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Everybody I know (myself included) has an environment and lifestyle that matches his or her dominant thoughts and feelings, without question. Those who thought about
- Justice and equality became great advocates for justice and equality
- Playing it safe, now live very safe and conservatives lives
- Having lots of money, decided to work in investment banks and then started earning more than everybody else
- Nothing in particular, became nothing in particular
“You become what you most think about”
As for me, I always thought about achieving self-mastery; designing and living a perfect life that would allow me, as far as possible, to control most, if not all, of my ideas and feelings, financial wealth, friends, physical health, and so on (5 Intelligences).
The result is that for many years, I continued to study and practice law throughout the night and in the early hours of the morning when the roads were deserted, and the majority of souls were fast asleep.
It is during these times that mental distractions are at a minimal, human activity almost stops, and I bask in the opportunity to reflect within, review, and frame my ideas and feelings for the future.
Even when I lived in Ghana for approximately two years, I continued my mastering-self regime as far as practicable, having to use the 24-hour hotels lobbies as my only refuge from the relatively dangerous streets.
Later, I discovered that my behaviour was a good example of how a person learns the science of self-control.
I wrote this review, for instance, because I manage my time and life in a way that will cause me to refer back to it for many years to come.
It is evidence of my serious attempt to always continue shaping the thoughts and feelings that I will experience in the future.
So you see, my current environment and lifestyle clearly match my dominant thoughts and feelings.
Confident that one day you will be ready to learn more about this particular science (above), I strongly recommend that you read a book called ‘The Neville Reader.’
The Neville Reader was written solely to challenge the open-minded person to learn and apply the art of realising her dreams.
You will find that the author, Neville Goddard, makes a countless number of bold and extra-ordinary statements about the knowledge of truth, and the universe.
The consequence is that it will change, or at the least, enhance your understanding of the world forever.
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Neville Goddard
Neville Goddard, originally from Barbados, is a spiritual teacher who was a popular speaker on metaphysical subjects and the philosophy generally called New Thought from the 1930s until his death in 1972.
He used to address thousands of people in packed auditoriums, on radio programs and, for a short time, on an inspirational television show broadcast from Los Angeles in the 1950s.
Pursuing a course of self-education, he wrote ten books after studying Hebrew, Scripture, and Kabala for years, which set the foundation of his philosophy of mental creativity that he developed.
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The Neville Reader
The Neville Reader is a collection of writings previously published under the following titles:
- The Law of Promise (1961)
- Prayer: The Art of Believing (1966)
- Feeling is the Secret (1966)
- Resurrection (1966)
- Freedom for All (1966)
- Out of this World (1966)
- Seedtime and Harvest (1956)
Under the title: ‘Feeling is the Secret’ Neville wrote a chapter called the ‘Law and Its Operation,’ which is the focus of this review.
Within this chapter, he argues that if you want to learn the art to realising your desires, or obtain a clearly defined road to the realisation of your dreams then you must have knowledge of the law of consciousness.
What is the Law of Consciousness?
Neville argues that consciousness is the originator as well as the substance of the universe.
Therefore, consciousness is what you must turn to if you want to discover the secret of creation, and build and achieve your ideal life. To put it simply, Neville claims that our consciousness divides into two parts:
1) Conscious
2) Subconscious
To use the law of consciousness intelligently, he asserts that it is necessary to understand how your conscious mind and subconscious mind relate to each other.
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What is the Conscious Mind?
- Your conscious mind is intended for use by you only, and allows you to be selective when creating ideas. Subsequently, your conscious mind will then impress these ideas onto your subconscious mind
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What is Your Subconscious Mind?
- Your subconscious mind is not personal or selective, and cannot originate ideas. Rather, your subconscious mind takes the ideas that you feel to be true with your conscious mind, and then frames and give expression to them
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The Importance of Your Feelings!
According to Neville, your feelings are the one and only way that ideas you create in your conscious mind will transfer and print onto your subconscious.
Therefore, if you have an idea that is not backed by strong feelings then your idea will not pass onto your subconscious mind.
If, however, your idea is supported by your feelings then your subconscious mind will always express them, causing you to make decisions in your life that will bring them into creation.
The result is that if you control your feelings and ideas, you will also be controlling what your subconscious mind expresses and causes you to create.
But, the reverse is also true. The person who does not control their ideas and feelings may unknowingly impress on their subconscious mind troublesome or unwanted situations due to the negative influence of others.
Every feeling you experience will have a subconscious effect on your mind, but if you have two or more conflicting feelings then it is your most powerful feeling only that will eventually be expressed by your subconscious mind.
As a result, there is a direct link between your dominant feelings and your visible world, and to achieve your desired character or circumstances you must
1) Think using your feelings
2) Feel your desired state now
3) Live and act according to the feelings of your desired state in the present
Bear in mind that everything that surrounds you in the physical world such as this piece of paper, computer, or electronic device was first just an idea and feeling before the inventor brought it into physical existence.
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Use Your Subconscious Mind Carefully!
Neville further claims that when defining or creating your desired state, it is important that you do not think feelingly about the possible difficulties, obstacles, or delays that you will encounter; otherwise, your subconscious mind will also produce these challenges.
To feel hopelessness or self-doubt is to implant within your subconscious the idea of failure. Unfortunately, your subconscious never changes the ideas that it receives and will proceed to make you manifest your feelings of failure.
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Subconscious Mind Responds to Persuasions
In addition, another important thing that he mentions is that even though your subconscious mind serves you, it hates being compelled to accept ideas from your conscious mind.
Instead, similar to a relationship between husband and wife, your subconscious mind responds to persuasion instead of command.
This is the reason why, generally, you must not rush and hurry in life or succumb to pressure from others.
Instead, you must take time to become deeply acquainted with your deepest feelings, as your subconscious will not accept and express your desires until you acquire the actual feeling of them being true.
“To seek on the outside for that which you do not feel you are is to seek in vain, for we never find that which we want; we find only that which we are.”
In light of the law of consciousness, Neville argues that there is no higher achievement than accomplishing mastery of self-control. The reason is that nothing is impossible to achieve for the person who has mastered the self-control of her thoughts and feelings.
However, if you have not obtained perfect self-control, he asserts that you must use sleep and prayer to access and influence your subconscious mind, as these are the only other gateways.
Neville goes on to discuss these two gateways in detail in Chapter 24 – Sleep, and Chapter 25 – Prayer.
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Where to Go from Here?
Master this subject or area of knowledge within your daily life until you become an expert; therefore,
- Prioritise your personal development by planning to read or listen to the following books and audio books: As a Man Thinketh, The Secret, Think & Grow Rich, The Science of Getting Rich, The Neville Reader, as they will make you become more self-aware and better able to control your thoughts and feelings
- Either read them (the above books) wherever you can, and/or listen to them in your car, or in the house whilst you are doing your usual chores (make use of all your idle time)
- Use the above books to discover what you are really passionate about, or your life’s purpose, and then focus on how you will feel when you achieve it
- Until you achieve your desired purpose or circumstances in life be ruthless with the type of people that you choose to spend your time with in conversation. Socialise mainly with those who understand and encourage you to learn the importance of this type of knowledge
- Stop modern technology (TV, Internet, Mobile Phone, and so on) from having an unearned or unjustified effect on your conscious mind. One method of approaching this is to review and reflect on your technological usage on a weekly basis. If, after your review, you feel that your usage is excessive, or not specifically focused on moving you towards achieving your purpose in life then you must immediately commit to making a drastic change. Once you have made a change, you must continue to monitor your usage weekly, making any necessary adjustments until you have obtained your ideal approach or balance
- Stop or reduce your in take of anything and anyone that will make you think about the difficulties, delays, or barriers to achieving your goals
This website, tommyoffe.com, documents exactly how I have spent more than 20 years overcoming many of the challenges that you are highly likely to face also.
I am writing this, for example, in McDonalds at 2.30am on a Saturday morning in London, surrounded by hungry partygoers.
The point: tackle one challenge at a time, give it all the spare energy and resources that you have, and when achieved, celebrate and then move on to the next.
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tommyoffe.com & The Neville Reader
Many of my experiences and observations confirm or lend serious support to most of Neville’s arguments. Hence, within this website alone, you will find that this review connects to
- ‘Philosophy Can Make You Very Wealthy’
- ‘The Conscious and Unconscious Mind & The 4 Stage Learning Process’
- ‘Why Advanced Intelligence = Hermetic Teachings’
Moreover, in my view, it adds important detail to the timeless personal development classics such as
- ‘As a Man Thinketh’ by James Allen
- ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill
- ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne
- ‘The Mastery of Destiny’ by James Allen