Florence Scovel Shinn (1871-1940) revolutionized our understanding of success and spirituality through her groundbreaking work, particularly in “The Game of Life and How to Play It.” Her unique approach combined metaphysical wisdom with practical application, presenting life as a game that everyone can learn to play successfully. As she famously stated, “Life is a game and you have to know the rules if you want to play it successfully.”
The Basic Rules of the Game
At its core, Shinn taught that life operates according to spiritual laws as exact as those of mathematics. She emphasized that understanding and working with these laws leads to success in all areas of life. “The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.”
This principle of return forms the foundation of her teaching. Everything we send out through our thoughts, words, and actions eventually comes back to us. This isn’t a matter of reward or punishment, but rather a natural law operating with mathematical precision. Understanding this fundamental principle changes how we approach every aspect of our lives.
The Power of the Word
Words hold tremendous creative power in Shinn’s teaching. Every word we speak acts as a declaration to the universe, setting in motion forces that will eventually manifest in our experience. This applies not only to our spoken words but also to our internal dialogue. The words we habitually use, whether aloud or in our thoughts, shape our expectations, and our expectations shape our reality.
This understanding leads to a crucial practice: becoming conscious of our words and choosing them wisely. When we catch ourselves using negative or defeating language, we can immediately cancel these words and replace them with positive declarations. This isn’t mere positive thinking; it’s a practical application of spiritual law.
Perfect Self-Expression
Each person has a divine purpose and perfect place in life. Success comes from finding and expressing this inner truth. Shinn taught that we each have a unique gift to offer the world, and our greatest fulfillment comes from discovering and expressing this gift. This isn’t about forcing or struggling, but about allowing our natural talents and inclinations to flow freely.
The path to perfect self-expression involves clearing away the mental and emotional blocks that prevent its natural emergence. These blocks often take the form of fear, doubt, and negative expectations. As we release these impediments through conscious work with our thoughts and words, our true purpose begins to reveal itself naturally.
Playing the Game Successfully
Success in the game of life requires understanding and applying several key principles. First among these is the law of expectancy. What we deeply expect, we tend to experience. This goes beyond mere surface wishes or hopes to our foundational beliefs about life and ourselves. Changing our expectations often requires deep work with our subconscious beliefs.
Non-resistance plays a crucial role in successful living. This doesn’t mean becoming passive or accepting injustice, but rather learning to work with life’s flow rather than against it. When we resist current conditions, we often inadvertently strengthen them. When we accept what is while holding a vision of what we desire, we create the conditions for positive change.
The Power of Demonstration
Shinn taught that proper application of these principles leads to “demonstration” – the manifestation of our desires. This process begins with forming a clear vision of what we want to create in our lives. The vision must be held steadily in mind while we speak and act as though it were already accomplished. This requires faith – not blind faith, but faith based on understanding of spiritual law.
Faith grows through practice and experience. As we work with these principles in small ways and see results, our faith naturally increases. This enables us to tackle larger demonstrations with greater confidence. The process always involves maintaining peace and trust regardless of outer appearances.
Practical Application in Daily Life
The practical application of Shinn’s principles begins with how we start each day. The early morning hours provide an excellent opportunity to set the tone for the day through conscious use of words and thoughts. This might involve declaring good for ourselves and others, setting positive expectations, and expressing gratitude for what we have and what’s coming.
Throughout the day, we can practice maintaining awareness of our words and thoughts, quickly correcting any negative patterns we notice. This ongoing vigilance gradually reshapes our habitual thinking patterns. The evening offers another crucial time for spiritual work, as we can review our day and release any negative experiences before sleep.
Working with Challenges
Challenges and difficulties provide opportunities to practice these principles at a deeper level. When facing obstacles, we can choose to see them not as problems but as opportunities for demonstrating spiritual law. This might involve declaring the perfect outcome despite appearances, maintaining inner peace during outer turmoil, and trusting in divine timing and order.
The practice becomes particularly powerful when we extend it to our relationships with others. Shinn taught that blessing others, regardless of their behavior, creates a positive boomerang effect in our own lives. This includes practicing forgiveness, releasing judgment, and seeing the divine potential in everyone we meet.
Modern Relevance
These teachings remain remarkably relevant in our modern world. The principles Shinn described operate as effectively today as they did when she first presented them. In fact, given the increasing pace and pressure of contemporary life, understanding and applying these principles becomes even more valuable.
The journey to mastery involves learning to trust more deeply, love more freely, give more generously, and live more joyfully. As we align ourselves with spiritual law through right thinking and speaking, we find life flowing more smoothly and good coming to us more naturally. The game of life, played with understanding and skill, becomes not a struggle but a joyous adventure in conscious creation.