recorded as: “In the fullness of time he sends forth his son into the heart of man, crying ‘Father.'” This will happen to you as it did to me. God’s only son, David, called me “Father,” revealing my true identity to myself.

To the mortal eye I am a little man, but when this garment which I purposely assumed is taken off, I will be seen only with the eyes of the spirit. As long as I wear this robe dipped in blood you do not know my name is the Word of God; but I was sent forth from the mouth of God and he only sends himself, so he who sees me sees him who sent me. My Father sent me to do his will, which is to fulfill scripture. Now I can say: “Father, I have accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do. Now return unto me the glory that was mine, the glory that I had with thee before that the world was.” I ask for no other glory, just the return of what I emptied myself of when I and my Father were one. There was no one to go, so God’s Word was sent, knowing it could not return to its place of origin void. It had to bring back that for which it had been purposed. I have fulfilled that purpose. My work is finished. Now glorify me with the very self that was mine before that the world was. I return now to my own being, who is the Word that was with God and was God.

You are God’s Word, destined to reach the fullness of time, and erupt. As the Word unveils itself within you, you will know the truth of the 40th Psalm: “In the volume of the book it is written of me.” I can’t tell you the thrill you will experience when you discover that the book the world calls the sacred word of God, is contemporary. The Bible is all about you and must unfold within you; and when it does, you – now the Living Word – will interpret the written word, for the word is dead until it is made alive and given meaning through the act of unfoldment. Then – as the Living Word – you return as a witness to the truth of God’s word.

You do not add to or take from God’s word; you simply fulfill it within yourself and everyone who hears your words will either accept them or reject them. You hope they will believe you, but you must go on anyway. There will always be a remnant of those who are near the point of acceptance. When Elijah pleaded with God, he said: “Go back, Elijah, for I have saved a remnant for you. There are seven thousand in that city ready to hear what you can tell them.” There will always be a circle whose seed (which is God) has reached the point of breaking through. The very first eruption, which is the cornerstone of the entire mystery, is your awakening. And who is the sleeper? God. “Rouse thyself, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Awake! Do not cast us off forever.” So it is the Lord whose name is I AM who awakes; and the moment the Lord awakes in you, you will feel yourself awaken.

When I awoke I was alone. There was no other, so it was God who awoke and came out of my skull to see that the word God prophesied would be seen. I saw witnesses observing the sign of my birth. The world thinks the sign is the event, but it is not. A child signifies that something was born. “This shall be a sign unto you. You shall find a babe.” The babe is a sign that God has been born. It is a birth wherein God returns to himself. God came into the world to fulfill his word, and in order to depart the world he must be born from above, otherwise he will remain here. He cannot return to his heavenly state, which is the kingdom of God, until his word is fulfilled. I am returning now to God’s kingdom, leaving behind my record. I ask no one to judge me, for no earthly person is capable of such judgment. Now the Living Word, I can testify to the truth of scripture from experience. When two come together and agree in testimony, it is conclusive. 

Have you experienced what is written in the Bible? You can’t fool the watchers from above, for they see not the outer man nor hear his words; they see only the inner man, and know if he bears the marks of Jesus or not. You return as a witness to the word of God by making alive within yourself that which is written in scripture as a dead written code. When you agree to those words, in testament, you will enter into the kingdom, into the joy of the Lord. There is no other way to enter other than to resurrect, which is God’s mightiest act; be born from above; discover the fatherhood of God by having his son call you Father. Then to have the curtain of the temple (which is your own body) split in two from top to bottom, and you – in the fulfillment of Exodus – rise into heaven like a fiery serpent. And finally, to have the seal of approval placed upon you in the form of a descending dove which smothers you with love.

In the interval, all the other passages of scripture take place within you night after night, as every part of the word of God fulfills itself in you. Then you will tell of your experiences; and, having told them, you will depart the world knowing that those who came to you could not have come unless the Father within you (who is yourself) drew them. Your remnant will come, hear you, and be encouraged by it. You will tell them of the resurrection of their True Self, called Jesus Christ. “I am born anew” said he, “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Born to a hope.” What is the hope? “Set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This revelation is the hope that makes it wisdom to accept the burden of this long, dark night of time.

This world truly is a night of terror, where horrors take place every moment in time. Murder and stealing need not be violent. You can underpay a man, thereby inviting him into an embarrassing state – not realizing what you are doing to yourself. In underpaying him, you are sucking his blood; and those who live on blood are, in a sense, the termites of the world. The fleas that live on dogs produce nothing; they only live on the blood of another. Well, in our language, money is the life-blood of the world. When you underpay a man for his services you are taking his blood.

If you could see yourself as the awakened Man sees you, you would be horrified to know what you look like, or smell like. All of the perfumes of Arabia could not stifle the odor which comes from you. To the awakened Man you are a monstrous flea, clothed in human form that people are so proud to touch; and – because it is well known – they will pay $5,000 to hear it speak. It gets everything because it is publicized; but if it took off its mask, those who paid to hear it speak would run for their lives when they saw its true identity.

I tell you: we are here, and will remain in this world of educative darkness until he who sent us, as us, erupts and fulfills scripture. So do not criticize those who want to live on the blood of others; just leave them alone and let them do it. You have played these horrible parts, or you would not be in this room tonight. You are drawn here because the one speaking to you has fulfilled scripture. No one comes unto me save my Father calls him, and I and my Father are one. I am the Living Word which He sent into the world to fulfill his external word. This I have done. I now return bearing witness to his word, and can now say the words in the 17th [chapter] of John: “I have accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do. Now return unto me the glory that was mine, the glory which I had with thee before that the world was.”

Let everyone be as he is, and if it comes within your code of decency, pray for him. If he wants money or happiness, grant his wishes; but if he wants to violate your code of decency – like murdering someone – send him elsewhere. May I tell you: if he is so bent, he will find someone who will take his money and pray for the life of another. But you go about your Father’s business, and set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the unveiling of the word of God within you. When the word unfolded itself within me I jumped off my bed, hardly believing what I had experienced. To think that all that was said of Jesus Christ was taking place within me, was a shock – yet the greatest thrill possible. Now I know that scripture is not the recordation of events which happened in the past, but a contemporary story which repeats itself over and over again. Jesus Christ has unfolded himself within me, revealing himself to me, as me. I have experienced everything Jesus said in scripture. I did not observe someone experiencing these events; I was the central actor in the drama. I let the world say what they will about the mythology of scripture and inwardly smile, for I know that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.

Let the world become wiser and wiser in their own stupidity. Let them feel themselves very famous and wonderful. Don’t join them; just set your heart fully upon this grace that is coming to you. Then you will know that if blows come tonight, at some time in your blindness you planted their seed, for as a man sows, so shall he reap. You may not recognize your harvest because you do not remember the sowing, but the blow could not appear in your world had you not caused it. So reap it and rejoice in the fact that you recognize your planting, even in a little way. Then remember the words of Paul when he said: “I consider the sufferings of the present time not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed in me,” for when that glory is revealed, the word is unfolding, and it all unfolds within you.

You are not only the Word sent into being, but the power to fulfill the pattern of redemption, for you are the instrument of God’s creation. Through you God created it all, because He and you are one. He sent himself as the being speaking to you now; so when you see me after your experiences, you will see the one who sent me, for I am one with the sender. My Father is he who you call God. I know my Father, for he and I are one; but you know not your God.

Oh, how I wish I could share with you the joy that is to be yours when the Bible becomes your biography. Every day I open that Book to realize it was I who inspired the prophets. Many times vision is spoken of as only coming through the audio, as in the beginning of the Books of Obadiah, Amos, and Isaiah; but when Christ reveals himself in you, the vision is not audio alone, but as real and alive as this room. And when the moment comes for you to depart this world, you will leave it never to return again. Those who leave, having not reached the point of the eruption, will find themselves restored to life in a world as solid and real as this. Their bodies will be young and their problems and challenges just as great as they are here. The veil – may I tell you – is not there, but right here, and so very, very thin. It is opaque to the mortal eye, however; and because of a different vibration, they are not touched or felt by us and we are not seen or touched by them.

There are worlds within worlds into which you go until the word erupts in you. When you are told in the 19th [chapter] of Revelation that his robe was dipped in blood, don’t think of one like the cardinal wears. Your little garment of flesh and blood is that robe God wears. In the 37th chapter of the Book of Ezekiel, the Lord speaks, saying: “O dry bones, I will lay sinews upon you and cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin.” Now clothed in a robe dipped in blood, you are Spirit, and the name by which you are known is the Word of God. You are he who was with God in the beginning, and was God. You became flesh and are now dwelling in your robe dipped in blood. You came forth from the mouth of God and cannot return void, but must accomplish that which you purposed, and prosper in the thing for which you were sent. Your awareness, your I amness, is God.

On this level, you can use the word you are by assuming things are as you would like them to be. As you persuade yourself that they are, you will carry on little unheard conversations. These are words, too. That’s why Blake said: Oh, what have I said, what have I done? Oh all powerful human words.” In the course of a day, you carry on mental conversations which no one hears, but everyone on the outside responds to. You may wonder why someone acts the way they do towards you, but they have to because of the words you are inwardly speaking. Your internal conversations are sent out into the world, and they will not return unto you void; rather, the world will respond in keeping with the word you sent out.

You cannot think without the use of words, for words clothe thought. If you meet someone, you may think he looks remarkably well. It is a thought, being said without using audible words. Believe he does look well and you have sent your word. Think of the good news you just heard about your friend. That he is making so much money he doesn’t even know what to do with it. You may hear his laughter in your mind’s eye, but feel the reality of your words and let them happen. Don’t try to determine how it will come to pass; simply assume it is already a physical fact. Do that and you will know the power of your word, for God became man, clothed in these mortal garments of flesh and blood, that man may become God.

When you see a disturbance in your world you may question why, but it appeared because you did not control your imagination. You may enjoy carrying on arguments with your children, your parents, or friends, from premises that are stupid and need not be; but if you know that all things must come to pass, why are you doing it? If you believe that every thought produces what it implies, then stop a negative, undesirable thought, and change the record by putting on a new one. 
Then one day this fundamental revelation of the unfolding of the word within you will come to pass, and the sacred word of God will unfold and cast you as the actor in the central role. Then you will know who Jesus really is.

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—10/03/1969

In all the revelations which await you, there is none so fundamental as the revelation of Jesus Christ. He cannot be known outwardly, but must unveil himself from within. This experience will be yours when your immortal eyes are opened inward, into eternity, the world of thought. 

He who awakens in you is the Lord Jesus Christ, but he is unseen by the mortal eye. As an individual the world knows you by your records. They know your date of birth, your parents, your brothers and sisters. Your friends know your weaknesses and limitations, but no one can know the being who awakens within you until the revelation is theirs.

Tonight I will try to show you the Lord Jesus Christ, for he is your true identity. His most fantastic claim: “I am the light of the world” was not claimed by one little individual, but by the universal being who is the life of every child born of woman. 

The mortal mind, unable to understand this statement, questioned him, asking him to tell them who he really was and he answered: “Even what I have told you from the beginning.” The beginning of what? The year 1 A.D.? No. Before that the world was, you and I were told that we would descend into and experience death. Then we would return, enhanced by reason of our experiences.

Knowing me and my mortal beginning of only a few years, you may question my words, but I am not speaking about a physical being. The Lord Jesus Christ has unveiled himself in me, yet I remain here in this body of flesh until the silver cord is snapped. 

Only then can I return to the world that was mine before that the world was and receive all the glory I was promised when I agreed to enter and experience death. Who is this being I know myself to be? The Lord Jesus Christ, of which we are all one.

Now, we are told: “You are born anew through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Here we see that our birth is conditioned upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You may think this happened 2,000 years ago, but John tells us in his Revelation that “Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the first born of the dead.” Do not think of this in terms of time, but rather in order of events, for we are dealing with a mystery.

There is only one faithful witness who declares himself to be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. That witness is Jesus Christ, he who came out from the Father and came into the world to bury himself in every child born of woman. He is in you right now, identifying himself as you. And when he awakes, in you, his first act is to resurrect from the dead. This is followed by your birth from above.

When the story of Christ awakens within you, you are no better than one who will awaken tomorrow for you do not precede him, as his story does not take place in time. I am speaking of the order of events. 

Listen to the words carefully: “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead.” There are two events which take place here simultaneously. “We are born anew through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Christ must first awaken in you, then resurrect himself from the dream in which he died before he (as you) can be born from above. Christ is in you. 

He is not some being who lived 2,000 years ago, was crucified on a wooden cross, and rose from the dead for your salvation. The Christ is buried in you individually. This is the age of the awakening and everyone is going to awaken. No matter what a man (or woman) has done here he is forgiven, because God played the part and all things are moving toward the fulfillment of a predetermined end.

We are told in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the 51st verse: “We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkle of an eye, for the trumpet will sound and we shall rise from the dead.” At the end of your long, long journey you will be changed, individually. This I know to be true from experience. 

You are so unique that you alone hear the trumpet which causes you to awaken and brings you back into the infinite being that you really are – to play your distinct part, for no one can take your place. We shall all – not just a few, but all – be changed – in a moment, in the twinkle of an eye, for the trumpet will sound and we will awaken and rise from the dead.

What is the “trumpe”? The word means “a vibration,” and may I tell you it is the most unusual vibration you have ever felt. I have heard numberless vibrations, as you have. A concert is a series of vibrations synchronized into harmony. The piano, the violin, the cello – all are vibrations; but the trumpet Paul refers to is a peculiar vibration which is centered in the head and cannot be stopped.

When the vibration occurred in me it continued until I awoke to find myself in my skull. How long I had been there I do not know. I will go along with Blake, but I do not know from experience. I only know that a peculiar vibration awoke me. This was followed by my birth from above. And it only took a moment for the trumpet to sound and Christ, in me to awaken.

Yes, Christ is the first born, for his birth begins the series of events which continue for 42 months. And when the revelation has completed itself in you, you will still be tied to your physical body by its silver cord, so you will tell your experiences to encourage others. 

Nothing in this world is really important and will prove itself to be pure nonsense. Men are given Nobel prizes, money and honors relative to their findings here which are non-existent. No one will ever find life in a test tube, for life exists only within individual man.

The day is coming when you will feel an activity within you, arrest it, and see the world stand still. Then you will know that you are life itself, and the life you now know yourself to be will never be found in any test tube.

Jesus cannot be known or proved to exist externally. Only the incurrent eyewitnesses can know him. Only those whose immortal eyes are opened inward into the world of thought will see the truth of which I speak, for I have awakened from the dream of life and know myself to be the light of the world. 

This is a fantastic claim, one I know you are going to experience. The day will come when you will know you are not only the light of the world, but that you are the sender of infinite, pulsing, living light of which there is no circumference. As light you will be pure, as not a thing will be in it; no worlds, no suns, no planets – but nothing! Just you, and you are infinite light. You will see me as light, yet we will know one another as beings of love, for God is love and in that awareness we are one with God.

Everything said of Jesus Christ in scripture you are going to experience, and those whose eye is opened inward into the world of thought will see you clothed in the garments of love, of power, of wisdom, and of light. 

Then, eventually everyone will return to the one being, yet all will be individualized. There is no absorption into, just union with the one being of love, power, wisdom, and light, for this one being is the Christ of scripture. And so I repeat: of all the great revelations which await us, there is none so fundamental as the unveiling of Christ in us.

Let the world do all the unlovely things it is capable of doing, remembering that behind the mask of everyone here, a being is buried who will awaken, rise, and come out. And when he does all will be forgiven, because he will know he was the one who did the unlovely acts as he wore his many masks.

In last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine I read a story written by one of Hitler’s right-hand men. In it he said: “I can’t describe it, but Hitler had the capacity to make everyone obey his will. He seemed to have no center and was in such complete control of himself that we were like puppets to him.” 

Hitler slaughtered millions, yet blamed his own people when he did not succeed, saying: “The stronger power has succeeded. They will rule now. It serves my people right.” Here is the voice of hell which is always self justification. In the end Hitler failed and blamed the people he had controlled for many years. He thought he had control forever, but he lost it, for God has planned everything as it has come out and as it will be consummated.

Hitler was used for a purpose. To us it was a horrible purpose, but – as we are told in Genesis: “You intended it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Joseph (the dreamer in you) was sold into slavery, for God knew he could be used for His purpose. The brothers intended evil against him, but God meant it for good and raised Joseph to the level of the Pharaoh, where he saved civilization from starvation.

Read the story of Job, and once again you read of an innocent man who was used. Everyone is Job, who in the end will bring forth that which is buried within, which is the plan of redemption, to say with Job: “I have heard of thee with the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee.”

After you have gone through all of the furnaces, he who is buried within you (who is your reality of Being, your true identity) will erupt like a tree coming into blossom and bear its fruit. The first fruit to appear is your awakening and your birth from above. The second great event is to discover your Fatherhood. The third occurs as you ascend back into the heavenly sphere where you were before you came down, for no one returns to heaven but he who first came down from heaven, the Son of man. 

You came down from heaven. That’s why you are going to go back, enhanced by the experience of this world of hell. The fourth act is a glorious one, when the seal of approval is placed upon your return, for then you are redeemed; and when you leave this sphere you will join your brothers to become one of the watchers from above, faithfully and lovingly awaiting their return.

No one will be lost, not one. Listen carefully: “All will be changed.” Paul begins his story by saying: “Behold I tell you a mystery.” The mystery is that all will be changed. It doesn’t take long. In a moment, in the twinkle of an eye, you begin to awaken and are born from above. Those with mortal eyes cannot see spirit, but those who witness your spiritual birth will see the sign of it. That sign is a child fulfilling scripture: “Unto you a child is born,” for your spiritual birth is when God is born. At that moment he brings back his son (which is yourself) – only now you are expanded from what you were prior to your descent into this world.

You will see your witnesses and read their thoughts. In fact, their thoughts will become objectified just as yours do here. As you think, God sees your thoughts and objectifies them. He sees everything you are thinking, every­thing you have planned, and projects them for you even though God you cannot see.

Take my message to heart and try to remember what was told you before that the world was. In the last chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher tells of the snapping of the silver cord and the breaking of the golden bowl and pitcher before the dust returns to the earth. Then he calls upon us to dwell upon his words for “The sayings of the wise are like goads, like pegs firmly fixed are the collected sayings which are given by one Shepherd.” One who has had the experiences tells them and they become pegs driven into the minds of many. Beyond this he warns us not to think of anything, “For of the writing and the making of many books there is no end.”

I ask you to dwell upon my experiences. Tomorrow you may be carried away with the news of the day. Although it may be very exciting, it is not important. What someone did, does not matter, and the reason it was done should not interest you. Rather you should be interested in the collective sayings of the wise, all found in scripture and given to you by one Shepherd. Dwell upon the words recorded there and try to find out what is being said.

“Who are you?” they asked. “Even what I have told you from the beginning.” Yes, I am the same being who spoke to you when we all gathered together in eternity. Before we came down you and I were one. Calling you gods, Sons of the Most High, I told you that we were going to have the experience of dying and falling as one man. And then I called you princes. And one day you will know yourself to be the prince of light, the prince of love, and the prince of power, for everything recorded in scripture will be experienced by you. That is your destiny.

It would be my pleasure to pass my immortal eyes on to you who are here, but I cannot do it from this level. It must be done from a higher level, done with the consent of the watchers in eternity, those who are already redeemed from this world. It seems stupid for a little man, weak and limited, to claim to be infinite, living, pulsing light; yet those to whom I have given my eyes have seen me as the prince of light, the prince of love, and the prince of power and wisdom. 

I know myself to be the Lord Jesus Christ, yet I also know that I will continue to remain here in this mortal frame until the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl and pitcher are broken. Only then can I return to those I have always known, those who are eagerly waiting for my return from the world of death.

So it is from death to life, from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom. We voluntarily came down and assumed this bondage of flesh. As we entered the world of darkness we forgot we were the light of the world. Eternally alive, we entered the world of death. We took it on in confidence that we possessed the power and the wisdom to return.

Everyone here will go back, regardless of what you have done, what you are doing, or what you are planning to do. Everyone, including Hitler and Stalin, including every monster who ever lived – all will be redeemed, for they were used for a purpose. No, you don’t love the individual who played the part, but beyond the mask of the body is God. One day the incurrent eyes will be yours and you will see the Lord Jesus Christ behind that mask.

Jesus cannot be proved as having ever existed or known by any outward means. No matter where you search, or what the priests tell you, you will never find any genealogy of Jesus Christ, for he is not to be found outward­ly. Only those whose immortal eyes are open into the world of thought can find him. They know the truth concerning Jesus Christ from experience, and in the world of men they will share their story for those who hear to believe or disbelieve.

When John told his story he said: “I am a witness to what I have heard and seen with my own eyes; which I have handled with my own hands concerning the word of life.” Now, John is not some professor who is trying to give society a convincing set of arguments. Rather he is simply telling what he heard and saw in a region beyond that which can be explained with the rational mind. He invites everyone who hears his story of redemption to believe him, but he allows the individual to decide whether he will accept or reject it, just as I do. 

Now, the Christ that you accept on faith comes to you as one unknown, yet one who in some mysterious manner lets you experience who he is. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul asks this question: “Did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish, having received the spirit by faith, are you now ending with the flesh?” 

Now I ask you: are you thinking of Jesus as a being of flesh and blood when you know that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven? Are you thinking of a physical savior? Didn’t you receive the spirit by hearing the story and accepting it with faith, for your acceptance was the spirit. If after hearing this incredible story you believe it, go your way and it will unfold within you. But if you reject it, your rejection will simply delay its experience, for you are destined to know the truth which will set you free from this bondage to decay.

All of the things that man is now discovering concerning the secret of life aren’t so at all. I tell you, you are the light of the world. One day you will come upon a scene, arrest it, and stop all of the intentions of those there. Then you will know that everyone is dead and you alone are alive and life itself. And as you release their activity in you, the scene will take on life once again, and then you will know from experience that you surely are the light of the world.

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—11/20/1959

The whole vast world is no more than man’s imagining pushed out. I must qualify that by saying that the world outside of man is dead, but Man is a living soul, and it responds to man, yet man is sound asleep and does not know it. The Lord God placed man in a profound sleep, and as he sleeps the world responds as in a dream, for Man does not know he is asleep, and then he moves from a state of sleep where he is only a living soul to an awakened state where he is a life-giving Spirit. And now he can himself create, for everything is responding to an activity in man which is Imagination. “The eternal body of man is all imagination; that is God himself.” (Blake)

Three wonderful case histories were given to me last Tuesday and I can best describe what I mean by telling you of one of them. Here is this lady driving east on Sunset and she comes to a stop at Laurel Canyon. A bus is to her right, and then she sees this little elderly lady in grey who is running diagonally across the street through traffic, trying to catch that bus. The bus driver sees her but he pulls out leaving her on the street. The lady, who gave me this story, told me that she felt compassion for this elderly lady, but she was not in a lane where she could give her a lift; she had to pull out with her line when the light changed. She said to herself, ‘I will give that lady a lift just the same.’ So in Imagination, she opens her car door and lets her in.

Then still in her Imagination, she hears the lady tell her that she is meeting some friends a few blocks away and if she had to wait for another bus she is afraid they would not wait for her. The lady in the car carried on this imaginary conversation and it took maybe a half a minute until she felt satisfied about it. Four blocks ahead, as she again stopped for a light, someone tapped on the car window, and here stands a breathless little elderly with gray hair dressed in gray. My friend lowered the window and the little lady said ‘I have missed my bus. Can you give me a lift? Friends are waiting for me and when they see I do not get off the bus they may go on and leave me.’ My friend let her get into the car and then six blocks further the little lady said. ‘There are my friends!’ and thanks the driver and gets out.

Now here is a lady whom I say is awake. And may I tell you that in Heaven there was joy because one called a sinner (we are all sinners, for we are all missing the mark, and the mark is to awaken) has discovered that the whole world is responsive to what we are thinking. She could not actually give the first little lady a lift so she did it in Imagination, and then she sees this other elderly lady and gives her a lift. Here she is enacting her imaginary drama, and four blocks later when the dream is completed this little ole lady taps at her car window. In her imagination she gave a lift to a little grey haired lady dressed in gray. Does it matter if it was the lady behind at the last bus stop or this lady dressed in gray? Everyone is responding to what we are doing in our Imagination. There is no outside world that is really alive. It depends, for its aliveness, on the activity of man who is a living soul. Man named the animals, the birds, the trees, ‘ everything. God became man as a living soul, but He had to forget He was God to become man, and now man has to become a life-giving spirit, where he knows that everything is an imaginal activity.

Here, at that corner where the first part of this little drama took place, half of those who witnessed it would bawl out the bus driver for not waiting for the old lady, and the other half would say she was a fool for running into the street. This lady in the car could have reacted like that, for the dreamer does not know that he is dreaming. It is only when we awake they know they are causing the dream, or even had a dream. The lady in the car saw only someone who had failed to realize an objective, so she enacted a scene for her, implying she had realized it. And four blocks later she meets a little old lady who says to her the exact words she had heard in her Imagination. Her Imaginary dream unfolds in detail. An awakened dream is crystallized in the world. ‘Real are the dreams of gods, as they slowly pass their pleasure in a long immortal dream.’ When man completely awakens he dreams his pleasure and everything responds while he dreams it.

We think everything in the world is completely independent from our perception of it, but the whole thing is dead. I see it, and come upon it, but the whole thing is dead’. frozen. Then I start an activity within me and then the world that was dead becomes alive, but not knowing I am doing it, I am sound asleep and then the whole thing takes over and it becomes a nightmare. But I must keep control and know it is dependant on me. The world is infinite response and the thing that makes it alive is the living soul called generic man (male-female). And then God wove Himself into the brain of this generic man, and then He sleeps. As man begins to awaken he controls and takes over, and is no longer a victim of his vision, so he has control of his attention. Everyone is free to create his world as he wants it ‘ if he knows that the whole thing is responding to him.

In Luke 13 we are told the story of five Galileans who have been murdered by Pilate. ‘And he mixed their blood with their offering, etc.’ And the central figure of the gospels which is your awakened Imagination says to his followers; ‘Do you think these five were worse sinners than the others? I tell you ‘No’. But unless you repent you will all likewise perish in the same manner.’ Here on one level we think it served them right, just as those who saw the scene on the Sunset Blvd. would say ‘It served her right ‘ cutting across the street like that!’ In this story in Luke we are told that a man sinned in the past and was murdered by Pilate. It has nothing to do with it. Then Jesus asked them, ‘Do you think that the eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse offenders than the others who dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

On this level of the dream people think of getting even. It is a dream of confusion and people are reactivating, but man has to awaken and become an actor. On this present level man is always reflecting life, not knowing he is the cause of all he observes. But when he awakens from the dream and then becomes an actor. What percentage would have done what this lady in the car did? They would have reacted, or feasted on the fruit of the tree of good and evil. They would have had a violent reaction, and then they would have had a violent resistance from this dead universe. But this lady makes her dream and the whole thing comes to pass exactly as she pictured it, even to the number of blocks. You might almost think she had manufactured that little old lady in gray, but I tell you everything comes in response to our own wonderful imaginal activity.

You can be anything in this world but you cannot know it or expect it to come unless you Act. If you react based on the past, you continue in the same pattern. To be the man you desire to be you must create the scene, as this lady did, and the whole world will be convulsed if that is necessary to bring it to pass. There is no other power but God, but God had to ‘forget’ he was God in this state of sleep, and then He awakens and consciously determines the conditions he wants in the world.

So again I say to this lady, the angels rejoiced over your awakening, and ‘ I say this without pride ‘ they also rejoiced because I kept my promise that I would come and awaken this sleeper in the world of men. For I, also, had to forget everything to become man. For when one goes and then returns he has to forget everything to become man. For when one goes, and then returns he has to forget everything, but he promises he will carry out his pledge and help man awaken. Then the living soul becomes a life-giving spirit, and then creates.

Take it seriously. Do not go through this with your dream un-acted. It took this lady 30 seconds to enact her drama and another 60 seconds to realize it. You tell yourselves -it must take time- What time? Read Corinthians 1:18, I could go before men with all the words of wisdom, but know only one thing, the cross. To the wise it is foolishness, etc. What is the cross? Think of it in this light. You began, seemingly in your mother’s womb and end in the grave. You do not, but you have that picture. Look on the horizontal line of the cross as time. Intersecting this vertical line and call that infinite states, like Jacobs ladder. At any section of time I can move up or down. Time is flowing and the state with which I am identified still unfolds.

So, while seated in my car I can move up and enact a drama. I acted and remained within that state. It unfolded. It took 60 seconds. There are infinite states intersecting the line of time. We become one with a certain state and it demonstrates itself in actual phenomena. Everyone here, it need not take you more than 30 seconds to bring about a change of state. What would it be like? And you name your desire. Remain in that state, and that state, by the passage of time, will unfold in your world. You do nothing about it once you have entered the state’for the outer must move by compulsion of the inner power.

This little lady in gray had to come to my friend’s car. Every detail of that imaginary act took place.

Why not? The universe is infinite response. When you know that there is no one in the whole world could ever faze you, because he is a shadow. I have seen the whole world dead, completely frozen, and then I allowed something within me to start and everything became animated. Then you ask yourself a million questions. Who am I? What is it all about? Why? Everything here is responding to the imaginal activity within man.

When someone who is sick becomes well: when someone who is blind then sees, is that more of a miracle than what this lady told? She is awake. If you make a fortune it means nothing. All the honors of men in a state of sleep are as nothing. You must ‘repent’. It has nothing to do with the so-called judgment of God. It is only a dream and man is reacting to the dream and he does not know that he is the dreamer and causing all the dream.

The literal meaning of the Greek word translated as repent means ‘a change of mind.’ It has nothing to do with the moral picture. The churches introduced that, but it has nothing to do with it. I don’t care what a man has done, if he changes his mind in this meaning of the word ‘repent’ things will change, for he is then on the line of vertical line of states. He stands at a point on the states. There are infinite states and we must learn to distinguish between the state and the individual occupying the state. But I can now change and move into another state. I can in Time, do it in a split second and rise on the vertical line of the states.

So, ‘I come, only to teach the cross.’, said Paul. I will rise within myself and ignore the former state, and within myself I will assume that things are as I want them to be. If I remain faithful, the passage of Time will unfold it. So, Blake said, ‘Eternity is in love with the productions of Time.’ I tell you, do not let anyone ever convince you that because of your past accomplishments or your present state in the world that you cannot change your position by rising within yourself, and then see the whole world respond. And I mean NOW!

So, I tell you this lady is awake; the Child is awake in her, the purpose of life is to awake. If the whole vast world or sleeping humanity thought her important, would she feel flattered? If in a dream everyone praised you and then you awoke and found it was all a dream, would you be flattered? One dreamer puts a medal on another dreamer, and they do not know it. It is only the awakening that is important. Awakening and doing the will of God. God’s will is in you active as your own Imagination, and His will is to realize the imaginal state. To realize something novel as this lady did or to maintain something to maintain in being, or to let things go that you feel are unlovely. I will do it all and only act, and stop re-acting. Then the whole book, The Bible, becomes alive. Leave all the ‘wise men to mock it or tolerate’. Let them reach the moon or the stars, they are all dead. Nothing lives outside of man. Man is the living soul, turning slowly into a life-giving Spirit. But you cannot tell it except in a parable or metaphor to excite the mind of man to get him to go out and prove it.

Leave the good and evil and eat of the Tree of Life. Nothing in the world is untrue if you want it to be true. You are the truth of everything that you perceive. ‘I am the truth, and the way, the life revealed.’ If I have physically nothing in my pocket, then in Imagination I have MUCH. But that is a lie based on fact, but truth is based on the intensity of my imagination and then I will create it in my world. Should I accept facts and use them as to what I should imagine? No.

It is told us in the story of the fig tree. It did not bear for three years. One said, ‘Cut it down, and throw it away.’ But the keeper of the vineyard pleaded NO’! Who is the tree? I am the tree; you are the tree. We bear or we do not. But the Keeper said he would dig around the tree and feed it ‘ or manure it, as we would say today ‘ and see if it will not bear. Well I do that here every week and try to get the tree ‘ you ‘ me to bear. You should bear whatever you desire. If you want to be happily married, you should be. The world is only response. If you want money, get it. Everything is a dream anyway. When you awake and know what you are creating and that you are creating it that is a different thing.

The greatest book is the Bible, but it has been taken from a moral basis and it is all weeping and tears. It seems almost ruthless as given to us in the Gospel, if taken literally. The New Testament interprets the Old Testament, and it has nothing to do with morals. You change your mind and stay in that changed state until it unfolds. Man thinks he has to work himself out of something, but it is God asleep in you as a living soul, and then we are reborn as a life-giving spirit. We do it here in this little classroom called Earth or beyond the grave, for you cannot die. You can be just as asleep beyond the grave. I meet them constantly, and they are just like this. Same loves and same hates. No change. They will go through it until they finally awake, until they cease to re-act and begin to act.

Do not take this story lightly which I have told you tonight. Take it to heart. Tonight when you are driving home enact a scene. No matter what it is. Forget good and evil. Enact a scene that implies you have what you desire, and to the degree that you are faithful to that state, it will unfold in your world and no power can stop it, for there is no other power.

Nothing is independent of your perception of it, and this goes for that great philosopher among us who is still claiming that everything is independent of the perceiver, but that the perceiver has certain powers. It is not so. Nothing is independent of the perceiver. Everything is ‘burned up’ when I cease to behold it. It may exist for another, but not for me.

Let us make our dream a noble one, for the world is infinite response to you, the being you want to be.

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—02/08/1968

Man thinks history is moving towards an inevitable climax of good, but that climax has already occurred and [is] recorded in the New Testament in the words: “It is finished.” So when I speak of the last days, I am referring to definite events which will occur in the life of you, an individual, which will take you from this age of sin and death to enter the New Age of eternal life!

The most astute book in the Bible is Ecclesiastes. In it we are told: “What has been is what will be and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See this is new? It has been already in ages before us, but there is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be remembrance of things yet to happen among those who come after.” This statement is difficult for man to grasp, for he is forever thinking of progress. Man sees things today and thinks they are new and wonderful because he cannot remember them. Just a century ago electricity was unknown. Now we have light powered by nuclear energy and think it was created for and by us, but scripture tells us it has always been! The play of life moves in a wheel, closed-circuited by time, and man with his short memory cannot remember other times.

We are told in the same Ecclesiastes: “I saw all the people who move about under the sun, as well as the second youth who is to stand in his place. There was no end to all the people. He was above them all, yet those who come after will not rejoice in him.” Now in the Book of Hebrews it is said: “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” The word “son” has no article in the Greek. The writer is not saying that God revealed himself in one who would be a son among many sons, but in Sonship! Man has completely misinterpreted this passage, as well as the entire Bible.

The New Testament writers recognized the Spirit of Christ who controlled their lives to be one with the Spirit of Jehovah who inspired the prophets. There is only one Spirit. You cannot discriminate between the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of Jehovah, so who is the Son? I tell you from experience: the Son who speaks to you in the last days is David. It is he who “reflects the glory of God and bears the express image of his person, thereby making him superior to the angels, as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs. For to what angel did God ever say, ‘Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee’?” In this letter to the Hebrews, Paul pinpoints David as God’s Son; yet every Christian (and I include myself) is taught that Paul is speaking of Jesus Christ, and it is not so, for to the New Testament writers Jesus Christ is Jehovah. It is David who reflects God’s glory, for it is David who is the express image of his person.

Having stood in the presence of the Risen Lord, answered his question, embraced [him] and been incorporated into his body, I know exactly what the Ancient of Days looks like. And when we were united, I became one with that body, one with that Spirit. I now know what it is to be that body and that Spirit, but I first saw the face. Many years later when I saw David, who called me Father, he was the youth of that being. He bore the express image of his person.

No, David didn’t look like Neville any more than Neville looks like the Ancient of Days, so when I saw David he was the express image of my Spiritual person. One is the Ancient of Days and the other the eternal, or second youth. “I saw all the people that move under the sun, as well as the second youth, yet those who will come after will not rejoice in him.” Why? Because they have no interest in the story of David and God. But I have found in David, the Son of Jesse (I AM) a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.

You are David playing a male or female part right now, and you are God the Father of all life, but you will not know this is true until the drama is over and David calls you Father. You see: history to the Hebrew mind consists of all the generations of men and their experiences fused into one grand whole, and this concentrated time into which they are all fused and from which all generations spring is called eternity. The whole vast world is David playing parts.

Now, in the same Ecclesiastes we are told that: “The Lord put eternity into the mind of man yet so that man could not find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” The word “eternity” is “olam” in Hebrew and means “a youth; a lad; a young man.” God placed an eternal youth in your mind, a young man to do all of his will. If it is necessary for you to play the part of a blind man, or that of a fool, the important, rich man, or that of Hitler, Napoleon, or Stalin in order for the work to be done in you, David will do it. And the one who is blind, who is doing the executing and being executed, is God the Father. You will know this to be true, for when the work is done, David will stand before you as your only begotten Son and call you: “My Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.”

You have reached the last days, when this drama takes place in you. Then you will say with Paul: “The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. Let no one bother me, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” These masks are the four great events which begin with your birth from above, for “Unless you are born from above you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” The sign of your birth will be this: “You shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. That is the sign, but David is not a sign. David is your Son, which is given. “Unto us a child is born; to us a Son is given.” These are two entirely different events. The Son is not the child. The child is born as a sign, but “God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son.”

You were taught to believe the Son spoken of here is Jesus Christ, but David “in the spirit” calls Jesus Christ “Father”. As long as you think of Jesus Christ as God’s Son you miss the mystery altogether, for he is God the Father. The same being is called the Lord, God, Jehovah, Jesus Christ. That is the being you will know yourself to be when you fulfill the second Psalm, for when you see David in the Spirit you will say: “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee.”

David is not an old man but eternal youth, a man after your own heart, who will do all of your will. No matter what state you choose to identify with, David will play it wearing the mask you call yourself. Believe me, for I have finished the race; I have fought the good fight, and I have kept the faith in the story which was told us in the beginning of time. Before we entered this arena, before the light began, we saw the end. We saw the series of events which would take us out of this world of sin and death into the age called the kingdom of God.

So when I speak of the last days, I am not speaking of the end of this world, for it is a play, which goes on and on and on. Having entered the play, you are always the same actor. You will play the rich man, the poor man, the beggar, and the thief, retaining the same identity. And when you reach the last days, a series of events that are mirrored in the story of Jesus Christ, will unfold in you in a first person, present tense experience. You will not observe it happening to another; you will experience it happening to you!
The last days begin with your awakening to the realization that you have been entombed in your own skull; that you have been dreaming this world into being. You think you are fully awake right now, yet you are dreaming the dream of life. I know, for when I awoke within my skull I had no memory of how or when I was placed there, I only knew I was alone in an empty skull, and I came out of it just as a child comes out of the womb of a woman. Being born from above, I found all the symbolism of scripture unfolding before me: a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and the three witnesses to the event of [sic – at?] which I was invisible, for God was born and God is Spirit. You are told: “This shall be a sign, for unto you is born this day a Savior.”

The only savior is Jehovah, who is one with Jesus Christ. “I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, and besides me there is no Savior.” There is only one God, so when He is born the symbolism of his birth is described in scripture as the birth of Jesus Christ.

Now, since God is a Father there must be a Son. I tell you that Son is David, and when you look into his eyes you will see the express image of the Ancient of Days. You will see your image reflected in his eyes, for you will be wearing and know yourself to be the one body, the one Spirit, the one Lord, the one God and Father of all who is above all, through all and in all. One Father, one Lord, one body fell and fragmented into unnumbered beings and all are gathered into that one body.

The King James Version calls David “the express image of his person”, while the Revised Standard Version states: “He bears the very stamp of his nature.” That does not describe my experience, for when I saw David he was the express image of God, for God is a person. God is not an impersonal force; God is Man. “Thou art a Man, God is no more, thine own Humanity learn to adore.”

You are Man, and when you stand in the presence of the Risen Lord you see the Ancient of Days as a Man of Infinite Love. You feel this love! Although you can’t describe the joy of wearing the body of love, when you see David you feel yourself to be that Risen Lord! David expresses youth in detail. He is the youth and you are the Ancient of Days. These are the last days, which precede your entrance into the New Age called the kingdom of heaven.

Nothing comes near the Bible, and it is literally true! Men have misunderstood it and those who are preaching it as secular history are doing far greater harm to the soul than those who damage the body by getting blind drunk during the day. The alcoholic injures himself, while the preacher who does not know what he is saying distorts the mind by misinforming the people concerning the mystery of scripture.

Ecclesiastes is right when he claims there is nothing new under the sun. I know this from experience, for I have gone into other worlds – terrestrial, just like this – where dreams of modern man appear as child’s toys. These worlds are here now, one within the other, all part of the one grand play. My friend Bob, who has had all of the experiences, found himself in a fantastic world where at the lunch hour people stopped what they were doing and took a little card from their pocket, made notes on it as to what they wanted to eat, and replaced the card. Then he saw heavenly expressions on their faces as they enjoyed the food which no one could see. This is taking place now. It’s a real world, yet man here hasn’t begun to dream of such a time. He is interested in producing more chickens, more cattle, pigs, and lambs for the bursting population; yet a world exists where a little card in the pocket allows food to be selected and consumed.

These are worlds that are taking place right now, worlds within worlds, all part of the world of Caesar. But I am speaking of another world. A world where those who are accounted worthy to attain neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore. [They are] Now sons of God, being sons of the Resurrection in the sense that God’s creative power has returned. But you never return until David calls you Father, for only then is the drama at its end.

When David, in the Spirit, calls you “My Lord,” (which means “My Father” in the ancient world) you bear the marks of Jesus. “What think ye of the Christ? Whose Son is he? David? Then why did David in the Spirit call him ‘My Lord’? If David called him Lord, how can he be David’s Son? He can’t, for he is David’s Father.

The average Christian believes that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, not God the Father; but David is God’s only begotten Son. There is no mother in David’s story. He claims: “I am the Son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite.” This is eternity, which was put into the mind of man. Giving his creative power to man, God came with him. Everything God wants done David will do while he wears the mask called John, called Bill, called Helen. Now wearing the mask of everyone in this world, when the mask is removed for the final time, memory will return and he will know himself to be God the Father once more, but now individualized. And the only one who can reveal him to himself is God’s only begotten Son, David. There is no other way that you can ever know that you are God, save through David!

So in the last days he speaks to us through Sonship. I can tell you from now until the ends of time that you are God and you may think me either mad or arrogant; but the day will come when David will stand before you and call you Father. Then it will not matter what the world will say; you will know who you really are and that’s all that really matters.

When you see David you won’t have to ask his identity. There will be no uncertainty, for you will see the express image of the being you saw as the Risen Lord. “Express image” really means: “the impression of a seal on wax or clay.” He is not a resemblance, as something painted from a model, but the express image of the Ancient of Days, only young.

So the last days do not signify the end of this world, for it is not coming to an end, in spite of all the prophecies. The end of which Ecclesiastes speaks is when the individual departs this world through the fulfillment of scripture. He is not speaking of a departure by shooting yourself or taking poison. You could drop dead this very moment to be instantly restored to life in a body the same as before, only unaccountably new, to find yourself in a section of time best suited for the work still to be done in you. You may be in the year 1,000 or the year 4,000, but it will not seem strange. You will be perfectly at home in an environment you understand. There you will play your part, get married, and be just as afraid of death there as you are here, until the last days come upon you.

In this wonderful group so many are waking. Yesterday a lady wrote, saying: “I woke receiving an enormous blow on my head resounding like a hammer on steel. Then all the suns of the universe came alive; all the planes, buses, and cars of the world moved within me. And then the suns magnified to the nth degree, then subsided and the normal street noises returned. That night I was awakened about 1:00 o’clock in the morning hearing my neighbor say good night to guests. I rose, had a drink of water, and returned to bed. Suddenly I was aware of looking at my body. It was lying prone on the bed outlined in light. As I looked at it I saw a light descend toward it, and before they merged the body disappeared and the light possessed me from head to toe. For the past week I have been feeling the presence of God surrounding me. Now I feel the presence glowing from within.”

Then she continues: “Everything I see now, whether my physical eyes are open or closed, is in vivid color. During the day I can sit under a tree, be washing dishes, or taking a walk when another world appears and I simply step into it.”

Here is a lady whose inner being is completely awake. This inner being of which I speak is stirring within all, and everyone will reach the last days, for that is the only purpose of life. And when the time for your departure comes, the marks of Jesus will be placed upon you. You are born from above with the sign of the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes; David will call you Father; the curtain of the temple (which is your own body) will be split and you will ascend into heaven in a spiral manner. Then the dove (the sign of God’s love) descends upon you and smothers you with affection. When these marks are yours you will say, with Paul: “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”

This world that appears so real to you now is repetitious. I have had moments when I have watched people repeat actions over and over again. One night I said to a group as they crossed a bridge: “Do you know you have been doing this over and over again? I have watched you cross this bridge unnumbered times to continue down the street beyond,” yet they would not believe me because they had no memory of ever having done it before. This is life!

Recently I was talking to my brother, who is a doctor, and he said: “Neville, the Bible doesn’t make any sense to me, especially Ecclesiastes. How can he say there is nothing new under the sun? Penicillin is new.” I answered: “No, it is not, only you have no memory of it. Penicillin is wonderful, but it would be considered nothing in other worlds which exist now. There are worlds where even a heart transplant is obsolete, yet each belongs to this world of Caesar.”

But the world into which everyone will eventually go cannot be described. You cannot describe “that age” when there is nothing here to relate it to. How can I describe fusing with the Lord of lords and the King of kings?

Read the 30th chapter of the Book of Jeremiah carefully. The Lord is speaking, saying: “Can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man drawing himself out of himself just like a woman in labor? Why does every face turn pale? Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved because of it.” (Because the whole thing is done, Jacob will be saved).

Now the Lord continues, saying: “I will break the yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds. No more shall anyone make a servant of him. But they shall serve the Lord, their God and David their king whom I will raise up.” Here the Lord is telling you that he will not leave his Son in the grave, but will raise him up in the last days.

Having found David, I have anointed him with my holy oil and he has called me: “My Father, my God and the Rock of my salvation.” God the Father and his son David entered the human mind, and David – a man after his Father’s heart – does his will. And when he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith in the vision shown in the beginning, David will rise and call you Father and the drama is over!

But you are told that those who will come after will not rejoice in him. This is true. You can tell the world of this beautiful Father/Son relationship and yet those who listen will say: “What? Oh, I want more money and some fun first.” A friend of mine, a very successful writer who was five years my senior, would not listen to me, for he was afraid. He was not interested, and therefore did not rejoice in the story of David. Stating he wanted some fun first he did not care for anything of this nature. My friend died about three years ago while watching T.V., so now he is restored to life as a young man, jolly, handsome, and wonderful. He is in a terrestrial world like this, playing a part, perfectly oblivious of what he could have heard from me. And he will remain in this world until the last days come upon him. Then and only then can he depart the stage.

You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven until you are first born from above. Then you must find David, experience the splitting of the curtain and the descent of the dove. Then and only then do you enter the one body of the one God, to be one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all. This is what I mean by the last days.

This world goes on and on, continuing to revolve on its wheel of recurrence, as the one actor plays his many parts in one lifetime. Just like the actor on the stage, he may play the part of Hamlet tonight and Othello tomorrow, but, regardless of the part he plays, he never loses his identity. You will play the rich and the poor man, the known and the unknown, but in the last days God will speak to you through his Son. That is the final revelation of God to Man, for God reveals himself through his Son, and you can’t go any further, for then God reveals himself as you!

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—11/06/1968

Last night I fell asleep dwelling on two thoughts which parallel each other. One is from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and the other from the Gospel of John. Paul said: “I cannot address you as spiritual men, but as members of the flesh, babes in Christ. I feed you milk, not solid food for you cannot take it.” And in the Gospel of John, the central character said: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” When I awoke this morning my mind was crowded with the knowledge of God. This is not easy to speak of or to accept, but if you are a good student of scripture you will know that what I tell you is true. 

In the Book of Genesis it is said that Adam knew Eve, his wife. That she conceived and bore Cain saying: “I did it with the aid of Jehovah.” And in the Book of Luke, we are told that when the angel told Mary she would conceive and bear a son, Mary asked; “How can this be seeing that I know not a man?” The words “know, knew, foreknowledge, or foreknew” are used as a euphemism for the creative act. And the one who performs this act is Jehovah. 

Now, it takes man to express everything, whether it be evil or good, truth or error. This is also true with the creative power of God. We are told: “This is eternal life, to know thee – the only true God, and Jesus Christ (the creative power of God) whom thou hast sent.” Again we find the word “know.” 

When God awakens his creative power which he sent into the world as man, that man performs the marriage act, spiritually. The majority of those known by him do not know they are pregnant until they bring forth God’s creative power and know themselves to be the personification of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

One who was with him all the time said: “Show us the Father and we will be satisfied,” and he replied: “I have been with you so long and yet you do not know me, Philip?” In other words, you follow me and follow me, yet you are not ready to receive me; for I am spirit and you are seeing me as a man of the flesh. These are mysteries he could not tell, for he knew they would be too hard to bear. Now, the knowledge of God requires a complete surrender of self. There are variations of that surrender in the person that is known, so not everyone receives the imprint of God to its fullest extent. The one who completely surrenders receives the gift of apostleship, which is the highest order in the body of God. That one is qualified to be sent and speak from experience. The prophets, teachers, healers, and miracle workers will tell it from hearsay; but all will tell of the imprint, based upon what happened to them. But the one who comes as the apostle does so because he stood in the presence of the Lord and so completely surrendered himself that he speaks from experience, and says: “He who sent me is with me. Lo, we are one.” 

The creative act on the highest level is an embrace, a complete fusion of the two, where one melts into and becomes one with the other. I know that. I who answer to the name of Neville, and my Father who men call God, are one. He sent me, yet he is with me, for I am not alone. 

Having awakened this morning with my mind overflowing with the knowledge of God, I knew I must tell you, whether you accept it or not. And you are not to judge anyone as to whether he or she is qualified to believe it or not. I feel like Jeremiah, when he said: “If I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire and I am weary with holding it in and I cannot.” 

In the eighth chapter of Romans, we are told: “Those whom God foreknew (had this intimacy with before) he predestined to conform to the image of his son.” (Bear in mind now, that the son is he who reflects the glory of God and is the express image of his person). “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Your complete surrender brings you to the point of glorification as you reflect God’s glory. I am not speaking of you as a man born of flesh, but as spirit, for God is spirit! 

In the current issue of the Saturday Evening Post, there is an article written by an English anthropologist who makes little of the Bible, claiming it teaches cosmology. But the Bible does not teach cosmology, astrology, astronomy, or biology. It is concerned with only one thing, and that is God’s plan of redemption. 

The Bible tells of how Spirit comes out of this biological thing called Man, who is one with God yet endowed with a creative power within himself. It’s not something which is an animated body, but a life-giving spirit. As the Father has life in himself, he has given to that which he brings out, life in itself, so that one can speak in the name of the Father, knowing he is the Father. God begets himself in the sense that he brings out of these so-called animated bodies, images of himself that are endowed with life-giving spirit. 

Scripture has nothing to do with this little body of flesh and blood, which is an eternal part of the structure of the universe. While animated by a spirit of God, the body knew horrors beyond horrors; but nothing could come out of it. Then the decision was made to make man in the image of God, and the creative act was committed. 

How did I make my children in my image? By planting my germ into that which was prepared to receive it. Then, in the fullness of time that which bore my image came out endowed with a certain independence. That is just a shadow of what God does; for when Adam knew Eve she conceived and said: “I have begotten a man with Jehovah.” That’s the literal translation of the Hebrew. Those who translated the Bible added the words, “with the help of,” but these words are not in the original manuscript. 

In order to bring forth a man by Jehovah – whose name is I AM – you must bring forth your own wonderful I AMness. And when you know yourself to be the creative power of God, your work is complete. Then, knowing you are God’s perfect image, you will be sent as an apostle to play the part of the creative power of God. The act is spiritually performed in the same manner as the marriage act is committed here on earth. But there are levels within levels within levels of the body of God. 

Now, those whom he foreknew, means those he impregnated and predestined. If a woman is impregnated, she is predestined to bear the image of the one who impregnated her. That’s a simple way to put it. Then those who are predestined are called and justified. Justification means divine acquittal. No matter what an individual has done, he is completely acquitted, for he could not have done it had he not been performing the will of God. And in the end everyone is glorified and will say: “Return unto me the glory that is mine, the glory that I had with thee before that the world was.” 

I now reflect the glory of God. Not physically, but I know myself to be the express image of his person. I use the word “person” advisedly, for God is man in spite of our anthropologists or scientists, who think in terms of an impersonal force. The mystics know that God is man. The great poets know it. “Thou art a man, God is no more, thine own humanity learn to adore.” 

When I stood in the presence of the Risen Lord, he was not some peculiar abstract. He was infinite love, yet he was man. After asking me a very simple question, I answered quite honestly. Then I knew the moment of divine impregnation as I became one with God. 

Infinite might sent me back with the words: “Down with the bluebloods.” This is not some social order, but any ritual, creed, or ceremony, that would interfere with your direct access to God. I know there was no need to form an organization to destroy these, but that if I ignored them they would die for want of attention. 

When you fall in love, you are attentive. You bring her flowers and candy. Then you marry, and if you stop the tender words and gifts, your romance will fade away and finally come to an end. The same thing is true for any outside ceremonies that would interfere with your direct access to God. Ignore them and they will die for lack of awareness. But if you believe in the rituals, creeds, and ceremonies on the outside, you will keep them alive, even to the very end. 

In our fabulous world, God so loved you, individually, that he gave himself to you in the most intimate manner. He did it by becoming you that you may become God. 

How can I explain that even though I am one with God, He sent me. That He is with me, yet remains the Risen Lord. This does not make sense to the rational mind, but when He embraced me we completely fused like a drop of ink in a glass of water. 

Being sent, I had no loss of identity; yet I felt like power – the being who sent me. And when I stood in the presence of God’s only son, David, who acknowledged me as his father, I felt the love of the being who embraced me. 

No one can see God, for he is invisible to the mortal eye; yet his presence can be felt. It is difficult to explain how God completely fused with me, yet sent me individually, without loss of my identity. I feel him, not as another, but as myself. I know he is the Risen Lord. That he came with me, as me; yet I also know he remains the Risen Lord. 

I have tried to explain this so you could catch the mood and not try to understand it rationally, but it seems difficult for you to understand. That is why I have many things to say, but you cannot bear them now, so I feed you milk. 

In my own case I cannot wait for the morning to come after a vision to share it with you. Someone once said: “Do you always throw these pearls before swine?” and I replied: “I do not meet any swine.” I share my visions with all, and if they cannot accept them, they will leave them – but nothing will be lost. I will pick up all the scraps and put them back to be shared once again. I cannot become the critic and determine who should hear what. How do I know who is willing to completely surrender to God? Or to what degree they will surrender! If not today, one day everyone will join that one body and know themselves to be the one Lord, one Spirit, one God and Father of all. 

This morning, as I researched the words “know” and “knowledge”, the impact of the words took on greater meaning. You would not think that the statement: “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free,” would denote a creative act, but it does. I am the personification of the truth that, when known, will set you free. I have been so long with you and yet you do not know me? If you only knew me, you would know my Father also. One day you will know the truth in an intimate manner, at which time He will leave his imprint upon you. Having been sent as the image of the invisible God, you will receive this imprint by a complete and utter surrender of Self. Then in due time that image will come out, for I AM in you and you are in me, for we are truly one! 

Scripture is the most creative book in the world. It is not based upon anything known to man, yet it is the only way to eternal life. If you had great wealth, were honored by all, voted the handsomest man or the most beautiful woman – what would that amount to compared to knowing God, which leads to eternal life? And this is eternal life, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, who is the personification of God’s creative power. 

When God knew Man, God’s creative power became personified; so when you meet a man on the spiritual level you will automatically surrender. This surrender will even involve objects, for nothing will be left out of God’s temple. The whole God is in Man, but on different levels based upon ones willingness to surrender. 

I hope I have fired your curiosity so that you will open your Concordance and follow through the word “know”. There are many words translated now which have a different meaning, so take nothing for granted and check them all out. 

The statement: “To know God is eternal life” means to have an intimate relationship with God so that He buries his image in you. At that time God gives you his life, for you are his emanation yet his wife, till the sleep of death is past. 

In the 54th chapter of Isaiah, you are told: “Your Maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name.” If your maker is your husband whose name is the Lord of Hosts, are you not his wife? Will you completely give yourself over to him as the perfect wife, or will you be restrained in the act? 

In my case I seemed to have no choice. I was spirited into His presence, and when asked: “What is the greatest thing in the world?” I answered without hesitation: “Faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” With that He embraced me and I completely fused with him and now wear the body of God, which is infinite love! 

While in that oneness, yet without loss of identity, I was sent with the cry: “Down with the bluebloods.” God, now clothed as Infinite Might, power without compassion, spoke these words to me: “Time to act.” I heard the words. I witnessed the event, so for thirty years I told the law. I did not tell the promise, for I did not know it until I brought forth the child to bear witness to the fact that I and my father (who men call God) are one. It takes the child to bear witness to the truth that I, as an individual, knew and had become one with my Father. 

Leaving all, God cleaves to his wife – the one he impregnates – who then brings forth God’s likeness as the infinite Christ child. Being God the Father, when you and He become one consciously, are you not the one Father? You may bear the child, not even knowing you are pregnant. But when you bring it forth, you know the union of the two is complete. As long as you believe there are two – you and God – there is conflict. But when the partition is removed, you know yourself to be one with God who so loved you He became you. And when you bring forth his image in the form of his son, you know he has finished the work he set out to do in you. 

May I tell you: if the world rose in opposition to my words it would make no difference to me, for my words will live forever – while all that took place this past week will be forgotten. 

Human history and everything man has ever accomplished will prove to be false. Every great accomplishment will be modified in time, many times. Even so-called facts will prove to be error. In the end everything will be rubbed out, leaving no trace of ever having been present; for the only thing that is really forever, is what God is bringing out of humanity – which is himself. So in the end there is nothing but God – only God! 

But in this world of Caesar, if one wants more of its fruits, let him have them. Eight years ago when Nixon ran against Kennedy, a friend of mine sent Nixon my phonograph record – at which time he wrote the lady and thanked her for it, saying that it had been added to his library and that he would have many moments of joy listening to it. That year he lost the election. Two years later Nixon lost his bid for governor of this state, but four years later his dream came true. I am quite sure, with his background of listening to his inner voice, that my record – which was on the law and the promise – sparked something in him. On the record, I spoke of the difference between thinking of your desire and thinking from it. When you think from your desire’s fulfillment and sleep feeling as though it were true, it becomes a fact. This is a simple technique to get things in this world. 

Nixon didn’t win by an enormous majority, but he won. I firmly believe he did not just listen to my record once, but played it many times. When you know exactly what you want, you are thinking of your desire. Turn your thoughts around and think from its fulfillment. You can think of what you want and desire it forever, keeping it always beyond your reach; but when you think from its possession, your desire is yours. I’ll show you what I do. While in Los Angeles, I think of San Francisco as 600 miles to the north. Closing my thoughts to Los Angeles, I imagine I am in a hotel room in San Francisco and think of Los Angeles as 600 miles to the south of me. When possible, I take a short nap in that awareness. Now, when I open my eyes I find myself back here in Los Angeles, knowing from experience that within a short period of time I will physically be in San Francisco. 

The average person, believing only that which can be seen and touched physically is real, will think I am crazy. A very intelligent, wonderful man who attended my meetings in New York City, once told me he enjoyed listening to my words; but when he did, he planted his feet into the carpet and held the sides of the chair to remind himself of the reality and profundity of things. Otherwise he would take off into some dream world. Call it a dream world if you will, but if there is evidence for a thing, does it matter what others think? I had evidence for my belief and I tried to share my experiences with him, but he would not even test his imagination. 

Not everyone who hears the truth will believe it, even though he seems to be so wise in the eyes of the world. So I say: I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now. I am not speaking of the law. Mark puts that quite simply: “Whatever you desire, believe you have received it and you will.” I am speaking of the promise and urge you to search the scriptures, for if you do you will find me there. And when you find me, you will know, from experience that you and I are one. 

Now let us go into the silence.

Neville Goddard—02/20/1969

Recently I read a book called, Vanished Parts of Yesterday, by Lord Frederick Hamilton. In it he tells the story of Catherine the Great – who, when she found the first violet of spring, ordered a sentry to be placed over it to protect it from being plucked. Forgetting to rescind the order, day and night, summer and winter, a sentry stood where 150 years ago, a violet bloomed. The new generation did not know why the sentry was there and he didn’t either. It was simply a tradition! 

Make sure no sentry is now standing on your lawn, keeping you from the word of God; for you void the word of God through the traditions of your fathers which have been handed down from generation to generation. 

Now, the spirit of truth comes to all who will accept it. And the incomplete form of the incarnate revelation will continue until the spirit of truth comes! It has come to this lady whose vision I would like to share with you now. 

Finding herself on a movie lot with two others, she approaches a man who had the appearance of John Wayne. Calling her by name, he said something to her she could not understand; but upon awakening, these words were clearly heard: It is not Before Abraham was, I am! but Before Abraham, was I am! 

Bear in mind the Bible’s original manuscript had no punctuation marks. There were no verses, no paragraphs, no capital letters, chapters, or punctuation until the 16th century. Man has placed the comma after the word was, as though a man was speaking. But in this incarnate revelation, the spirit of truth revealed the source of all life as “I am!” This is the same being who said: “Go to my brothers and say, `I am ascending unto my Father and you Father, unto my God and your God.”‘ In this revelation the incarnate work is not separating himself from you; rather he is telling you that the “I am” has unfolded within him. 

Will you believe that revelation? Will you turn to this one presence, this one I am who was before Abraham, knowing it to be the source of everything good, bad, and indifferent? 

You may think God could not create wars and conflicts between countries, but I tell you there is no other creator, no other cause. As horrible as the world appears to be, it is like a tapestry whose knots and loose strings appear ugly on one side, while its beauty is revealed on the other. 

I know very able imaginists who suggest we look upon the history of man as material for the artistry of God. That’s beautifully said, but I rather think it takes the horrors of experience to transform man into the beautiful being he was in the beginning. 

In the Book of Genesis we are told: “He meant it for evil but God meant it for good.” In order to play the part of man, awareness had to fall asleep, and in so doing became the dreamer called Joseph and was sold into slavery. In spite of the horrors of the world, Joseph awoke and was able to save civilization from death. So I believe that regardless of what we do, it is being transformed into the beauty of the promise. 

Dwell upon this lady’s revelation, for it came to her through the spirit of truth. Remember: the dreamer in her is also the being in the director’s chair. John Wayne always plays the leading role, never a secondary one, and God is the key actor, always the star. Recognizing John (the word means “Jehovah’s favored one”) he calls her name. 

Scripture tells us that God numbered the stars and called each by name. Do you know that you are far more precious than the stars or the sands of the sea? Though we seem to be unnumbered, each and every one of us is known in the mind of the Father and each name is recorded in the Book of Life. 

Although my friend could not hear the words spoken in her vision, upon awakening she remembered: It is not before Abraham was, I am, but before Abraham, was I am! You will find this statement in the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John. This is a chapter which concerns itself with the identity of the Father. Here he claims: “My Father is he who you call God, but I know my Father and you know not your God.” In this statement he is trying to get you to go beyond a physical state and think of God (your imagination) as the source of all life! 

You can test God through the act of assumption. By assuming you are now what you desire to be, and wearing that belief as you would a suit of clothes, you will become it. 

I can remember buying a new hat and walking down the streets of New York City thinking everyone knew my hat was new. I was very conscious of my hat and a little embarrassed because of its newness. But when I had worn it long enough to throw it in the closet and unconsciously pick it up again, it was an old hat and I could wear it normally. You may deny this, but if you are honest with yourself you will admit that you are very conscious of a new suit or dress, even though those who meet you may not know or care whether your clothes are old or new. Only you are aware of the clothes you are wearing. 

The same thing is true of an assumption. At first your reasoning mind and your outer senses will deny its existence, for your thoughts are new and haven’t been broken in yet. But when you wear your assumption long enough, it becomes comfortable and you feel its naturalness, then it will externalize itself as the world reflects the truth of what you have assumed. 

Remember: the source of all life is I AM! We are told that the Lord will speak to man in a dream and make himself known in a vision. The word Lord may cause you to think of another, but the Hebrew word YAD HE VAU HE [pron. “YOD HEY VAV HEY”] means “I AM”! And there is no other when you say, I am! 

The spirit of truth made himself known to this lady in a vision and will lead her into all things. Trained in the belief of an external God, she has overcome a great deal to receive him. 

Man must overcome the belief in a being outside of self before the spirit of truth can come and make himself known to him. This being is immortal and within. Each time you say I am, you speak his name. When you discover this, you will know that you and God are one! 

The world rejects this revelation because they do not know the Father. They call him “Lord” and worship him as someone external to themselves, not knowing He is within. 

Although you may believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, when David reveals you as his father you will realize you are Jesus and he is your power-filled son, Christ. Then you will tell those who have been conditioned to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and God is someone other than self, and they will not believe you; for the conditioned mind must be dissolved in order for that individual to realize he is God. 

If David calls me father and he calls you father, are we not one father? If there is only one son, only one God and father of all, and everyone individually has the identical son who calls him father – have we not proved the truth of that wonderful 4th chapter of Ephesians: “There is only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all?” 

Now, what was God’s purpose? Why did He become you and I? So that we could become God. If this is true, how will we ever know it unless God’s son calls us father? I could call you Lord, God, Jehovah, or Jesus and you would deny it; but when God’s son – who was supposed to have lived 3000 [sic] years ago – stands before you who live in the 20th century, and calls you father, you cannot deny the experience. When you see David you know you are his father and he knows he is your son. Having fallen asleep, you have forgotten your true identity. But when David appears your memory will return. 

God does not have a memory as we interpret the word. To God everything is actual. God’s son is a youth of indescribable beauty which is self-begotten. The verb beget is always attached to the male, while the verb to bear is attached to the female. Scripture speaks of two forms of birth: one which is attached to the female, whose body is formed by and born of woman, while the other is associated with the father, whose body is spirit and whose birth is from within! 

In the 3rd chapter of John, Nicodemus is told that he must be born from above. In this chapter the word “anothin” is translated “from above.” At other times it is translated “anew,” or “again” – but a spiritual birth is a must before you can enter the kingdom of heaven, for it is God the Father who is born. 

In the last book of the Old Testament the question is asked: “If I am a father, where is my son?” That question is answered when God’s son stands before you. As a teacher it has been difficult for me to get the mind which has been conditioned to believe in tradition, to believe in this revelation. 

The mind has a tendency to continue to stand over that little violet which grew 150 years ago. But in this case, it was unnumbered centuries ag, when the idea that Jesus Christ was the son of God was planted in the mind of man while he – a physical man – was nothing more than a little worm. But I tell you: God sacrificed himself to become you. He is crucified on you and will rise from you. 

Man is the only cross God ever wore and his birth takes place from man’s skull, for that is where God is buried. When He awakens in you and emerges from you, it is you who awake and emerge. And his fatherhood is revealed when God’s son calls you father. 

Then you will tell the truth you have experienced to the world in the hope they will receive it. But whether they do or not, you will know that the spirit of truth has come. You will know you have finished the race and the crown of righteousness is yours. Although I will be gone, remember: God is still with you because He has appeared among you. And you will take what I have told you, plus what God is going to tell you from within, and experience that which has been so misunderstood throughout the centuries. 

I have come to reinterpret the story of Jesus Christ. He who sees me sees the Father. How can you say: “Show me the Father.” Have I been so long with you, yet you do not know the Father? He who has seen me has seen the Father. 

In the end everyone will be the Father. And because there is only one Father and only one son, this unity – now fragmented – will once more be gathered together. Without loss of identity I will know you more intimately than is possible in this world. Nothing can compare to the intimacy that we will have when we are raised and once more reunited into that one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one God and father of all. 

Dwell on this revelation. It is not before Abraham was, I am, but before Abraham, was I am! Here we see that the fountainhead of everything is I am! 

Although the horrors of the world may deny a divine event, remember the story of the tapestry. Scripture calls the unlovely side “below,” while the lovely side is called “above.” The Risen Christ is made to say: “You are from below and I am from above. You are of this world and I am not of this world.” In other words, you who have not experienced scripture are from below, while those who have are from above. You are of this world, while they are no longer a part of this world. But, because we are all one, you will be lifted up as the Risen Christ. 

Any desire is yours to fulfill if you will not lose confidence in I am. Attach anything to it and it will grow. If your desire is to be rich, say to yourself: I am rich – and think from that assumption. If you want to be known, claim you already are. You can be anything you want to be by the act of assumption. Wear your desire as though it were true now, and your assumption – though denied by your senses – when persisted in will harden into fact by objectifying itself and becoming a reality. 

But that is not the purpose of life. There is only one purpose, which is to fulfill scripture. And when God makes himself known in you – an individual – and you tell your experiences, the world will deny them. But I tell you: you cannot turn to another and say I am; and you cannot divide it, for I am is one! 

The revelation given to Moses was I am! He was not speaking to another, whose name was I am. If I said the Lord sent me, you would think of another, but I am saying I sent myself! 

One day Blake was asked what he thought of Jesus and he replied: “Jesus is the only God, but so am I and so are you.” Nothing could be truer than what Blake said, because there is only God and you are actually he! Having emptied yourself of the being you really are, you deliberately came here to play the part of man. 

And when you awaken and you and I are reunited in the one body, we will know what we have done in this adventure. I cannot deny the world’s unpleasantness. Every newspaper tells of something terrible. You rarely read a pleasant headline. If they cannot find something bad in our city, they jump across the ocean to find it. The world is built that way, yet it is moving toward a glorious divine event. 

When the Risen Christ said: “I have things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now,” he was speaking to those who were tightly bound in their concept of a God external to themselves to whom they prayed. That mind could not accept a God within who would make himself known in a vision. 

I knew such a lady in New York City. She ran a book store, where I bought many books. Knowing my passion for books, when she would see my interest in a certain book she would quickly erase the price and mark a higher one in its place. This she did time and time again. I have paid her as high as $100 for three books. One day she said: “You certainly have vivid dreams,” and I replied: “They are not dreams, but visions, where I commune with myself, the self that you call God.” 

Two years ago, while in New York I learned that Mary had been killed. Walking down a dark street one night she stepped off the sidewalk and a car struck her. Her husband found her body four days later in the morgue where they kept it waiting for identification. So Mary is gone, taking all of her beliefs with her. 

There is no transforming power in what the world calls death. If you are prejudiced here, you are prejudiced there. If you change the price of books here, you will do it there. You will continue to play your part until you are willing to have the story of Jesus Christ awaken in you. 

It is said that God spoke to Moses, making it appear as though God spoke from without; but God always whispers from within. Knowing God to be himself, when the revelation came, Moses spoke to him face to face and no longer in dream, as told us in the 12th chapter of Numbers. 

Test my words, for I know the human imagination is God. Call forth your desire by calling it forth with God’s name. Decide what you want and ask yourself what it would be like and how you would feel if it were true. Then dare to assume you have it. Let the people who know you now see you after your assumption. Don’t make them see you; let them see the change! 

Think of the world as a sounding box, echoing and reflecting what you have assumed. Listen to your friends comment on your change. See their faces expressing their pleasure on your good fortune. Wear that feeling as you now wear your present body of belief. Continue to wear that new state and in no time at all your desire will objectify itself and become a fact in your world. Then you will know who the cause of the phenomena of life really is. 

There is only one source. The world calls it God. That is a lovely name, but don’t forget that God is your awareness! No one can see I am! They see what I tell them that I am. I walk the earth and they see that I am a man wearing a gray suit. I tell them where I live, and they know the names of my father and mother, sister and brothers; but these are only covers for the being that I am, as no one can see my true identity on this level. They only see my metamorphosis. 

The lady whose vision I shared saw a metamorphosis that she herself created, in the form of one who seemed to be John Wayne. You see, God is protean and can assume not only one, but many metamorphoses, and more than one at the same time. She came upon her own creation, who spoke seemingly from without, whispering so softly she could hardly hear what he was saying. 

Now, when vision breaks forth into speech the presence of deity is affirmed. In the vision of Moses, speech came from a burning bush; and in the vision of Isaiah, one of the seraphim asked: “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah answered: “Send me, O Lord.” 

In this lady’s case, she saw the form of man who she instantly associated with stardom. He was sitting in the director’s chair, directing and whispering a great secret, which upon awakening she remembered. It is not, before Abraham was, I am, but before Abraham, was I am. 

Here we see how important the placement of the comma is. Just as it is on that day on the cross: “Behold I say unto you today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.” Placing the comma after the word today, changes the meaning completely from placing it before the word today. What confusion that has made among those who read: “Behold I say to you, today thou shalt be with me in paradise,” when forty days later he is made to say: “Touch me not as I have not yet ascended.” But the statement makes great sense when the comma is changed. 

All punctuation is man-made. Change the comma and you will see that no one can be lost. How could God lose himself when he became man? He could not – therefore God has to redeem himself. 

When you discover this truth, you cannot hurt another. Rather, you will help everyone, because you will know he is yourself pushed out. In this world we meet what seems to be another and in a sense they are, because we are all individualized. And we will never lose our individuality; yet in heaven there is a unity, an intermingling of being in its one body. There you dwell as the one Lord, the one God and Father of all, yet without loss of identity. 

Now let us go into the silence.