Jephthah's Inner Assembly

Neville's Inner Vision

To read this moment is to notice how the mind splits and then crafts a circle around its new identity. Jephthah's retreat from his brethren into the land of Tob is not a punishment but a pattern of consciousness: a segment of the self withdraws, and a band of thoughts—vain, restless, clever—gathers to it. In Neville's terms, the I AM is the only ruler; the 'assembly' is your current states of consciousness arranging themselves around a belief. If you persist in feeling that you are exiled, you will appear to live among such outward company. But you can revise the scene by assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled: you are already at one with the I AM, and your inner circle is aligned to the good you seek. When this assumption settles, the land of Tob becomes a neutral stage on which new states of consciousness can form, and the vain men become helpers in your inner work rather than judges of your worth. As you dwell in that inner unity, outward events will reflect your revised sense of belonging.