The Law of Assumption in Group Visualization: Neville Goddard’s Perspective
In the realm of manifestation and conscious creation, few teachers have articulated the power of imagination as eloquently as Neville Goddard. While his teachings primarily focused on individual practice, there exists a fascinating extension of his philosophy into the collective domain. This article explores how Goddard’s Law of Assumption applies to group visualization practices and why this combination might create particularly potent results.
Understanding the Law of Assumption
At the core of Neville Goddard’s teachings lies the Law of Assumption – the principle that to manifest any desire, one must assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. Goddard taught that consciousness is the only reality, and what we experience in our physical world is merely an outpicturing of our inner states.
“You must assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled until your assumption has all the sensory vividness of reality,” Goddard frequently emphasized. This mental technique involves not merely visualizing your desire but embodying the emotional state you would experience if your desire were already manifest.
The Power of Collective Consciousness
While Goddard primarily taught individual manifestation practices, he often referenced biblical passages suggesting the amplified power of collective spiritual focus:
“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)
This passage hints at what modern consciousness researchers might call a “field effect” – the idea that consciousness may be contagious or amplifiable when shared across multiple individuals.
Group Visualization Through Goddard’s Lens
When we apply Goddard’s Law of Assumption to group visualization, several key principles emerge:
1. Unified State of Consciousness
For Goddard, the critical element was not the visualization itself but the state of consciousness one inhabits. In a group setting, this suggests that the power comes not from multiple people merely thinking about the same outcome, but from multiple people inhabiting the same state of fulfillment.
2. Feeling Is the Secret
Goddard’s famous phrase “feeling is the secret” applies equally to group work. The collective emotional resonance of a group all feeling the same state of fulfillment may create a more powerful vibrational match to the desired outcome.
3. Surrendering Individual Perspectives
“The individual’s inner speech and actions must be in harmony with his assumption,” taught Goddard. In group work, this suggests that participants must surrender their individual perspectives about how manifestation should occur and unite in the feeling of completion.
4. The Present Moment as Creation Point
Goddard emphasized that all manifestation occurs in the present moment – the eternal now. Group visualization gains power when participants collectively anchor their consciousness in present fulfillment rather than future hope.
Practical Applications
How might one apply Goddard’s teachings to group visualization practice? Consider these approaches:
- Group Meditation Sessions: Rather than visualizing a future outcome, guide participants to feel the state of the desire fulfilled in the present moment.
- Collective “I Remember When” Exercise: Goddard often suggested imagining looking back on a desire as if it had already happened. Groups can engage in this collectively, sharing “memories” of the manifestation as if recalling a shared past experience.
- Surrender Circles: Create practices where group members surrender their individual notions of “how” manifestation should occur and instead focus exclusively on the feeling state of fulfillment.
- State Anchoring Rituals: Develop simple rituals that help the group anchor into the feeling of the wish fulfilled, perhaps using symbolic objects, movements, or phrases.
The Inner Dimension of Group Work
Goddard might caution against confusing external agreement with true inner unification. He might suggest that true group power comes not from verbal consensus but from genuine alignment of consciousness states.
“Man’s chief delusion is his conviction that there are causes other than his own state of consciousness,” Goddard wrote. This applies equally to group visualization – the power comes not from the external gathering but from the inner states of the participants.
Conclusion
While Neville Goddard primarily taught individual manifestation techniques, his fundamental principles translate beautifully to collective practice. The Law of Assumption, when applied to group visualization, suggests that multiple people inhabiting the same state of consciousness might indeed create a more powerful creative field.
As with all spiritual practices, the proof lies in experimentation. Those drawn to combining Goddard’s teachings with group visualization would do well to focus not on controlling outcomes but on the quality of consciousness they collectively embody. For as Goddard consistently taught, it is not what we do but the state from which we do it that determines what manifests in our experience.
In the end, perhaps the most powerful group visualization is one where each participant fully realizes Goddard’s ultimate teaching – that we are all expressions of the one divine imagination, already complete and perfect in our true nature.