Brief Summary
This YouTube video presents a comprehensive summary of Florence Scovel Shinn's "The Game of Life and How to Play It," read by Sarah Partridge. The core message revolves around understanding and applying spiritual laws to navigate life successfully. Key points include:
- Life is a game governed by spiritual laws, particularly giving and receiving.
- The imaging faculty (imagination) plays a crucial role in shaping one's reality.
- The mind has three departments: subconscious, conscious, and super-conscious, each with distinct functions.
- Words have immense power to create or destroy.
- Non-resistance, love, and forgiveness are essential for overcoming challenges and manifesting desires.
- Intuition serves as an unerring guide.
- Perfect self-expression aligns with one's divine design.
- Faith is the key to unlocking one's potential and erasing fear.
I. The Game
Life is not a battle but a game that requires knowledge of spiritual law to play successfully. The game involves giving and receiving, where what one sends out in word or deed returns to them. The imaging faculty is crucial, as what one images externalizes into their affairs. To play the game successfully, one must train their imagination to image only good, bringing health, wealth, love, and perfect self-expression into their life. The mind consists of the subconscious (power without direction), conscious (mortal or carnal mind), and super-conscious (God mind within). The subconscious mind carries out whatever is deeply felt or clearly imaged. The super-conscious mind holds the "Divine Design" for each person, their true destiny flashed from infinite intelligence. Many people are ignorant of their true destinies and strive for things that do not belong to them, leading to failure and dissatisfaction.
II. The Law of Prosperity
God is man's supply, and man can release all that belongs to him by divine right through spoken words and faith. Words and thoughts are a tremendous vibratory force that molds man's body and affairs. To receive, one must act as if they have already received, preparing for success rather than failure. Getting into the spiritual swing of things involves challenging adverse thoughts of doubt and fear from the subconscious. Every good and perfect gift is already man's, awaiting recognition. Man can only receive what he sees himself receiving, holding to the vision of his journey's end and demanding the manifestation of what he has already received. It may require help from someone to hold the vision.
III. The Power of the Word
Knowing the power of the word makes one careful of their conversation, as words do not return void. Through spoken words, man continually makes laws for himself, creating either failure or success. Superstitions work through belief and expectancy in the subconscious mind. However, one cannot turn back to superstitions once they know a higher spiritual law. One must recognize that the power behind lucky objects is God and that the object simply gives a feeling of expectancy. Whatever man voices, he begins to attract. One should only use words to heal, bless, or prosper. What man says of others will be said of him, and what he wishes for another, he is wishing for himself. The body may be renewed and transformed through the spoken word and clear vision, wiping out disease from the consciousness. All disease has a mental correspondence, and to heal the body, one must first heal the soul (subconscious mind) by restoring it with the right ideas.
IV. The Law of Nonresistance
Nothing can resist an absolutely non-resistant person. Evil is a false law man has made for himself through soul sleep, where the soul has been hypnotized by race beliefs of sin, sickness, and death. Man's body and affairs show forth what he has been picturing. The man centered in right thinking and goodwill cannot be touched by negative thoughts. Resistance is torment, while non-resistance transmutes failure into success through spoken words. Every man is a golden link in the chain of one's good. Bless your enemy to rob him of his ammunition. One can only get the right idea of non-resistance through spiritual understanding. So long as man resists a situation, he will have it with him. Agree with thine adversary quickly, being undisturbed by it, and it falls away. Man's work is ever with himself, and when he changes, his circumstances will change.
V. The Law of Karma and The Law of Forgiveness
Man receives only what he gives; life is a game of boomerangs where thoughts, deeds, and words return with astounding accuracy. This is the law of karma. The more one knows, the more responsible they are. The law takes vengeance, not God, who sees man perfect. Man can only be what he sees himself to be and attain what he sees himself attaining. Freedom from unhappy conditions comes through knowledge of spiritual law. The law obeys man when he obeys the law. Desire is a tremendous force that must be directed in the right channel. Man should always demand only what is his by divine right. Anything forced into manifestation through personal will is ill-gotten. Christianity is founded upon the law of forgiveness, freeing man from the curse of karmic law. Man cannot force the external to be what he is not; he must be rich first in consciousness. Gifts and things are investments, and hoarding invariably leads to loss.
VI. Casting the Burden / Impressing the Subconscious
To impress the subconscious with good, the easiest way is casting the burden upon the super-conscious mind or Christ within. Man violates law if he carries a burden, an adverse thought or condition rooted in the subconscious. It seems impossible to make headway directing the subconscious from the reasoning mind. Casting the burden enables one to see clearly, as doubts and fear poison the mind and body. The statement, "I cast this burden on the Christ within and go free," should be repeated often. Active faith is essential to impress the subconscious. Active faith is the bridge over which man passes to his Promised Land. The subconscious is often impressed through music, which releases the soul from imprisonment. One must remember not to despise the day of small things, as signs of land come before a demonstration. Continually making-believe impresses the subconscious. There is no peace until all fear is erased from the subconscious.
VII. Love
Every man on this planet is taking his initiation in love. Real love is selfless, free from fear, and pours itself out without demanding return. Love is God in manifestation and the strongest magnetic force in the universe. Pure, unselfish love draws to itself its own. Jealousy is the worst enemy of love. One can never receive what they have never given. Give a perfect love, and you will receive a perfect love. One should become impersonal and learn what each man has to teach him. Suffering is the result of violation of spiritual law. Man often suffers loss through lack of appreciation. No man is a success in business unless he loves his work. No man can attract money if he despises it. Money is God in manifestation, but it must be kept in circulation and put to right uses. All disease and unhappiness come from the violation of the law of love.
VIII. Intuition or Guidance
There is nothing too great for the man who knows the power of his word and follows his intuitive leads. By the word, he starts unseen forces in action. It is important to choose the right words. Demand the lead, saying, "Infinite Spirit, reveal to me the way." The answer will come through intuition. Giving opens the way for receiving. Tithing brings increase. Bills should be paid cheerfully, and money should be sent forth fearlessly with a blessing. Man limits his supply by his limited vision. The vision and action must go hand in hand. Never ask for just a position, ask for the right position. Intuition is a spiritual faculty that does not explain but simply points the way. A person often receives a lead during a treatment. People little dream of how their affairs react on the body. There is a mental correspondence for every disease. What man condemns in others, he attracts to himself. Indecision is a stumbling block. It is destructive to look to the psychic plane for guidance.
IX. Perfect Self-Expression or The Divine Design
There is for each man perfect self-expression, a place which he is to fill and something which he is to do, it is his destiny. This achievement is held, a perfect idea in divine mind, awaiting man's recognition. Man's highest demand is for the divine design of his life. The perfect plan includes health, wealth, love, and perfect self-expression. Perfect self-expression will never be labor, but of such absorbing interest that it will seem almost like play. The supply needed for his perfect self-expression will be at hand. Demand definite leads, and the way will be made easy and successful. One should not visualize or force a mental picture. Parents should never force careers and professions upon their children. God's will be done, not man's. Every man is Jehoshaphat and every man is David, who slays Goliath, mortal thinking with the little white stone, faith. Often, fear stands between man and his perfect self-expression.
X. Denials and Affirmations
All the good to be made manifest in man's life is already an accomplished fact in divine mind and is released through man's recognition or spoken word. So, he must be careful to decree that only the divine idea be made manifest. If one desires a home, friend, position, or any other good thing, make the demand for the divine selection. As one grows in a financial consciousness, he should demand that the enormous sums of money, which are his by divine right, reach him under grace, in perfect ways. It is impossible for man to release more than he thinks is possible, for one is bound by the limited expectancies of the subconscious. In making his demands, man begins at his journey's end, that is, he declares he has already received. Continually affirming establishes the belief in the subconscious. The student's work is in making himself believe that with God all things are possible. When a student starts out to demonstrate, he should never turn back. Demonstrations often come at the 11th hour because man then lets go, that is, stops reasoning and infinite intelligence has a chance to work.
