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. It is a great game with the following rules:
1) 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.
2) Visualization
"Keep thy heart (or imagination) with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."
This means that what man images, sooner or later externalizes in his affairs. 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.
Subconscious
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.
Conscious
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.
Super-Conscious
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 super-conscious 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.
3) Law of Substitution
"If X is the right choice I can't lose it, and if it isn't, you will receive its equivalent or better." A right idea was substituted for a wrong one, therefore there was no loss or sacrifice involved.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," and the Kingdom is within you. The Kingdom is the realm of right ideas, or the divine pattern.
4) Power of Words
"By your words ye are justified and by your words ye are condemned." Many people have brought disaster into their lives through idle words. The subconscious mind has no sense of humor and people often joke themselves into unhappy experiences. Fortunately the law works both ways, and a situation of lack may be changed to one of plenty. Every man has the power to bless and to multiply, to heal and to prosper.
Man can change his conditions by changing his words. Any man who does not know the power of the word, is behind the times. "Death and Life are in the power of the tongue."
5) Intuition and Action
"Follow intuition. Have you a 'hunch' to do anything, or to go anywhere?" Intuition means, intuition, or to be taught from within. It is man's unerring guide—never violate a hunch." Affirm: "Infinite Spirit open the way for great abundance for — —. She is an irresistible magnet for all that belongs to her by divine right." Repeat it continually.
6) Desire
There is always plenty on man's pathway; but it can only be brought into manifestation through desire, faith or the spoken word. Man must make the first move.
"Ask, and it shall be given to you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Concerning the works of my hands, command ye me. Infinite Intelligence, God, is ever ready to carry out man's smallest or greatest demands. Every desire, uttered or unexpressed, is a demand. We are often startled by having a wish suddenly fulfilled. Nothing stands between man and his highest ideals and every desire of his heart, but doubt and fear. When man can "wish without worrying," every desire will be instantly fulfilled.
7) Faith
Fear must be erased from the consciousness. It is man's only enemy—fear of lack, fear of failure, fear of sickness, fear of loss and a feeling of insecurity on some plane.
"Why are ye fearful, oh ye of little faith?" So we can see we must substitute faith for fear, for fear is only inverted faith; it is faith in evil instead of good.
The object of the game of life is to see clearly one's good and to obliterate all mental pictures of evil. This must be done by impressing the subconscious mind with a realization of good. A very brilliant man, who has attained great success, told me he had suddenly erased all fear from his consciousness by reading a sign which hung in a room. He saw printed, in large letters this statement—"Why worry, it will probably never happen." These words were stamped indelibly upon his subconscious mind, and he has now a firm conviction that only good can come into his life, therefore only good can manifest.
Subconscious is man's faithful servant but one must be careful to give it the right orders. Man has ever a silent listener at his side—his subconscious mind. Every thought, every word is impressed upon it and carried out in amazing detail. It is like a singer making a record on the sensitive disc of the phonographic plate. Every note and tone of the singer's voice is registered. If he coughs or hesitates, it is registered also. So let us break all the old bad records in the subconscious mind, the records of our lives which we do not wish to keep, and make new and beautiful ones.
Speak these words aloud, with power and conviction: "I now smash and demolish (by my spoken word) every untrue record in my subconscious mind. They shall return to the dust-heap of their native nothingness, for they came from my own vain imaginings. I now make my perfect records through the higher power within—The records of Health, Wealth, Love and perfect self-Expression." This is the square of life, The Game completed.
Author: Florence Scovel Shinn[1925], The Game of Life and How to Play It
1) 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.
2) Visualization
"Keep thy heart (or imagination) with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."
This means that what man images, sooner or later externalizes in his affairs. 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.
Subconscious
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.
Conscious
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.
Super-Conscious
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 super-conscious 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.
3) Law of Substitution
"If X is the right choice I can't lose it, and if it isn't, you will receive its equivalent or better." A right idea was substituted for a wrong one, therefore there was no loss or sacrifice involved.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," and the Kingdom is within you. The Kingdom is the realm of right ideas, or the divine pattern.
4) Power of Words
"By your words ye are justified and by your words ye are condemned." Many people have brought disaster into their lives through idle words. The subconscious mind has no sense of humor and people often joke themselves into unhappy experiences. Fortunately the law works both ways, and a situation of lack may be changed to one of plenty. Every man has the power to bless and to multiply, to heal and to prosper.
Man can change his conditions by changing his words. Any man who does not know the power of the word, is behind the times. "Death and Life are in the power of the tongue."
5) Intuition and Action
"Follow intuition. Have you a 'hunch' to do anything, or to go anywhere?" Intuition means, intuition, or to be taught from within. It is man's unerring guide—never violate a hunch." Affirm: "Infinite Spirit open the way for great abundance for — —. She is an irresistible magnet for all that belongs to her by divine right." Repeat it continually.
6) Desire
There is always plenty on man's pathway; but it can only be brought into manifestation through desire, faith or the spoken word. Man must make the first move.
"Ask, and it shall be given to you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Concerning the works of my hands, command ye me. Infinite Intelligence, God, is ever ready to carry out man's smallest or greatest demands. Every desire, uttered or unexpressed, is a demand. We are often startled by having a wish suddenly fulfilled. Nothing stands between man and his highest ideals and every desire of his heart, but doubt and fear. When man can "wish without worrying," every desire will be instantly fulfilled.
7) Faith
Fear must be erased from the consciousness. It is man's only enemy—fear of lack, fear of failure, fear of sickness, fear of loss and a feeling of insecurity on some plane.
"Why are ye fearful, oh ye of little faith?" So we can see we must substitute faith for fear, for fear is only inverted faith; it is faith in evil instead of good.
The object of the game of life is to see clearly one's good and to obliterate all mental pictures of evil. This must be done by impressing the subconscious mind with a realization of good. A very brilliant man, who has attained great success, told me he had suddenly erased all fear from his consciousness by reading a sign which hung in a room. He saw printed, in large letters this statement—"Why worry, it will probably never happen." These words were stamped indelibly upon his subconscious mind, and he has now a firm conviction that only good can come into his life, therefore only good can manifest.
Subconscious is man's faithful servant but one must be careful to give it the right orders. Man has ever a silent listener at his side—his subconscious mind. Every thought, every word is impressed upon it and carried out in amazing detail. It is like a singer making a record on the sensitive disc of the phonographic plate. Every note and tone of the singer's voice is registered. If he coughs or hesitates, it is registered also. So let us break all the old bad records in the subconscious mind, the records of our lives which we do not wish to keep, and make new and beautiful ones.
Speak these words aloud, with power and conviction: "I now smash and demolish (by my spoken word) every untrue record in my subconscious mind. They shall return to the dust-heap of their native nothingness, for they came from my own vain imaginings. I now make my perfect records through the higher power within—The records of Health, Wealth, Love and perfect self-Expression." This is the square of life, The Game completed.
Author: Florence Scovel Shinn[1925], The Game of Life and How to Play It
