Foundations of the Law of Assumption | Lesson 5 of 9
States of Consciousness
Every possible version of your life already exists as a state. Manifestation is movement between states.
One of Neville’s most useful ideas is the concept of states. A state is a complete attitude toward life: a bundle of beliefs, feelings, and inner conversations that hang together. There is a state called poverty and a state called wealth. A state called rejection and a state called being loved. Every state that has ever been or will ever be occupied already exists, the way every city on a map already exists whether or not you are standing in it.
"Everything in the world bears witness of the use or misuse of man’s inner talking."
What this means: Your inner talking, the quiet conversation running in your head all day, is the surest sign of the state you occupy. A person in the state of being loved carries inner conversations full of warmth and welcome. A person in the state of rejection rehearses arguments and slights. Change the inner conversation, and you have begun changing the state.
You are not your state
This idea is quietly life-changing: you are not the state you are in, any more than a traveler is the hotel room he sleeps in. People say "I am a failure" when the truth is "I am currently standing in the state of failure." The occupant and the state are two different things. The occupant can move.
The visitor and the resident
Two people lose their jobs in the same month.
The first treats it as a visit: "This is a rough season, but it is not who I am." They pass through the state and out the other side.
The second moves in: "Of course this happened to me, it always does." They unpack their bags inside the state of failure and make it home.
Same event, different residence. The length of your stay in any state is decided by how thoroughly you identify with it.
How to move between states
- Identify the state you currently occupy. Your inner conversations and repeated moods will tell you honestly.
- Define the state you wish to occupy. Ask: what would I think, feel, and quietly know if I were already that person?
- Enter the new state in imagination: assume its feelings, rehearse its inner conversations, view the world from within it.
- Remain there. Return whenever you notice you have drifted. Repetition of return is what makes the new state natural.
Practice: Map Your Current State
States hide in plain sight. This exercise makes yours visible so you can decide whether to keep it.
Only you can read this. Nothing you write is published, shared, or shown to anyone else. Write honestly.