There are many techniques and they all resemble each other, because underneath they do the same thing: hold your attention on a precise scene, repeatedly, in a receptive state of mind. What changes is the ritual around it.
SATS — the state akin to sleep
What it is. Neville Goddard's main technique. You lie down, lights off, and wait for the moment just before sleep — the threshold where thoughts start to slip. There, for a couple of minutes, you enter a short scene that would be true after your wish was fulfilled.
How to do it. The scene must be short, sensory and from your own point of view — you don't watch yourself from outside like a film. A gesture, a sentence someone else says, the weight of an object in your hand. Repeat it until you fall asleep.
What we think. This is what our method is built on, for two reasons: the timing matches what the Vedic tradition prescribed for the sankalpa, and a specific, dated scene is also what goal psychology considers more effective than a generic affirmation.
Revision
What it is. Also Neville. At night you revisit a moment of your day that went badly and mentally re-live it the way you wanted it to go.
What we think. The most interesting technique of the lot, because it closely resembles a real clinical technique used in psychotherapy. But use it with judgement: it's for not carrying the day around with you, not for convincing yourself bad things didn't happen. If what went wrong is serious, an imagination exercise is not what you need.
The 369 method
What it is. Write your intention three times in the morning, six in the afternoon, nine at night, for 33 or 45 days. The numbers come from a claim attributed to Nikola Tesla.
What we think. The Tesla link is an internet legend, and the numbers have no special properties. That said, it works as a ritual: it forces you back to the same sentence three times a day, and writing by hand keeps attention where it belongs. If you enjoy writing by hand, there's nothing wrong with it. Just don't expect the number to be doing the work.
Scripting
What it is. You write a diary page dated in the future, as if the day you want had already happened, in past tense, with the details.
What we think. It's the written version of a SATS scene, and it's most useful at the start: plenty of people can't picture a scene until they've put it on paper. Use it as preparation, not as the daily practice.
The ladder experiment
What it is. Neville used to set his audiences a test: imagine climbing a ladder each night, with no intention of actually climbing one, and see whether you encounter a ladder in the days that follow.
What we think. As proof it demonstrates nothing — think about ladders for a week and you'll notice ladders; that's a known attentional effect. But as an exercise it has a rare virtue: it's the only technique in the tradition designed to be tested rather than believed. We like that spirit.
Vision boards
What it is. A board of images of what you want, looked at every day.
What we think. The most popular technique and the weakest. Looking at pictures of other people's outcomes is exactly the positive fantasy without an obstacle we described earlier: pleasant, and draining. If you use one, always pair it with the question of what inside you could stop it.
One rule for all of them. No technique replaces real help. If you're going through something hard, talk to someone who can actually help — in the UK, Samaritans answer free on 116 123; in the US, call or text 988.
The app is coming, for iPhone and Android. Free to try.