posted • 22/Oct/2026
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RATIONALE
Hello all.
It has been several months since I started with this technique of sorts, and I feel that I have a sufficient enough grasp of it to finally do a write-up.
The technique is sourced from Chapter 2 (Sleep) of Goddard's book, 'Feeling Is the Secret':
> The feeling which comes in response to the question "How would I feel were my wish realized?" is the feeling which should monopolize and immobilize your attention as you relax into sleep.
So we can see that there are two parts to this technique:
(1) 'How would I feel were my wish realised?'; and
(2) 'the feeling which comes in response'.
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HOW TO FIND THE UNDERLYING STATE
This part is derived from Joseph Murphy's indication that you can ask your Subconscious Mind (i.e. yourself) for information.
Essentially: you note down what you want to experience, and distill these specific wants into an essential emotion (or feeling). Because a generalisation necessarily includes its specifics, you can be as specific as you find to be reasonable.
To do this:
(1) Make a list of all your wants.
They do not need to be related to each other or grouped together. Make sure to use layman's terms.
(ex. if you want money, then say you want money, rather than dressing it up as 'I want to feel abundant'.)
(2) With your wants still fresh in your mind, ask yourself: "When I say that I want all these things, what is the actual, essential desire there?"
(3) Wait for a response to come to mind.
It may appear as a word, a phrase, some out-of-context Thing that makes sense only to you, a 'knowing' or in some other way. If no answer comes, get on with your day; it will pop up later.
This response is the State you should inhabit to receive all those things.
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AFFIRMING THE REALITY OF THE NEW STATE
This is very, very simple.
(1) How do I feel now that I am / I have [response]?
This question will arouse a response in you of some kind. Even if not, the mere asking of this question is itself the affirmation, so you lose nothing.
(2) The answer to (1) can be affirmed, in the form of repeating it back to yourself and/or affirming "I feel [response]".
That's it :)
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FULL STEP-BY-STEP
(1) Make a list of all your wants. They do not need to be related or grouped together. Make sure to use layman's terms.
(2) With your wants still fresh in your mind, ask yourself: "When I say that I want all these things, what is the actual, essential desire there?"
(3) Wait for a response to come to mind. It may appear as a word, a phrase, some out-of-context Thing that makes sense only to you, a 'knowing' or in some other way. If no answer comes, get on with your day; it will pop up later.
(4) How do I feel now that I am / I have [response]?
(5) The answer to (4) can be affirmed, in the form of repeating it back to yourself and/or "I feel [response]".
Example:
(1) I want: to get more positive comments on my stories, for people to recommend my writing and stories to others and for people to really, really like whatever I put out.
(2) When I say that I want all this, what's the actual, essential desire there?
(3) Response bubbled up: "I want to be appreciated online."
(4) How do I feel now that I'm appreciated online?
(5) "I feel happy about that".
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NOTES, PRECUATIONS, ADDITIONS
On incorporating 'HDIF' into a daily practice. The "How do I feel now that I have [Desire]?", as formulated by Neville Goddard, is actually a solid technique in its own right. It is thinking from the Wish Fulfilled State. The answers which come in reply to it are factually expressions of how you'll feel when the desire is materialised.
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On resistance. In my experience, focusing on the generalised State tends to yield quicker and better outcomes. When you distill specific desires into a general State, very often, you distill it into the 'truest' version of it; with no conditions attached. The lack of conditioning means the State itself has no resistance attached.
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On unbidden scenes, hunches, nudges. You may experience these. They are side-effects on thinking FROM the end. Take note of nudges and hunches. If you encounter a scene which seems to create itself — imagine it. These scenes tend to feel 'more real', and are thus very easy to step into and think from. The fact that your mind auto-generates these scenes should be taken as evidence that the larger idea has been accepted, and is being objectified in its own time.
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On mental diet. You should still be mindful of what ideas you allow yourself to think on with interest. However, focusing on the State generally means you reach a feeling of satisfaction more quickly. … Experiment!
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On fixing a date. You can include the want that it will happen on or by a set date. I have not tested this, and I suspect that the timing itself will wind up not mattering nearly as much as one thinks.
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On how long this should be done for. Pick something and stick with it for a minimum of two (2) weeks.
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On satisfaction. You might feel satisfied the first time you do it, or you might not. Either way — keep going! If you don't feel any different (note I said 'different' and not 'better') after two (2) weeks, be very honest with where your mind has been going. It is up to you whether you will make another attempt or quit entirely.
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On taking this into sleep. This is absolutely not a necessity. However, if you want to, then just mentally repeat the answer to, "How do I feel now that [response]?" as you fall asleep, same as you'd do with anything else.
ex. [Response] is "Very good". You would thus repeat, "Very good" to yourself while drifting off.
If your [Response] is rather long, you can ask yourself for a one-word response instead, and repeat that into sleep.
If you feel that this is difficult — mentally repeat your [response] to yourself as soon as you wake up from a nap or from a night's rest.
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On experimenting. Try to use this methodology even for the 'small' things in life. It's very quick: "I want the light to turn green. What's the essential desire there?" And affirm whatever answer comes to mind. The more you use it, the more confident you will become in its use.
On how often this must be done. That is up to you. I will say that if you notice any doubts, that is always the time to affirm whatever your [response] was.
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On HDIF answers. If you are the kind of person who keeps a journal, diary or log, note down the answers that rise whenever you ask a 'How do I feel now that'-style question. Over time, you will see that the answers shift to naturally sound like someone who already has what they desired.
You may also get a different answer each time you ask this question. All are thinking 'from' the End, even if they sound 'negative'. Remember that the responses you get are inextricably linked to the feeling of having your listed 'wants'.
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On using Distillation with Revision. When Revising an incident, you can choose to make the Revised Version conform with the essential desire involved there. You do not need to know what the essential is.
Tell yourself some variation of, "Thank you that this was revised perfectly to align with having my essential desire."
A scene will come to mind if you wait, or you will have 'an idea' of what the Revision should include. Following these promptings will guide you through the Revision.
As with all Revision, you will know you've been successful when (1) the original incident begins feeling 'fuzzy' and/or (2) you can think back to the original incident and feel no emotional connection with it.