Book: Working with the Law

Overview
Working with the Law (1964) by Raymond Holliwell presents a concise New Thought framework for personal growth, prosperity, and spiritual order. Holliwell contends that the universe operates by dependable, impersonal laws as exact as physical law. Human thought is causal, and experience is the effect; by learning what these laws are and cooperating with them in mind, feeling, and action, one can transform conditions in health, wealth, relationships, and purpose. The book’s tone is practical and instructional, aiming to bridge metaphysical principles with everyday decisions and habits.

The laws
Holliwell organizes his teaching around a set of universal laws, including the Laws of Thinking, Supply, Attraction, Receiving, Increase, Compensation, Non-Resistance, Forgiveness, Sacrifice, Obedience, and Success. The Law of Thinking asserts that dominant ideas shape results; mental images, belief, and sustained attention set causes in motion. The Law of Supply declares that infinite supply exists, but it must be approached through demand, expectancy, and expanded capacity; scarcity is a mental contraction, not a cosmic fact. The Law of Attraction maintains that like attracts like, with feeling-toned thought drawing corresponding people, opportunities, and events. The Law of Receiving stresses openness and circulation; giving, gratitude, and readiness dissolve fear and allow good to flow through available channels. The Law of Increase teaches that praise and constructive focus multiply good, while criticism and worry diminish it. The Law of Compensation links return to the value and quality of service; improvement of skill, attitude, and usefulness raises one’s rightful reward. The Law of Non-Resistance counsels against fighting conditions; redirect energy into building the desired pattern and refuse to be impressed by appearances of evil. The Law of Forgiveness releases resentment, which otherwise binds one to the very circumstances one dislikes. The Law of Sacrifice requires exchanging a lower habit or comfort for a higher aim; progress costs attention, time, and preference. The Law of Obedience emphasizes aligning thought and conduct with principle rather than impulse. The Law of Success frames success as the progressive realization of a worthy ideal through ordered thinking, purposeful action, and perseverance.

Practice and application
Holliwell treats these laws as dynamic processes rather than slogans. He urges mental discipline: choose a clear aim, build a vivid inner picture, affirm it with feeling, and act in harmony with it daily. He couples faith with competence, urging study, skill-building, and service as vehicles through which supply moves. Gratitude and praise expand capacity, while generosity and wise circulation keep channels open. Non-resistance and forgiveness dissolve friction, freeing attention for creative work. Obstacles are reframed as signals to refine thought, deepen conviction, and improve method, not as verdicts of fate.

Style and influence
The book blends spiritual conviction with common-sense examples, often drawing on biblical imagery while maintaining a cause-and-effect logic. Its influence is felt across later prosperity and self-help literature, especially in teachings on the creative power of thought and the Law of Attraction, yet Holliwell distinguishes himself by stressing responsibility, service, and ethical alignment as integral to manifestation.

Key takeaway
Working with the Law proposes that life improves to the degree one brings thought, emotion, and deed into obedience to universal principles. By selecting a worthy ideal, cultivating a confident, grateful mental state, rendering ever-better service, and refusing resistance, resentment, and fear, one cooperates with the laws that govern results. Success is not accidental; it is the natural outcome of living in conscious harmony with law.