The Game of Life & How to Play It ( Audio Book )

The Game of Life & How to Play It – Florence Scovel Shinn / Chapter One

The Game of Life and How to Play It

Florence Scovel Shinn

First published in 1925, this inspirational little book has helped countless thousands achieve a sense of purpose and belonging through understanding that life is not a battle but a game of giving and receiving — that whatever we send out into the world will eventually be returned to us.

“By studying and practicing the principles laid down in this book one may find prosperity, solve problems, have better health, achieve personal relations — in a word, win the game of life.” – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

The Game

Most people consider life a battle, but it is not a battle, it is a game.

It is a game, however, which cannot be played successfully without the knowledge of spiritual law, and the Old and the New Testaments give the rules of the game with wonderful clearness. Jesus Christ taught that it was a great game of Giving and Receiving.

Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” This means that whatever man sends out in word or deed, will return to him; what he gives, he will receive.

If he gives hate, he will receive hate; if he gives love, he will receive love; if he gives criticism, he will receive criticism; if he lies he will be lied to; if he cheats he will be cheated. We are taught also, that the imaging faculty plays a leading part in the game of life.

Keep thy heart (or imagination) with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23.)

This means that what man images, sooner or later externalizes in his affairs, I know of a man who feared a certain disease. It was a very rare disease and difficult to get, but he pictured it continually and read about it until it manifested in his body, and he died, the victim of distorted imagination.

So we see, to play successfully the game of life, we must train the imaging faculty. A person with an imaging faculty trained to image only good, brings into his life “every righteous desire of his heart” – health, wealth, love, friends, perfect self-expression, his highest ideals.

The imagination has been called, “The Scissors of The Mind,” and it is ever cutting, cutting, day by day, the pictures man sees there, and sooner or later he meets his own creations in his outer world. To train the imagination successfully, man must understand the workings of his mind. The Greeks said: “Know Thyself.”

There are three departments of the mind, the subconscious, conscious and superconscious. The subconscious, is simply power, without direction. It is like steam or electricity, and it does what it is directed to do; it has no power of induction.

Whatever man feels deeply or images clearly, is impressed upon the subconscious mind, and carried out in minutest detail.

For example: a woman I know, when a child, always “made believe” she was a widow. She “dressed up” in black clothes and wore a long black veil, and people thought she was very clever and amusing. She grew up and married a man with whom she was deeply in love. In a short time he died and she wore black and a sweeping veil for many years. The picture of herself as a widow was impressed upon the subconscious mind, and in due time worked itself out, regardless of the havoc created.

The conscious mind has been called mortal or carnal mind.

It is the human mind and sees life as it appears to be. It sees death, disaster, sickness, poverty and limitation of every kind, and it impresses the subconscious.

The superconscious mind is the God Mind within each man, and is the realm of perfect ideas.

In it, is the “perfect pattern” spoken of by Plato, The Divine Design; for there is a Divine Design for each person.

There is a place that you are to fill and no one else can fill, something you are to do, which no one else can do.”

There is a perfect picture of this in the superconscious mind. It usually flashes across the conscious as an unattainable ideal – “something too good to be true.”

In reality it is man’s true destiny (or destination) flashed to him from the Infinite Intelligence which is within himself.
Many people, however, are in ignorance of their true destinies and are striving for things and situations which do not belong to them, and would only bring failure and dissatisfaction if attained.

The Law of Prosperity

One of the greatest messages given to the race through the scriptures is that God is man’s supply and that man can release, through his spoken word, all that belongs to him by divine right. He must, however, have perfect faith in his spoken word.

Isaiah said, “My word shall not return unto me void, but shall accomplish that where it is sent.” We know now, that words and thoughts are a tremendous vibratory force, ever moulding man’s body and affairs.

A woman came to me in great distress and said she was to be sued on the fifteenth of the month for three thousand dollars. She knew no way of getting the money and was in despair.

I told her God was her supply, and that there is a supply for every demand.

So I spoke the word! I gave thanks that the woman would receive three thousand dollars at the right time in the right way. I told her she must have perfect faith, and act her perfect faith. The fifteenth came but no money had materialized.

She called me on the ‘phone and asked what she was to do.

I replied, “It is Saturday, so they won’t sue you today, Your part is to act rich, thereby showing perfect faith that you will receive it by Monday.” She asked me to lunch with her to keep up her courage. When I joined her at a restaurant, I said, “This is no time to economize. Order an expensive luncheon, act as if you have already received the three thousand dollars.”

“All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” “You must act as if you had already received.” The next morning she called me on the ‘phone and asked me to stay with her during the day, I said “No, you are divinely protected and God is never too late.”

In the evening she ‘phoned again, greatly excited and said, “My dear, a miracle has happened! I was sitting in my room this morning, when the doorbell rang, I said to the maid: ‘Don’t let anyone in.’ The maid however, looked out the window and said, ‘It’s your cousin with the long white beard.’

So I said, ‘Call him back. I would like to see him.’ He was just turning the corner, when he heard the maid’s voice, and he came back.

He talked for about an hour, and just as he was leaving he said, ‘Oh, by the way, how are finances?’

I told him I needed the money, and he said, ‘Why, my dear, I will give you three thousand dollars the first of the month.

I didn’t like to tell him I was going to be sued. What shall I do? I won’t receive it till the first of the month, and I must have it tomorrow.” I said, “I’ll keep on ‘treating.’”

I said, “Spirit is never too late. I give thanks she has received the money on the invisible plane and that it manifests on time.” The next morning her cousin called her up and said, “Come to my office this morning and I will give you the money.” That afternoon, she had three thousand dollars to her credit in the bank, and wrote checks as rapidly as her excitement would permit.

If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for. For example: A man came to me asking me to speak the word that a certain debt would be wiped out.

I found he spent his time planning what he would say to the man when he did not pay his bill, thereby neutralizing my words. He should have seen himself paying the debt.

We have a wonderful illustration of this in the bible, relating to the three kings who were in the desert, without water for their men and horses. They consulted the prophet Elisha, who gave them this astonishing message:

“Thus saith the Lord – Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet make this valley full of ditches.”

Man must prepare for the thing he has asked for, when there isn’t the slightest sign of it in sight.

For example: A woman found it necessary to look for an apartment during the year when there was a great shortage of apartments in New York. It was considered almost an impossibility, and her friends were sorry for her and said, “Isn’t it too bad, you’ll have to store your furniture and live in a hotel.” She replied, “You needn’t feel sorry for me, I’m a superman, and I’ll get an apartment.”

She spoke the words: “Infinite Spirit, open the way for the right apartment.” She knew there was a supply for every demand, and that she was “unconditioned,” working on the spiritual plane, and that “one with God is a majority.”

She had contemplated buying new blankets, when the “tempter,” the adverse thought or reasoning mind, suggested, “Don’t buy the blankets, perhaps, after all, you won’t get an apartment and you will have no use for them.” She promptly replied (to herself): “I’ll dig my ditches by buying the blankets!” So she prepared for the apartment – acted as though she already had it.

She found one in a miraculous way, and it was given to her although there were over two hundred other applicants.

The blankets showed active faith.

It is needless to say that the ditches dug by the three kings in the desert were filled to over-flowing. (Read, II Kings)

Getting into the spiritual swing of things is no easy matter for the average person. The adverse thoughts of doubt and fear surge from the subconscious. They are the “army of the aliens” which must be put to flight. This explains why it is so often, “darkest before the dawn.”

A big demonstration is usually preceded by tormenting thoughts.

Having made a statement of high spiritual truth one challenges the old beliefs in the subconscious, and “error is exposed” to be put out.

This is the time when one must make his affirmations of truth repeatedly, and rejoice and give thanks that he has already received, “Before ye call I shall answer.” This means that “every good and perfect gift” is already man’s awaiting his recognition.
<>Man can only receive what he sees himself receiving.