Neville Goddard Lecture, The First Principle

The First Principle

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THE FIRST PRINCIPLE

Do not accept any statement from scripture, the church, or an individual (including the speaker) as true until you have found God or a living truth in what is being said. What I tell you I know from experience, but I ask you not to accept my words without questioning them within yourself. It is silly to accept something simply because the church said it, or you read it in the Bible, or heard it from Neville. You must pursue the thought ceaselessly by questioning yourself. Why do I stress this? Because among the spirit world there are many Babel’s where no two speak with the same tongue. One may tell you to give up meat, while another will tell you something entirely different. This we are told in the 11th chapter of the Book of Genesis. I am not speaking of multiple tongues as the many languages we have today. We can overcome those with an interpreter; but if someone tells you: “This is the way,” and another says: “No. This is the way,” and they don’t agree – you are in Babel, a city of confusion in the pathway of the spirit. So tonight I want to talk to you about the first principle, which you can always fall back on when in doubt.

This first principle is: “Be still and know that I am God.” No matter what happens turn within and be still. Know that your awareness is God and that all things are possible to you. Test yourself and you will prove this statement in the testing; then you will be free from your former limitations of belief. No matter what is happening on the outside turn to the first principle. Start by being still, then claiming: “I am God.” Ask yourself: “Is this true?” You will never know the truth until you test it. Let us now look at some of the “I am” statements of scripture. I am the resurrection. I am the life. I am the way. I am the truth. Are these statements really true? Yes, I have stilled myself and know that every statement is true, from experience. Being human I wanted things in the world of Caesar, as undoubtedly you do, too. I wanted a trip I could not afford, yet I traveled over 5,000 miles by being still and saying to myself: “My awareness is God and all things are possible to him. therefore what I am imagining will come to pass.” Then I began to imagine I was on a ship sailing towards Barbados. I remained faithful to that act, when suddenly – after twelve years – I received a letter from the family saying they would take care of all of my expenses if I would come home for Christmas. So I proved it.

Then I tried it again and again, and the more I tried it the more I realized that the statement in the 46th Psalm was true: that God really is my own wonderful consciousness, for I learned to be still and know that I am God. I couldn’t prove the other fantastic ‘I am’ claims by taking the same action. I had to wait, and then one day I proved that I am the life. That night I moved in spirit into an environment where I intuitively knew that, although what I was seeing seemed to be independent of my perception, if I arrested that feeling within me everything would stand still. I did it and discovered that not only the animate, but the so-called inanimate objects stood still. The falling leaves stopped in mid-flight. The blades of grass ceased to move. The bird in flight, the diners as well as the waitress – all were frozen as I stopped the feeling within me. Then I knew the truth of the statement: “I am the life.” After proving to myself that I am the life of a state, I questioned the statement: “I am the resurrection.” Then came the day when I felt myself resurrect within the grave of my own skull. I proved that I am the Father, when my son came in the Spirit and called me “Father.” I discovered that I am the one who was sacrificed, for – knowing I am the Father – my spiritual body was split from top to bottom. Then I discovered that I was the one upon whom the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form as a dove. These things I now know to be true from experience, therefore I speak with authority. But I say to everyone: whether you hear it from me, a church, or the Bible – question yourself ceaselessly until you have found the living truth in that which was said. Accept the words but then go back to first principle and ask these eternal questions to the only one who can answer them: your own wonderful I AMness. Relax.

Be still and question yourself, saying: “Are you really God?” Address yourself as though you were two. “If you are God and can do all things, prove it to me by giving me my desire so I can feel its presence now.” See if he will prove himself in performance and when he does, do it again. Keep on asking and when he proves himself here on this level, then let these things which can’t be put to the test come through, for they will. Now, the Bible tells us that Christ is in us and that we are in Christ. On the surface it seems to mean the same thing, but there is all the difference in the world. Christ in us is our hope of glory. That’s a universal assumption, for Christ has assumed the body of every child born of woman. But when you are in Christ you are a new creature. Christ in you does not make you new. Christ in you is your life, for in him is life and his life is your consciousness of faith. But when you are in Christ you are called and incorporated into the body of the Risen Lord. Because Christ is in you, you are a son of God; but when you are elected – called into the presence of the Risen Lord and incorporated into his body – you are in Christ. There is all the difference in the world, for from then on scripture begins to fulfill itself within you. If you question everything you hear from any pulpit, the speaker, or the Bible, you will find God or the living truth in what you have heard or read. I hope that you trust me, but even though you do, question everything I tell you. Don’t question me or some priest or rabbi, but turn to the first principle. Be still and say to yourself: “I am God. I heard this statement tonight – is it true?”

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