To manifest a desire, we first need to “feel it real.” But what does this mean, and how do you do it? Many people struggle with this since feeling is hard to pin down in words, and it’s hard to know whether or not you’re feeling the correct thing. In this article, I will explain what feeling actually means in Neville’s teachings and how you go about “feeling it real.”
According to Neville Goddard, to manifest something, you first need to “feel it real.” This means that you have an innate feeling that the thing you intend to manifest in some way already exists and is certain to appear in your life.
When you “feel it real,” you feel that your desire has already been accomplished on a deeper plane of reality, and it, from this plane, will manifest itself in your outer world. The thing most people struggle with is exactly how you go about “feeling it real” and exactly what the feeling should be like.
We will look at all this in this article. But since feeling can be quite elusive, I first want to clarify what it means to “feel it real.”
What It Means to “Feel It Real”
The preliminary condition to manifest something is first that you “feel it real,” as Neville Goddard often put it. You need to feel the reality of your goal before you can manifest it.
Feeling, as Neville used it, is a very loose term. It is more like an innate awareness or knowledge of something rather than an emotion. What Neville Goddard means by the term “feeling” is sort of a spiritual sensation of sorts. It is like you are touching the substance of the inner world. It is the same way in which you sometimes feel something to be true; you don’t necessarily have an overflow of emotions but rather a quiet intuition that something is a certain way.
So what is the feeling like? It may be very subtle, but it’s like you have an innate awareness that your idea has been established on the inner plane and that it will manifest.
Therefore, “feeling it real” is almost like you are “touching” an idea with your mind, navigating a more abstract level of reality beyond the physical world. When the idea feels real, it means it exists on the inner plane. This is why “feeling it real” is necessary for manifesting. When you manifest a desire, it is created on a deeper level of reality and shows itself, or “manifests,” as tangible results in our external world.
Feeling can be likened to touch. When you touch an object, you feel a certain sensation in your hand. When you are “feeling it real” in the way Neville meant it, think of it like you are using a spiritual sense of touch, using your mind to feel the ideas existing in the unseen deeper reality, similar to how you would feel certain sensations in your hand if you slid it across the table.
Feeling is not the idea itself but the sensations you get when you “touch” the idea.
We give our desire life on the inner plane by feeling it real, and we keep giving it strength by persistently feeling that it’s there.
This is why we need to feel as if our desire has already been accomplished even though we cannot see it. It is because it is done on the inner plane, and it, therefore, is bound to manifest itself in external reality.
Feeling Is Not Emotion
An important point to remember is that feeling, used in this way, is not emotion. Sure, emotion can be used the aid of strengthening an idea, but it is not what is meant by feeling.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel emotion, however. Emotion may be a natural by-product of feeling it real and shouldn’t be suppressed.
Constantly trying to force emotions is counter-productive and will burn you out quickly.
Why “Feeling It Real” Matters
The main principle of manifestation that our external world is in some way caused by a deeper level of reality, and this deeper level is in some way connected to our mind. As within so without.
Feeling the reality of an idea we have in mind causes this idea to be planted on the inner plane. When we feel something is real, we give it a reality on this plane. If it is kept there, the idea will automatically manifest itself in the external world.
Why People Struggle With Feeling It Real
The reason so many people struggle with “feeling it real” is that they fixate too much on whether or not the feeling they have is the correct feeling. Also, if we can generate the same feeling as before, or if “it doesn’t feel as real as it did before,” they begin to think that they are not doing it correctly.
The first problem is when we think we mistake feeling with emotion. As said before, it is not necessary to feel something on an emotional level to “feel it real.”
The other problem is that the entire approach is wrong. Some mistakenly try and generate a feeling rather than letting whatever feeling it is they have been there. In my experience, it is best not to focus too much on the exact feeling and try and pin it down. Overthinking quickly leads to doubt and worry, and this does the very opposite of what we intend.
You often don’t notice when you feel differently, especially not when it’s a subtle change. A fish living in the ocean also wouldn’t feel much difference if the temperature of the water changed by 1 degree.
Just sort of let yourself “feel it real,” with little to no concern about whether or not you doing it correctly. Understand that you may not always be aware of exactly what is going on deeper down.
How To Feel It Real
As said before, feeling it really is easiest when you don’t try and pin down the feeling too much. Let it be natural, as if you are mentally navigating something that already exists. Feeling it real is, therefore, connecting to a deeper level of reality, not falsely making up feelings in your mind.
The best way to “feel it real” is to do a manifesting technique, such as visualizing or a simple affirmation, letting yourself “feel it real” as best as you can and then leaving it at that. The worst thing you can do is begin to think that you are not doing it correctly, as it will only be counterproductive.
For example, Neville often recommends you imagine a mental scene in which your desire has been accomplished (this is often called SATS by his followers today.)
Here’s how to do it:
- Go into a relaxed state of consciousness
- Imagine a scene, viewing the scene from your own eyes that could potentially happen AFTER your desire has manifested. The scene has to imply to you that the desire has been accomplished. Feel the reality of the scene as if you were really there.
- Be in this scene for at least a few minutes until it feels somewhat real to you.
By doing this consistently, I have found that you don’t need to worry too much about “feeling it real,” as it will be a natural by-product whether you realize it or not.
Also, going into a deep state of consciousness allows you to plant the idea more firmly. When you are in this state, it is usually also a lot easier to feel the reality of the inner plane and the idea you intend to manifest.
