As shared by Neville Goddard, “Feeling is the secret.” , feeling the wish fulfilled through imagination can help you manifest what you want effectively. Here’s a simple introductory practice you can do now to experience the process and evidence firsthand–Neville Goddard Ladder Technique. I’m going to explain the underlying principle and teach you the steps below. Happy manifesting!
Neville Goddard and the Law of Assumption
Neville Goddard (1905–1972) was a very influential figure in the modern manifestation movement. He is well known for his teachings on the power of the imagination and the creative power of the mind. Through his popular works such as ‘Feeling is The Secret’ and ‘The Power of Awareness’, he taught many people to successfully manifest their desires into reality through imagination and having the feeling of the wish fulfilled. This is aligned with the Law of Assumption which believes whatever you assume to be true becomes your reality.
If you know about manifestation and have been practicing it, chances are you have come across Law of Attraction and maybe Law of Assumption. For those who are new to these principles, here’s a brief summary about these two popular laws of manifestation so that you don’t get confused.
- Similarities: Both law suggests you can shape your reality according to your desire by changing your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. However, the shift of mindset and emotions must be focused and aligned with what you wish to manifest.
- Differences:
- Approach to manifestation: Law of Attraction emphasizes the principle of ‘like attracts like’, you need to have positive emotions and high-vibrational frequency to attract the good things you want. Whereas the Law of Assumption focuses on assuming your desire is already a reality regardless of the current circumstances–you live as if you have already owned it.
- Evidence of manifestation: Signs for the Law of Attraction successful manifestation include synchronicities, people showing up or leaving from your life or new opportunities arising. Law of Assumption encourages you to ignore the external evidence and instead truly believe that manifestation is already yours.
Neville Goddard’s teachings centerl on the Law of Assumption. If you are keen to read his book, ‘Feeling is The Secret’ is a great starting point for beginners. It delivers clear explanations of Goddard’s main principles without too many jargons or getting too metaphysical and philosophical.
What is Neville Goddard Ladder Technique?
This technique is more of an experiment that Neville Goddard created for his students who are new to or sceptical of manifestation and Law of Assumption, to experience its effectiveness in firsthand.
In this technique, he invites his students to imagine climbing a ladder every night before sleep. He encourages them to vividly imagine the texture of the ladder in hand and the sensation of climbing up and down the ladder. The next day, the students are instructed to write down on paper or notes “I will not climb a ladder” and affirm it to yourself throughout the day. This creates a mental contradiction that keeps the concept of the ladder active in their subconscious mind.
After continuing this exercise for 3 days, the students are asked to let it go and go back to normal daily life. Many who practised this reported that they encountered climbing a ladder experience within days or weeks!
This experiment proves a key concept in Neville’s teaching that imagination and feelings are way more influential than words. Even though students affirm that “I will not climb a ladder”, the vivid picture they have in mind is about climbing the ladder. Hence, they managed to manifest climbing a ladder sooner or later.
By completing this technique with a positive result, his students experienced how Law of Assumption works in tangible way, preparing them for more advanced teachings and techniques.
Why Is the Ladder Technique a Good Start for Beginners?
This exercise is great for beginners because it simplifies the principle of what you imagine materializes. In this case, by focusing on imagining climbing a ladder, you can experience how imagination overwrites your willpower, words and affirmations. That’s how you can shift physical reality to reflect your dominant belief and bring a climbing ladder experience to you. Once that is established, you can replace the ladder with what you actually want and attract them to your life effectively!
This technique also introduces you to one of Neville Goddard’s famous manifesting techniques–SATS (State Akin to Sleep). It involves entering a hyper-relaxed or self-hypnotic state before you go to sleep where you will envision what you desire. He believes that when you are in alpha or theta brainwaves, you can more easily access your subconscious mind and plant the seeds of belief.
The goal with SATS is to create a short scene where you have your desire, and you repeat the same scene every night until the feeling of fulfilment becomes real for you. Effective visualization requires the engagement of all your senses so that it feels like you are living it . Although Neville suggests that we should see this vision through our eyes, my personal experience having done this both by watching through my own eyes and observing myself receive my desire has manifested my desires successfully.
For those who already believe in visualisation and feeling the wish fulfilled, you may skip the ladder experiment and jump right into doing SATS.
7 Steps of Neville Goddard Ladder Technique
Now, let’s walk through the step-by-step on how to carry out Neville Goddard Ladder Technique.
Step 1: Imagine a ladder
When you are in bed before sleep, close your eyes and visualize a ladder with as much detail as you can. Imagine it is in front of you–what’s the height, texture and sensation when your hands hold the ladder?
Step 2: Imagine climbing a ladder
In your mind, imagine yourself climbing up and down as vividly as possible. Picture the way your hands would be positioned, and how your body feels when climbing the ladder.
Step 3: Repeat the process until you fall asleep
Continue climbing the ladder until you doze off. If your mind drifts, just gently pull it back to the scene of climbing the ladder.
Step 4: Affirm yourself “I will not climb a ladder” throughout the day
In the next day, write it on a few papers/notes and place them around your home or carry them in your purse. You can also set it as phone screen wallpaper. Affirm those words to yourself whenever the quote comes into your sight.
Step 5: Repeat this for 3 days and then let it go
Repeat the steps above for 3 continuous days. After that, let it go and resume your life until you manifest climbing the ladder in the next few days and weeks.
Once you’ve mastered this technique, you can then move on to SATS technique.
For example, let’s say you want a new job with a better work-life balance. As you fall asleep, you can visualise yourself working remotely, having the flexibility to work on your side projects and house chores during your free time. You feel every emotion as if it was happening now. During the day you should say to yourself you’ve got the best job, it gives you the working culture, working environment, salary and career progression you want. Just be grateful that you already have it. With consistent practice, you may find yourself living the exact reality within the next few weeks and months.
FAQ About Neville Goddard Ladder Technique
How often can I apply Neville Goddard Ladder Technique?
This is just a short-term exercise to build your faith in the principle of what you imagine materializes. You only need to do it once to understand the concept, then you can move on to more advanced techniques such as SATS.
Can I skip this ladder technique and go straight to visualization or SATS?
Yes, you can! If you already understand the underlying principle and believe that it works, you can skip and go ahead with SATS.
What happens if I cannot imagine a ladder?
If you cannot find yourself climbing a ladder, you can replace it with something that is equally feasible and makes more sense to you. Just have to ensure it is not typical of your day-to-day.
Why I’m not climbing the ladder even after 3 days?
It might not happen immediately as the manifestation can take up to days and weeks to unfold. Reflect on your practice to make sure you have followed the steps correctly, and if needed, try again. Patience and faith are important for the effectiveness of the Law of Assumption.
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