In “Follow the Pattern,” Neville Goddard teaches that human imagination is the divine force shaping our reality, equating scripture with paradoxical revelations rather than historical records. He reinterprets biblical symbols—such as the serpent and the pole—as metaphors for the descent and ascent of creative power within us. Goddard emphasizes the importance of revising one’s inner beliefs through imaginative acts to bring about corresponding changes in the outer world. Through vivid anecdotes and dreams, he illustrates how persistent assumption and inner vision prove the efficacy of the law of assumption. The lecture calls listeners to guard and follow the revealed pattern of truth imparted by the Holy Spirit within. Ultimately, it invites us to adore and worship our own human imagination as the living expression of God.
“Man is all Imagination and God is Man and exists in us and we in him. The eternal body of Man is the Imagination and that is God Himself.” (William Blake) We are told that the Bible is the word of God; therefore, if God and man are one, it must be man’s word. Now, a scriptural episode is not a record of an historical event, but a paradoxical revelation of truth. Accept this, even though you may not understand it, for when scripture is experienced, you will know it is literally true! Paul tells us to follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me. Guard the truth which has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit which dwells within us. (II Timothy) Here we are called upon to guard this truth, for only as we follow the pattern – which is the truth – are we saved. If all things are possible to your imagination, and you are all imagination, you should be able to accomplish anything and fulfill every desire. But first you must be willing to believe you are all imagination! It’s entirely up to you. Do you believe you are mortal man – or all imagination?
Living in infinite states, the basic state from which we operate is our body of belief. If you believe you are limited, your thoughts flow from that belief. But if this principle is true, and you place a modification on that body of belief, you should produce a corresponding change, as your outer world is forever reflecting your inner thoughts.
Genesis tells us that the serpent, the symbol of our fall, is the most subtle (often translated as “wisest”) of all of God’s creatures. In Proverbs, the personification of wisdom says: God created me at the beginning of his ways, the first of his acts of old. Then in 1 Corinthians, Christ is defined as the power and wisdom of God. If this is true, then who is the serpent? The churches teach that some strange dragon led man into this world of sin and death. But when you understand scripture you will realize that Jesus Christ (God’s power and wisdom) is the serpent! It is he who brought us into the world of generation, and it is he who redeems us by raising us into the world of regeneration. This I know to be literally true. John tells us: “No one ascends into heaven but he who first descended, even the Son of man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up.” (John 3) Here we see that infinite power and wisdom took the form of man – the limit of contraction, by entering the state called Satan – the limit of opacity. To Satan there is nothing beyond the physical sense of sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch, as he is confined to the limit of opacity and contraction.
We are called upon to exercise this power that sacrificed itself and became us. As Blake said: “I know of no other Christianity, no other gospel than the right both of body and mind, to exercise the divine art of Imagination.” By exercising the divine art of imagination, you can prove to yourself that you can go beyond what your eyes, reason, and senses dictate. Exercise this art by daring to assume you are what your reason and senses deny you. Persist, and to the degree you are self-persuaded of its truth, the outer world will change, for it is forever conforming to the belief housed within you.
Infinite power and wisdom took on the form of a person by descending into you. His descent is your capacity to generate here. One day he will turn around and, as the son of man, you will ascend into heaven. But no one can ascend into heaven who has not first descended. He who descended came in the form of a serpent. This I know from experience. You, too, will know this to be true when your body is split from top to bottom, and the furnaces of affliction become fountains of living water. We came here to experience our own, individual furnaces of affliction. But when your spiritual body is split, you become living water springing from humanity, and like a fiery serpent you ascend your spinal cord. The 21st chapter of Numbers tells us: “The Lord God said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set him on a pole and it shall come to pass that everyone who is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live.'” Why? Because he enters into life in himself! This statement, as every little episode in scripture, is a rough sketch, an adumbration, a foreshadowing for time to fulfill in experience.
Now let me share an experience of a friend. In his dream he is constructing a large building, knowing that his father is creating one greater than his. Although he never sees his father, he knows that one day he will be as great as he. Suddenly he sees a black and white tree snake, picks it up and watches it coil around his right arm. Then the snake began to speak, telling him of the husband she loves, but has lost. The scene changes and my friend is now standing on a new building site with a pole standing upright in the center. Ascending the pole is the same snake, who turns around and starts its descent as he awoke. Here is a perfect adumbration, for only that which descends can ever ascend. I know it doesn’t make sense on this level; but just as Moses lifted up creative power in the wilderness, so have I, as the Son of man, been lifted up. How? In the form of a serpent! The creative power of Imagination descended by turning his head down into generation. His power, now reflecting in this world, must be reversed. This cannot be done by any conscious effort. The reversal takes place when the spiritual body is split in two from top to bottom. Seeing the fountain of living water, your creative power fuses with it, and up you go into heaven, just like a serpent. Blake described this as: “The furnaces of affliction suddenly become fountains of living water, all springing from humanity.” Everyone is destined to enter that fountain of living water, rise from this level into which he descended, and understand the words of Blake: “I do not consider the strong man, the weak man, the rich man or the poor man, to be in an ideal, supreme state, but to be everyone of them states of the sleep which the soul may fall into in its deadly dreams of good and evil when it left paradise following the serpent.”
In the third chapter of Genesis, wisdom (the serpent) speaks, saying: “Did God say you would die? You will not surely die.” And in that same chapter God declares: “Behold, man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” Now, knowing good and evil, the serpent promised that if you would descend and partake of this knowledge, you would awaken like the gods. Simply automatons, knowing nothing, you lived in a dreamlike state until infinite wisdom said: Follow me. So you left the world of innocence, and entered the world of experience to return to the world of Imagination, from whence you started. And when you return, you are all Imagination, and nothing is impossible to you. But before you do, you can test your creative power knowingly. Do you know someone who is in need? Bring him before your mind’s eye and see his need fulfilled. Lose yourself in the thrill, the feeling of joy for your friend. Do nothing on the outside to make it so, simply persist in seeing him in his new state, and no power on earth can stop it from being so. If you think he can oppose you, you are looking at the world of Satan, for there is no physical other. God is one. There is no opposition save that which you create for yourself!
Try to follow the pattern of these words which you have received from me. It is the same pattern as recorded by Paul, as the same God who revealed his Son in Paul revealed his Son in me, revealing me as the Father. Paul knew he was God the Father when he said: “When it pleased God to reveal his Son in me.” This truth comes from revelation; so, like Paul, I am asking everyone to follow the pattern of the true words which you have heard from me, for I have experienced scripture and know it is not secular history. The stories of scripture are paradoxical revelations of truth, which happen naturally. The golden liquid light you see is the living water which you become as you merge with it. Then, as a living fountain, you ascend from humanity in a serpentine motion.
Now, another friend wrote saying she found herself in the depths of the earth, in a cave whose walls were hewn out of rock. The only object present was a jar with a human face carved upon it. As she became aware of moving in and out of the jar, she realised that the jar itself was a head with its top removed. Returning to investigate, she found it empty, and awoke. Again I go back to Blake: “He has a sepulcher hewn out of a Rock ready for thee. And a death of eight thousand years which he has forged for thyself.” Blake saw the sepulcher forged out of rock, ready to receive the death of eight thousand years. In Blake’s symbology 8000 does not necessarily mean years. Eight is resurrection, a new beginning. The Sabbath is the seventh day, the day prepared to lead one up to the eighth day, called resurrection.
This lady entered the sepulcher in which Man is placed, to meet the one who sent her, who is the Lord of the air! Blake, whose works are all vision, said: “God Himself enters death’s door with all who enter, and lays down in the grave with him in visions of eternity until they awake.” So her vision was perfect, as it parallels those of Blake. The Book of Mark begins: “Repent.” That’s revision! That’s changing your thinking, thereby changing your belief, which causes a corresponding change in your world. In this lady’s vision, she reminded herself to revise now and not put it off until a later date. This is so true! Imagining creates reality, for waiting will cause you to find the problem more difficult to overcome, so change it the moment you sense it. Always revise now! Let me repeat. You are destined to awaken as God! Although the serpent – the symbol of your redemption – seems to have betrayed you, he has led you from innocence to experience, to one grand Awakened Human Imagination.
Learn to adore your humanity, your spirit of life! Worship God by worshipping your own wonderful Human Imagination! You want to love God? Love your own spirit, for he is Christ. Remove humanity from you and you will not exist, so learn to adore your humanity, for that is your spirit of life. You may not be able to draw a straight line, yet you can create a smile on the face of a friend, or erase the lines of worry or age. You can do all these things, not by turning to another, but by using your creative power, the only God! Blake makes this statement: “Thou art a Man, God is no more, thine own Humanity learn to adore.” Humanity is your spirit of life! Turn to the only God, who is your own wonderful Human Imagination! Learn to adore him. All things are possible to God, therefore, all things are possible to imagine! Knowing what you want, ask yourself if you believe that your imaginal acts are committed by God. I tell you, they are!
In his 14th chapter, John tells you that imagination is his spirit of life, saying: “You believe in God? Believe also in me.” Can you believe your imaginal acts will come to pass? That your desire is real, and live as though it were? If you imagine – and imagining does create reality – you will see your desire appear in your world. If it does not, then you have proved that the principle is false. I tell you the principle is true – according to your belief! There is no limit placed on your ability to believe or on what belief can accomplish. No matter what you desire, when you believe you have received it, you will. Can you believe that the only true God is in you? That you can follow the pattern of the sound words you have heard from me? I urge you to guard this truth which has been revealed to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Don’t look for any Holy Spirit on the outside! There is no one to run to but self, for everything is within you!
Now let me share another experience of the man who had the dream of the pole and the serpent. He said: “I wanted to make more money, but I did not feel qualified for a better position. Regardless of this fact, I decided that I wanted to earn twice as much as I was presently making, and I imagined having it now! Within two weeks I was contacted for an interview. In the past, I have had to sell myself, but this time the company was urging me to take the position offered, which included a salary greater than double the present one. Strangely enough, the man who had recommended me was a man who formerly worked for me, and when he left, there was intense dislike on both our parts. After the interview we met on the outside, and when I told him of my fears he said, ‘I know you are the best man for the job.'”I tell you: there is only one cause, and that is the Human Imagination. When you change your body of beliefs, everyone must and will play their part to produce evidence of that change in you. One who was formerly an enemy will play the part of a friend. I thank my friend for sharing this story with me and urge you to follow his example. Dream nobly! Think of lovely things you want to recall, and you will experience them in your tomorrows.
Blake was so awake! It was he, who said: “Everything is Man. The lion, the tiger, the horse, the elephant, mule, dove, fly and worm, all are glorious persons. Clothed in gems, they fly away to humanize in the forgiveness of sins according to thy covenant, O Jehovah.” Awakened Imagination knows there is nothing but God, and God, being Man, becomes the worm to feed the weak. Knowing there is nothing but Imagination, Blake said:
” Double the vision my eyes do see.Double vision is always with me.With my inner eye it is an old man gray,with my outer a thistle across the way.”
Every day, with my old friend Abdullah I would practice this art. At dinner he would ask me to look at the lampshade. He didn\’t mean for me to see the lampshade – anyone can do that – but to focus my attention through it. Looking beyond, I would see living, breathing human faces. Other times he would ask me to look at a car, a house, a wall – not with my outer eyes but with my inner eye; and when I did, I would always see Man. When I first began to do this I had to break it, because I could feel myself moving through and beyond this world, to see an entirely different world. That’s Imagination!
Although this world seems to be the only reality, it is but a gossamer dream. And when you leave here, you will once more feel that where you are is the only reality. This you will do over and over again until God’s pattern of salvation unfolds in you. Then you will follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me and guard the truth which will be imparted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells in all. He has revealed salvation’s pattern to me. Having entrusted me with that truth, I have told it and will continue to do so until I can tell it no more. Then someone else will pick it up and continue the pattern.
The Bible, from beginning to end, is simply a book of patterns. Claiming there is only one source of all dreams, who is God, the story is told of a man called Joseph, the dreamer who was placed in a coffin in Egypt. So who was placed in that coffin, but God! It is God who descends and takes upon himself this concrete, opaque state called Joseph. It is recorded that Joseph was the third son of Jacob, born to him in his old age. And Jacob was the son of his mother’s old age. And Jacob’s father was the son of his mother’s old age. Do you see the pattern repeating itself over and over again here?
This book of patterns will unfold in each one of us. How long it will be before the pattern unfolds in you, individually, only your heavenly Father knows. I can tell you this, however: it will happen in your old age! When you have had all of the experiences life here can give you and you seem to be barren, the child will come. That is my promise! Now let us go into the silence.
Neville Goddard reframes scripture as a symbolic atlas of imaginative processes, asserting that every biblical episode is a pattern to be experienced, not merely recounted. By declaring that “the eternal body of Man is the Imagination,” he removes the separation between the human and the divine, inviting practitioners to harness this unity through imaginative exploration.
Central to the lecture is the motif of the serpent, traditionally seen as a symbol of fall and sin. Goddard recasts the serpent as Christ’s power and wisdom, descending into the world of sensory perception and then ascending through the spinal cord as living water. This descent–ascent paradigm underpins his teaching on how to transform affliction into spiritual awakening through a reversal of focus from the outer senses to inner vision.
Practical application is stressed through revision techniques and vivid inner exercises. Goddard encourages listeners to ‘follow the pattern’ by assuming desired states, replaying mental scenes, and trusting that no external effort is required—only persistent self-persuasion. Anecdotes of flipped enmity into friendship or rapid job advancement underscore the law of assumption in action, showing that belief changes the behavior of others reflecting the new inner state.
Finally, the lecture carries profound theological implications: it invites self-adoration of one’s own human imagination as the true God, dissolving the need for any external savior. By highlighting patterns of descent and resurrection—cited through Blake’s symbolism and Genesis narratives—Goddard promises spiritual birth and fulfillment even in one’s later years. The ultimate message is that each individual, by guarding the revealed pattern, will experience the full cycle of divine manifestation within.
The Bible Through Neville
Neville Bible Sparks
Neville Lecture Series
