 CHAPTER 1 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. Proverbs 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 super-conscious. The subconscious is simply power without direction. It is like steam or electricity, and it does what it is directed to. 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 so 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 the limitation of every kind, and it impresses the subconscious. The super conscious 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. For example, a woman came to me and asked me to speak the word that she would marry a certain man with whom she was very much in love. She called him AB. I replied that this would be a violation of spiritual law but that I would speak the word for the right man, the divine selection, the man who belonged to her by divine right. I added, if AB is the right man, you can't lose him and if he isn't, you will receive his equivalent. She saw AB frequently but no headway was made in their friendship. One evening she called and said, Do you know, for the last week AB hasn't seemed so wonderful to me. I replied, Maybe he is not the divine selection. Another man may be the right one. Soon after that she met another man who fell in love with her at once and who said she was his ideal. In fact he said all the things that she had always wished AB would say to her. She remarked it was quite uncanny. She soon returned to his love and lost all interest in AB. This shows the law of substitution. A right idea was substituted for a wrong one. Therefore there was no loss or sacrifice involved. Jesus Christ said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. And he said the kingdom was within man. The kingdom is the realm of right ideas or the divine pattern. Jesus Christ taught that man's words played a leading part in the game of life. By your words ye are justified and by your words ye are condemned. Many people have brought disaster into their lives through idle words. For example, a woman once asked me why her life was now one of poverty of limitation. Formerly she had a home, was surrounded by beautiful things and had plenty of money. We found she had often tired of the management of her home and had said repeatedly, I am sick and tired of things. I wish I lived in a trunk. And she added, Today I am living in that trunk. She had spoken herself into a trunk. The subconscious mind has no sense of humor and people often joke themselves into unhappy experiences. For example, a woman who had a great deal of money joked continually about getting ready for the poor house. In a few years she was almost destitute, having impressed the subconscious mind with a picture of lack and limitation. Fortunately the law works both ways and a situation of lack may be changed to one of plenty. For example, a woman came to me one hot summer's day for a treatment for prosperity. She was worn out, dejected and discouraged. She said she possessed just eight dollars in the world. I said, Good, we'll bless the eight dollars and multiply them as Jesus Christ multiplied the loaves and the fishes. For he taught that every man had the power to bless and to multiply, to heal and to prosper. She said, What shall I do next? I replied, 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 and I will deal more fully with its laws in a following chapter. The woman replied, I don't know. I seem to have a hunch to go home. I've just enough money for car fare. Her home was in a distant city and was one of lack and limitation and the reasoning mind, or intellect, would have said stay in New York and get work and make some money. I replied, Then go home, never violate a hunch. I spoke the following words for her. Infinite spirit, open the way for great abundance for, hmm, she is an irresistible magnet for all that belongs to her by divine right. I told her to repeat it continually also. She left for home immediately and calling on a woman one day. She linked up with an old friend of her family. Through this friend, she received thousands of dollars in a most miraculous way. She has said to me often, Tell people about the woman who came to you with eight dollars and a hunch. There is always plenty on man's pathway, but it can only be brought into manifestation through desire, faith, or the spoken word. Jesus Christ brought out clearly that 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. Matthew 7.7 In the scriptures we read, 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. For example, one Easter, having seen many beautiful rose trees in the florist's windows, I wished I would receive one, and for an instant saw it mentally being carried in the door. Easter came and with it a beautiful rose tree. I thanked my friend the following day and told her it was just what I had wanted. She replied, I didn't send you a rose tree. I sent you lilies. The man had mixed the order and sent me a rose tree simply because I had started the law in action and I had to have a rose tree. 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. I will explain more fully in a following chapter the scientific reason for this and how 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. Jesus Christ said, why are ye fearful, oh ye of little faith? Matthew 826. 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 and large letters this statement. Why worry? It will probably never happen. These words were stamped indelibly upon his subconscious mind and he now has a firm conviction that only good could come into his life and therefore only good can manifest. In the following chapter I will deal with the different methods of impressing the subconscious mind. It 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 Christ within. The records of health, wealth, love and perfect self-expression. This is the square of life. The game completed. In the following chapters I will show how 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. Proverbs 18 21. End of chapter one, recording by Amy Conger. Chapter two of the game of life and how to play it. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The game of life and how to play it by Florence Scoville-Shen. Chapter two, The Law of Prosperity. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 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 unto it is sent. We know now that words and thoughts are a tremendous vibratory force, ever molding 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 that 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 her courage. When I joined her at a restaurant, I said this is no time to economize. Order an expensive luncheon and 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. And 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, My dear, I will give you three thousand dollars the first of the month. I didn't like to tell him that 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 that 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, therefore 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. Promptly, she 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 200 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 overflowing, read Second 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 he 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. The children of Israel were told that they could have all the land they could see. This is true of every man. He has only the land within his own mental vision. Every great work, every big accomplishment has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often, just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement. The children of Israel, when they reached the promised land, were afraid to go in, for they said it was filled with giants who made them feel like grasshoppers. And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. This is almost every man's experience. However, the one who knows spiritual law is undisturbed by appearance, and rejoices while he is yet in captivity. That is, he holds to his vision, and gives thanks that the end is accomplished, he has received. Jesus Christ gave a wonderful example of this. He said to his disciples, Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are ripe already to harvest. His clear vision pierced the world of matter, and he saw clearly the fourth dimensional world, things as they really are, perfect and complete in divine mind. So man must ever hold division of his journey's end, and demand the manifestation of that which he has already received. It may be his perfect health, love, supply, self-expression, home, or friends. They are all finished and perfect ideas registered in divine mind, man's own super-conscious mind, and must come through him, not to him. For example, a man came to me asking for treatments for success. It was his imperative that he raised within a certain time, $50,000 for his business. The time limit was almost up when he came to see me in despair. No one wanted to invest in his enterprise, and the bank had flatly refused alone. I replied, I suppose you lost your temper while at the bank, therefore your power. You can control any situation if you first control yourself. Go back to the bank, I added, and I will treat. My treatment was, you are identified in love with the spirit of everyone connected with the bank. Let the divine idea come out of this situation. He replied, woman, you are talking about an impossibility. Tomorrow is Saturday. The bank closes at 12, and my train won't get me there until 10, and the time limit is up tomorrow, and anyway they won't do it, it's too late. I replied, God doesn't need any time and is never too late. With him all things are possible. I added, I don't know anything about business, but I know all about God. He replied, it all sounds fine when I sit here listening to you, but when I go out it's terrible. He lived in a distant city, and I did not hear from him for a week, then came a letter. It read, you were right, I raised the money, and I will never again doubt the truth of all that you have told me. I saw him a few weeks later, and I said, what happened? You evidently had plenty of time after all. He replied, my train was late, and I got there just 15 minutes to 12. I walked into the bank quietly, and I said, I have come for the loan, and they gave it to me without a question. It was the last 15 minutes of the time allotted to him, and infinite spirit was not too late. In this instance the man could never have demonstrated a loan. He needed someone to help him hold the vision. This is what one man can do for another. Jesus Christ knew the truth of this when he said, if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. One gets too close to his own affairs, and becomes doubtful and fearful. The friend, or healer, sees clearly the success, health, or prosperity, and never wavers because he is not close to the situation. It is much easier to demonstrate for someone else than for oneself, so a person should not hesitate to ask for help if he feels himself wavering. A keen observer of life once said, no man can fail if some one person sees him successful. Such is the power of the vision, and many a great man has owed his success to a wife or a sister or a friend who believed in him, and held without wavering to the perfect pattern. The game of life and how to play it by Florence Scovel-Shinn Chapter 3 The Power of the Word By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. A person knowing the power of the word becomes very careful of his conversation. He has only to watch the reaction of his words to know that they do not return void. Through his spoken word, man is continually making laws for himself. I knew a man who said, I always miss a car. It invariably pulls out just as I arrive. His daughter said, I always catch a car. It's sure to come just as I get there. This occurred for years. Each had made a separate law for himself, one of failure, one of success. This is the psychology of superstitions. The horse shoe, or rabbit's foot, contains no power, but man's spoken word and belief that it will bring him good luck creates expectancy in the subconscious mind and attracts a lucky situation. I find, however, this will not work when a man has advanced spiritually and knows a higher law. One cannot turn back and one must put away graven images. For example, two men in my class had had great success in business for several months, when suddenly everything went to smash. We tried to analyze the situation and I found, instead of making their affirmations and looking to God for success and prosperity, they had each bought a lucky monkey. And I said, oh, I see, you have been trusting in the lucky monkeys instead of God. Put away the lucky monkeys and call on the law of forgiveness, for man has power to forgive or neutralize his mistakes. They decided to throw the lucky monkeys down a coal hole and all went well again. This does not mean, however, that one should throw away every lucky ornament or horse shoe about the house, but he must recognize that the power back of it is the one and only power, God, and that the object simply gives him a feeling of expectancy. I was with a friend one day who was in deep despair. In crossing the street, she picked up a horse shoe. Immediately she was filled with joy and hope. She said God had sent her the horse shoe in order to keep up her courage. It was indeed at that moment about the only thing that could have registered in her consciousness. Her hope became faith and she ultimately made a wonderful demonstration. I wish to make the point clear that the men previously mentioned they were depending on the monkeys alone while this woman recognized the power back of the horse shoe. I know in my own case it took a long while to get out of a belief that a certain thing brought disappointment. If the thing happened, disappointment invariably followed. I found the only way I could make a change in the subconscious was by asserting there are not two powers, there is only one power, God. Therefore there are no disappointments and this means a happy surprise. I noticed a change at once and happy surprises commenced coming my way. I have a friend who said nothing could induce her to walk under a ladder. I said, if you are afraid, you are giving into a belief in two powers, good and evil instead of one. As God is absolute, there can be no opposing power unless man makes the false of evil for himself. To show you believe in only one power, God, and that there is no power or reality and evil, walk under the next ladder you see. Soon after she went to her bank, she wished to open her box in the safety deposit vault and there stood a ladder on her pathway. It was impossible to reach the box without passing under the ladder. She quailed with fear and turned back. She could not face the lion on her pathway. However, when she reached the street, my words rang in her ears and she decided to turn and walk under it. It was a big moment in her life for ladders had held her in bondage for years. She retraced her steps to the vault and the ladder was no longer there. This so often happens. If one is willing to do a thing that he is afraid to do, he does not have to. It is the law of non-resistance, which is so little understood. Someone has said that courage contains genius and magic. Face a situation fearlessly and there is no situation to face. It falls away of its own weight. The explanation is that fear attracted the ladder on the woman's pathway and fearlessness removed it. Thus, the invisible forces are ever working for the man who is always pulling the strings himself, though he does not know it. Owing to the vibratory power of words, whatever man voices, he begins to attract. People who continually speak of disease invariably attract it. After man knows the truth, he cannot be too careful of his words. For example, I have a friend who often says on the phone, do come to see me and have a fine old fashioned chat. This old fashioned chat means an hour of about 500 to 1000 destructive words, the principal topics being loss, lack, failure and sickness. I reply, no thank you, I've had enough old fashioned chats in my life. They are too expensive, but I will be glad to have a new fashioned chat and talk about what we want, not what we don't want. There is an old saying that man only dares to use his words for three purposes, 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. Curses like chickens come home to roost. If a man wishes someone bad luck, he is sure to attract bad luck himself. If he wishes to aid someone to success, he is wishing and aiding himself to success. The body may be renewed and transformed through the spoken word and clear vision and disease be completely wiped out of the consciousness. The metaphysician knows that all disease has a mental correspondence and in order to heal the body one must first heal the soul. The soul is the subconscious mind and it must be saved from wrong thinking. In the 23rd Psalm we read, He Restores My Soul. This means that the subconscious mind or soul must be restored with the right ideas and the mystical marriage is the marriage of the soul and the spirit or the subconscious and superconscious mind. They must be one. When the subconscious is flooded with the perfect ideas of the superconscious, God and man are one. I and the Father are one. That is, he is one with the realm of perfect ideas. He is the man made in God's likeness and image, imagination, and is given power and dominion over all created things, his mind, body, and affairs. It is safe to say that all sickness and unhappiness come from the violation of the law of love, a new commandment I give unto you, love one another, and in the game of life, love or goodwill takes every trick. For example, a woman I know had for years an appearance of a terrible skin disease. The doctors told her it was incurable and she was in despair. She was on the stage and she feared she would soon have to give up her profession and she had no other means of support. She, however, procured a good engagement and on the opening night made a great hit. She received flattering notices from the critics and was joyful and elated. The next day she received a notice of dismissal. A man in the cast had been jealous of her success and had caused her to be sent away. She felt hatred and resentment taking complete possession of her and she cried out, Oh God, don't let me hate that man. That night she worked for hours in the silence. She said, I soon came into very deep silence. I seemed to be at peace with myself, with the man, and with the whole world. I continued this for two following nights and on the third day I found I was healed completely of the skin disease. In asking for love or goodwill she had fulfilled the law for love is the fulfilling of the law and the disease which came from the subconscious resentment was wiped out. Continual criticism produces rheumatism as critical inharmonious thoughts cause unnatural deposits in the blood which settle in the joints. False growths are caused by jealousy, hatred, unforgiveness, fear, etc. Every disease is caused by a mind not at ease. I said once in my class, there is no use asking anyone, what's the matter with you? We might as well just say, who's the matter with you? Unforgiveness is the most prolific cause of disease. It will harden arteries or liver and affect the eyesight. In its train are endless ills. I called on a woman one day who said she was ill from having eaten a poisoned oyster. I replied, oh no, the oyster was harmless. You poisoned the oyster. What's the matter with you? She answered, oh, about 19 people. She had quarreled with 19 people and had become so inharmonious that she attracted the wrong oyster. Any in harmony on the external indicates there is mental in harmony as the within sow the without. Man's only enemies are within himself and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Personality is one of the last enemies to be overcome as this planet is taking its initiation in love. It was Christ's message, peace on earth, goodwill toward man, the enlightened man therefore endeavors to perfect himself upon his neighbor. His work is within himself to send out goodwill and blessings to every man, and the marvelous thing is that if one blesses a man, he has no power to harm him. For example, a man came to me asking him to treat for success in business. He was selling machinery and a rival appeared on the scene with what he proclaimed was a better machine, and my friend feared defeat. I said, first of all, we must wipe out all fear and know that God protects your interests and that the divine idea must come out of the situation. That is, the right machine will be sold by the right man to the right man. And I added, don't hold one critical thought toward that man. Bless him all day and be willing not to sell your machine if it isn't the divine idea. So he went to the meeting, fearless and non-resistant, and blessing the other man. He said the outcome was very remarkable. The other man's machine refused to work, and he sold his without the slightest difficulty. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you. Goodwill produces a great aura of protection about the one who sends it, and no weapon that is formed against him shall prosper. In other words, love and goodwill destroy the enemies within oneself, therefore one has no enemies on the external. There is peace on earth for him who sends goodwill to man. End of Chapter 3, Recording by Amy Conger Chapter 4 of The Game of Life and How to Play It This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel-Shinn Chapter 4 The Law of Non-Resistance Resist not evil. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Nothing on earth can resist an absolutely non-resistant person. The Chinese say that water is the most powerful element because it is perfectly non-resistant. It can wear away a rock and sleep away all before it. Jesus Christ said resist not evil, for he knew in reality there is no evil, therefore nothing to resist. Evil has come of man's vain imagination or a belief in two powers, good and evil. There is an old legend that Adam and Eve ate of Maya, the tree of illusion, and saw two powers instead of one power, God. Therefore evil is a false law man has made for himself through psychoma or soul sleep. Soul sleep means that man's soul has been hypnotized by the race belief of sin, sickness and death, etc., which is carnal or mortal thought, and his affairs have out-pictured his illusions. We have read in a preceding chapter that man's soul is his subconscious mind, and whatever he feels deeply, good or bad, is out-pictured by that faithful servant. His body and affairs show forth what he has been picturing. The sick man has pictured sickness, the poor man poverty, the rich man wealth. Young people often say, why does a little child attract illness when it is too young to even know what it means? I answer that children are sensitive and receptive to the thoughts of others about them and often out-picture the fears of their parents. I heard a metaphysician once say, if you do not run your subconscious mind yourself someone else will run it for you. Mothers often, unconsciously, attract illness and disaster to their children by continually holding them in thoughts of fear and watching for symptoms. For example, a friend asked a woman if her little girl had had the measles. She replied promptly, not yet. This implied that she was expecting the illness and therefore preparing the way for what she did not want for herself and child. However, the man who is centered and established in his right thinking, the man who sends out only goodwill to his fellow man and who is without fear cannot be touched or influenced by the negative thoughts of others. In fact, he could then receive only good thoughts as he himself sends forth only good thoughts. Resistance is hell for it places man in a state of torment. A metaphysician once gave me a wonderful recipe for taking every trick in the game of life. It is the acme of non-resistance. He gave it in this way. At one time in my life I baptized children and of course they had many names. Now I no longer baptize children but I baptize events but I give every event the same name. If I have a failure I baptize it success in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. In this we see the great law of transmutation founded on non-resistance. Through his spoken word every failure was transmuted into success. For example, a woman who required money, who knew the spiritual law of opulence, was thrown continually in a business way with a man who made her feel very poor. He talked lack and limitation and she commenced to catch his poverty thoughts, so she disliked him and blamed him for her failure. She knew in order to demonstrate her supply she must first feel that she had received, a feeling of opulence must proceed its manifestation. It dawned upon her one day that she was resisting the situation and seeing two powers instead of one, so she blessed the man and baptized the situation. Success, she affirmed. As there is only one power, God, this man is here for my good and my prosperity, just what he did not seem to be there for. Soon after that she met, through this man, a woman who gave her for service rendered several thousand dollars and the man moved to a distant city and faded harmoniously from her life. Make the statement, every man is a golden link in the chain of my good, for all men are God in manifestation, awaiting the opportunity given by man himself to serve the divine plan of his life. Bless your enemy and you rob him of his ammunition. His arrows will be transmuted into blessings. This law is true of nations as well as individuals. Bless a nation, send love and goodwill to every inhabitant and it is robbed of its power to harm. Man can only get the right idea of non-resistance through spiritual understanding. My students have often said, I don't want to be a doormat. I reply, when you use non-resistance with wisdom no one will ever be able to walk over you. Another example, one day I was impatiently awaiting an important telephone call. I resisted every call that came in and made no outgoing calls myself, reasoning that it might interfere with the one I was waiting. Instead of saying, divine ideas never conflict, the call will come at the right time. Leaving it to infinite intelligence to arrange, I commenced to manage things myself. I made the battle mine, not God's, and remained tense and anxious. The bell did not ring for about an hour and I glanced at the phone and found the receiver had been off that length of time and the phone was disconnected. My anxiety, fear and belief in interference had brought on a total eclipse of the telephone. Realizing what I had done, I commenced blessing the situation at once. I baptized it success and affirmed, I cannot lose any call that belongs to me by divine right, I am under grace and not under law. A friend rushed out to the nearest telephone to notify the company to reconnect. She entered a crowded grocery but the proprietor left his customers and attended to the call himself. My phone was connected at once and two minutes later I received a very important call and about an hour afterward the one I had been awaiting. One's ships come in over a calm sea. So long as man resists a situation, he will have it with him. If he runs away from it, it will run after him. For example, I repeated this to a woman one day and she replied, How true that is! I was unhappy at home, I disliked my mother who was critical and domineering, so I ran away and was married, but I married my mother for my husband was exactly like my mother and I had the same situation to face again. Agree with thine adversary quickly. That means, agree that the adverse situation is good, be undisturbed by it and it falls away of its own weight. None of these things move me is a wonderful affirmation. The inharmonious situation comes from some in harmony within man himself. When there is in him no emotional response to an inharmonious situation, it fades away forever from his pathway. So we see man's work is ever with himself. People have said to me, Give treatments to change my husband or my brother. I reply, No, I will give treatments to change you. When you change, your husband and your brother will change. One of my students was in the habit of lying. I told her it was a failure method and if she lied she would be lied to. She replied, I don't care, I can't possibly get along without lying. One day she was speaking on the phone to a man with whom she was very much in love. She turned to me and said, I don't trust him. I know he's lying to me. I replied, Well, you lie yourself. So someone has to lie to you and you will be sure it will be just the person you want the truth of. Some time after that I saw her and she said, I'm cured of lying. I questioned, what cured you? She replied, I've been living with a woman who lied worse than I did. One is often cured of his faults by seeing them in others. Life is a mirror and we find only ourselves reflected in our associates. Living in the past is a failure method and a violation of spiritual law. Jesus Christ said, Behold, now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. The robbers of time are the past and the future. Man should bless the past and forget it if it keeps him in bondage and bless the future knowing it has in store for him endless joys. But live fully in the now. For example, a woman came to me complaining that she had no money with which to buy Christmas gifts. She said, Last year was so different. I had plenty of money and gave lovely presents and this year I scarcely have a cent. I replied, You will never demonstrate money while you are pathetic and live in the past. Live fully in the now and get ready to give Christmas presents. Dig your ditches and the money will come. She exclaimed, I know what to do. I'll buy some tinsel, twine, Christmas seals and wrapping paper. I replied, Do that and the presents will come and stick themselves to the Christmas seals. This too was showing financial fearlessness and faith in God. As the reasoning mind said, Keep every cent you have, as you are not sure you will get any more. She bought her seals paper and twine and a few days before Christmas received a gift of several hundred dollars. Buying the seals and twine had impressed the subconscious with expectancy and opened the way for the manifestation of the money. She purchased all the presents in plenty of time. Man must live suspended in the moment. Look well, therefore, to this day such is the salutation of the dawn. He must be spiritually alert, ever waiting his leads, taking advantage of every opportunity. One day I said continually, silently, Infinite spirit, don't let me miss a trick. And something very important was told to me that evening. It is most necessary to begin the day with the right words. Make an affirmation immediately upon waking. For example, Thy will be done this day. Today is a day of completion. I give thanks for this perfect day. Miracles shall follow miracle and wonders shall never cease. Make this a habit and one will see wonders and miracles come into his life. One morning I picked up a book and read, Look with wonder at that which is before you. It seemed to be my message for the day so I repeated it again and again. Look with wonder at that which is before you. At about noon a large sum of money was given to me which I had been desiring for a certain purpose. In the following chapter I will give affirmations that I have found most effective. However, one should never use an affirmation unless it is absolutely satisfying and convincing to his own consciousness. And often an affirmative is changed to suit different people. For example, the following has brought success to many. I have a wonderful work in a wonderful way. I give wonderful service for wonderful pay. I gave the first two lines to one of my students and she added the last two. It made a most powerful statement as there should always be perfect payment for perfect service and a rhyme sinks easily into the subconscious. She went about singing it aloud and soon did receive wonderful work in a wonderful way and gave wonderful service for wonderful pay. Another student, a businessman, took it and changed the word to business. He repeated, I have a wonderful business in a wonderful way and I give wonderful service for wonderful pay. That afternoon he made a $41,000 deal, though there had been no activity in his affairs for months. Every affirmation must be carefully worded and completely cover the ground. For example, I knew a woman who was in great need and made a demand for work. She received a great deal of work but was never paid anything. She now knows to add wonderful service for wonderful pay. It is man's divine right to have plenty, more than enough. His barns should be full and his cup should flow over. This is God's idea for man and when man breaks down the barriers of lack in his own consciousness, the golden age will be his and every righteous desire of his heart fulfilled. End of Chapter 4, Recording by Amy Conger Chapter 5 of The Game of Life and How to Play It This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovelchin Chapter 5, The Law of Karma and The Law of Forgiveness Man receives only that which he gives. The Game of Life is a game of boomerangs. Man's thoughts, deeds, and words return to him sooner or later with astounding accuracy. This is the law of karma which is Sanskrit for comeback. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For example, a friend told me this story of herself illustrating the law. She said, I make all my karma on my aunt. Whatever I say to her, someone says to me, I am often irritable at home when one day said to my aunt who was talking to me during dinner, no more talk, I wish to eat in peace. The following day I was lunching with a woman with whom I wished to make a great impression. I was talking animatedly when she said, no more talk, I wish to eat in peace. My friend is high in consciousness so her karma returns much more quickly than to one on the mental plane. The more man knows, the more he is responsible for, and a person with a knowledge of spiritual law which he does not practice suffers greatly in consequence. The fear of the Lord Law is the beginning of wisdom. If we read the word Lord Law, it will make many passages in the Bible much clearer. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, sayeth the Lord Law. It is the law which takes vengeance, not God. God sees man perfect, created in his own image, imagination, and given power and dominion. This is the perfect idea of man, registered in divine mind, awaiting man's recognition, for man can only be what he sees himself to be, and only attain what he sees himself attaining. Nothing ever happens without an onlooker, is an ancient saying. Man first sees his failure or success, his joy or sorrow, before it swings into visibility from the scenes set in his own imagination. We have observed this in the mother picturing disease for her child, or a woman seeing success for her husband. Jesus Christ said, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. So we see freedom from all unhappy conditions comes through knowledge, a knowledge of spiritual law. Obedience precedes authority, and the law obeys man when he obeys the law. The law of electricity must be obeyed before it becomes man's servant. When handled ignorantly, it becomes man's deadly foe, so with the laws of mind. For example, a woman with a strong personal will wished she owned a house which belonged to an acquaintance, and she often made mental pictures of herself living in the house. In the course of time, the man died, and she moved into the house. Several years afterwards, coming into the knowledge of spiritual law, she said to me, Do you think I had anything to do with that man's death? I replied, Yes, your desire was so strong, everything made way for it. But you paid your karmic debt, your husband, whom you loved devotedly, died soon after, and the house was a white elephant on your hands for many years. The original owner, however, could not have been affected by her thoughts, had he been positive in the truth, nor her husband, but they were both under karmic law. The woman should have said, feeling the great desire for the house, infinite intelligence, give me the right house, equally as charming as this, the house which is mined by divine right. The divine selection would have given perfect satisfaction, and brought good to all. The divine pattern is the only safe pattern to work by. Desire is a tremendous force, and must be directed in the right channels, or chaos ensues. In demonstrating, the most important step is the first step to ask a right. Man should always demand only that which is his by divine right. To go back to the illustration, had the woman taken this attitude, if this house I desire is mine, I cannot lose it. If it is not, give me its equivalent. The man might have decided to move out harmoniously, had it been the divine selection for her, or another house would have been substituted. Anything forced into manifestation through personal will is always ill-got, and has ever-bad success. Man is admonished, my will be done, not thine, and the curious thing is, man always gets just what he desires, when he does relinquish all personal will, thereby enabling infinite intelligence to work through him. Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord law. For example, a woman came to me in great distress. Her daughter had determined to take a very hazardous trip, and the mother was filled with fear. She said she had used every argument, had pointed out the dangers to be encountered, had forbidden her to go, but the daughter became more and more rebellious and determined. I said to the mother, you are forcing your personal will upon your daughter, which you have no right to do, and your fear of the trip is only attracting it, for man attracts what he fears. I added, let go and take your mental hands off, put it in God's hands, and use this statement. I put this situation in the hands of infinite love and wisdom. If this trip is the divine plan, I bless it and no longer resist, but if it is not divinely planned, I give thanks that it is now dissolved and dissipated. A day or two after that, her daughter said to her, mother, I have given up the trip, and the situation returned to its native nothingness. It is learning to stand still, which seems so difficult for man. I will deal more fully with this law in the chapter on non-resistance. I will give another example of sowing and reaping, which came in the most curious way. A woman came to me saying she had received a counterfeit $20 bill given to her at the bank. She was much disturbed for, she said, the people at the bank will never acknowledge their mistake. I replied, let us analyze the situation and find out why you attracted it. She thought a few moments and exclaimed, I know it. I sent a friend a lot of stage money just for a joke. So the law had sent her some stage money, for it doesn't know anything about jokes. I said, now we will call on the law of forgiveness and neutralize the situation. Christianity is founded upon the law of forgiveness. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the karmic law, and the Christ within each man is his redeemer and salvation from all inharmonious conditions. So I said, infinite spirit, we call on the law of forgiveness and give thanks that she is under grace and not under law, and cannot lose this $20 which is hers by divine right. Now I said, go back to the bank and tell them, fearlessly, that it was given you there by mistake. She obeyed and to her surprise, they apologized and gave her another bill, treating her most courteously. So knowledge of the law gives man power to rub out his mistakes. Man cannot force the external to be what he is not. If he desires riches, he must be rich first in consciousness. For example, a woman came to me asking treatment for prosperity. She did not take much interest in her household affairs and her home was in great disorder. I said to her, if you wish to be rich, you must be orderly. All men with great wealth are orderly and order is heaven's first law. I added, you will never become rich with a burnt match in the pin cushion. She had a good sense of humor and commenced immediately putting her house in order. She rearranged furniture, straightened out her bureau drawers, cleaned rugs and soon made a big financial demonstration, a gift from a relative. The woman herself became made over and keeps herself keyed up financially by being ever watchful of the external and expecting prosperity, knowing God is her supply. Many people are in ignorance of the fact that gifts and things are investments and that hoarding and saving invariably lead to loss. There is that scattereth and yet increases. There is that withholdeth more than his meat, but it tendeth to poverty. For example, I knew a man who wanted to buy a fur-lined overcoat. He and his wife went to various shops. But there was none he wanted. He said they were all too cheap looking. At last he was shown one. The salesman said was valued at a thousand dollars, but which the manager would sell him for five hundred dollars as it was late in the season. His financial possessions amounted to about seven hundred dollars. The reasoning mind would have said you can't afford to spend nearly all you have on a coat. But he was very intuitive and never reasoned. He turned to his wife and said if I get this coat I'll make a ton of money. So his wife consented weekly. About a month later he received a ten thousand dollar commission. The coat made him feel so rich it linked him with success and prosperity. Without the coat he would not have received the commission. It was an investment paying large dividends. If man ignores these leadings to spend or to give, the same amount of money will go in an uninteresting or unhappy way. For example, a woman told me on Thanksgiving day she informed her family that they could not afford a Thanksgiving dinner. She had the money but decided to save it. A few days later someone entered her room and took from the bureau drawer the exact amount the dinner would have cost. The law always stands back of the man who spends fearlessly with wisdom. For example, one of my students was shopping with her little nephew. The child clamored for a toy which she told him she could not afford to buy. She realized suddenly that she was seeking lack and not recognizing God as her supply. So she bought the toy and on her way home picked up in the street the exact amount of money she had paid for it. Man's supply is inexhaustible and unfailing when fully trusted. But faith or trust must precede the demonstration. According to your faith be it unto you. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. For faith holds the vision steady and the adverse pictures are dissolved and dissipated and in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Jesus Christ brought the good news, the gospel, that there was a higher law than the law of karma and that that law transcends the law of karma. It is the law of grace or forgiveness. It is the law which frees man from the law of cause and effect, the law of consequence. Under grace not under law. We are told that on this plane man reaps where he has not sown. The gifts of God are simply poured out upon him. All that the kingdom affords is his. This continued state of bliss awaits the man who has overcome the race or world thought. In the world thought there is tribulation but as Jesus Christ said, be of good cheer I have overcome the world. The world thought is that of sin, sickness and death. He saw their absolute unreality and said sickness and sorrow shall pass away and death itself the last enemy be overcome. We now know from a scientific standpoint that death could be overcome by stamping the subconscious mind with the conviction of eternal youth and eternal life. The subconscious being simply power without direction carries out orders without questioning. Working under the direction of the super conscious, the Christ or God within man, the resurrection of the body would be accomplished. Man would no longer throw off his body and death. It would be transformed into the body electric sung by Walt Whitman for Christianity is founded upon the forgiveness of sins and an empty tomb. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Govel-Shinn Chapter 6 Casting the Burden, Impressing the Subconscious When man knows his own powers and the workings of his mind, his great desire is to find an easy and quick way to impress the subconscious with good for simply an intellectual knowledge of the truth will not bring results. In my own case I found the easiest way is in casting the burden. A metaphysician once explained it in this manner. He said the only thing which gives anything weight in nature is the law of gravitation and if a boulder could be taken high above the planet there would be no weight in that boulder. And that is what Jesus Christ meant when he said my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He had overcome the world vibration and functioned in the fourth dimensional realm where there is only perfection, completion, life, and joy. He said come to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We are also told in the 55th Psalm to cast thy burden upon the Lord. Many passages in the Bible state that the battle is God's not man's and that man is always to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. This indicates that the super conscious mind or Christ within is the department which fights man's battle and relieves him of his burdens. We see therefore that man violates law if he carries a burden and a burden is an adverse thought or condition and this thought or condition has its root in the subconscious. It seems almost impossible to make any headway directing the subconscious from the conscious or reasoning mind as the reasoning mind the intellect is limited in its conceptions and filled with doubts and fears. How scientific is it then to cast the burden upon the super conscious mind or Christ within where it is made light or dissolved into its native nothingness? For example a woman in urgent need of money may light upon the Christ within the super conscious with the statement I cast this burden of lack on the Christ within and I go free to have plenty. The belief in lack was her burden and as she cast it upon the super conscious with its belief of plenty an avalanche of supply was the result. We read the Christ in you the hope of glory. Another example one of my students had been given a new piano and there was no room in her studio for it until she had moved out the old one. She was in a state of perplexity she wanted to keep the old piano but knew of no place to send it. She became desperate as the new piano was to be sent immediately in fact was on its way with no place to put it. She said it came to her to repeat I cast this burden on the Christ within and I go free. A few minutes later her phone rang and a woman friend asked if she might rent her old piano and it was moved out a few minutes before the new one arrived. I knew a woman whose burden was resentment she said I cast this burden of resentment on the Christ within and I go free to be loving harmonious and happy. The almighty super conscious flooded the subconscious with love and her whole life was changed for years resentment had held her in a state of torment and imprisoned her soul the subconscious mind. The statement should be made over and over and over sometimes for hours at a time silently or audibly with quietness but determination. I have often compared it to winding up a Victrola we must wind ourselves up with spoken words. I have noticed in casting the burden after a little while one seems to see clearly it is impossible to have clear vision while in the throes of carnal mind doubts and fear poison the mind and body and imagination runs riot attracting disaster and disease. Instantly repeating the affirmation I cast this burden on the Christ within and go free. The vision clears and with it a feeling of relief and sooner or later comes the manifestation of good be it health happiness or supply one of my students once asked me to explain the darkness before the dawn I referred in a preceding chapter to the fact that often before the big demonstration everything seems to go wrong and deep depression clouds the consciousness it means that out of the subconscious are rising the doubts and fears of the ages these old derelicts of the subconscious rise to the surface to be put out it is then that man should clap his symbols like Jehoshaphat and give thanks that he is saved even though he seems surrounded by the enemy the situation of lack or disease the student continued how long must one remain in the dark and I replied until one can see in the dark and casting the burden enables one to see in the dark in order to impress the subconscious active faith is always essential faith without works is dead in these chapters I have endeavored to bring out this point Jesus Christ showed active faith when he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground before he gave thanks for the loaves and the fishes I will give another example showing how necessary this step is in fact active faith is the bridge over which man passes to his promised land through misunderstanding a woman had been separated from her husband whom she loved deeply he refused all offers of reconciliation and would not communicate with her in any way coming into the knowledge of spiritual law she denied the appearance of separation she made this statement there is no separation in divine mind therefore I cannot be separated from the love and companionship which are mine by divine right she showed active faith by arranging a place for him at the table every day thereby impressing the subconscious with a picture of his return over a year past but she never wavered and one day he walked in the subconscious often impressed through music music has a fourth dimensional quality and releases the soul from imprisonment it makes wonderful things seem possible and easy of accomplishment I have a friend who uses her victorola daily for this purpose it puts her in perfect harmony and releases the imagination another woman often dances while making her affirmations the rhythm and harmony of music and motion carry her words forth with tremendous power the student must remember also not to despise the day of small things invariably before a demonstration come signs of land before Columbus reached America he saw birds and twigs which showed him land was near so it is with a demonstration but often the student mistakes it for the demonstration itself and is disappointed for example a woman had spoken the word for a set of dishes not long afterwards a friend gave her a dish which was old and cracked she came to me and said well I asked for a set of dishes and all I got was a cracked plate I replied the plate was only signs of land it shows your dishes are coming look upon it as birds and seaweed and not long afterwards the dishes came continually making believe impresses the subconscious if one makes believe he is rich and makes believe he is successful in due time he will reap children are always making believe and except ye be converted and become as little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven for example I know of a woman who was very poor but no one could make her feel poor she earned a small amount of money from rich friends who constantly reminded her of her poverty and to be careful and saving regardless of their admonitions she would spend all her earnings on a hat or make someone a gift and be in a rapturous state of mind her thoughts were always centered on beautiful clothes and rings and things but without envying others she lived in the world of the wondrous and only riches seemed real to her before long she married a rich man and the rings and things became visible I do not know whether the man was the divine selection but opulence had to manifest in her life as she had imaged only opulence there is no peace or happiness for man until he has erased all fear from the subconscious fear is misdirected energy and must be redirected or transmuted into faith Jesus Christ said why are ye fearful oh ye of little faith all things are possible to him that believeth I am asked so often by my students how can I get rid of fear I replied by walking up to the thing you are afraid of the lion takes its fierceness from your fear walk up to the lion and he will disappear run away and he runs after you I have shown in previous chapters how the lion of lack disappeared when the individual spent money fearlessly showing faith that God was his supply and therefore unfailing many of my students have come out of the bondage of poverty and are now bountifully supplied through losing all fear of letting money go out the subconscious is impressed with the truth that God is the giver and the gift therefore as one is one with the giver he is one with the gift a splendid statement is I now thank God the giver for God the gift man has so long separated himself from his good and his supply through thoughts of separation and lack that sometimes it takes dynamite to dislodge these false ideas from the subconscious and the dynamite is a big situation we see in the foregoing illustration how the individual was freed from his bondage by showing fearlessness man should watch himself hourly to detect if his motive for action is fear or faith choose ye this day whom we shall serve fear or faith perhaps one's fear is of personality then do not avoid the people feared be willing to meet them cheerfully and they will either prove golden links in the chain of one's good or disappear harmoniously from one's pathway perhaps one's fear is of disease or germs then one should be fearless and undisturbed in a germ laden situation and he would be immune one can only contract germs while vibrating at the same rate as the germ and fear drags men down to the level of the germ of course the disease laden germ is the product of carnal mind as all thought must objectify germs do not exist in the super conscious or divine mind therefore are the products of man's vain imagination in the twinkling of an eye man's release will come when he realizes there is no power in evil the material world will fade away and the fourth dimensional world the world of the wondrous will swing into manifestation and i saw a new heaven and a new earth and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away end of chapter six recording by Amy Conger chapter seven of the game of life and how to play it this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox dot org the game of life and how to play it by Florence Scovelchin chapter seven love every man on this planet is taking his initiation in love a new commandment i give on to you that ye love one another Ospensky states in Tersham Organum that love is a cosmic phenomenon and opens to man the fourth dimensional world the world of the wondrous real love is selfish and free from fear it pours itself out upon the object of its affection without demanding any return its joy is in the joy of giving love is god in manifestation and the strongest magnetic force in the universe pure unselfish love draws to itself its own it does not need to seek or demand scarcely anyone has the faintest conception of real love man is selfish tyrannical or fearful in his affections thereby losing the things he loves jealousy is the worst enemy of love for the imagination runs riot seeing the loved one attracted to another and invariably these fears objectify if they are not neutralized for example a woman came to me in deep distress the man she loved had left her for another woman and said he never intended to marry her she was torn with jealousy and resentment and said she hoped he would suffer as he had made her suffer and added how could he leave me when I loved him so much I replied you are not loving that man you are hating him and added you can never receive what you have never given give a perfect love and you will receive a perfect love perfect yourself on this man give him a perfect unselfish love demanding nothing in return do not criticize or condemn and bless him wherever he is she replied no I won't bless him unless I know where he is well I said that is not real love when you send out real love real love will return to you either from this man or his equivalent for if this man is not the divine selection you will not want him as you are one with god you are one with the love which belongs to you by divine right several months passed and matters remained about the same but she was working conscientiously within herself I said when you are no longer disturbed by his cruelty he will cease to be cruel as you are attracting it through your own emotions then I told her of a brotherhood in India who never said good morning to each other they used these words I salute the divinity in you they saluted the divinity in every man and in the wild animals in the jungle and they were never harmed for they saw only god in every living thing I said salute the divinity in this man and say I see your divine self only I see you as god sees you perfect made in his image and likeness she found she was becoming more poised and gradually losing her resentment he was a captain and she always called him the cap one day she said suddenly god bless the cap wherever he is I replied now that is real love and when you have become a complete circle and are no longer disturbed by the situation you will have his love or attract its equivalent I was moving at this time and did not have a telephone so was out of touch with her for a few weeks when one morning I received a letter saying we are married at the earliest opportunity I paid her a call my first words were what happened oh she exclaimed a miracle one day I woke up and all suffering had ceased I saw him that evening and he asked me to marry him we were married in about a week and I have never seen a more devoted man there is an old saying no man is your enemy no man is your friend every man is your teacher so one should become impersonal and learn what each man has to teach him and soon he would learn his lessons and be free the woman's lover was teaching her selfish which every man sooner or later must learn suffering is not necessary for man's development it is the result of violation of spiritual law but few people seem able to rouse themselves from their soul sleep without it when people are happy they usually become selfish and automatically the law of karma is set in action man often suffers loss through lack of appreciation I knew a woman who had a very nice husband but she said often I don't care anything about being married but that is nothing against my husband I'm simply not interested in married life she had other interests and scarcely remembered she had a husband she only thought of him when she saw him one day her husband told her he was in love with another woman and left she came to me in distress and resentment I replied it is exactly what you spoke the word for you said you didn't care anything about being married so the subconscious worked to get you unmarried she said oh yes I see people get what they want and then feel very much hurt she soon became in perfect harmony with the situation and knew they were both much happier apart when a woman becomes indifferent or critical and ceases to be an inspiration to her husband he misses the stimulus of their early relationship and is restless and unhappy a man came to me dejected miserable and poor his wife was interested in the science of numbers and had had him read it seems the report was not very favorable for he said my wife says I'll never amount to anything because I am a two I replied I don't care what your number is you are a perfect idea in divine mind and we will demand the success and prosperity which are already planned for you by that infinite intelligence within a few weeks he had a very fine position and a year or two later he achieved a brilliant success as a writer no man is a success in business unless he loves his work the picture the artist paints for love of his art is his greatest work the pot boiler is always something to live down no man can attract money if he despises it many people are kept in poverty by saying money means nothing to me I have a contempt for people who have it it this is the reason so many artists are poor their contempt for money separates them from it I remember hearing one artist say of another he's no good as an artist but he has money in the bank this attitude of mind of course separates man from his supply he must be in harmony with a thing in order to attract it money is god in manifestation as freedom from want and limitation but it must be always kept in circulation and put to right uses hoarding and saving react with grim vengeance this does not mean that man should not have houses and lots stocks and bonds for the barns of the righteous man shall be full it means that man should not hoard even the principle if an occasion arises when money is necessary in letting it go out fearlessly and cheerfully he opens the way for more to come in for god is man's unfailing and inexhaustible supply this is the spiritual attitude towards money and the great bank of the universal never fails we see an example of hoarding in the film production of greed the woman won five thousand dollars in a lottery but would not spend it she hoarded and saved let her husband suffer and starve and eventually she scrubbed floors for a living she loved the money itself and put it above everything and one night she was murdered and the money taken from her this is an example of where love of money is the root of all evil money in itself is good and beneficial but used for destructive purposes hoarded and saved or considered more important than love brings disease and disaster and the loss of the money itself follow the path of love and all things are added for god is love and god is supply follow the path of selfishness and greed and the supply vanishes or man is separated from it for example i knew the case of a very rich woman who hoarded her income she rarely gave anything away but bought and bought and bought things for herself she was very fond of necklaces and a friend once asked her how many she possessed she replied 67 she bought them and put them away carefully wrapped in tissue paper had she used the necklaces it would have been quite legitimate but she was violating the law of use her closets were filled with clothes she never wore and jewels which never saw the light the old woman's arms were gradually becoming paralyzed from holding on to things and eventually she was considered incapable of looking after her affairs and her wealth was handed over to others to manage so man in ignorance of the law brings about his own destruction all disease all unhappiness come from the violation of the law of love man's boomerangs of hate resentment and criticism come back laden with sickness and sorrow love seems almost a lost art but the man with the knowledge of spiritual law knows it must be regained for without it he has become as sounding brass and tinkling symbols for example i had a student who came to me month after month to clean her consciousness of resentment after a while she arrived at the point where she resented only one woman but that one woman kept her busy little by little she became poised and harmonious and one day all resentment was wiped out she came in radiant and exclaimed you can't understand how i feel the woman said something to me and instead of being furious i was loving and kind and she apologized and was perfectly lovely to me no one can understand the marvelous lightness i feel within love and goodwill are invaluable in business for example a woman came to me complaining of her employer she said she was cold and critical and she knew she did not want her in the position well i replied salute the divinity in the woman and send her love she said i can't she's a marble woman i answered you remember the story of the sculptor who asked for a certain piece of marble he was asked why he wanted it and he replied because there is an angel in the marble and out of it he produced a wonderful work of art she said very well i'll try it a week later she came back and said i did what you told me and now the woman is very kind and took me out in her car people are sometimes filled with remorse for having done someone an unkindness perhaps years ago if the wrong cannot be righted its effect can be neutralized by doing someone a kindness in the present this one thing i do for getting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before sorrow regret and remorse tear down the cells of the body and poison the atmosphere of the individual a woman said to me in deep sorrow treat me to be happy and joyous for my sorrow makes me so irritable with the members of my family that i keep making more karma i was asked to treat a woman who was mourning for her daughter i denied all belief in loss and separation and affirmed that god was the woman's joy love and peace the woman gained her poise at once but sent word by her son not to treat any longer because she was so happy it wasn't respectable so mortal mind loves to hang on to its griefs and regrets i knew a woman who went about bragging of her troubles so of course she always had something to brag about the old idea was if a woman did not worry about her children she was not a good mother now we know that mother fear is responsible for many of the diseases and accidents which come into the lives of children for fear pictures vividly the disease or situation feared and these pictures objectify if not neutralized happy is the mother who can say sincerely that she puts her child in god's hands and therefore knows that he is divinely protected for example a woman awoke suddenly in the night feeling her brother was in great danger instead of giving into her fears she commenced making statements of truth saying man is a perfect idea in divine mind and is always in his right place therefore my brother is in his right place and is divinely protected the next day she found that her brother had been in close proximity to an explosion in a mine but had miraculously escaped so man is his brother's keeper in thought and every man should know that the thing he loves dwells in the secret place of the most high and abides under the shadow of the almighty there shall no evil befall thee neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling perfect love casteth out fear he that fierce is not made perfect in love and love is the fulfilling of the law end of chapter seven recording by Amy Conger