Guarding the Inner Heart

Neville's Inner Vision

Notice that the verse speaks not of others as foes but of your own inner choice. Your heart is not pulled toward evil by fate; it is inclined by the state of your consciousness. When I, the I AM within you, keep vigil, I separate the belief in wicked company from my own sense of reality. To incline my heart toward any evil thing is to imagine it as true in me, and so I would experience it. Therefore I revise: I am not drawn to the wicked works of those who act apart from the light. I dwell in a kingdom where the dainties of such company have no hold, for I know imagination creates results, and I choose a pure appetite—one that nourishes integrity. By turning away from their pattern, I awaken the sense that I am free, untouched by their feasts, and capable of discerning between appetite and virtue. Let this inner atmosphere become your reality, and the outer world will follow your inner command.