TinyThoughtGuy

With all of mylengthy reviews thus far, I think it is time to make one short and sweet, well at least short and not bitter=;0)

Written in 1925, by one of the few females in the New Thought/New Age/Self-Help genre at the time, Florence Scovel Shinn’s first book, “The Game of Life and How to Play It” made for an informative read. Certainly, some of the examples and societal norms have changed in the 90 years since it was written; however, the wisdom contained on the pages of the aforementioned title still applies to this day.

In a style that is exuberant and easy to read, Florence advocates that, “…what man images, sooner or later externalizes in his affairs” and that in order to ensure success in this outer world/physical world, in the “Game of Life,” a person needs to have a knowledge of the inner world, the world of the spiritual.

Our thoughts, positive and negative, go out into the world and manifest in kind: thoughts of fear and worry materialize undesirable conditions and events while positive thoughts serve to improve our well-being. In her words, “The Game of Life is a game of boomerangs. Man’s thoughts, deeds and words, return to him sooner or later, with astounding accuracy.”

Florence goes on to blend the concepts of the conscious and subconscious minds with frequent references to Scripture, more so than any of her contemporaries that I have read to date. I did find some of the perspectives intriguing, for example when Florence states, “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.” I would concur with her assertion, yet the frequency of Biblical references in this book was a little excessive for my tastes. I realize that this is just a personal bias and some readers might find this aspect of her writing to be the most poignant: Amen.