In this lecture Neville Goddard interprets the Biblical story of Simon carrying Jesus’ cross as a metaphor for our human imagination and the law of Christ, which is fundamentally imaginal. He explains that to ‘bear one another’s burdens’ means to use creative imagination to uplift others, recognizing that every person is ultimately a projection of oneself. By believing and acting upon imagined improvements for another, one enacts the psychological principle that shapes external reality. Goddard emphasizes that Christ is not an external savior but the universal pattern within every human soul, and Simon symbolizes those who hear, understand, and consent to this inner truth. Practical examples—from helping someone find work to his mother’s early faith in him—illustrate how self-persuasion manifests change. Ultimately, he calls listeners to practice the art of lifting burdens daily, fulfilling the law of Christ and revealing the one living Christ within all.
The Bible is the most practical book in the world. In it we are told that one named Simon carried the cross behind Jesus. The word “Simon” means “to hear with understanding and consent to what is heard.” And Jesus is your own wonderful human imagination.
The gospel tells what happens in the soul of Jesus. The events recorded there are seen and heard by none save but Him. Through these experiences He gains the certainty that He is not only the Son of God, but also God Himself. But when he tells his story few will accept it, as his experience of scripture differs greatly from its interpretation by the priests and rabbis. Simon, however, understands what he hears and, consenting to it, he carries the cross.
We are told to “Bear ye one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Now, the law of Christ is described in the Sermon on the Mount. It is a psychological law, as Christ tells you in the 5th chapter of Matthew, saying: “You heard it said of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you, anyone who looks lustfully upon a woman has already committed the act with her in his heart.'” (The word “heart” and “soul” are synonymous in scripture.)
When you are told in the 4th chapter of Psalms to “Commune with your own heart upon your bed,” are you not communing with yourself? And in that communion are you not told that the act is committed? I tell you: the law of Christ is imaginal and you carry His burden, for “Inasmuch as we do it to one of the least of these, we do it unto Him.”
Paul, seeing the meaning of Christ, said: “From now on I regard no one from the human point of view, even though I once regarded Christ from the human point of view, I regard him thus no longer.” Paul realised that Christ was the pattern of salvation buried in every child born of woman, and did not seek a little Christ, but the universal Cosmic Christ buried in all.
There is only one Christ, so when you imagine, you are imagining Christ. Now, one who hears and believes this is called Simon. It is he who goes out and carries the cross by lifting the burden from the back of the one being who is carrying the entire cross; for every human is a cross, who collectively form the cross the Cosmic Christ bears.
When one hears the story and believes it, he goes out to lift the weight of every cross. Seeing someone struggle to pay rent or buy food because he is financially embarrassed, Simon lifts his cross by seeing the man gainfully employed. He does this because he knows he is doing it only to himself, as there cannot be another. As a psychological act, he represents the other to himself as he would like to see that other, and to the degree he is self-persuaded that what he imagined is true, it will become true.
Simon does not move a cross from one little point in space to another. He goes through life following Christ, as he bears the cross and lifts the weight of mankind. Many a man remains behind the 8-ball because no one ever thought he could be anything other than what he appears to be. Fortunately I had a mother who, at a tender age took me aside and persuaded me that I was her favourite. She would say: “You will make mother very proud of you, won’t you?” and naturally I said: “Yes, mother.” I wore long white curls at the time, and she would curl my hair, run her finger up my curl, kiss me, and send me on my way – then call the next one to have his hair curled. Mother told the same story to each of us. It was only after we had all grown to manhood that we discovered what mother had done, but by that time she had accomplished her purpose. She didn’t expect us to make a fortune but to be one in whom she would be proud, and in our own separate spheres we all became successful in her eyes.
Many a man is a failure today because no one ever believed he could be otherwise. So I say to you: if you believe that there is only one being and only one cross, you will lift the cross from a seeming other, and – as Simon – follow your imagination to its fulfillment.
Every child born of woman is a cross, animated by Christ Jesus; so when you lift the burden from an infant or one of many years, you are doing it unto yourself. As you bear one another’s burdens you fulfill the law of Christ; for inasmuch as you do it to one of the least of these, you have done it unto me. If you believe me and put your belief into practice, you are bearing the cross. But if you are so engrossed in your own little world that you cannot see another as a projection of yourself, you do not believe me and will not become a Simon. Only as you believe and act, will you bear the cross as Simon, enter the temple in the Spirit, and – finding the child – take him up in your arms and say: “Lord, let now thy servant depart in peace according to thy Word, for my eyes have seen the salvation of God.”
Called a little child in the Book of Luke, God’s creative power is symbolised as the unveiled arm in the Book of Isaiah. In this wonderful 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of the unveiling of the arm of God as the salvation of the world. And when the prophecy is fulfilled it appears as though you are betrayed, but I ask you: what did Judas betray? He betrayed the messianic secret of Jesus and the place where he might be found.
A secret must first be heard before it can be told. I have betrayed the messianic secret in my book called Resurrection, so I have played the part of Judas. Having experienced the part of Jesus, I have recorded my experiences so that anyone coming after I have gone from this sphere will know the secret.
The messianic secret is unlike that which the priesthoods of the world believe. Jesus is not a little man who comes from without to save mankind. Jesus comes from within, for He is a pattern, which unfolds in and reveals the individual as the Son of God who is God. Knowing my scripture, when the visions came upon me I searched and found they dovetailed one another. I have shared my experiences with everyone who will listen; and those who hear them with understanding and accept them become Simon, who picks up the cross and eases the burden from the back of the Cosmic Christ.
When you meet someone who is unemployed and take a moment to imagine him gainfully employed, you are Simon. Practice this art daily. Pick up your cross and set everyone free from what he seems to be. That is how you bear one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ, which is all imaginal.
If you hear this message with understanding you will go out and fulfill the law of Christ. If you do not understand me you may not agree, but I tell you: this is the most incredible story that can ever be told. You need not have a brilliant mind to accept it. In fact, the more brilliant your mind is, the less chance this concept will be believed, yet I tell you it is true. Everyone who accepts it will one day experience scripture within himself, for the gospel is nothing more than that which happened within the soul of Jesus, who is Jehovah, who is the Lord, in you.
Jesus is your awareness of being, your I AM. It is He who hears the story and either accepts or rejects it. If you think of a man who lived two thousand years ago when I use the word “Jesus,” you will not see the Jesus in everyone; for Jesus is awareness, sound asleep and carrying a tremendous burden as His dream. If you will accept my story, Jesus will begin to awaken as you lift his burden and carry the cross behind your imagination. Simon is first seized, and then the cross is placed upon him as the individual who hears and understands and consents to what he has heard.
If you really believe me you will not pass anyone without doing something to lift his burden. Taking up his cross, you will represent him to yourself as you would like to see him; and to the degree that you are self-persuaded, he will become it, even though he may never know what you did. Things will happen in his world and he will become what you conceived him to be, not knowing who did it, but who did it? Christ, for there is only Christ in the world. You can take no credit in the doing, because you are only doing it to yourself.
As you represent another to yourself as you would like to see him, you are lifting his burden and fulfilling God’s law. And when your time is fulfilled you will enter the temple and find the sign of the birth of your creative power as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes. Then the arm of God, who creates everything, is unveiled in you and from that day on whatever you imagine will come to pass – I don’t care what it is. I ask you to dwell upon this thought and follow the pattern of Simon. Lift the burden of someone today, and maybe tomorrow you will be able to do it to two. Don’t let another remain carrying his burden, because there is no other. Lift his burden from yourself and follow Jesus Christ, your own wonderful human imagination.
The dream of life begins with the call of Abraham, and comes to its climax and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Everyone must and will experience that climax. Then the curtain will come down and you will leave this sphere to join the heavenly brotherhood, who contemplates this world of death saying: “What seems to be, is – to those to whom it seems to be.” Take that one little statement: what seems to be is to those to whom it seems to be. You can assume any state and persuade yourself that it is so, and it will become so. Torments, despair, and eternal death will also seem to be, “But Divine mercy steps beyond and redeems Man in the body of Jesus”; for in the end there is only one body, only one Lord, and you are that one Jesus Christ. You will wear that one Risen Body as your own and be the one Spirit that inhabits it. And you will know yourself to be that one Spirit who is the Lord of all.
Today you are not aware of your true identity, but Paul made it very, very clear in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, when he said: “If we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we certainly shall be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Do you see the difference in tense? We have already died with Christ, and we will live with him when God’s pattern of salvation erupts and the gospel unfolds within us individually.
Now, whenever I tell my story there are always those who – knowing me by my physical origin – do not know me by reason of my spiritual birth. Seeing only the outside man called Neville, they judge from appearances and claim I am blaspheming by making these bold claims. But a few will believe me and become Simon by lifting the burden and transforming the lives of those he meets, no matter that it may seem to be.
If you want more money, better health, or the state of marriage, Simon simply hears your desire as granted, then goes his way believing that what he has heard is now a physical fact which will confront you in the near future. He never seeks your thanks, but knows your desire must come into being; for he has lifted your burden upon his shoulder and believes in his own wonderful human imagination.
When you hear and believe in God’s pattern of salvation, you are believing in Jesus. Everyone contains that pattern – therefore everyone is Jesus. Leave no one distressed. Do not give from your pocket, but give them every desire of their heart from your imagination. You could give money from now until the ends of time, and not give of yourself! Only when you imagine for another are you truly giving of yourself; and as you believe in the reality of what you have imagined, are you lifting the burden you are called upon to do, thereby fulfilling the law of God.
When you feel the joy of having done it, don’t wait for the phone to ring; simply go your way and lift the burden from another, and then another. An artist friend recently told me about some work he had done for a friend, but had not been paid according to their verbal agreement. After our discussion I heard my friend tell me the debt was paid. That was all I did. Last night he told me that, seemingly out of the blue, the man came to his house and gave him a check for the full amount agreed upon. Now I will say to him that check will be multiplied over and over again, for there are many artists needing your talent to improve theirs.
Don’t say something cannot be done, for the minute you do, you are placing a limit upon yourself. And don’t limit your friend because of his financial, social, or intellectual background. That’s a heavy cross for him to bear. Rather, lift his cross and set him free. We live in a world of horrors, but as Blake said: “Don’t be intimidated by the horrors of the world. All is ordered and correct and must fulfill its destiny in order to attain perfection. Follow this pattern and you will receive from your own ego a deeper insight into the eternal beauties of reality. You will also receive an even deeper release from all that now seems so sad and terrible.”
When you know this truth, you will lift the burden of all those you meet, for you will know that regardless of the pigment of his skin, the tongue in which he speaks, his belief, or nationality – you and he are one, for God is one. The great Sh’ma of the Hebrew confession of faith “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” will take on new meaning.
If God is one, there cannot be another; so in the end you and I will be the same father of the same son. I have been sent to convey that one thought to the world. I have taught it through the spoken word and recorded it in my book, Resurrection, that God’s true son is David. I have now completed the work I was sent to do.
The priests do not know the mystery. They are men without vision, reading a book they do not understand. To my mother, a priest was a wise man who could not be contradicted. I never argued with my mother about that, but I knew she was wrong. As a boy I had visions and knew the priests did not know what they were talking about; but mother could not understand how her little, uneducated boy could challenge that which she considered the wise men, because they could speak Latin and read Greek. But I knew their knowledge came from study, while my wisdom came from vision.
Having matured, I have been called and sent to reveal the true Son of God who unifies humanity. We will all know that one son to be our own son, for he will reveal each one of us as God the Father. Jesus Christ in you is God the Father, and David (in you) is His son. The day will come when David will awaken in you, rise in you, and call you Father, giving you a certainty which cannot be denied. Maybe from what you have heard tonight you may change your belief, but you will never know the certainty of Fatherhood until you see David as your son. And when everyone sees David as his son, are we not the one Father?
Tonight I urge you to play the part of Simon. If you do, you will not be neglecting but helping yourself; for as told us in the story of Job, as he prayed for his friends his own captivity was lifted. While locked in his own desire to free himself of his physical, social, and financial problems, Job forgot himself and prayed for his friends, and in so doing all that he had lost returned to him one hundred fold. As you pray for your friends you will discover your own captivity is lifted; your cross becomes lighter and lighter until finally you are light itself. So take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Ask for no thanks or financial gain in the doing; just know the joy of lifting the cross, for it is being lifted from your own shoulders. When I hear that a man’s needs have been provided for and he has become self-persuaded, it is true and it becomes true. I never tell him what I did. I simply revel in the joy and satisfaction of seeing this law of Christ fulfill itself. It never fails when put into practice.
Believe in the reality of your own imaginal acts, for faith is loyalty to unseen reality. Have faith in your imaginal act. Although unseen by the outer world as an external fact, your loyalty to its unseen reality will cause the unseen to become seen by the world. This is the practical side of this night. You and I can lift the cross from our own shoulders; for as I lift your cross I am lifting mine, and in a way I do not know the burden is lifted from me. Everyone you meet is yourself made visible, for there is nothing but yourself in the world.
As you read these passages I have quoted tonight, pull them together and you will have a beautiful mosaic. Remember, when you do it to one of the least of these you have done it unto me, the one the world is seeking. You may see me as an insignificant little man, but I am Christ, the Lord God Jehovah. Lift my burden for even the most insignificant other, and go your way. You may not recognise your harvest, as you may not remember the favour you granted another many years ago. Seeing him healthy and financially secure today you may forget what you did, and maybe even he will have forgotten he ever asked your help – but what does it matter? The burden has been lifted. Go forward and play the part of Simon, and the day when you least expect it you will find the symbol of your creative power as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes. And then the 53rd chapter of Isaiah will be fulfilled, as your arm of God is revealed.
When scripture unfolds within you, you will know a thrill that is beyond ecstasy. Then you will no longer see scripture as secular history. You will know from experience that the story is supernatural, and has nothing to do with history as we understand it. The events spoken of by the apostles did not take place on earth, but in the soul of man as he walks the earth.
I have shared with you that which took place in my soul in the hope that I will find a few who will believe me to the point of putting my words into practice. I have unveiled myself to those who believe, and now they are beginning to be unveiled – while the rabbis and the priests who see me as an impostor remain veiled. Even to this day, when Moses is read the veil is on their minds. I pray for all of them because they are blinded to the truth by their refusal to accept any change in their fixed belief. I have come to do one thing: to make clear to the entire world who the true Son of God is who will unify the world.
Jesus Christ is God the Father and his son is David. When David calls you Father, you will know you are Jesus Christ, the Lord. If I am God the Father, who is my son? David. I tell you, David is not a physical being. It is in Spirit that he calls you Father, and scripture is fulfilled. Everyone will be called Father by the one being who is David, and if he calls you Father and he calls me Father, are we not the same being? Are we not the one God and Father of all? I tell you, without loss of your individual identity, you will know that you and I are one.
Now let us go into the silence.
Goddard’s reinterpretation of Simon carrying the cross reframes the narrative as an allegory of the imaginal faculty. By equating Jesus with human imagination and Simon with the act of hearing and consenting, he identifies self-persuasion as the pivotal mechanism by which inner visions become outer reality. This psychological law, drawn from Christ’s teachings in Matthew and the Psalms, shifts emphasis from moral injunction to creative practice.
The lecture further explores the concept of the ‘Cosmic Christ’—a universal pattern of salvation that exists in each individual. Goddard cites Paul’s transformation in perspective as evidence that recognizing Christ within dissolves the duality between self and other. When one imagines another’s welfare, they are, in effect, ministering to themselves and the whole, fulfilling the scriptural mandate “inasmuch as you do it to one of the least of these, you do it unto me.”
Practical application is central to Neville’s teaching. Through vivid examples—from financial breakthroughs to artistic success—he demonstrates how lifting another’s burden through imagination yields tangible results. He stresses that true giving arises not from physical resources but from projecting the desired state for another and maintaining unwavering faith in its unseen reality.
In the concluding sections, Goddard unites the lectures in Isaiah and Luke by revealing the transformative climax of divine identity: Jesus Christ as God the Father and David as His son within us. This revelation underscores the ultimate unity of humanity and divinity. Listeners are invited into silent meditation and the ongoing practice of imaginative compassion, ensuring that the living gospel unfolds within each soul.
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