I’m sitting here thinking of what I will say today at the Center, but something greater is awakening in me. I’ve been reflecting on how much we dwell on manifestation. Yet, in reading about Neville Goddard, I was reminded of something deeper.

Neville was born in 1905 in Barbados. In the Depression years, while struggling as a dancer in New York, he met a Jewish mystic named Abdullah. One day, Neville told Abdullah he longed to return home to Barbados for Christmas. Abdullah responded firmly: “You are already there, and you are traveling first class.”

Of course, Neville didn’t believe him at first. But over time, he began to practice living as if it were already true. And just as the story goes, Neville received unexpected funds for his trip — and when he boarded the boat, he was upgraded to first class. That moment shaped his entire teaching. Neville went on to become one of the great New Thought teachers of the mid-20th century, guiding people in the Law of Assumption — the practice of living from the end result.

In his later years (he passed at only 67), Neville turned his attention to something even greater, which he called The Promise. It was his inner testimony of Divine Nature. Through deep use of imagination and the art of manifestation, he awakened to his Divinity. The Law is practical and meant to be mastered. The Promise is the realization of who we truly are. We cannot fully manifest until we awaken to our true identity.

In my own early life in Science of Mind, I know I’ve missed the mark many times. I spent so much energy trying to make things happen, as if I had to chase God’s gifts. I made it too hard. But life is not about straining to manifest. It is about activating the Divine circuits — living as God, as Love, as Wholeness.

What does that mean? It means surrendering our smallness and allowing ourselves to be pure expressions of the Divine in every area of life. Whether wealth, health, relationships, or creative expression, when we align with our God-ness, we naturally walk as It. Abdullah’s words, “You are already there,” can be heard today as: “You are already God expressing in wholeness.”

When we live from that truth, we stop worrying about what to do or how to live. We are led by Creative Intelligence. Whatever is stirring within us — that call to express more fully — is meant to come alive. It’s not about manifestation for its own sake. It’s about realization — the Promise.

When we awaken to the truth of who we are — God eternal within this body — we open to the most amazing life. We no longer struggle; we simply express. We live our magnificence.

Neville taught that imagination creates reality. But his final message was even greater: The Promise. Beyond desires fulfilled, every soul is destined to awaken to its divine nature. That awakening is inevitable — and it belongs to us all.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Dr. Rita Andriello-Feren, Author, Co-Founding Spiritual Director CSL Kaua’i, Founder of the Red Dress Movement.