The Good Name Within
Ecclesiastes 7:1 - A Neville Goddard interpretation
Read Ecclesiastes 7 in context
Scripture Focus
Biblical Context
The verse elevates a good inner reputation over external adornment, and sees death as the end of one birth-story and the birth of a truer self.
Neville's Inner Vision
Ecclesiastes 7:1 invites you to see that the name you carry is an inner state more than a label others place on you. The ointment of outward perfume and praise fades, yet the day when you ‘die’ to the old self reveals the consistency of the I AM you awaken to. In Neville’s language, death is not annihilation but a revision of your background story; it is the moment when you stop identifying with birth narratives and start acknowledging the unchanging self that knows itself as the one power, awareness, and presence. Your name, therefore, is the inner quality you inhabit in every moment: integrity, discernment, compassion. To live by it is to cultivate a new memory of yourself that cannot be shaken by time, circumstance, or applause. By imagining yourself already embodying the 'good name' you seek, you cause the outer to reflect the inner. The inner name precedes all outward conditions; when you assume it and feel it real, the world answers accordingly.
Practice This Now
Select one inner quality (integrity, discernment, compassion) and revise your self-concept by silently affirming, 'I am [quality], now.' Feel it as a living reality in your chest until the body and world reflect it.
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