The SATS Technique: State Akin to Sleep Practice

Introduction to SATS

The SATS (State Akin to Sleep) technique is one of Neville Goddard's most powerful and practical methods for manifesting desired outcomes. This technique leverages the drowsy, hypnagogic state between waking and sleeping—a time when the conscious mind's critical faculties are relaxed, allowing direct access to the subconscious mind.

In this drowsy state, the boundary between imagination and reality becomes thin. Neville taught that this is the optimal time to plant the seeds of our desired reality into the fertile ground of the subconscious mind.

Understanding the State Akin to Sleep

The "State Akin to Sleep" refers to that twilight moment when you're neither fully awake nor completely asleep. Your body is relaxed, your breathing is slow and steady, and your mind is calm but still conscious. This state naturally occurs:

• When you're falling asleep at night
• During the early morning hours before fully awakening
• During meditation or deep relaxation
• In moments of complete physical and mental rest

During this state, the conscious mind's analytical and skeptical functions are diminished, creating a direct pathway to the subconscious mind where beliefs and assumptions are formed.

The SATS Practice: Step-by-Step

1. Physical Preparation

• Lie down comfortably in your bed
• Close your eyes and take several deep breaths
• Allow your body to completely relax, starting from your toes and moving upward
• Release all physical tension

2. Mental Preparation

• Clear your mind of the day's events and concerns
• Focus solely on your breathing until you feel drowsy
• Maintain awareness while allowing consciousness to become hazy

3. Construct Your Scene

• Create a short, simple scene that implies your wish is fulfilled
• The scene should be something that would naturally happen AFTER your desire manifests
• Make it first-person (seeing through your own eyes)
• Include sensory details: what you see, hear, feel, and touch

4. Loop the Scene

• Repeat the same scene over and over
• Each repetition should feel natural and effortless
• Continue until you fall asleep in the scene
• The goal is to fall asleep while experiencing your fulfilled desire

Example SATS Session

Desire: Getting a promotion at work

Scene Construction: You're sitting in your new office, feeling the texture of the executive chair's leather armrest. You hear your assistant saying, "Congratulations on your promotion, Mr./Ms. [Your name]." You feel the satisfaction and pride of achievement.

Practice: In the drowsy state, you repeatedly experience this 5-10 second scene, feeling the emotions and sensations as real, until sleep takes over.

The Sabbath Concept

The Sabbath, in Neville's teaching, represents the period of rest after you've "planted" your desire through SATS. Just as God rested on the seventh day after creation, you must enter a state of mental rest regarding your desire.

Key Principles of the Sabbath:

1. Mental Rest: Stop worrying, planning, or scheming about how your desire will manifest
2. Trust the Process: Have faith that the seed planted in SATS will grow in its own time
3. Live in the End: Act and feel as if your desire is already fulfilled
4. Avoid Contradictory States: Don't return to the old story of lack or limitation

The Sabbath is not passive waiting—it's active faith. You maintain the feeling of the wish fulfilled while allowing the subconscious mind to work on bringing your imagined scene into physical reality.

Common Mistakes and Solutions

Mistake 1: Being Too Alert

Solution: Practice relaxation techniques before SATS. Use progressive muscle relaxation or breathing exercises.

Mistake 2: Creating Complex Scenes

Solution: Keep scenes simple—5-10 seconds maximum. Complex scenes are harder to repeat consistently.

Mistake 3: Forcing the Feeling

Solution: Focus on the natural satisfaction that would come from wish fulfillment, not manufactured emotion.

Mistake 4: Breaking the Sabbath

Solution: Remind yourself that the work is done. Return to the feeling of the wish fulfilled whenever doubt arises.

Advanced SATS Techniques

The Touch Method

Some practitioners find success by focusing on the sense of touch in their scenes—feeling a handshake, a wedding ring, or money in their pocket.

The Congratulatory Method

Imagine others congratulating you on your success, hearing their words clearly and feeling their genuine happiness for you.

The Revision Technique

Use SATS to revise unwanted events from your day, replaying them as you wished they had occurred.

Integration and Daily Practice

Make SATS a nightly practice. The consistency of planting the same seed every night in the fertile ground of the drowsy state accelerates manifestation. Remember, this is not visualization—it's entering the state of your wish fulfilled and falling asleep in that state.

The power of SATS lies not in the technique itself, but in your understanding that imagination creates reality. When you consistently fall asleep feeling your desire fulfilled, you literally reprogram your subconscious mind to accept this new reality as fact.