I am looking for the full text of newspaper, magazine, or journal
articles -- particularly obituaries -- pertaining to the 20th century
spiritual teacher Neville Goddard (1905-1972). I have already searched
Google, Factiva, and various internet sources, so I am really looking
for things that may be off the beaten path.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 19 Aug 2004 05:19 PDT

This has tuned out to be an unexpectedly tough nut to crack.  I've
found a few additional materials on Neville that are not available
through an ordinary Google search, but no obituaries.

What I have is:

--A 1951 newspaper article, "Lecturer Presents Bible in New Light: 
Former Dancer Devotes Life to Religion to Teach People a Better Way of
Living".  The article includes a large photo of Neville Goodard, who
was known generally as Neville.

--Two non-fiction books in which the authors briefly cite the
influence of Neville on the lives of people in their books.  For
example:

"She was also an avid student of a popular mystic from Barbados named
Neville Goddard. A spellbinding lecturer with legions of followers..."

"Goddard believed in erasing personal history, awakening the untapped
portions of the imagination, cutting ties with friends and loved
ones..."

--Another book about Neville which I believe is written by a family
member, perhaps his daughter. I only have the title of this book...no
excerpts are available on-line.

--An odd 1955 newspaper article which mentions Neville as an
up-and-coming personality of note, although it doesn't mention his
spiritual work at all:

"I have found an artist who believes in the school of positive
thinking...He is Neville Goddard...a dancer who starred on Broadway
[and] was a sensation in the old Hippodrome..."

==========

That's it.  


The newspaper articles are available online through two different
sources...I can quote excerpts (as I did above), but cannot provide
the full articles as they are protected by copyright.  However, you
can access the articles yourself (for a modest fee) at the same
sources where I found them.

The book that I think was written by Neville's daughter can be
purchased on-line, but there are no reviews or excerpts available from
the book.

The other two books can be previewed on-line at no charge, and you can
read the text pertaining to Neville.


Would these sources suit as an answer to your question?


pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by mitch1-ga on 19 Aug 2004 08:20 PDT

Dear Pafalafa-ga, Yes what you describe is terrific. These sources
definitely satisfy my question. Please forward info forthwith. I am
surprised that no Los Angeles-area obituaries appear for Neville. He
made LA his home throughout much of the latter portion of his life and
I would have thought him a prominent enough figure to have been
written about in an obit in the LA Times or some such, but I have
found nothing there. Any thoughts? Best, Mitch

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.  I'm glad to hear that the
information I found is helpful to you.

Here are the items I mentioned earlier, along with some instructions
for accessing them yourself.  I cannot reporduce the materials in full
due to copyright restrictions, but have included some relevant
excerpts here.

Before rating this answer, please let me know if you need any
clarification of the information I've presented here.  Just let me
know, and I'll be happy to assist you further.

pafalafa-ga

==========

This first article is from the Los Angeles Times, but unfortunately,
the archives only appear to be available through commercial services
used by universities and libraries.  If you check with your local
librarian, they can probably obtain a full copy of the article for
you:


LECTURER PRESENTS BIBLE IN NEW LIGHT
Former Dancer Devotes Life to Religion to Teach People a Better Way of Living

Los Angeles Times 
Jul 7, 1951
pg A2

The man in the brightly checked shirt isn't sure that the men of the
Bible ever lived or that its events ever occurred.  Yet the Bible is
the basis of his own religious teachings...The man is Neville --
actually Neville Goddard -- of New York City...Neville is the name by
which he is known...his most popular book [is] "Your Faith Is Your
Fortune"....

...As he puts it, "I teach a way of life...People come to me without
confidence and leave with increased productivity, whether it be
spiritual, financial or professional."

...Neville...has been termed by some as "the outstanding interpreter
of the Bible in the world today..."

[The article includes a photo of Mr. Goddard, who is indeed wearing a
checked shirt..]

==========

At this used bookstore site, you'll find a book for sale that I
believe was written by Neville's daughter (who is mentioned in the LA
Times article).   The author is Victoria Goddard Neville:


http://www.abeauthors1.com/Author/310023/Neville+Victoria+Goddard.html

Power of Awareness: New Edition Incorporating Neville's Later Notes
Neville, Victoria Goddard

Price: US$ 9.47  

[listed in the category "Christianity--inspirational"]

==========

Amazon.com has an interesting search engine that allows you to "peek"
inside some of the books they offer for sale:


http://www.a9.com/


I did some peeking for the phrase "Neville Goddard", which returned two books:


http://a9.com/%22neville%20goddard%22


Here are some relevant excerpts from each, though I would encourage
you to view the full pages yourself:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1560255633/ref=A9/103-3052143-4352655?keywords=%22neville%20goddard%22&v=search-inside

Scary Monsters and Super Freaks: Stories of Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N' Roll and Murder
by Mike Sager 

1 reference to "neville goddard" in this book: 

1. on Page 420:  

[writing about Margaret Runyon, relative of Damon Runyan]:

"... Her favorite historical figure was The Buddha. She was also an
avid student of a popular mystic from Barbados named Neville Goddard.
A spellbinding lecturer with legions of followers, Neville believed
that a person could alter the future and achieve personal goals
through the manipulation of their dreams, something he called
"controlled imagination"...Goddard believed in erasing personal
history, awakening the untapped portions of the imagination, cutting
ties with friends and loved ones.  He preached something called the I
AM, an invocation of the God-like within all of us.  Goddard was also
said to be imbued with special powers..."

==========

Another book listed at Amazon is:

My Soul Purpose: Living, Learning, and Healing
by Heidi Von Beltz 

1 reference to "neville goddard" in this book: 

1. on Page 217:  

"... The Awakened Imagination by Neville Goddard. This book helped tie
together some of the disparate threads I had been collecting, and more
important, it helped me realize that I was trying so hard to
understand the words, the text, that I wasn't letting the spirit
happen ..."

==========

You can also see at this Amazon link a book written by Neville, whose
middle name is listed as Lancelot:


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005X832/qid%3D1092950746/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-3052143-4352655


==========

Lastly, at a newspaper archiving service:


http://www.newspaperarchive.com


a search on "Neville Goddard" turns up one article:


Nevada State Journal 
May 5, 1955

Fider...In Holywood

I have found an artist who believes in the school of positive
thinking...He is Neville Goddard...a dancer who starred on Broadway
[and] was a sensation in the old Hippodrome.  Then Neville decided to
be an author and lecturer.  He's written eight successful books...His
family background is also fabulous.  They own a whole island in the
West Indies...

==========

newspaperarchive.com charges a subscription fee, but they also offer a
free trial that you might want to take advantage of to view the full
article yourself.



Again, if you need any additional information about anything here,
just let me know, and I'm at your service.



pafalafa-ga


P.S.  I'm not sure why there is no obituary for Neville Goddard.  I
agree, it's odd, but a careful look didn't turn up anything.

I appreciated not only the good information, but the good order and
politeness with which it was delivered.

I searched Lexis-Nexis which is a subscription service containing
full-text articles from all major papers and magazines and some
journals.  It goes back 15-20 years, depending on the source.

I found only one article even mentioning Neville Goddard, and it was a
sports article referring in passing to an athlete's interest in
Goddard and a few other philosophers.

Because of the age of the articles you're probably looking for (30+
years old), you may have to go to a local university library to check
their microfilm caches.

Dear Joey, Thanks for your note. I, too, found the sports article (a
Sports Illustrated piece on Barry Zito -- yes?).

Mitch,

Thanks for your kind and generous feedback...it's much appreciated. 
Hope we'll see you back at Google Answers one day soon.


pafalafa-ga

Additionally, you can find many of Neville's published works on
Amazon, under the single author name of "Neville". (You may already
know this...)

Some of his highly rated titles (by Amazon readers) include: "The
Power of Awareness," "Awakened Imagination/the Search," "Law and the
Promise," and others.

Think on Peace and Harmony

Further, here is another link to some biographic info on Neville
Goddard (1905-1972), New Thought speaker, writer:
http://website.lineone.net/~cornerstone/neville.htm .  And a short
essay by Neville: http://website.lineone.net/~cornerstone/neville1.htm
.

Think on Peace and Harmony
BeYoung01