Between the moment we start manifesting something and the moment it appears, lies a journey — often mysterious, unpredictable, but always purposeful. This journey, as Neville Goddard explained, is the “bridge of incidents.”
In short, the bridge of incidents is the series of events that will happen leading you to the accomplishment of your desire.
In this article, we will look at how to navigate the bridge of incidents, how to keep believing when nothing really seems to happen, and what you actually have to do during this process.
What is “The Bridge Of Incidents”
The bridge of incidents are the series of events that leads you step-by-step to the accomplishment of your desire.
This is how Neville describes it:
“Then I move across a bridge of incidents that I don’t really, rationally build – it simply appears, and I move across a series of events that I do not reasonably determine – they simply happen. I will move across this bridge of events up to the state where I entered and now dwell. But when I get there, it seems so natural!”
Catch The Mood (Lecture), 1968, Neville Goddard
For example, if you’re manifesting more money, the bridge of incidents could include an unexpected job promotion with a higher salary.
Quite a long time ago, I was hitting dead-ends trying to make money. I wanted to have enough money so that I didn’t have to deal with all my money-related problems, and the stress that comes with only having enough to get by. When I finally started to try and manifest more money was when things changed. Without getting into detail, I stumbled upon a good way to make a passive income, got the right resources, and bam! In just a little over six months, I was earning a full-time income. Things just seemed to come to me in a perfect order. I will say that this kind of result is not typical for complete beginners in manifestation, but it certainly is possible for you to get there.
How and what would happen, I could not have predicted. It was only in retrospect that I would see how the pieces fell together and led me to my end goal.
Neville talked a lot about assumptions. When you want to manifest something, you have to “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” When this is done, a bridge of incidents, or a series of events, will appear leading you to the accomplishment of that assumption.
This automatic unfoldment of a series of events once you internalize an assumption is the reason you never need to question the “how” or make an action-plan when manifesting. You don’t need to know how or in what way your goal will be accomplished. The right people will appear and unforeseen paths will open one by one leading you to the realization of your goal. It is all orchestrated by a deeper intelligence.
So, all you have to do is “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled,” without worrying about how and when it will happen, and let the bridge of incidents come naturally.
Why the Bridge of Incidents Can Be Challenging
The bridge of incidents really are a test of one’s faith in manifestation. Here’s why:
- You don’t know what will happen: Unlike a map with clear directions, the bridge of incidents isn’t necessarily linear. You might encounter unexpected twists and turns, making it uncertain and unpredictable.
- Challenges: When you face an obstacle, it’s easy to think your manifestation isn’t working, when in fact, it might be a necessary step towards your desire. There probably will be challenges and setbacks during the bridge of incidents.
- Emotional turbulence: If you’re emotionally invested in your goal, then setbacks and delays will likely cause you to doubt and worry, and thus sow seeds of the opposite kind in the subconscious.
- Impatience: In our fast-paced world, we’re used to instant gratification. The bridge of incidents requires patience.
- Reliance on external validation: We’re used seek external signs of progress, because that’s the only reality we’ve ever known. With the bridge of incidents, visible signs might not always be present, and this causes the untrained person to give up.
All of these come from relying too much on circumstances and not on the law.
As you learn to trust the law of manifestation through more and more of successes, it will progressively become easier to trust the bridge of incidents.
If you’re interested, I talk more about why your circumstances don’t matter when manifesting in this article. I talk about how circumstances are the “projection” of the inner power, and that the inner power is therefore always free to manifest new ones no matter how limiting and negative the old circumstances may appear to be.
Is It Possible To Recognize The Bridge of Incidents?
Every event or circumstance you experience might seem random, chaotic, or even counterproductive to what you’re aiming to achieve. And here’s the tricky part: not every event is part of the bridge of incidents. Some events are not the bridge of incidents, while others are.
So, how do you tell them apart? Well, in the thick of things, you really can’t. It’s only once you’ve reached your destination (or manifested your desire) that you can look back and recognize which events were important pieces of the puzzle.
What does this mean for you? It means that while on your journey, instead of getting tangled in overanalyzing every single event, focus on holding your assumption and trusting in the law. Remember, sometimes it’s the unexpected twists and turns that lead you straight to your goal.
What Happens When You Lose Faith During The Bridge Of Incidents?
In Neville’s words “assumptions harden into fact.” Whatever we assume will manifest itself in external reality.
The moment doubt sneaks in, thinking “this can’t happen,” you kill off the assumption. If you’re manifesting a goal, but some obstacle appears, you may make the mistake of thinking that your goal can’t happen. But it’s not actually the obstacle that’s the problem, it is your own attitude toward it.
Inside your mind, there’s a tussle. Your original desire goes head-to-head with this growing doubt. If that “I can’t” idea becomes the louder voice, it overpowers the desire. This is why you cannot rely on your external conditions for validation. The law of assumption doesn’t choose sides; it mirrors your strongest belief.
So, if the bridge of incidents makes you doubt you will end up build an adverse assumption that goes counter to your desire. That’s why you need to remain faithful to your assumption of the wish fulfilled no matter what’s going on outside.
Having faith in the manifestation of your desire while it still seems like it’s miles away can be very difficult. It is, however, something you will get a lot better at as you get more and more successes with manifestation and begin to trust that it is real.
- Look at the bigger picture: Sometimes, the journey isn’t a straight line. It might take a couple of unexpected turns, but those turns could lead you directly to what you’re aiming for.
- Let go of control: Some parts of the bridge of incidents might seem out of place or like they’re taking you backwards. My best advice is to just roll with it. Always remember that it is orchestrated by the infinite intelligence beneath the surface of your conscious mind. Your conscious mind has no direct control over what events shall occur.
- Persist: Remember how Neville said to “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled”? That’s your beacon light in the darkness. No matter what’s happening around you, keep assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled. If the assumption is held in the subconscious it must be externalized no matter what.
- It may not always be perfect: In my experience, the more “deeply” you can impress your assumption on the subconscious and the more faith you have, the faster and the more perfectly it will manifest. But in the beginning, be content with having some ups and downs.
As you navigate the bridge of incidents, it’s easy to become swayed by the external world. Yet, the magic of manifestation lies in the belief in one’s inner power. Circumstances, no matter how contradicting they seem, are just reflections of past beliefs and assumptions. The real driving force is within you.
The end wills the means. All you have to do is live in the end and the desire will begin to manifest. I talk more about “living in the end” in this article.
Should You Take Action?
Navigating the bridge of incidents isn’t just about sitting down and doing nothing. Yes, things pop up out of the blue, and you’ll definitely be surprised at the “luck” that just seems to come your way. But there are also times when you will feel inspired or compelled to take action. This is called inspired action. It is the subconscious nudging you in a particular direction. Most often, it’s feels like a path has been opened for you, and it’s now your job to walk that path. So in short, your desire won’t just fall in your lap — You will probably have to take a lot of action to get there.
That being said, I don’t believe that external action does not speed up your manifestation. It doesn’t quite work that way. The actions you take, are always part of the bridge of incidents. They are always manifestations of the idea held in the subconscious mind.
So, the question becomes: how do you know when to act? A good rule of thumb is to act if you feel that’s the right choice. If you wanted to gain muscle or lose weight the bridge of incidents would likely entail that you had to follow a workout routine. If you wanted to have an online business, you would probably have to setup up a website, write some blog posts and so on. The online business very likely wouldn’t just appear one day to the next. But again, you must always remember that it’s the idea in the subconscious that controls you. If you’re desire is not firmly held in the subconscious, your hard work and sweat will lead you nowhere.
This dance between letting go of control and taking action when opportunity appears can seem a bit strange in the beginning. If you want to know more, I have an article on the relationship between letting go and taking action.
Can You Speed Up The Bridge of Incidents?
While the timing — often referred to as “the appointed hour” by Neville — transcends our conscious mind, there are ways to nurture your manifestation “seed” so that grows faster. Neville mentions this in The Power of Awareness:
“The time it takes your assumption to become fact, your desire to be fulfilled, is directly proportionate to the naturalness of your feeling of already being what you want to be — of already having what you desire.”
The Power of Awareness, Neville Goddard
In my experience, it becomes “natural” when it is an internalized part of you. Your name, for example, is a word deeply embedded your mind, and feels like a very natural and normal part of you.
He also says:
“The length of time between my desire and its conception depends entirely on my inner conviction that it is done”
An Inner Conviction (Lecture), Neville Goddard
The more certain you are that your desire will appear the faster it will come.
In my article “Neville Goddard: How To Manifest” I go in-depth about how to manifest your desires. It talks about the principles of how to most efficiently cooperate with the subconscious. I find that the more “strongly” I can embed an assumption in the subconscious, and the more faithful I am that it will manifest, the faster it will come. It’s like you are giving the “seed” more growing power.
Key Things to Remember About the Bridge of Incidents
Let me quickly go over some of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to the bridge of incidents. This has practical importance as it will keep you in the right mental attitude.
- Not determined by you: You cannot predict the bridge of incidents with any form of certainty. You can only put the puzzle together after it has happened.
- Cannot be controlled or forced: You cannot through willpower or external action speed up or force the manifestation of your desire.
- It will come on its own: Always remember that it’s not the “little you” that does the work but the subconscious and its inherent intelligence. Every action you’ll need to take and every event that will take place comes naturally.
- Don’t get fixated on circumstances: The external worlds is a manifestation of consciousness. It’s similar to how a video game is generated by computer hardware. The external world has no causative power, so trust that once an assumption is implanted in the subconscious it will manifest with absolute certainty.
- Taking action: Take action when it seems like there’s a path forward. In my experience, it often happens that I will get inspired to do some sort of external action that will lead me to the particular goal I’m manifesting.
Remembering these points will keep you in the right mental attitude so that your desire manifests as fast as possible and so that you don’t begin to create an adverse assumption of “it can’t happen.”
Can You Determine The Bridge of Incidents?
While you don’t directly dictate the bridge of incidents with your conscious mind, you actually can, in my experience, control it to a really large extent. But this is more or less never necessary and it’s only something you should ever even think about if you’re already good at manifesting.
If, for some reason, you’re scared that the events leading you up to your desire will be really bad and negative you can intend for your desire to manifest through positive events. After your visualization or affirmation session, you can simply just affirm something like “this will come in a great and desirable way, and to the benefit of everyone.” It should be added that the bridge of incidents will only ever really be negative if you already have a lot of negativity internalized in your subconscious. In other words, if you go for a goal or desire that implies greatness and joy to you, the bridge of incidents will likely also come in a positive and desirable way.
Trying to pinpoint specific events, however, is simply not necessary. Remember, the “father” within has a broader perspective than the conscious self. If you’re new to manifesting, I strongly recommend you just set your end goal and trust the bridge of incidents. Else, you’ll be stuck forever trying to micromanage and maneuver things that only the subconscious can do.
Conclusion
Navigating the bridge of incidents is about letting go of the urge to control every step, and about firmly holding onto your assumption no matter what.
Your only job is to “assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled” and then keep faithful to that assumption even if it seems like nothing is happening on the outside.
The bridge of incidents can have many twists and turns, so you cannot try and predict what will happen next. This will only lead you into doubt and confusion, making you create an assumption adverse to your desire.
I hope you found this article helpful. Thanks for reading!
