A lesson inspired by Neville Goddard’s teachings.
When people first try to manifest their deepest desires, they will do all of the right things: positive affirmations ( an “imaginal act” of inner speech); visualizing a scene in a “state akin to sleep”; listing what they’re thankful for and thinking more positively. But still, some fail to manifest that big desire… and naturally, they wonder why. Is the Law failing them? They search online and come across theories from various LOA gurus, where resistance, limiting beliefs, or subconscious blocks are inevitably mentioned as the culprits.
Well, it is true that these things are the problem. Blocks, resistance, or limiting beliefs are probably why you were not manifesting what you wanted. These are different words for essentially the same phenomenon. Neville Goddard calls them “conditioning”. He explains that conditioning a desire is a mistake, because it stems from fear of not getting exactly what you want. That fear becomes the thing you are conscious of, and therefore, the thing that manifests.
The reason most of us fail to realize our desires is because we are constantly conditioning them. Do not condition your desire. Just accept it as it comes to you. Give thanks for it to the point that you are grateful for having already received it; then go about your way in peace.
“At Your Command” Chapter 4, Neville Goddard
Man desires freedom from his limitation or problem. The first thing he does after he defines his objective is to condition it upon something else.
He begins to speculate on the manner of acquiring it. Not knowing that the thing desired has a way of expression all of its own, he starts planning how he is going to get it, thereby adding to the word of God.
If, on the other hand, he has no plan or conception as to the fulfillment of his desire, then he compromises his desire by modifying it. He feels that if he will be satisfied with less than his basic desire, then he might have a better chance of realizing it. In doing so he takes from the word of God.
“Freedom For All” Chapter 7, Neville Goddard
Opposing Thoughts
Sometimes blocks are simply opposing thoughts. You may say you desire more money and practice all the techniques to manifest it, but you’re unwittingly indulging in “poor thoughts” that contradict your desire. A better mental diet can help there. Regular mindfulness meditation teaches you to observe your mind and redirect it when it wanders. Then, as you go about life, you notice when your thoughts drift off track and can gently bring them back to the perspective of the wish fulfilled. That is all a “mental diet” really is: selecting healthy thoughts.
Every reaction makes a subconscious impression, and — unless counteracted by an opposite and more dominant feeling — is the cause of future action.
“Feeling is the Secret” Chapter 2, Neville Goddard
In our case we cannot have a little bit of meditation in the morning, curse at noon, and do something else in the evening. We have to go on a mental diet, for a week we must completely change our mental food.
“Thinking Fourth Dimensionally” Lecture, Neville Goddard
Hidden Beliefs
There is also a notion that blocks are hidden beliefs that need to be uncovered, perhaps through therapy or deep digging. But this is not true. You do not have any blocks that are hidden.
Remember, you manifest your state of consciousness. Everything you experience comes from the contents of your consciousness, including the subconscious. This means these so-called blocks are already manifesting and playing out in your life. No block is hidden. It is right in front of you.
Why don’t you recognize it? Often because you don’t want to take responsibility for the unwanted aspects of your life. Another reason is that you are literally seeing through your blocks. They are the lens of your perception — part of the very state of consciousness that filters how you view reality.
For nothing is hid, that shall not be made manifest; nor anything secret, that shall not be known and come to light.
Luke 8:17, ASV
If you find the world unchanged, it is a sure sign that you are wanting in fidelity to the new mental diet, which you neglect in order to condemn your environment. You are in need of a new and sustained attitude.
“Awakened Imagination” Chapter 7, Neville Goddard
How to Identify Blocks
The easiest way to identify blocks to manifesting your desires is to simply look at your life. Admit what you’re not happy about. Notice what you feel is missing and why. Those are your beliefs. Once identified, you can cultivate their opposites. Be aware of your reactions and assumptions in daily life that affirm the old, unwanted beliefs. Root them out. Plant and cultivate the new beliefs. Use mindfulness to make observing and redirecting your thoughts in real-time an automatic habit.
Another fast method is to simply ask your own mind: “Why have I not manifested my desire yet?” Your mind will spit back at you all of the “reasons.” Those reasons are your limiting beliefs, your blocks.
Perhaps you cannot think of any reason at all. You insist, “There is no reason, yet I still don’t have it!” That is your block. The belief is: “I don’t get what I want, no matter what, even if it makes no sense.” That’s a powerful belief; but the good news is, once you identify it, you can quickly dissolve it and free yourself to manifest with greater ease.
Normalizing the Good
How do you get rid of the belief that you never get what you want? Since this is usually an emotional belief, your logical mind cannot resolve it; it’s a feeling you need to shake. You must normalize the experience of getting what you want. Then your new emotional belief becomes: “I get what I want”.
The simplest way to do this is through genuine gratitude for what you already love in your life. This is not a forced gratitude where you try to make yourself feel thankful for things in order to prove how good you are. Remember, gratitude does not make you “deserving” of a manifestation, as if it is a blessing for being a thankful, virtuous person. Rather, gratitude shifts your state of consciousness. That state is what manifests.
Sometimes it helps to think of gratitude as love or pleasure. What brings you effortless feelings of adoration and enjoyment? Shift into that feeling as much as possible. Normalize the feeling of getting exactly what you want. Every time something goes right in your day, dwell on that satisfaction just as strongly as you used to dwell on complaints (and air them to anyone who’d listen).
If you would assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled more frequently, you would be master of your fate, but unfortunately you shut out your assumption for all but the occasional hour. Practice making real to yourself the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
After you have assumed the feeling of the wish fulfilled, do not close the experience as you would a book, but carry it around like a fragrant odor.
“Awakened Imagination” Chapter 7, Neville Goddard
Revision as a Tool
You can also use revision, for both recent failures and distant ones. Look back at times when you almost had what you wanted, but something fell through. Whatever seemed to cause the disappointment reveals your limiting belief. Often you’ll notice a repeating pattern, which will illuminate a persistent belief. Revise those past events by imagining they turned out well. This practice shifts your assumption from disappointment to fulfillment, normalizing satisfaction as your default experience.
The very first act of correction or cure is always ‘revise’. One must start with oneself. It is one’s attitude that must be changed.
…You can revise the day to please yourself, and — by experiencing in imagination the revised speech and actions— not only modify the trend of your life story but turn all its discords into harmonies.
The one who discovers the secret of revision cannot do otherwise than let himself be guided by love.
“Awakened Imagination” Chapter 5, Neville Goddard
Blocks Dissolve in Awareness
Right now, your life is already showing you your beliefs. There are no hidden obstacles to your desires. Your so-called blocks aren’t locked away in the subconscious; they are manifesting in plain sight. The moment you take ownership of these patterns, you reclaim your creative power. Through mindfulness, gratitude, and revision, fulfillment becomes your default state, and manifestation becomes effortless. What once felt like a block dissolves into nothing more than an old perspective. Nothing is in your way except the lens you choose to look through. Change the lens, and the world rearranges. That is the Law, and it is always working perfectly.
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