Ladder Experiment

What Is the Ladder Experiment?

The ladder experiment is one of Neville Goddard's most well-known exercises, designed specifically to demonstrate the power of imagination to create physical reality. It is often recommended as the first exercise for beginners because it involves a neutral desire with no emotional resistance, making it an ideal test case.

The experiment is simple: each night as you fall asleep, you vividly imagine yourself climbing a ladder. You feel the rungs beneath your hands, the sensation of stepping up, and the experience of ascending. During the day, you place notes around your environment that read "I will not climb a ladder" and you tell yourself consciously that you will not climb a ladder. Within a few days or weeks, circumstances will arise that lead you to physically climb a ladder.

Why the Ladder Experiment Works

The genius of this experiment lies in its deliberate contradiction. By consciously affirming "I will not climb a ladder" during the day while imagining climbing one at night, Neville demonstrated a crucial principle: the subconscious mind, impressed through vivid imagination during the drowsy state, is far more powerful than conscious willpower or intention.

This proves several key teachings at once:

Imagination creates reality. The nighttime imaginal act produces physical results.

The subconscious overrides the conscious. Your daytime affirmation of "I will not" is powerless against the impression made during SATS.

Feeling is what matters. The vivid, felt experience of climbing is what creates the result, not words or thoughts alone.

You do not need to know the how. You have no idea how or why you will end up climbing a ladder, yet circumstances arrange themselves to make it happen.

How to Do the Ladder Experiment

Step 1: Prepare Your Daytime Reminders

Write on small pieces of paper or sticky notes: "I will not climb a ladder." Place them where you will see them throughout the day: your bathroom mirror, your desk, your phone screen. Each time you see one, read it and consciously affirm that you will not climb a ladder.

Step 2: Practice the Nighttime Imagination

Each night as you lie in bed and begin to feel drowsy, imagine yourself climbing a ladder. Make it as vivid as possible:

• Feel the texture of the rungs in your hands
• Feel the weight shift in your body as you step up
• Look up and see the ladder extending above you
• Feel the slight physical effort of climbing
• Hear any sounds that might accompany the action

Loop this short scene repeatedly as you drift toward sleep. The goal is to fall asleep while immersed in the experience of climbing.

Step 3: Continue for Three Nights

Neville typically recommended doing this for three consecutive nights. Some people see results within a day or two, while others may take a week or longer.

Step 4: Watch What Happens

After the three nights, stop the exercise and go about your life normally. Pay attention. Within the coming days, you will find yourself in a situation where you physically climb a ladder. It might be at work, helping a friend, reaching something at a store, or any number of perfectly natural circumstances. The bridge of incidents will arrange the situation without any effort on your part.

What People Experience

Reports from people who have done this experiment are remarkably consistent. The most common reaction is surprise at how naturally the ladder-climbing situation arises. People find themselves climbing a ladder at work, at home, or in a completely unexpected setting. Many report that they did not even realize what had happened until after the fact.

Some common examples:

• A maintenance issue at home requires a ladder
• A friend asks for help with a task that involves climbing
• A work project unexpectedly requires reaching something high up
• A store employee is unavailable and you need a ladder to reach a product

The naturalness of these events is the point. Your imagination did not create something supernatural. It arranged perfectly ordinary events to produce the exact outcome you imagined.

Why This Experiment Is So Valuable

The ladder experiment serves as proof of concept for your own manifesting ability. Once you have experienced it, doubt about whether imagination creates reality becomes much harder to maintain. You have direct personal evidence.

Additionally, because a ladder has no emotional charge, there is no resistance or desperation attached to the exercise. This makes it ideal for beginners who might struggle with emotionally loaded desires. It demonstrates the mechanics of manifestation in a clean, simple way.

Once you have successfully completed the ladder experiment, you can apply the same technique to desires that matter more to you, now with the confidence that the process genuinely works.

Common Questions

What if nothing happens after three nights?

Continue for a few more nights and ensure your imaginal scene is vivid and felt, not just visual. Also verify you are doing it in the drowsy state, not while fully alert. Some people need more time for the subconscious impression to solidify.

Why do we say "I will not climb a ladder" during the day?

This deliberate contradiction proves that conscious willpower is not what creates reality. Your imagination, impressed upon the subconscious, is the true creative force. This is one of the most important lessons in all of Neville's teachings.

Can I substitute something else for a ladder?

Yes. Some practitioners use variations like "I will hold a red ball" or "I will receive a compliment." The key is to choose something neutral and specific that you would not normally seek out.