In Neville Goddard's teachings, the Bible is not a historical record but a psychological drama unfolding within each of us. Every character, city, and event symbolises states of consciousness and spiritual development. When we approach the story of Abraham, Lot, and the episode with Lot’s daughters from this understanding, it reveals a deeply personal and transformative message.
Abraham and Lot: A Split in Consciousness
Abraham represents the higher self—a spiritual awareness grounded in imagination and faith in the unseen. Lot, on the other hand, symbolises the lower self, driven by the senses and external appearances.
When Abraham and Lot part ways (Genesis 13), it's more than a physical separation. It reflects the division within us: the awakened self must distance itself from the reactive, worldly self. Lot chooses the well-watered plains of Jordan, representing a decision based on surface-level logic, not inner vision.
“Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the plain of Jordan… and chose for himself.”
(Genesis 13:10–11)
This is the exact opposite of Neville's core principle: that we must live by imagination, not by sight.
The Angelic Visitors: Divine Ideas Taking Shape
Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, three angels visit Abraham (Genesis 18). Traditionally seen as messengers of God, Neville would view them as divine ideas, spiritual impulses, or inspired states of consciousness.
Abraham’s hospitality—welcoming them, feeding them, listening to them—symbolises the receptivity of the higher self to divine intuition. These ideas don’t just arrive randomly; they come when we’re on the verge of transformation. They speak of promises (Sarah’s conception of Isaac) and warnings (Sodom’s fate), mirroring how inspired inner guidance always precedes major changes in our world.
The conversation about Sarah giving birth is more than a miracle—it's the law in action: when imagination (Abraham) receives and believes a divine idea (angel), manifestation (Isaac) follows.
Then the angels say something crucial:
“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Genesis 18:17)
This reflects how our higher awareness is never truly in the dark—it always knows when a state is ending and something new is on the horizon.
When Abraham pleads for Sodom, he isn’t negotiating with a deity. Psychologically, he is using inner dialogue to shape reality—an example of the creative power of assumption and consciousness at work. It’s a reminder that you can intercede, influence, and redirect your world through the thoughts you entertain and believe.
And then comes the timeless question:
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)
In Neville’s terms, it’s the same as asking: Is anything too hard for imagination? The only limitations are those we accept.
Sodom and Gomorrah: The Collapse of a Sensory State
Sodom and Gomorrah symbolise a mental state governed by sensory input, moral collapse, and disconnection from the divine imagination. Lot’s presence there shows that the lower self has settled into a world ruled by appearances.
Yet, Lot is spared because of Abraham’s intercession. In spiritual terms, this means the higher self can redeem the lower, even after grave misjudgements. Grace, in Neville's worldview, is the natural gift of the awakened imagination to lift us out of error.
The Cave and Lot’s Daughters: A Symbol of Old Thought Patterns
After fleeing Sodom, Lot ends up isolated in a cave with his two daughters—a desolate mental state following the destruction of a false worldview.
His wife, who looks back and turns to salt, represents the paralysis of looking backward—the spiritual death that comes from clinging to past states. As Neville often said: “You can’t enter a new state if you’re stuck in the memory of the old.”
The daughters, fearing extinction, intoxicate Lot and lie with him to preserve their lineage. On the surface, this is a disturbing tale—but symbolically, it illustrates something more subtle: the subconscious mind trying to preserve old mental patterns, even after the world they belonged to has crumbled.
The sons born from this—Moab and Ben-Ammi—become ancestors of nations that later resist Israel. Symbolically, these represent negative states of consciousness born from fear, survival instinct, and reactive imagination.
The Takeaway: Dying and Rising Within
Neville Goddard’s core teaching is that you are constantly dying to one state of consciousness and rising into another. But if you resist change—if you look back like Lot’s wife—you become “a pillar of salt”: emotionally paralysed, unable to move forward.
“You are always in the process of dying to one state and rising to another. But if you look back, you turn to salt—a lifeless pillar, stuck in the past.” — Neville-style wisdom
To live by imagination is to be Abraham—choosing the unseen over the obvious, the spiritual over the sensible.
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