If you’ve been exploring the world of affirmations or the Law of Assumption, chances are you’ve probably heard people mention SATS, but maybe you’re still not quite sure what it is or how to actually do it.
Or maybe you’ve never heard of it at all but your manifestation efforts have been falling a bit flat and you’re wondering if there’s something you’re missing or maybe there is a practice out there that can help boost your manifestations. SATS could be that missing piece. In this post, we’ll explore what it is, why it matters, and how you can actually enter this state to bring your desires to life.
What is SATS?
SATS stands for State Akin to Sleep which is a term made popular by Neville Goddard. It’s all about using that dreamy, relaxed state your mind naturally slips into right before you fall asleep to plant new beliefs into your subconscious.
When you’re in this state your mind is wide open and far less likely to argue or resist new ideas. Neville believed this was the perfect time to impress your desires onto your subconcious mind because in that moment, your brain cannot tell the difference between imagination and reality.
How SATS Works
We naturally slip into this relaxed, receptive state twice a day, just as we’re falling asleep and just after waking up. While it’s possible to access this state at other times through meditation or hypnosis, it’s easiest when we’re transitioning between sleep and wakefulness.
During this state our subconscious is most open to suggestion. Normally, our conscious mind acts as a filter, analysing everything through the lens of our existing beliefs and experiences. If a thought or idea doesn’t align with what we already believe, our conscious mind will reject it, acting like a ‘gatekeeper’.
But in this relaxed state, the conscious mind takes a step back, and our subconscious becomes much more accessible (the ‘gatekeeper’ clocks off if you will). Your subconscious doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality, it simply responds to what you give it, especially when you’re in this deeply relaxed state. The more vividly you can imagine something and the more often you repeat it, the more your mind begins to accept it as normal. Once that shift happens, your thoughts, emotions, and even behaviour start to align with this new belief.
How To Enter SATS
It’s a simple process but the key is to actually feel the scene as if it’s already real.
When it comes to manifesting deliberately, the key is to make everything feel natural. It’s not about forcing anything, it’s about aligning your thoughts and feelings with the reality you want to create in a relaxed and effortless way.
The SATS technique is the perfect tool to help you do this, as it allows you to engage with your desires without the pressure of actively “trying.”
Here’s how you can do it:
1. Be Clear About What You Want
Before starting, make sure you know exactly what you want to manifest. Write it down if it helps. The clearer you are, the easier it will be to focus your mind.
2. Create a Scene
Think about what your life would look like if your desire was already true. What would you be doing or saying? Create a short mental scene that shows your desire already fulfilled. It doesn’t have to be a complicated saga with a whole host of side characters and events, just one short scene that sums up your desire and is easy to replay in your mind.
If you can, write this out in detail too. This helps you build a more vivid and immersive scene when you start the process.
3. Set the Stage for Relaxation
Now that you know exactly what you want, it’s time to prepare your body and mind. Get ready for bed at least 30 minutes earlier than usual. This gives you a peaceful, undistracted time to work through SATS without the risk of simply falling asleep.
4. Relax Your Body
Lay down comfortably and start to relax. You can use breathing exercises to help you settle in. A simple, deep belly breathing technique I like to use is:
- Sit or lie down comfortably and place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly
- Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose for 5 seconds, ensuring your belly rises and not your chest
- Hold the breath for 3 seconds
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 7 seconds, letting the air release fully from your stomach
- Repeat for 5-10 cycles, focusing on making each breath slow and deep
5. Countdown to Relaxation
Once relaxed, start counting down from 100. Visualise each number in your mind. If it’s hard to focus, simply say to yourself, “I am so sleepy,” as you breathe deeply.
6. Enter the State Akin to Sleep
As you count down, you’ll likely begin to feel your body relax further, your eyelids heavy, and a sense of floating or bliss. This is your cue that you’ve entered the State Akin to Sleep.
In this space, your subconscious mind is highly receptive and that is exactly where you want to be!
7. Visualise Your Scene
Once you’re in this state, bring your scene into focus. It might be a bit hard to imagine at first, and that’s okay, it’s completely normal! Keep going!
As you keep looping the scene, try to add more sensory details like touch, smell, sound or taste.
The more sensory details you can bring in, the more real the scene will feel.
8. Repeat the Scene and Add More Realism
Keep repeating the scene over and over, adding more details each time. As you do, your mind will naturally start to feel the emotions connected to the scene.
Don’t be discouraged if your mind drifts — that’s totally normal. Just gently bring it back to the scene. Sometimes it takes a while for the scene to feel lifelike, but persistence is key. The more you practice, the more vivid and real the experience will become.
9. Fall Asleep with Your Scene
Keep looping your scene until you drift off to sleep. If you successfully fall asleep while immersed in the scene, the seed of your desire will have been planted in your subconcious.
The next step is simply to trust the process. Your subconscious mind will begin working to make this new reality a part of your waking life!
💡 A Quick Note on “Feeling”
One thing that confuses a lot of people with SATS is the idea of feeling. It’s not about working yourself up into an emotional frenzy, or forcing yourself to feel excited or tearfully happy.
When Neville talks about “feeling,” what he really means is the sense of naturalness — the feeling that your desire is already done and part of your life.
For example, if you were living in your dream house, you wouldn’t be skipping around the place all day in a state of euphoria. You’d simply feel at home. It would feel normal and natural, just like your current surroundings do now.
That’s the state you want to aim for in SATS — the quiet, steady knowing that it’s already yours, not some over-the-top emotional high.
💡 Some other things to note:
- Don’t worry if your mind wanders, this is normal so just gently bring it back
- If you fall asleep during SATS, that’s okay (actually, that’s ideal)
- The more you practise, the easier it gets. Practise makes perfect after all
- Use the same scene for a while as repetition helps the subconscious “get the message”
- When practising SATS it’s important to approach it with the mindset that what you’re imagining is already happening, not something that will happen or something that you’re trying to make happen in the future. It’s as real as your current reality
- Also, this shouldn’t feel like work. The key is to make it feel natural and enjoyable. You’re not forcing anything. The goal is to let it feel natural, as if you’re remembering something, not imagining. The more relaxed and at ease you are, the more effective it will be. Keep practising, and trust that your subconscious will start aligning with your desires
Why SATS Works So Well with Affirmations
Affirmations work through repetition and belief and SATS speeds that up by bypassing the concious mind. When you imagine something as already true and your subconscious accepts it, your thoughts and actions start to align naturally with that version of you.
So if you’re using affirmations like “I am confident” or “I am successful”, imagine what life looks like when that’s your reality — and bring that into SATS.
SATS is one of the most powerful ways to shift your beliefs and create real change, especially when used alongside affirmations. Think of it as programming your mind while it’s most open to suggestion. The more consistently you use this technique, the more you’ll start to see shifts in your life that align with your desires.
Try it tonight. Keep it simple. Keep it light.
And trust that it’s working, even if you don’t see results immediately.
