Feeling Is the Secret: Mastering Consciousness

Neville Goddard’s Feeling Is the Secret posits that consciousness is the sole reality, divided into conscious and subconscious aspects. The book emphasizes that feeling is the key to manifesting desires: by feeling as if a wish is already fulfilled, one impresses the subconscious, leading to its objective realization. Sleep and prayer are presented as methods to access and influence the subconscious. Ultimately, the text advocates for self-mastery over thoughts and feelings to control one’s reality, asserting that external circumstances reflect internal states.

How does the conscious and subconscious mind interact in the creation of reality?

The conscious mind is the realm of effect, personal, and selective. It generates ideas. The subconscious mind is the realm of cause, impersonal, and non-selective. It accepts ideas from the conscious mind and gives them form and expression in the outer world. This process of the conscious impressing the subconscious is how everything is created.

What is the role of feeling in impressing ideas onto the subconscious mind?

Feeling is the key medium through which ideas are impressed upon the subconscious. No idea can be impressed until it’s felt. Once felt, the subconscious accepts the idea, regardless of whether it’s positive or negative, and begins to express it. Control of one’s feelings is crucial for a fulfilling life, not in the sense of suppressing feelings, but by choosing to entertain only those feelings that contribute to happiness.

How can we control the impressions made upon the subconscious?

Control of the subconscious is achieved by controlling your ideas and feelings. By consciously choosing what you imagine and feel, you influence what the subconscious accepts as true and subsequently expresses in your reality. It is critical to avoid dwelling on negative feelings or limitations, as these also get impressed upon the subconscious and manifested.

Why is it important to feel that your wish is already fulfilled?

The subconscious accepts as true that which you feel is true. Therefore, to realize your desires, you must adopt the feeling of already being or having what you desire. It’s not enough to just want something; you must feel the reality of it as already yours. This feeling must be more dominant than any feeling of lack or absence.

How can sleep be used to impress the subconscious?

Sleep is a natural gateway to the subconscious. Your state of mind and feelings just before falling asleep are crucial. By assuming the feeling of your wish fulfilled and relaxing into unconsciousness, you impress that feeling upon the subconscious. The entire sleep is then dominated by this last waking concept of self, predetermining the expression of your experiences the next day.

What is the purpose of prayer, according to the text?

Prayer, like sleep, is a way to access the subconscious. It’s not about asking for things, but about creating a state of belief in the wish already fulfilled. This is achieved by creating a passive state, where the external world is minimized and the mind is more receptive to suggestion from within, allowing you to assume the feeling that would be yours if your wish were realized.

What is meant by “as within, so without”?

“As within, so without” highlights that the outer world is a reflection of your inner state of consciousness, specifically your subconscious impressions. Your reality is an objectification of your feelings and beliefs. Changes in your inner world, your feelings, and assumptions, directly cause changes in your outer world.

What is the relationship between feeling and faith, according to the text?

Faith is directly linked to feeling. According to the text, “According to your faith (feeling) be it unto you.” Faith is not merely a mental assent but a deep, genuine feeling that your wish is already fulfilled. It’s this feeling of the wish fulfilled that compels the subconscious to express it in your outer reality. You receive what you are, not what you want; being is defined by how you feel

Feeling Is The Secret: A Study Guide

Short Answer Quiz

1. According to the text, what is the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds?
2. How does the subconscious receive impressions?
3. Explain the significance of feeling in the creative process.
4. What does the text suggest is the most important aspect of controlling one’s feelings?
5. Why is sleep considered a natural door to the subconscious?
6. How does the state of mind before sleep influence one’s reality?
7. What is the key to successful prayer, according to the text?
8. Explain the concept of “yielding to the wish.”
9. What is the role of faith in the process of manifestation?
10. What does the author mean by, “As within, so without”?

Answer Key

1. The conscious is personal, selective, and the realm of effect, while the subconscious is impersonal, non-selective, and the realm of cause. They are the male and female aspects of consciousness, where the conscious impresses ideas onto the subconscious.
2. The subconscious receives impressions solely through feelings. It accepts as true what the conscious mind feels to be true, and then it objectifies those feelings.
3. Feeling is the medium through which ideas are impressed upon the subconscious. Without feeling, no idea can be impressed, and the subconscious then expresses those feelings into reality.
4. It’s not about restraining feelings, but rather about disciplining oneself to imagine and entertain only those feelings that contribute to happiness and desired states.
5. Sleep is considered a natural door to the subconscious because it’s a time when the conscious mind is less active, and one’s subconscious is more open to receiving and acting on impressions.
6. The state of mind just before sleep defines one’s state of consciousness as they enter the subconscious and is the seed of the conditions one will experience.
7. The key to successful prayer is to assume the feeling that would be present if the wish were already realized, and to believe that the wish is already an accomplished fact.
8. “Yielding to the wish” means creating a passive state, similar to before sleep, to sense the subjective reality of one’s wish fulfilled rather than attempting to force the wish into being.
9. Faith is feeling, and it is through this feeling that the subconscious is moved to manifest desires. One must feel the reality of a desired state for it to become manifest.
10. It means that one’s outer reality mirrors their inner consciousness. What one experiences in the world is a direct reflection of one’s internal beliefs, feelings, and assumptions.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds, focusing on how this relationship is essential for the manifestation of desires. Analyze the concept of the subconscious as the “womb of creation.”
2. Explain the significance of feeling, sleep, and prayer as portals to the subconscious. Analyze how each can be utilized to impress the subconscious with desired states and why they are interconnected.
3. How can an individual use the principles laid out in “Feeling Is The Secret” to take control of their life and manifest their desires? Consider practical strategies for controlling thoughts and feelings, and address how to overcome limiting beliefs.
4. The text emphasizes that ‘A change of feeling is a change of destiny.” Elaborate on this idea and discuss the role of emotions, both positive and negative, in shaping one’s personal reality.
5. Analyze the statement “You are already that which you want to be,” and discuss how this concept challenges conventional ideas about pursuing goals. Explore the importance of assuming the feeling of already having what one desires, and why this belief is central to the author’s framework.

Glossary of Key Terms

• Conscious Mind: The personal, selective aspect of consciousness that generates ideas and makes choices, which is associated with the “male” aspect.
• Subconscious Mind: The impersonal, non-selective aspect of consciousness that receives and expresses ideas, which is associated with the “female” aspect.
• Feeling: The primary medium through which ideas are impressed upon the subconscious. It is the “assent of the subconscious to the truth of that which is declared to be true.”
• Impression: The ideas, concepts, or feelings that are received by the subconscious mind.
• Expression: The manifestation of subconscious impressions into objective reality.
• Law of Consciousness: The principle that consciousness is the sole reality, and that one’s internal states shape their external world.
• Sleep: The natural state when the conscious mind is less active, providing a direct path to the subconscious where impressions can be made.
• Prayer: A state akin to sleep that diminishes the impact of the external world, making the mind more receptive to inner impressions. It involves feeling a state as though it is already realized.
• Assumed Feeling: The specific state of feeling as if the desired outcome is already realized, which is a core technique for impressing the subconscious.
• Yielding to the wish: A passive state of mind, similar to reverie or meditation, in which you feel the reality of a subjective state without effort, which is necessary for successful prayer.
• Manifestation: The process of ideas or feelings becoming visible or tangible in the objective world.
• “As Within, So Without”: The principle that one’s internal reality shapes one’s external world, where outer conditions reflect inner states.