Table of ContentsNeville Goddard
Neville Goddard
Last updated: July 7, 2026
The mystic who stripped New Thought down to its most radical core: human imagination is literally God.
Lived
1905 – 1972
Nationality
Barbadian-American
Tradition
Mystical Christianity
Known For
Feeling Is the Secret (1944), The Power of Awareness (1952), Awakening Your Imagination (1954)
Tone
Balanced3.5 / 6
Warm delivery but radical metaphysics: "You are God" and "everyone is you pushed out" carry solipsistic implications that unsettle many readers.
Why Goddard Matters
Neville Goddard transformed New Thought from wishful thinking into a precise psychological technology. While others spoke vaguely of 'positive thinking,' he gave exact instructions: assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled, and reality will conform. His biblical interpretations are among the most psychologically sophisticated in the entire mystical tradition, reading scripture as maps of consciousness rather than historical accounts. His influence has exploded in the digital age because his methods actually work when applied correctly.
Start Here: The Reading Path
- Feeling Is the Secret1944This slim book contains Neville's entire method in concentrated form. Focus on the practical exercises for entering the state akin to sleep while maintaining your desired feeling. Everything else he wrote elaborates on principles laid out here.Read this multiple times before moving to other works. Master the technique before studying the theory.
- The Power of Awareness1952His most systematic presentation of consciousness as the only reality. This book provides the philosophical foundation for why his technique works. Pay special attention to his treatment of states of consciousness as actual places you inhabit.Study alongside practicing the methods from 'Feeling Is the Secret' for maximum impact.
Core Ideas in 60 Seconds
- Human imagination is GodThe creative power within each person is not connected to the divine but literally is the divine expressing through individual consciousness.Imagination
- Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilledReality responds to the state of consciousness you inhabit, not to your thoughts or desires but to the feeling of already having what you want.Law of Attraction
- The Bible is psychology, not historyScripture describes states of consciousness and psychological processes, with every character and event representing aspects of individual human experience.Consciousness
- Consciousness is the only realityWhat appears as external circumstances is actually consciousness objectified, making inner states the true creative cause of experience.Consciousness
- Everyone is you pushed outOther people in your experience reflect back your own states of consciousness, appearing to confirm whatever you believe about yourself and life.Projection
Major Works
| Title | Year | What It Teaches | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeling Is the Secret | 1944 | The fundamental technique of manifesting through feeling rather than thinking. | Everyone, especially beginners needing practical method |
| The Power of Awareness | 1952 | The philosophical foundation that consciousness is the only reality and all causation is mental. | Practitioners ready for deeper understanding of why the methods work |
| Awakened Imagination | 1954 | How imagination operates as the divine creative power and biblical interpretation as psychological allegory. | Readers interested in the mystical and biblical dimensions of his teaching |
| The Law and the Promise | 1961 | Student testimonials demonstrating the practical application of his methods across diverse life situations. | Those needing inspiration and concrete examples of successful application |
Lineage & Influence
Influenced By
His mysterious teacher Abdullah, described as an Ethiopian rabbi who taught him Hebrew and biblical interpretation, represents his only acknowledged human influence, though his thought clearly draws from Swedenborg's correspondential biblical interpretation and New Thought causative principles.
Influenced
Joseph Murphy adopted his psychological approach to prayer, while contemporary teachers like Wayne Dyer and Rhonda Byrne popularized diluted versions of his core insights about assumption and feeling.
Parallel Thinkers
Florence Scovel Shinn worked with similar affirmation techniques but lacked his philosophical depth, while Ernest Holmes developed Religious Science along parallel lines but with more traditional theological language.
The Story
Born in Barbados to a poor family, Neville Lancelot Goddard came to New York as a young man dreaming of theatrical success. His life changed when he encountered Abdullah, a black Jewish mystic who taught him Hebrew and introduced him to the Bible as psychological allegory rather than history. This revelation became the foundation of his entire teaching: that biblical stories map states of consciousness, and that human imagination is the very power called God in scripture. For over thirty years, he gave lectures throughout the United States, attracting audiences with his combination of practical technique and radical biblical interpretation. He claimed that everyone was destined to discover their own divine identity through a series of mystical experiences he called 'the Promise,' which he said he had fulfilled in himself. His death in 1972 seemed to end his influence, but the internet age has brought his precise psychological methods to a global audience hungry for practical spirituality.
In Their Own Words
Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
Feeling Is the Secret
Imagination is the only redemptive power in the universe.
The Power of Awareness
The world is yourself pushed out.
Lecture series
Change your conception of yourself and you will automatically change the world in which you live.
The Power of Awareness
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Neville Goddard's main teaching?
Neville taught that human imagination is God, and that assuming the feeling of having your wish already fulfilled is the way to manifest desired changes in reality. He emphasized feeling over thinking as the key to creation.
How is Neville different from other New Thought teachers?
Unlike others who focused on positive thinking or affirmations, Neville taught specific psychological techniques based on entering drowsy states while maintaining desired feelings. He also uniquely interpreted the Bible as pure psychology rather than history.
What does 'everyone is you pushed out' mean?
This means that other people in your experience reflect your own inner states and beliefs about yourself back to you. They appear to confirm whatever consciousness you're operating from, making self-concept the key to changing relationships.
Did Neville Goddard believe in God?
Yes, but not as an external deity. Neville taught that God is human imagination itself, making every person literally divine in their creative capacity. This was his most radical departure from traditional Christianity.
