Decades after his death, Neville Goddard’s books are widely read, and his lectures have broad appeal on platforms like Youtube. That’s because many consider Neville Goddard techniques (for manifesting) as effective.
Below are 14 of Neville Goddard’s most popular manifestation techniques, as well as his philosophy on how to manifest anything you want in life.
Table of Contents
Neville Goddard's philosophy about manifesting
Neville Goddard was a prolific speaker and writer, and he is credited with many manifestation techniques. But although there are many techniques, they all revolve around the same philosophy, which is as follows:
Imagination creates reality
He believed that “Nothing is impossible for your imagination,” and that “If you can imagine something, you can achieve it.”
Feeling is the secret
Neville believed that whatever we feel with strong emotions, we must manifest. Activating your emotions and your senses while imagining your ideal outcome is an important part of successful manifestation.
Neville uses the analogy of planting a seed. You are planting the seed in your imagination, and you are watering the seed by feeling the emotions.
Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled
While you imagine your desired outcome, and you are feeling the feelings you would have if it were real, you must also assume that it has already come to fruition.
Living in the end
Neville says that many people make the mistake of not imagining from the place they want to be. For example, don’t imagine that one day, you’ll drive your dream care. (If you believe it is “someday,” it will always be “someday.”) Instead, imagine from the end, when you are already driving the car. This is imagining from, and not of, or about your desired outcome.
Treat others the way you want to be treated
It is possible to manifest for others, but Neville Goddard preached we should only do unto others, as we would have them do unto us.
Neville Goddard techniques for manifesting
Neville Goddard techniques for manifesting all rely on the power of imagination. As you will see below, each technique is centered on the power of imagination.
It is important to understand that manifestations happen in their own time. You need to be patient and allow it to happen, without losing faith.
Not every manifestation technique may work for you. It’s best to try several and see what works best for you.
The ladder technique
This is one of the more popular Neville Goddard techniques.
Here’s how it works.
- On the first day, write “I will not climb a ladder” on post-it notes. Spread them out around your home, where you will see them throughout the day. When you see them, you confirm and believe that you will not climb a ladder.
- At night, go to bed, and you try to fall asleep in an unusual position. For example, if you usually sleep on your stomach, you try to go to sleep on your back instead. This is so that you don’t fall asleep immediately, but have time to do this imagination exercise.
- Before you dose off to sleep, you imagine yourself climbing up and down a ladder, step by step. Once you get to the top of the ladder, you come down. You climb up and down the ladder as you fall asleep.
- Repeat this exercise for three nights in a row.
Neville had his students try this exercise, with surprising results. Many reported that in the days following, they were put in situations where they had to climb a ladder in real life (see video below titled.)
While the following video quality is not great, it is included because it’s an excellent example of the ladder technique in action.
With the ladder technique, Neville Goddard is trying to prove that imagination is stronger than convictions. Even though students believed they would not climb any ladders (thanks to the post-it notes around the home), many of them climbed ladders anyway thanks to the imagination exercise before dosing off to sleep.
Neville said that ladder climbing can be replaced with anything you want to manifest in your life.
Catch the mood technique
Neville Goddard believed that by being in the right mood, you can manifest the things you want. For example, if he was sad, he would try to replace his sadness with a cheerful mood. He would dwell on this cheerful mood until it became his default mood.
Dwelling on the desired mood is important! If your mood is temporary, it will fade. When you dwell on it, it becomes your default / permanent state.
Neville said that if we create and dwell on a feeling/strong belief that we can achieve anything we desire, it will become true for us.
Believe that imaginal acts become facts
With this technique, you believe that the things you’ve been imagining have already happened.
- You act as if what you want is already a fact;
- You feel the feelings you would feel had it already come true;
- With that image in mind and the feelings in your heart, you imagine speaking to people you know about this fact. For example, if you are hoping to manifest a promotion, imagine yourself telling your best friend that you got the promotion, and she/he is congratulating you. The purpose of these imagined conversations is to make your goal feel as if it has already happened.
With this technique, you can also manifest things for other people. For example, if you are hoping your friend would get a raise, you can imagine yourself speaking to your friend, who is ecstatic because she got a big raise. Imagine your conversation in great detail. See the joy and excitement in her eyes, hear it in her voice. Add details to confirm the reality you are trying to create. You will want to repeat this exercise a few times, adding more and more intention into it every time you do it. Then wait for your friend to deliver the wonderful news.
The congratulations technique
In this technique, Neville says to:
- Imagine that your desire is already a reality;
- Next, imagine a friend or family member congratulating you wholeheartedly.
- Visualize in great detail, and try to make it as realistic as possible. Perhaps imagine how they hug you or shake your hand when they are congratulating you.
- Feel gratitude for the achievement of your goal.
The breathing technique
In this technique, you are visualizing your goal while doing a breathing exercise.
Visualize the thing you are trying to manifest. See it clearly. Breathe yourself into a rhythm. See your manifestation realized, hear people telling you it’s been realized, and work yourself up emotionally because you know it is true. Breath in and out as you visualize, then explode it, and then let it be.
Neville said that this exercise should only be done once. Think of it as a pregnancy. Once someone is pregnant, it takes 9 months for the baby to be born. So too, give this manifestation time to form.
The dare to assume technique
The Neville Goddard “dare to assume technique” requires confidence and a strong belief that what you want, can become true for you. In this technique, you imagine what your life would look if your dream becomes a reality. Then, you assume it is true.
To do this, get into a meditative state and imagine your dream as a reality. Experience the feelings you would feel, the joy, the satisfaction, etc.
When you’re done with the meditation, act as if it is true and try to stay in that feeling as long as you can. Identify with your ideal and know that you deserve anything you truly want.
The “construct and event” technique
In this Neville Goddard technique, you mentally construct an event that would follow the fulfillment of your desire. For example, if you want to manifest marriage, you could construct the reception after the wedding. Or if you want to manifest a promotion, you could construct popping a bottle of champagne with your partner after hearing the good news.
Once you have planned a scene in mind, go into a meditative state. Imagine your particular event. Feel as if it is literally happening to you. Imagine you are there, taking part in it. Add relevant details to make it as real as possible.
Once you are done, try to keep those emotions for as long as possible.
The eavesdropping technique
In this Neville Goddard technique, you imagine you overhear your friends, family, or acquaintances talking about this wonderful thing that has happened to you. They are talking about whatever you are trying to manifest. Imagine hearing clearly the things they say, the tone of their voices, the words they use, and importantly—feel the feelings you would feel if it were true.
Your goal is to internalize those imagined feelings and turn them into real feelings.
The revision technique (reframing past experiences)
With Neville Goddard’s revision technique, you are reframing negative experiences you have had in the past. This is to overcome the emotions associated with that experience. You can do this by reimagining a past event the exact way you wish it to be. You refuse to replay what happened. Instead, you reimagine your past so that you can let go of your emotional attachments to it.
For example, if someone insulted you, imagine instead that they complimented you. You are therefore focusing on a positive outcome, instead of the old, negative emotions.
The fast forward technique
Imagine your new life as you time travel to the future you desire. You can fast forward to any timeline you desire – from morning to the end of the day, 1 year from today, 10 years, etc.
The “I remember when” technique
In this technique, you are imagining from your wish fulfilled, as if it had already happened. For example, “I remember our first day in our dream house.”
The teleporting technique
If you are in location A, but you wish to be in location B, you would simply imagine you are at B already. If your desire is to be on vacation, experience this moment as if you are already on vacation.
The “I am” mantra
As you fall asleep at night, think “I am,” followed by your desired outcome. For example, I am confident, I am prosperous, I am successful, etc.
The “How did I” technique
You are imagining from the end. In your imagination, ask yourself “How did I,” followed by your desired outcome. For example, “how did I get so rich?” You are eliciting the experience, not looking for an answer.
