"The Game of Life & How To Play It" is The Original Book in English by Florence Scovel Shinn. Kundanika Kapadia from India write a condensed translation in Gujarati. Here is a Marathi translation of that Gujarati Condensed edition. Some excerpts from the book: 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. 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 superconscious. The subconscious, is simply power, without direction. It is like steam or electricity, and it does what it is directed to do; 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. 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 limitation of every kind, and it impresses the subconscious. The superconscious 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." If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for. 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. 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 ye 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."" Review By studying and practicing the principles laid down in this book, one may find prosperity, solve problems, have better health, achieve personal relations-in a word, win the game of life. --Norman Vincent Peale The Game of Life and How to Play It, by Florence Scovel Shinn, helped me crystallize my own thinking and moved me forward on the path to where I am today. --Louise Hay