Neville Goddard and the Religions of Man

We know that Neville Goddard was taught Kabbalah by Abdullah and studied the Bible everyday. He also read hundreds of books about the Bible and mysticism and metaphysics. Certainly he knew about the Vedas and Buddhism and their relation to the Bible.

That the tenants of Buddhism are in the Bible is not big news to students of the Bible, but Mark's being a Buddhist missionary is a more recent idea I received from Christian Lindtner (see Christian Lindtner Theory (CLT) at http://jesusisbuddha.com/). I do not agree with all details of Lindtner's theory, but I want here to enlarge upon it. Yes, 'Jesus' was Buddha to Mark, but Gautama was no longer Buddha. My idea here is that Mark's vision of "Buddha" was enlarged and refined by what he learned as he traveled from India to Palestine and (probably on to the Alexandrian enclave of philosophers in) Egypt. He took in "the wisdom of the world" in his travels, and by it and the Jewish Scriptures his heart was opened to "Christianity" -- God, who is Jesus Christ, as man's inner nature. Man, the Ineffable's imagined creation OF Man (capital 'M') in Genesis chapter one, . . .


Okay, wait, a little review: the Ineffable, Most High God's thought is intelligence that is power to become what is thought (when he thought "form," the Big Bang became). He is the Source; we are Him in emanated image, still altogether one. The Ineffable imagined creation in Genesis chapter one, which is the end to which we are destined. The Man we are destined to become was in the plan -- God: "Let us make Man in our image" ("us" being the e'had [many, yet one] that is Elohim). The Man imagined by the Source, the intelligence that is power to become what is thought . . . BECAME.


. . . is our destiny. What all "Jesus Christ" means is the son of THAT Man in us, and really is in us as our inner nature, which is loving, kind, righteous, noble, faithful, etc. Confucius put it all in the word 'ren' (Wade-Giles: jen), "BLESSING." That is my translation of it, anyway. All the religions of man are weak, sickly substitutions (Seth/Enos) for the constant transitoriness of the Man we shall become: God afresh moment-to-moment!

We are here to cultivate the noble part of ourselves to ren, to become complete Men, verily the image of God Almighty. There is no stopping place: we are in constant refinement. We are eternal beings, and eternity to this point has gotten us this far. The next step does not have all the dying we have been going through. "Ear has not heard, eye has not seen, nor has it entered into the mind of man" what is up next, but I do not think it will be the self-absorbed selfishness and greed of the absurd "Law of Attraction."

We are not here to get everything we can get, but to give everything we ought give. Our thoughts become what good is thought: that is the "Law," the nature of God. So imagine good for everyone. Sustenance for those in need. Peace for those in turmoil. Freedom from unrighteousness and bondage for those in prison. We exist to confer blessings on the people. Educate them, if you will.

'Jethro' Means God's Goodness

'Jethro,' his excellence or his jutting over, means God's goodness. THAT is what Moses was contemplating when God spoke to him and said to let go of the intermediary things -- teachings, doctrines, study, prayers -- and experience the spirit directly by imagining what he purposed and desired as though it already existed: "That is my becoming."

Sorry About Taking So Long to Post Anger-caused Cancer and How to Get Healed From It, III

It is a big theological statement based on the first chapters of Genesis as a success manual. THAT is what Moses wrote. The antediluvian patriarchs are attitudes/states in our relation with God that culminate with Noah in a new world. I will try to get the post out soon.

The basis of Moses' success manual is Exodus 3: 14, which in my understanding means that God and we are one. "We" are his becoming, and his becoming is by imagining. He wants us to DO imagining -- prayer -- as his agency. Prayer is successful because we are the One. "You best be believing" -- and praying. As I said last night, it is not prayers to God as a separate and distant entity that makes us Jews or Christians, but the prayer of imagining AS God. We are his entity. He has NOT divided in creating us, but is in us and acting through us. It really is about time that we caught on.

Judaism is Prayer, not Prayers

'Nuff said.

Ancient Chinese Philosophy and Neville Goddard

I read in Neville Goddard's lecture "A Lesson in Scripture" that Abdullah told him they had been philosophers together in ancient China (http://realneville.com/txt/a_lesson_in_scripture.htm). I wondered, "What would they have believed and taught in ancient China?" I happened to have a copy of A History of Chinese Philosophy by Fung (1952, Princeton University Press) on my shelf, so I perused the book. I am learning a lot more from it with this reading! Confucius was so brilliant because he was so devout. Tien, "Heaven," for him was God. Heaven doesn't say much, but life here is the effect of Its will, because Heaven and Earth are one thing! The severity of the Emperor's devotion to Heaven and his love for man, jen, should strike both terror and awe in his subjects and his opponents and inspire them to lead noble lives.

We have probably all been Chinese at one time or another. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I recognized the language I spoke to be an East Asian tongue, probably a dialect of Chinese (I used to live in San Francisco's Chinatown). Confucius was born in 551 B.C. His inspiration were three dynasties of sage kings who lived more than five hundred years before him, and of course thousands of philosophers followed him. Lu Chiu-yuan (1139-1193) and Yang Chien (1140-1225) stand out in my mind as having the same philosophical bent as Abdullah and Neville. Below are samples of things these ancient Chinese philosophers taught (from Fung, volume 2, pages 572-585ff).

"When he (Lu) first read the Analects, he suspected Master Yu's (a disciple of Confucius) words of being involved and complicated. Another day, in his reading of ancient books, he encountered the words yu and chou, on which the commentary stated: 'The four directions, together with what is above and what is below, are called yu; and the bygone past and the coming future are called chou.' Then, with a sudden onrush of great insight, he said: 'Those affairs which are in the universe are those which fall within my duty; those affairs which fall within my duty are those which are within the universe.'

"Again he once remarked: 'The universe (yu chou) is my mind, and my mind is the universe. If in the Eastern Sea there were to appear a sage, he would have this same mind and this same Principle (li). If in the Western Sea there were to appear a sage, he would have this same mind and this same Principle. If in the Southern or Northern Sea there were to appear sages, they (too) would have this same mind and this same Principle. If a hundred or a thousand generations ago, or a hundred or a thousand generations hence, sages were to appear, they (likewise) would have this same mind and same Principle.'"

Lu had a predilection toward Ch'ung Hao, who maintained that the student's first need in self-cultivation is to comprehend love (jen), and that once he comprehends this truth and cultivates it with sincerity (ch'eng) and earnestness (ching), there is no need for anything further. Lu said, "Recently there was someone who criticized me, saying, 'Aside from the one sentence, Let a man first firmly establish the nobler part of his constitution, he has no other tricks.' Hearing it, I replied: 'True indeed!'"

"Let a man first firmly establish the nobler part of his constitution," means, as far as Lu is concerned: Let him first understand that Truth or Tao is nothing more than the mind, and the mind is nothing more than the Truth. For, as he explains: "Beyond the Truth, no thing exists; outside of things, no Truth exists." . . . "The ten thousand things are profusely contained within a square inch of space (i.e., the mind). Filling the mind and, pouring forth, filling the entire universe (yu chou), there is nothing that is not this Principle (li)". . . "Mencius said, 'He who has developed completely his mind knows his nature. Knowing his nature, he knows Heaven.' Mind is only one mind" . . . "The extent of the mind is very great. If I can develop completely my mind, I thereby become identified with Heaven. Study consists of nothing more than to apprehend this."

"The universe has never limited and separated itself from man, but it is man who limits and separates himself from the universe." The purpose of study is to rid the mind of all those things by which it is blinded, in this way enabling it to return to its original condition. . . . "It is you yourself who have sunk and buried yourself, obscured and blinded yourself. Lying deep down within a dark pit, one knows nothing of what is called the high and distant. You must tear yourself out of that pit and look for a way to break your bonds."

"In the Analects there are many statements that suffer from the lack of context. Thus, in such a saying as, 'one may attain to it with knowledge and yet be unable to preserve it with love,' one does not know what 'it' is that is to be attained to and preserved. Or again, in the saying, 'to learn is to practice constantly,' one does not know what it is that is to be practiced constantly. Unless one has ability for study, it is not easy to read. But if one does have ability for study, then one will know that what is to be attained to is this (mind); that what is to be preserved is to preserve it; and that what is to be practiced constantly is to practice it. )In other words), to talk is to talk about it, and to rejoice is to rejoice in it." . . . "To investigate all things (ko wu) is to investigate this (mind). Fu Hsi looked up to (contemplate the brilliant) forms (exhibited in Heaven), and looked down to (survey) the patterns (shown on Earth). He was, indeed, the first to exert his efforts in (thus apprehending) this (mind). If it were not so, what is called the 'investigation of things' would be an insignificant matter."

Granted that "to learn is to practice constantly," one must first know what it is that is thus to be practiced -- in the words of Mencius, that man must "first firmly establish the nobler part of his constitution." This means to "know what is fundamental," and then, with all one's energies, to practice it, preserve it, and rejoice in it.

As for Yang Chien (page 579ff), Lu Chiu-yuan's chief follower, "In (1169), an assembly met one evening in the Hall of Double Enlightenment, at which (Lu) several times mentioned the two words, 'original mind.' (pen hsin).  Thereupon (Yang) asked in a measured tone, 'What is meant by the original mind?' It so happened that early that morning he (Yang Chien) had heard the lawsuit of a fan (vendor). (Lu Chiu-yuan) replied loudly: 'In the case of that fan (vendor), there must have been one (of the disputants) who was right and one who was wrong. Since you were able to see who was right and who wrong, and then to pronounce judgment that so-and-so was right and so-and-so was wrong, what is this if not (knowledge that comes from) the original mind? On hearing this, the Master (Yang Chien) suddenly realized the pure clarity of his mind. 'Is that all?' he immediately pressed. (Lu) again replied loudly, 'What else can it be?'
"One evening, when I asked about the original mind, (Lu) mentioned by way of reply the right and wrong involved in that day's case of the Fan (vendor). I then suddenly came to realize the pure and clear quality of our mind. I suddenly realized that this mind has no beginning and no end, and that it penetrates everywhere." . . . "The process of change is self and none other. It is not right to regard simply as a book and not as the self. Nor is it right to regard it as the transformation of the cosmos and not the self. The Cosmos (lit., "Heaven and Earth") is my own cosmos, and its transformation is my own transformation; they are in no way external (to the self). Selfishness sunders it (the self) from (the cosmos), and results in diminution of the self. . . . The constituents of the self are something more than mere blood, breath, and physical form. My nature is limpid and pure, and not a mere physical thing. It is penetrating and limitless, and not a mere physical quantity.  Heaven is a symbol that lies within my own nature; Earth is a shape that lies within my own nature. That is why it is said, 'In Heaven there are the (different) symbols completed, and on Earth there are the (different) shapes there formed.' All are equally produced by me. Undifferentiably intertwined, they are neither internal nor external (to the self); all permeate one another, without distinction or difference. . . . The sage is unable to impart the Truth (Tao) to men, but he is able to dispel their becloudings."

Abdullah and Neville? Not necessarily. Maybe they were you. What would they have believed and taught in ancient China? The exact same things they believed and taught here today, except now it is our turn.

Two-month Old Genius

My wife says my granddaughter, who is all of two months old, is learning all the time. So I am teaching her to keep score in ping-pong. I think she is doing fine; the leg kicks must be the score, but I can't tell which leg is for which player.

If Abdullah and Neville Goddard Were Together as Ancient Chinese Philosophers . . .

I recently read that Abdullah told Neville Goddard that they had been together as philosophers in ancient China. If you know where that statement is, would you please paste a link to its source in the comments section below or e-mail it to me? Thanks.

A pair of ancient Chinese philosophers? Hmm. I just happened to have A History of Chinese Philosophy by Fung Yu-Lan (1952, Princeton University Press, two volumes in one, trans. by Derk Bodde) on my bookshelf. I can't tell you how happy I have been reading it again knowing what I have learned from Neville. It is like discovering Confucius all over again. Now I realize how religious Confucius was, and how ren, human compassion (written as jen* in the book), was the center of Confucian philosophy (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren_%28Confucianism%29).

"Heaven does not speak," said Confucius, but he knew that "heaven" was the God in heaven who was in control of the earth, and that the exercise of that control was God's "speaking." Thus the Chou dynasty under King Wen became Confucius' "Bible," and ren its Gospel.

It takes me awhile to read a tome like this page-by-page, but I have rediscovered a pair of philosophers I noted long ago who now sound (to me) like Abdullah and Neville: Lu Chiu-Yuan and Yang Chien. I am not saying or speculating that they actually were those two philosophers, for there were thousands of other Chinese philosophers they might have been (and I have only read part of the history); I am just saying, "Oh, that sound like them." Talk about subjective! If you would like to read some interesting Chinese musings and can find A History of Chinese Philosophy at your local library, university, or used bookstore, try volume 2, chapter XIV, pages 572-585. I have to admit I am enjoying the whole book. I can't believe how much I have forgotten.

*Jen is Wade-Giles romanization, an older code of phonic representations. The j is pronounced as the buzzing-sound only at the beginning of the word 'jay,' without the 'ay.' So it is 'jay's initial buzzing sound plus en, modernly designated as ren.

Let's Get You Successful Together

Regarding manifestation and the advice from Neville Goddard (and others) to not tell anyone what it is that you are imagining, or even that you are imagining with a mind to manifestation:

Keeping your prayer secret is questionable advice. The idea of silence is that if you tell others what you are doing they might question your sanity, try to dissuade and/or discourage you. Your silence would also limit others' influences to your manifestation, indicating that it was your imagining alone which accomplished it. But if you believe that God is one and includes you and your mental actions in Him, and you are not going to be discouraged by anyone from imagining the reality of what you desire, why not follow the biblical advice of "Where two or more are gathered in my name and agree on any one thing, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven"?

In my 'name' means nature, and God's nature is oneness. Let me put it this way, if you know that everything is one, there is no "other," so "do not tell another" does not hold true. Not telling others may demonstrate once the strength of Christ within you, but does it not also demonstrate your residual conception of separateness from the rest of the one?

To get what you purpose and desire, try a little togetherness: When Neville imagined being in Barbados in 1933, SO DID ABDULLAH: "You are IN Barbados!" People asked Neville to "hear good news" for them. My mother prayed for her best friend, Lynn Travis, and me for years, but it was when she contacted the prayer network at Trinity Broadcasting and prayed with them as a group that Lynn and I were swept into the House of Praise in Kaimuki. It is the standing testimony of countless thousands through the centuries that prayer circles work. Open any Guidepost or other Christian magazine and you will find article after article of the power of shared prayer. When a group of believers are all imagining the people there being healed, you see people healed. T. L. Osborn applied this principle to his campaigns, as have and do many others. I was an anonymous face in the crowd when Charles Hunter simply said, "Jesus, make their limbs all the right length," and I watched my left arm grow out about a half inch. A half-inch isn't much, but growing out in Jesus' 'name' -- oneness -- is. Yes, Janet Gunther was all alone in her apartment when she was healed of tuberculosis, but she was in the presence of God Almighty, too. It is really good to have him agreeing with you. I think that God wants us to get the idea into our heads that we all are one and can and should imagine together as one: Him and us as a package deal.

What if what you purpose and desire was imagined and believed to be your present-and-real possessed reality not just by you but by everyone you are with? Find some people to AGREE with and IMAGINE it. Write it down and share it. Pray for peace -- imagine peace -- in the Ukraine, in your home and town, in the world. And rejoice together.

A Little on the Wisdom of Mark

I believe that the writer of the Gospel of Mark was an Indian Therapeut, a "son of the elder" Buddhist missionary. Emperor Ashoka (304-232 BCE) arranged to sent emissaries of Buddhism out from India, although "Mark" (an assumed or assigned name to be sure) might have been an independent wandering philosopher.

Mark was expert in the life and doctrines of Gautama, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Mark is replete with Buddha's quotes and life's events. But Mark was learner: he saw the wisdom and the power of God in Persian, Babylonian, Greek, Egyptian and Jewish teachings. The wisdom and power are universal, and God has spoken to many throughout the millennia. He is knocking on everyone's heads. Mark listened.

What Mark listened to was the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Jewish scriptures. How come the Jews could not understand it? Oh yeah, literal-historic dualism -- the belief that God is separate from his creation -- that there are TWO!

"That's nuts," Mark must have thought to himself, "What part of 'ONE' do they not understand? Sure, everything is what it thinks it is, but "it" is Him. How can I get them to do the math?" Very carefully, after the priests threw Jacob (James) from the stairs of the Temple. Just point out the voice of God that speaks to every one of us, the Holy Spirit of God -- "Jesus Christ" -- and what He is saying.

Mark was an Indian. He didn't know how dumb and greedy we Westerners could be. Sorry, Mark.
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