Inner Conversations by Neville Goddard (1955)

Neville Goddard, 1955 Inner Conversations 1 of the very few lectures from this year. Talking to oneself is a habit everyone indulges in. We could no more stop talking to ourselves than we could stop eating and drinking. All that we can do is control the nature of and the direction of our inner conversations. Most of us are totally unaware of the fact that our inner conversations are the causes of the circumstances of our life. Very, very true. We are told that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. But do we know that man's thinking follows the tracks laid down in his own inner conversations? To turn the tracks to which he is tied in the direction in which he wants to go, he must put off his former conversation, which is called in the Bible the old man, and be renewed in the spirit of his mind. Speech is the image of mind. Therefore, to change his mind, he must first change his speech. By speech is meant those mental conversations we carry on with with ourselves. The world is a magic circle of infinite possible mental transformations. For there are infinite number of possible mental conversations. When man discovers the creative power of inner talking, he will realize his function and his mission in life. When man discovers the creative power of inner talking, he will realize his function and his mission in life. Then he can act to a purpose. Without such knowledge, he acts unconsciously. Everything is a manifestation of the mental conversations which go on in us without our being aware of them. But as civilized beings, we must become aware of them and act with a purpose. A man's mental conversations attract. A man's mental conversations attracts his life. As long as there is no change in his inner talking, the personal history of the man remains the same. It's like a big circle. To attempt to change the world before we change our inner talking is. Is to struggle against the very nature of things. Man can go round and round in the same circle of disappointments and misfortunes, not seeing them as caused by his own negative inner talking, but as caused by others pointing that finger. This may seem far fetched, but it is a matter which lends itself to research and experiment. The formula the chemist illustrates is not more certainly provable than the formula of this science by which words are clothed in objective reality. One day a girl told me of her difficulties in working with her employer. She was convinced that he unjustly criticized and rejected her very best efforts. Upon hearing her story, I explained that if she thought him unfairly, it was a sure sign that she herself was in need of a new conversation piece. There was no doubt but that she was mentally arguing with her employer, for others only echoed that which we whispered to them in secret. She confessed that she argued mentally with him all day long. When she realized what she had been doing, she agreed to change her inner conversations with her employer. This. This is the story of Neville's wife. If we've heard it a few times, I think this might be the third or fourth time. But it's good. It's good stuff. We need to be reminded. She imagined that he had congratulated her on her fine work and that she in turn had thanked him for his praise and kindness. To her great delight, she soon discovered that her own attitude was the cause of all that befell her. The behavior of her employer reversed itself. It echoed, as it always had done, her mental conversations with him. I rarely see a person alone without wondering to what conversation piece is he tied? On what mysterious track is he walking? We must begin to take life consciously, for the solution of all problems lies just in this. The second man. The Lord from heaven in all of us is trying to become self conscious in the body that he may be about his father's business. What are his labors? To imitate his father. To become master of the word, master of his inner talking. That he may mold this world of ours into a likeness with the kingdom of love. The prophet said, be ye imitators of God as dear children. How would I imitate God? Well, we are told that God calls things that are not seen as though they were seen. And the unseen becomes seen. This is the way the girl called forth praise and kindness from her employer. She carried on an imaginary conversation with her employer from the premise that he praised her work. And he did. What kind of conversations are you having here with your spouse? What kind of conversations are you having here with your parents? How about your children? Of course. Your co workers? What kind of conversations are you having? If you just pay attention, you'll hear them. Think of anybody you know and hear what conversation starts. Are you building or are you trying to tear down? Our inner conversations represent in various ways the world we live in. Our individual worlds are self revelations of our own inner speech. We are told that every idle world. Excuse me. We are told that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof. For by their words they shall be justified and by their words they shall be condemned. We abandon ourselves to negative inner talking, yet expect to retain command of life. Our present mental conversations do not recede into the past as man believes. They advance into the future to confront us as wasted or invested words. My word said the prophet shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I sent it. How would I send my word to help a friend? I would imagine that I am hearing his voice, that he is physically present, that my hand is on him. I would then congratulate him on his good fortune, tell him that I've never seen him look better. I would listen as though I heard him. I would imagine that he is telling me he has never felt better, he has never been happier. And I would know that in this loving, knowing communion with another, a communion populous with loving thoughts and feelings, that my word was sent. And it shall not return unto me void, but it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. It is only what is done now that counts, even though it affects, even though its effects may not be visible. Until tomorrow we call not out loud, but by an inner effort of intense attention. To listen attentively, as though you heard, is to create. The events and relationships of life are your word made visible? The events and relationships of life are your word made visible. Most of us rob others of their willingness and their ability to be kind and generous by our fixed attitudes towards them. Our attitudes unfold within us in the form of mental conversations. Inner talking from premises of fulfilled desire is the way to consciously create circumstances. Our inner conversations are perpetually out pictured all around us in happenings. Therefore, what we desire to see and hear without, we must see in here within. For the whole manifested world goes to show us what use we have made of the word. If you practice this art of controlled inner speaking, you too will know what a thrill it is to be able to say, and now I have told you before it come to pass, and that when it come to pass, ye might believe, end quote. You will be able to consciously use your imagination to transform and channel the immense creative energies of your inner speech from the mental emotional level to the physical level. And I do not know what limits, if any, there are to such a process. What is your aim? Does your inner talking match? Must you know if you would realize your aim? For as the Prophet asked, can two walk together except they be agreed? And of course, the answer is no, they cannot. The two who must agree are your inner conversation and the state desired. Where is your aim going, and what is your inner conversation all about? If it's about your aim, you're headed in the right direction and you're two walking together. If there's not agreement there. There's no accord. There's no harmony. Two are not walking together. That is what you desire to see and hear without. You must see and hear within. Every stage of man's progress is made by the conscious exercise of his imagination, matching his inner speech to his fulfilled desire. As we control our inner talking, matching it to our fulfilled desires, we can lay aside all other processes. Then we simply act by clear imagination and intention. We imagine the wish fulfilled and carry on mental conversations from that premise. The right inner speech is the speech that would be yours were you to realize your ideal. In other words, it is the speech of fulfilled desire. If you see little kids playing t with teacups and they're. You can just hear them talking. Whatever they're talking about usually is in line with the tea that they're drinking or they're talking to an imaginary playmate. It's usually in line with the imagination and the conversation are in line with the experience that's happening right there while they're playing tea. Everything is in harmony. That whole imagined picture is going in the same direction. You, on the other hand, either you lost the know how or you don't remember how to do this. All of us, this happens to. So we want to bring back the idea that we need to have our mental conversation, inner conversation in line, bring it in line with our desire, our destination, our goal, whatever it is. This needs to be in harmony. Our actions, what we're doing, what we're reading, what we're thinking, all in line towards our desired goal. And bam. You will see it sooner than you think. Now, when you now you will understand how wise the ancient was when he told us in the Hermetica there are two gifts which God has bestowed upon man alone and no other mortal creature. These two are mind and speech. And the gift of mind and speech is equivalent to that of. More. Excuse me. And the gift of mind and speech is equivalent to that of immortality. If a man uses these two gifts rightly, he will differ in nothing from the immortals. And when he quits, his body, mind and speech will be his guides. And by them he will be brought into the troop of the gods and the souls that have attained to bliss. Mind and speech won't quit. They don't quit. They can't quit. Mind and speech are. They are. What's called is mind and speech is. They are not gonna quit. With the gift of mind and speech, you create the conditions and circumstances of life. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the Word was God. The Word said, hermes is Son and mind is father of the word. They are not separate one from the other. For life is the union of word and mind. You and your inner talking or word are one. If your mind is one with your inner conversations, then to be transformed in mind is to be transformed in conversation. It was a flash of the deepest insight that taught Paul to write. Put off the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man. To put on the new man and be renewed in the spirit of your mind is to change your inner conversation. For speech and mind are one. A change of speech is a change of mind. The prophet Samuel said, the Lord spake by me and his word was in my tongue. If the Lord's word was in the prophet's tongue, then the Lord's mouth was uttered the word. Excuse me. If the Lord's word was in the prophet's tongue, then the Lord's mouth that uttered the word must be the prophet's mind. For inner conversations originate in the mind and produce little tiny speech movements in the tongue. The prophet is telling us that the mouth of God is the mind of man. The mouth of God is the mind of man. That our inner conversations are the word of God, creating life about us as we create it within ourselves. This is why it is so completely horrible. When you hear somebody tearing down somebody else, you're like, oh my gosh. But of course, forgive them, for they know not what they do, but oh my gosh, they don't realize it when they're doing it. And you're just standing there going, it's like that lecture. Neville was driving down the San Francisco peninsula with a friend. I think he went to dinner and he was coming back and this lady was just chastising her, a co friend they both had. And then she just was talking just horrible about her. And at the end of it she said, God bless her, as if it forgave everything. She just said Neville was aghast the whole ride. He just. He couldn't understand it. But I mean, that was Neville. That was somebody taking time with Neville and doing that. I just can't even imagine having that free time of Neville's. Wow. What could you accomplish then on that drive? Oh, boy. In the Bible you are told that the word is very near to you in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil, blessings and cursings. Choose life, the conditions and Circumstances of life are not created by some power external to yourself. They are the conditions which result from the exercise of your freedom of choice, your freedom to choose the ideas to which you will respond. Now is the accepted time. This is the day of salvation. Whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things. Nothing can be more important. Wherever you are, with the Neville material coming into this to get your proper balance of pay, or your SP or your spouse, or a new spouse or a spouse at all, health, any of these goals that we all have that are fundamental. This thing is the most important thing, I think right here, this one sentence. Whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things. If you just did that, just that alone. For your future will be formed by the word of God, which is your present inner talking. You create your future by your inner conversations. The words, excuse me, the worlds were framed by the word of God. That is your inner talking. See yonder fields. The sesame was sesame, the corn was corn. The silence and the darkness knew. So is a man's fate. Born for ends run true to origins. If you would reap success, you must plant success. The idea in your mind which starts the whole process going is the idea which you accept as truth. This is a very important point to grasp. For truth depends on the intensity of imagination, not upon facts. When the girl imagined that her employer was unfair, his behavior confirmed her imagination. When she changed her assumption of him, his behavior reflected the change, proving that an assumption, though false, it persisted in, will harden into fact. The mind always behaves according to the assumption with which it starts. Therefore, to experience success, we must assume that we are successful. We must live wholly on the level of the imagination itself, and it must be consciously and deliberately undertaken. It does not matter if at the present moment external facts deny the truth of your assumption. If you persist in your assumption, it will become a fact. Signs follow. They do not precede. To assume a new concept of yourself is to that extent to change your inner talking or word of God, and is therefore putting on a new man. Our inner talking, though unheard by others, is more productive of future conditions than all the audible promises and threats of men. Your ideal is waiting to be incarnated. But unless you yourself.