Neville Lancelot Goddard (February 19, 1905October 1, 1972), generally known as Neville Goddard, was a Barbadian

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

author and mystic who wrote on the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

and is considered to be one of the pioneers of the "law of assumption".

Early life

Goddard was born in Fontabelle,

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, Barbados on February 19, 1905, to Joseph Nathaniel, a merchant and Wilhelmina Goddard, (''née'' Hinkinson). Neville was the fourth of ten children. He was also the older brother to

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and businessman

John Goddard John Goddard may refer to: * John Goddard (engraver) (fl. 1645–1671), engraver *John Goddard (cricketer) (1919–1987), West Indian cricketer *Johnathan Goddard (1981–2008), American football player *John Goddard (adventurer) John Goddard (Ju ...

. At age 17, Goddard emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he initially worked as a ballet and ballroom dancer. In 1931, he began to study under an Ethiopian

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

named Abdullah, who introduced him to

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

and taught him

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. In 1942, at the age of 38, he was drafted into the army and stationed at Camp Polk, Louisiana in the

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armou ...

. After serving just 9 months he was granted an honourable discharge from his Battalion Commanding Officer Colonel Theodore Bilbough Jr. It was after this brief stint in the Army that he was naturalised as a United States citizen, having been a British citizen up to this point.

Career

Goddard's earliest known career was as a professional dancer. He stated in ''Consciousness is the Only Reality'': "For ten years I was a dancer, dancing in Broadway shows, in vaudeville, night clubs, and in Europe." While touring with his dance company in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he developed an interest in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

after striking up a conversation with a Scotsman who lent him a series of books in the powers of the mind. Upon his return to New York he gave up the entertainment industry to devote his full attention to the study of spiritual and mystical matters. After traveling extensively throughout the United States, Neville eventually made his home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1952. In early 1950s, Goddard lectured at The Town Hall on religious topics. In his 1931 lecture "Imagination plus Faith", he spoke of his brief career in television, “I did just what I am doing now, they gave me a lectern, I simply sat at a desk and spoke”. It was during the mid-1950’s that he began his short stint on television. Broadcast in L.A. on channel 11 he had 26 half hour shows which went on air between 2pm and 2.30pm every Sunday. The shows were simple in production, consisting of Goddard speaking extemporaneously to the television audience on biblical esotericism. The program averaged viewing audiences in excess of 300,000 on a weekly basis. The show was eventually cancelled when Channel 11 Studios were unable to secure advertisers suitable to the audience. In 1954, Goddard was reportedly planning a "metaphysical telefilm show", though it is unclear if the project came to fruition. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he confined most of his lectures in Los Angeles, New York, and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Legacy

Jonathan L. Walton Jonathan Lee Walton (born June 22, 1973) is an author, ethicist and religious scholar. He is the President of Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He was previously Dean of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Presidential ...

has contended that Frederick Eikerenkoetter, best known as

Reverend Ike Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, better known as Reverend Ike (June 1, 1935 – July 28, 2009), was an American minister and evangelist based in New York City. He was known for the slogan "You can't lose with the stuff I use!" Though his prea ...

, in particular adopted theories and teachings rooted in Goddard's ideas.

Rhonda Byrne Rhonda Byrne ( ; née Izon; born 1951, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer. Her book '' The Secret'' is based on the belief of the pseudoscientific law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a p ...

and

Wayne Dyer Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...

have noted that Goddard shaped their views.

Margaret Runyan Castaneda Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, ex-wife and later biographer of

Carlos Castaneda Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an American writer. Starting with '' The Teachings of Don Juan'' in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that purport to describe training in shamanism that he received under the ...

, was interested in Goddard's work and introduced Castaneda to Goddard's ideas. In 2015, books by Neville Goddard including ''Feeling Is The Secret'', ''At Your Command'' and ''Out of This World'' were released as audiobooks, narrated by

Hillary Hawkins Hillary Hawkins is an American actress. She introduced shows such as ''Dora the Explorer'', '' Bob the Builder'', and '' Little Bill'' on TV everyday as Robyn, Host of the Nick Jr. block. She also was a Host for Radio Disney. Career Early role ...

. Goddard was influenced by writer

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

and early self-help theorists

Émile Coué Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie (; 26 February 1857 – 2 July 1926) was a French psychologist and pharmacist who introduced a popular method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion. Considered by Charles Baud ...

and

Thomson Jay Hudson Thomson Jay Hudson (February 22, 1834 in Windham, Ohio – May 26, 1903 in Detroit, Michigan), was a chief examiner of the US Patent Office and a psychical researcher, known for his ''three laws of psychic phenomena'', which were first published i ...

. Goddard’s teachings and lectures have gained a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

among modern-day

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

communities and he has been credited with popularizing creative visualization techniques, positive thinking, and self-improvement.

Death

Goddard died on October 1, 1972, aged 67, from a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

. He had been a resident of

for roughly 20 years. He is buried in Westbury Cemetery,

Saint Michael, Barbados The parish of St. Michael is one of eleven parishes of Barbados. It has a land area of and is found at the southwest portion of the island. Saint Michael has survived by name as one of the original six parishes created in 1629 by Governor Sir Will ...

Works

* ''At Your Command'' (1939; Goddard Publications) * ''Your Faith Is Your Fortune'' (1941; Goddard Publications) * ''Freedom for All—A Practical Application of the Bible'' (1942; Goddard Publications) * ''Feeling Is the Secret'' (1944; Goddard Publications) * ''Prayer—The Art of Believing'' (1946; Goddard Publications) * ''Out of This World'' (1949; Goddard Publications) * ‘’The Power of Awareness’’ (1952; unknown) * ''The Creative Use of Imagination'' (1952; Goddard Publications) * ''Awakened Imagination'' (1954; G. & J. Publishing Co.) * ''Seedtime and Harvest'' (1956; G. & J. Publishing Co.) * ''I Know My Father'' (1960; G. & J. Publishing Co.) * ''The Law and the Promise'' (1961; G. & J. Publishing Co.)

References

Sources

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