State Akin to Sleep (SATS)

What Is the State Akin to Sleep?

The State Akin to Sleep, commonly abbreviated as SATS, is the relaxed, drowsy condition you naturally pass through every night as you fall asleep. Neville Goddard identified this hypnagogic state as the most powerful window for impressing your desires upon the subconscious mind. In this state, the critical faculty of your conscious mind relaxes, and your subconscious becomes highly receptive to whatever images and feelings you feed it.

Neville taught that SATS is the technique through which you plant the seed of your desire in the fertile ground of the subconscious. Once impressed, the subconscious goes to work bringing your assumption into physical reality through the bridge of incidents.

Why SATS Is So Effective

During normal waking consciousness, your rational mind acts as a gatekeeper. It judges, doubts, and filters information based on your existing beliefs and past experiences. This is why simply repeating affirmations during the day often feels hollow: your conscious mind immediately counters with "but that is not true."

In the state akin to sleep, this gatekeeper relaxes. Your brainwave frequency shifts from the active beta state to the slower alpha and theta states. In these frequencies, you are deeply relaxed but still conscious enough to direct your imagination. Suggestions and images bypass the critical mind and sink directly into the subconscious.

This is the same principle behind hypnosis. The difference is that with SATS, you are your own hypnotist. You choose the scene, you generate the feeling, and you impress it upon yourself.

How to Practice SATS

Step 1: Prepare Your Scene

Before lying down, decide on a short imaginal scene that implies your wish is fulfilled. The scene should be from a first-person perspective, last no more than 5-10 seconds, and involve sensory detail. For example, if you want to be engaged, imagine feeling a ring on your finger while someone congratulates you.

Step 2: Get Into the State

Lie down in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and begin to relax your body progressively, starting from your feet and moving upward. Let your breathing slow naturally. The goal is to reach the point where your body feels heavy and pleasantly numb, but your mind is still awake. You will know you are in SATS when your thoughts begin to drift slightly, images may appear spontaneously, and the line between imagination and reality starts to blur.

Step 3: Loop Your Scene

Once you feel yourself in this drowsy state, begin playing your imaginal scene. See it from your own eyes. Hear the sounds. Feel the physical sensations. Most importantly, feel the emotions you would naturally feel if this scene were really happening. Then loop it. Replay the same short scene over and over, each time making it more vivid and real.

Step 4: Fall Asleep in the Feeling

The ideal outcome is to fall asleep while feeling the reality of your scene. Neville taught that the last feeling you hold before sleep is what gets most deeply impressed on the subconscious. If you fall asleep in the state of the wish fulfilled, you have done the work. Your subconscious will begin rearranging your outer world to match.

Tips for Deepening Your SATS Practice

Do not try to control the state. You cannot force drowsiness. Simply relax and let it come naturally. If you feel too alert, count backwards slowly from 100.

Keep the scene simple. A complicated scene is harder to maintain in the drowsy state. One clear action, one sensory detail, one emotion.

Practice consistently. Like any skill, SATS improves with repetition. Your first attempts may feel unclear or you may fall asleep too quickly. This is normal.

Use the waking state too. You can also enter a SATS-like state during the day by sitting in a comfortable chair, closing your eyes, and deliberately relaxing until you reach that drowsy threshold.

Common Challenges

I fall asleep before I can loop my scene

This is the most common challenge. Try practicing in a slightly less comfortable position, such as sitting in a chair. You can also practice during the day when you are relaxed but not exhausted. Another approach is to loop your scene earlier in the drowsy process, before you are deeply drowsy.

My mind wanders during SATS

This is completely normal. When you notice your mind has drifted, gently bring it back to your scene without frustration. The wandering will decrease with practice. The act of returning to your scene is itself a form of persistence that strengthens the impression.

I cannot seem to feel anything during the scene

Start by recalling a memory that naturally evokes strong feeling. Notice how that feeling lives in your body. Then transfer that emotional awareness to your imaginal scene. Feeling does not always mean intense emotion. Sometimes it is a quiet sense of satisfaction or naturalness.

Common Questions

Is SATS the only way to manifest?

No. SATS is Neville's recommended technique because it is highly effective, but it is not the only method. Mental diet, revision, and persistent assumption throughout the day all work. SATS is simply the most efficient way to impress the subconscious because you bypass the conscious mind's resistance.

How many nights should I practice SATS for one desire?

Practice until you reach what Neville called the sabbath: a deep inner knowing that it is done. For some, this happens on the first night. For others, it takes consistent practice over days or weeks. The sign that the impression has been made is a feeling of naturalness and peace about your desire.