By Jim Whitt
Comedian Flip Wilson was at his absolute best when he put on a wig, miniskirt and go-go boots to play the part of Geraldine Jones. Geraldine’s most famous line was delivered with this flirtatious boast, “What you see is what you get!” And Geraldine was right in a way she, or he if you prefer, never intended. We naturally gravitate to what we see — and what we see is what we get.
This is what Earl Nightingale described in The Strangest Secret, a recording he made in 1956 that sold over a million copies. Earl Nightingale had a gold record on his first try and he didn’t play an instrument or sing a note. What he did was give birth to the billion dollar audio personal-development industry. Nightingale said the only thing that all of the wise men, teachers, philosophers and prophets have completely and unanimously agreed upon is this — we become what we think about. That’s the strangest secret. Think of how powerful this is when you consider that your superhuman possesses the intellect, will and emotions of God.
During my purposeful transformation, I started experiencing this supernatural thought process. Most of my communication with God in my pre-purpose life was one-way. I’d deliver a monologue commonly referred to as prayer. After all, this is what we’re conditioned to do and not getting any audible feedback makes for periods of long silence.
Sometime after discovering my purpose, I decided to take a different approach. I started writing letters to God. First in long hand and then, as I became less technologically-challenged, I started typing these letters on my computer. I did this with the intent that I would be more focused and my mind might not wander as much. But I discovered that my mind still wandered. In fact, it seemed the more I tried to focus and concentrate, the more I was distracted by a barrage of seemingly unrelated random thoughts.
One day as I was dutifully typing away on my letter to God I thought about a phone call I needed to make. I picked up the phone, dialed the number, and only afterwards realized I’d just stopped mid-sentence in my monologue to make the call. Dang it, I’d done it again. I just couldn’t stay focused. Then a funny thought popped into my head — could my wandering thoughts, in reality, be God talking to me? Was the reason I wasn’t getting any response because I never let him get a word in edgewise? I mean, after all, I was asking for guidance. Could his response be that I was supposed to make that phone call right then?
My animal ears were tuned into the frequency of the natural channel. My superhuman was tuned into the frequency of the supernatural channel. In my effort to make sure I was spending enough time with God, I failed to understand there is no possible way to spend any more time with him. After all, my superhuman is the part of me that is God. I’m connected 24/7 as they say — twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
This transformed my understanding of God. He wasn’t on the outside looking in, he was on the inside looking out. I possess the intellect, the will and emotions of God because he resides inside of me. In Bruce Almighty, God expresses his frustration with our failure to understand this concept.
God: People want me to do everything for them but what they don’t understand is they have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle.
Bruce: Wait, are you leaving?
God: Yeah, I see that you can handle things now.
Bruce: But what if I need you? What if I have questions?
God: That’s your problem, Bruce. That’s everybody’s problem. You keep looking up.
Being on purpose is being tuned into the supernatural frequency. You don’t have to look up to find God — you just look in. He’s the superhuman in you.
As I evolve in my purpose that supernatural station comes in clearer with less static from external stimuli. I don’t feel guilty anymore when I’m in mid-sentence with God and I think about someone to call or something to do. I now realize that is God. I now understand that this is a dynamic process of communication — it’s a constant dialogue that never ceases.
Imagine, thinking like God — or more accurately, him thinking through you. It’s the Force. The Force is with you. It’s in you. How do mere mortals conceive of putting people on the moon? And even more mind-boggling, how do we actually pull it off? In the words of Peter Nivio Zarlenga, “I am thought. I can see what the eyes cannot see. I can hear what the ears cannot hear. I can feel what the heart cannot feel.” Your natural vision allows you to view the tangible. Your supernatural vision allows you to see the intangible. This is the source of our inspiration.
Alan Jackson recorded a moving anthem about the terrorist attacks on 9/11 entitled Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning. Jackson will always be credited as the author of the song’s lyrics but he’s not bashful about revealing the source of his inspiration, “God wrote it. I just held the pencil.”