“This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” – Genesis 2:23
The opening of Genesis is not a historical account—it is a symbolic teaching of consciousness. Eve is drawn from Adam, symbolising that awareness is beginning to observe and reflect on itself. She is not a separate “person,” but the mind’s capacity to become conscious of its own being.
This is the emergence of self-reflective thought in response to identity (Man), the ability to recognise inner states, witness them, and interact with them. Eve embodies consciousness examining its own imagination.
Bone of My Bones, Flesh of My Flesh
When Adam declares, “Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh,” he is recognising that everything experienced outwardly originates from his own inner life.
- The rib represents the heart of assumption—the source of attachment, love, and inner conviction.
- Eve is drawn from this rib, symbolising that manifested life arises from what consciousness loves and dwells upon, whether that attachment is harmonious or misaligned.
In Neville Goddard’s teachings, this illustrates a key principle: what the mind loves, it will manifest. Eve is therefore the first wife, reflecting what Adam (awareness) is attached to—the formative assumptions that shape all experience.
The First Wife: Consciousness and Attachment
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24
Here, the “wife” is the conscious reflection of what the mind esteems and attaches to. She emerges from Adam, the aware self, representing:
- The inner state that awareness loves and sustains.
- The capacity to reflect on and engage with imagination.
- The union between awareness and the formative assumption—the first step in conscious creation.
Every attachment, every preference, every love in consciousness is Eve made visible. The first wife is the mind meeting its own inner assumption.
Woman as the Mind Observing Itself
Eve represents the mind turning inward and observing itself. She is the part of consciousness that:
- Recognises the thoughts and feelings it has nurtured.
- Mirrors the attachments, loves, and assumptions it carries.
- Responds to awareness rather than operating blindly.
In Neville Goddard’s framework:
- Adam = pure conscious awareness, the “I AM” from which creation arises. See more on I AM
- Eve = self-reflective consciousness, the formative power that observes, receives, and manifests the mind’s assumptions. Seed of imagination
Through Eve, we see that consciousness is never separate from what it loves. She is the witness, the mirror, and the formative reflection of inner reality.
From Reflection to Manifestation
The story of Eve illustrates how awareness interacting with what it loves gives rise to all outer experience.
- When imagination is aligned with desire and faith, Eve is receptive, responsive, and harmonious.
- When assumptions are misaligned, fearful, or resistant, manifestations carry the weight of that inner tension. See more on misaligned assumptions
She is the first wife because she reflects the first attachment of awareness—whether good or bad—making visible the heart of consciousness.
Final Reflection
Genesis 2:23–24 is not about anatomy or gender—it is a lesson in consciousness and manifestation. Eve, drawn from Adam, is the conscious mind observing itself, the first “wife” representing what awareness loves and attaches to.
Every inner attachment and every assumption manifests outwardly. The law is simple: as within, so without.
As Neville said: “Change your conception of yourself and you will automatically change the world in which you live.”
Eve reminds us: the world you see is the mirror of what your awareness esteems and carries in its heart. The first wife, drawn from the rib of man, is consciousness becoming aware of itself—self-reflective imagination made visible. See more on Genesis 2:23 series