In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. — Genesis 1:1
When most people hear the word heaven, images of clouds, harps, and eternal life often come to mind. But according to Neville Goddard, heaven is not a physical place to be reached after death—it is a state of consciousness, a reality that begins within us. To understand this, we can return to the origin of all things as described in the creation story of Genesis.
Heaven as Consciousness
Neville Goddard teaches that all reality is within consciousness. Heaven, then, is the inner experience of God—the awareness that we are one with the creative power of the universe. This aligns directly with the biblical declaration in Genesis 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God’s creation was first a thought, a state of being, a consciousness. Heaven existed before earth in the Bible because the spiritual reality of imagination precedes the physical manifestation.
The Garden as Symbol of Heaven
The creation story describes the Garden of Eden as a place of perfect harmony, a garden where everything exists in its ideal state. In Neville’s interpretation, this garden represents the mind aligned with imagination. Just as God imagined light before darkness, life before form, so too can we “create” heaven by assuming the feeling of the fulfilled desire, the state of perfection, the experience of divine love and abundance within ourselves.
“Let There Be Light” as the Dawn of Inner Experience
When God said, “Let there be light,” He initiated creation by bringing consciousness to life. Neville explains that light is symbolic of awareness—our recognition of our own inner reality. Heaven, then, begins when we “see” with the eyes of imagination. Each act of creation in Genesis—from separating waters to bringing forth vegetation—mirrors our ability to imagine and give form to our inner desires. The narrative is less about physical events and more about the awakening of human consciousness to its own divine power.
Heaven is Now
Neville reminds us that heaven is not somewhere in the distant future. It is a present experience that unfolds as we assume the feeling of what we wish to experience. As Genesis shows, the universe is organised by thought before it is formed in matter. In the same way, heaven is first experienced in imagination, in the inner sense of being and living in harmony, before any external manifestation appears.
Living in Heaven
To live in heaven is to live from the perspective of the imagination, recognising that everything you seek already exists within your consciousness. Neville’s teachings encourage us to “enter into the state of the wish fulfilled,” to dwell mentally in the reality of our desires. By doing so, we participate in the original creative act of God described in Genesis, making heaven not a distant promise, but a present reality.
Conclusion
In the light of Neville Goddard’s teachings, the creation story becomes a map for inner awakening. Heaven is not a place above the clouds but a state of mind aligned with God, experienced in the feeling of fulfilment, harmony, and creative power. By recognising that we are the imagination of God in action, we live in heaven now, in the same way that God’s thought brought forth the first light in the beginning.