Inner Sluggard, Inner Discernment

Neville's Inner Vision

Notice that the sluggard is a state of consciousness, not a lazy neighbor. He imagines himself wiser in conceit than seven voices that can render a reason. This is pride masquerading as wisdom, a mind asleep to life’s living arguments. The seven men symbolize the seven faculties of mind—perception, memory, judgment, imagination, intuition, will, consciousness—each ready to render a reason. Yet the sluggard blocks them with a fixed belief: I already know. In Neville's method the cure is a revision of your self-conception. You do not fight the argument; you rewrite the assumption. Say to yourself, I am the I AM, the source of true discernment; through me all true understanding comes. Feel as if you are already aligned with divine wisdom, and let pride fall away. As you assume the new state, your inner faculties begin to cooperate; images, impressions, and choices align with truth rather than self-satisfying conceit. You will hear the inner voice more clearly, and decisions spring from an awakened awareness rather than a conceited lecture from within.