In the 7th Chapter of the book, titled, ‘Love – the Strongest Magnetic Force’ (Shinn, page 20) I was fortunate enough to glean a very important lesson that must have been hidden from many because of the inherent materialism of man; I realized from this chapter that if the spending, acquisition, and the saving of money is guided by a well-placed love for it, then money will come flowing. To abjectly feel contempt for money is an attitude that keeps money away. (Shinn, page 21) This concept is grounded on the belief that for me to able to attract something, I have to be in harmony with it.
(Shinn, page 21) From this particular chapter I was also convinced that money is a manifestation of God, and that God, who is the infinite supply, is also the source of all material bounty. (Shinn, page 22) Therefore, if I seek money with the aim of using it for my needs, and not for excessive desires and luxuries; if I save money but avoid from holding on to it simply because I want to hoard it; and if I readily let go of it for my personal use or for the use of those who need it more than I do, the money will come flowing, based on the idea that with God as the eternal supply, I will never find myself wanting.
I will never find myself in dire insufficiency if I believe in this concept and live it accordingly. For me, this is a very important realization because I am often too associated with money, and the disassociation scares me considering how most people can become very insecure because of this disassociation. However, the affirmation that the ‘supply’ is eternal and that the ‘supply’ will continue to provide for as long as there is a need makes it all the more easy for me to disassociate myself from money in the secure thought that there is more to come.
LESSON 2: That giving out true love will earn me the person intended for me who may not necessarily be the one whom I am with now. This lesson is grounded on the idea that each human being is divine, and my recognition of this divinity in every human being will teach me to love genuinely. (Shinn, page 21) My recognition of this divinity of man will allow me accept everything about that person, and in effect, enable me to give out true love, which will in turn open myself up to accept true love for myself.
So, what I have realized from this is that if for instance I am not happy with the person I am with at the moment, all I have to do is to recognize the divinity of that person and fate, directed by the Infinite Intelligence, will take its course and put me in the right place. (Shinn, page 23) This basically means that if I give out true love, I will also receive true love; if not from the person I am currently with, maybe from some other person who is intended to give me the kind of love that I give out.
From this concept, I was able to conclude that there is actually no point in dwelling in my misery if a person has caused me suffering or pain, because these negative emotions can attract negative emotions and keep me from being able to give out true love, resulting to the cosmic response which would be the elusion of true love from my negative, suffering, and pessimistic self.
This has allowed me to develop a more optimistic and more liberal view on my relationships because if I take this concept into consideration I would probably be happier with my relationships and not be easily affected by disappointments or frustrations that these relationships may bring along. LESSON 3: That if I open myself to the Infinite Intelligence, I will be able to perform well with my talents because I am allowing a higher genius to use my corporeal self as a channel.
Infinite Intelligence, being the source of everything, is also the source of talent, and I was particularly enlightened by the fact that if I were to do things on my own, simply trusting my own mortal capacities, I would not be able to do as much as I would be able to do if I trusted in Infinite Intelligence to do the job. If I open myself up to Infinite Intelligence, then I would not only be using my own human capacities, but would be drawing from my divine nature as well.
It is therefore logical that the best thing to do in such a situation would be to invoke the Spirit ‘to open the way for the manifestation of the Divine Design’. (Shinn, page 28) This is merely restating the already known belief that I should allow myself to become a channel for Infinite Intelligence for the Divine Design to be fulfilled through my talents; simply put, I should allow myself and my talents to be used by God for His Purpose.
With this in mind, supposedly, I would perform not only to the best of what is humanly possible, but also to the best of what is Divinely possible. With barely a handful of people aware of this concept, then this would give me an advantage and allow me to rise above the rest; however, this kind of wisdom should not be kept for myself, rather, it should also be shared with others so that others may contribute to the Universal Divine Design in the way that each has been individually destined to contribute.
Perhaps now, this would not turn out to be much of a lesson, but for me, this is a breakthrough because this is actually an effective way for me to improve, not only in individual growth, but in my performances as a student, a member of the community, and as a productive component of society. LESSON 4: That being a cheerful receiver is just as important as being a cheerful giver. Had I not read this book, I would still be stuck with the Christian belief that what is important in life is how much I can give.
After reading the passages about ‘receiving’ I realized that although I should not expect anything in return when I give, which is the quality of sincere generosity, I should also not refuse anything that is given to me for the plain reason that everything that is given is a gift from God and that people are merely used as channels for these gifts. (Shinn, page 30) From this I found out that refusing something that is freely given to me is just as bad as refusing what God gives to me as gifts, and if I go on refusing everything that is given to me, I might upset the cosmic balance and hence, receive less than compared to what I give out.
Although the guiding concept here is that, like talents, I should open myself up to the dual flows coming from the Ultimate Source, what is more important is the realization that in giving, I also attract givers to give to me what can be given and given freely. I realized from this particular lesson that generosity is not a one way street; that generosity is actually a chain of events set off by an initial sincere giving. If I refuse what is given to me, I don’t only refuse God’s gifts but also break the chain or contagion of generosity.
‘The Lord loveth a cheerful giver receiver, as well as a cheerful giver. ’ (Shinn, page 30) Although I am currently very generous, this realization has allowed me to logically explain why some people are generous and some people are not; perhaps, at some point, the chain of generosity was broken which resulted to the discontinuity of the generosity which is supposed to pervade every single human being to begin with.
Works Cited Shinn, Florence Scovel . The Game of Life and How to Play It. 3rd ed. Essex, United Kingdom: C. W. Daniel Company, n. d. 20-30.