Getting into deep SATS (State Akin To Sleep)

A lot of people struggle with that and instead focus more on daily affirmations, subliminals or scripting. However, the most emphasized technique by Neville Goddard himself is visualization during SATS, a State Akin to Sleep, right before falling asleep. I was really lucky to know self-hypnosis before finding out about Neville Goddard, and immediately noticed how SATS is precisely the prerequisite to any hypnosis session: a state of deep relaxation where you could wake up if needed, but you really don't want to; if you hear your fire alarm you're gonna wake up, but if nothing happens you'll just enjoy that amazing feeling of relaxation for as long as you can. This state, for some reason still yet to be explained, lets your subconscious mind (or you could say your being) accept suggestions with little resistance. This is the state where a hypnotist tells you, using several techniques, that the water in your bottle will taste exactly like orange juice, and it will be exactly as he tells when you wake up, if you accepted his suggestion.

There are SEVERAL different ways to induce a State Akin To Sleep. This SATS technique here is a mixture of a couple of hypnosis techniques; after you get into SATS, the rest is recommended by Neville himself (these are not his words down below, but you can check for yourself that I'm talking about the same technique):

(Neville) (I know this has being said several times, but it's important to contextualize everything) .This first step is not an exercise, this step here you can do in any state of mind, just as you are right now. It's time to choose your cards. Just think of a scene that implies your wish has been fulfilled. Maybe you want to write it down so you'll remember it more easily, but that's not necessary. This is just the planning part. If you REALLY can't think of a particular situation that implies your wish fulfilled, just try to focus on the feeling you think you'd feel after fulfilling your desire. Again, this is just the selection part, don't worry too much about it.

(SATS) Lay on any unusual position in bed, one that is not your usual sleeping position. Lying on my back, not using any pillows in my head, works pretty well since I never sleep in that position. Now it's time to do some breathing work. Breathe deeply through your belly in a determined rhythm that makes you comfortable, slow but not extremely slow. You know you're breathing through your belly when you notice your belly expanding more than your chest when you inhale. Hold your breath a bit longer after exhaling, and try to make exhaling slower. For some reason, exhaling has a very relaxing effect, you'll notice that while you do the next step.

(SATS) After doing that for a few seconds or a minute, close your eyes and, with your eyes closed, focus on the region between your eyebrows. If you want to be more precise, this region is the legendary "third eye". Don't worry about what that is or if that even exists, just try to focus on that region in general, all the while still doing the breathe work. Focusing your vision in this area while breathing in a relaxed rhythm is known to produce deep states of relaxation. You can do it with your eyes opened first if it's too awkward to focus on something while having your eyes closed. Eventually, close your eyes.

(SATS) Now let's apply some hypnosis techniques to send you deeper and deeper into relaxation. Imagine a voice telling you: "you're gonna count from 5 to 1, and each time you think of a number, you feel waves and waves of relaxation flowing through your body. each time you'll go deeper and deeper into relaxation". Each time you count down a number, you exhale. So it goes like "Five" while exhaling. Then you wait while you feel the waves of relaxation flowing through your body. You can also play with those "commands" that this voice tells you. You can think of that voice saying things like "now you're gonna feel that relaxation twice as stronger than before". The important thing is to think of trigger words like "relaxation, whole body relaxing, feeling relaxed, extremely relaxed" etc.. Try to think of something special that is about to happen when you "count to 1". Maybe "when you finally get to 1, you're gonna fall deeply and deeply into a state of total, complete relaxation that you've never felt before". If you want to learn more, look up more self-hypnosis techniques, they are pretty helpful.

(Neville) Now it's time to put Neville into practice again. In that state of deep relaxation, you now start to imagine your scene, imagining it as vividly as possible. If there is a sense that is more impactful to you, try to think of that sense while you think of the scene. For example, mine is smell, so even when I'm not visualizing my scene that clearly, I try to imagine a smell associated with the situation (maybe the smell of grass in a place I want to be, maybe the smell of a new type of device I really want, etc..). Some people are more sensitive to sounds, others with touching, and so on. The most powerful sense will always be your vision, but try to incorporate all the senses in your visualization. Also, REALLY FOCUS ON YOUR FEELINGS. I was reading Neville himself yesterday, and he tells a story about a woman who had lost everything. She needed so many things that she couldn't concentrate on a single scene that implied the fulfillment of her desire, since she had so many different desires at the same time. She then focused not on a particular scene, but on the FEELING of having every desire fulfilled. It was good enough for Neville himself to share the testimony, so this should tell you how important the FEELING part was to him. Imagine your desire has been completely fulfilled, and there is nothing else you want in the moment because it's just DONE, it is fulfilled. How would you feel? Try to capture that feeling while imagining the scene, or even when not exactly imagining the scene but imagining the feelings behind your fulfillment.

(Neville) Fall asleep in your scene or in your feeling. This is the part I still struggle with, since I've always had trouble sleeping. Don't worry too much about it, however. Neville offers 2 options: either you fall asleep, or you wake up from that state and move on with your day. Evidence from his works suggests that falling asleep is the preferred way of completing a SATS session, but since he gave us that other option, I wouldn't worry that much about that. If possible, fall asleep. If not, either move on with your day, or, if it's already too late and you have to stay in bed anyways, at least try to focus on your feeling before falling asleep. Remember how much he emphasized the feelings before going to bed. You might have finished your visualization already and might be trying just to sleep now, but at least go to sleep with that amazing feeling you've felt minutes ago during your SATS session.