WHERE’S GOD?
Bruce I. Doyle, III

Several months ago a friend told me the following cute joke:

Two young boys, Jack and Tim, were up to their usual tricks of pulling pig tails, throwing spit balls, and generally being mischievous during Church service. The Pastor normally ignored them assuming that they would settle down if they received no attention. One particular Sunday, they were quite unruly and were visibly bothering a significant portion of the congregation. The Pastor decided, "Enough is enough". After the service, he waited in the shadows, near the rear door where the boys usually hung out dreaming up more mischief. As the boys approached, the Pastor reached from the shadows to collar them. Jack got snared and Tim ran home as fast as he could. The Pastor, trying to be gentle but firm, ushered Jack into his office, sat him in front of his desk and asked Jack, "Where is God?" Jack, with a blank look on his face remained silent and motionless. After a few minutes the Pastor, feeling some frustration, raised his voice slightly and repeated, "Where is God"? Jack again had no reply. Getting even more upset, the Pastor raised his voice even louder and said, "Where is God"? Jack still remained speechless. With desperation in his voice, the Pastor pounded on his desk and once again, in a booming voice asked, "Where is God"? Jack, scared out of his wits, jumped up, ran out the door, down the street, up on Tim’s porch, in the front door, up to Tim’s room, pounded on the door and pleaded. "Let me in, let me in". Tim ripped open the door replying, "What’s wrong? what’s wrong? Why are you so upset?" Jack, gasping for breath, shouted, "We’ve done it this time. We are really in big trouble". "What are you talking about? replied, Tim. Jack shouted, "We are really in big trouble, God’s missing and they think we have him".

This joke and an article published in the San Diego Union Tribune on October 21, 2001 titled "Where Was God?" referring to his whereabouts on September 11, 2001 had me pondering what happened that day from a higher perspective.
The key is who, what, where, is God and what is your vision or belief about who he or she or it is? These questions have been explored for centuries. Do I have direct answers from God about these questions? No, but I can share with you my experience of what I believe and how I see it. If sharing my point of view gives you new insight – great. If it doesn’t, continue the life you are living – it’s yours.

My understanding of God is that IT is all knowing, intelligent, unlimited, energy that at some point had the desire to experience ITself in as many ways as possible. That desire, in the form of thought energy - a thoughtform - instantaneously began replicating itself into every conceivable thing that we as humans experience as our universe and into those universes that are beyond human awareness. In other words, the God energy transformed ITself into that which IT chose to experience. You see, there is nothing that is outside of God energy. All that exists and all that does not exist is God energy. That is all there is. God energy is ALL THERE IS. You got it – that includes YOU and it includes ME. It also includes everything that you can see, hear, touch, and feel and that which you can’t. It’s all God energy experiencing ITself in every permutation and combination of experience. Yes, I said all of it – the earth, the sky, the trees, the rocks, cars, houses, animals, other people – everything is God energy experiencing ITself as what we perceive as "this" or "that".

The entire Universe unfolded, and continues to unfold, from God’s thinking. The ideas that God energy thinks are manifest into what we call reality through the medium of light. Everything is light vibrating at different frequencies. You already know that colors are light at different frequencies. The brighter the color the higher the frequency. And, as you might also know, white includes all of the other colors and is the highest frequency. White integrates all of the other colors. There is no separation. It’s a good analogy for the statement, "We are all one". If God energy experiences ITself as that which it chooses to experience then there is only ONE thing – God energy. IT’s all integrated. The separation we perceive among objects and people is not really there. There is invisible energy – God energy – connecting everything together into ONE whole. Everything is just ONE thing manifest into what we perceive as individualized parts – you, me, and everything we see "out there".

The Universal principle that makes it all work is very simple. It’s so simple that most of us don’t get it – yes, it took me awhile, too. The ONE mind thinks ideas and manifests what it thinks. If we are individualized parts of the ONE mind, guess what! You got it – what we think manifests as our individualized reality. "The thoughts that we think and the beliefs that we hold create what we experience as our individualized reality". Does that mean that each one of us lives in our own self-created world and is responsible for what we experience? It sure does. And, that knowledge usually scares the daylights out of those who first become aware of it. It means total responsibility for one’s life. "Oh dear, no more blaming, no more excuses". "Gosh that’s not fair". "That’s a lot of responsibility". Yes, but look at the benefit. Now, with this understanding, you can begin to become aware of your thoughts and beliefs and structure them to create the experiences that you prefer to have.

Our individual thoughts are the thread in the fabric of the cloth we weave as own lives and, collectively, we weave the tapestry of Life – which we ALL experience. When GOD energy created the idea of human, IT factored in "free will". Free will gives each of us the freedom to "choose" what we, as individuals, desire to express or experience. We choose our thoughts. We choose our beliefs. We choose our actions. We choose our reactions. Therefore, we choose our experiences.

Frequently I have heard what we humans say to the God energy, "Thy will is my will". For all practical purposes that translates into, "God, what is it that you want me to do?" We spend our entire life trying to figure it out. Yes, I did, too. The cosmic joke is that the God energy has the same point of view. By giving humans free will, the God energy is essentially saying the same thing "Thy will is my will". The God energy is saying, "Hey, I gave you free will, your life is your life. Do what makes you happy, gives you joy, and brings you peace". From one perspective, we could draw the conclusion that God doesn’t care. If IT did, IT would be controlling every one of us, not giving us freedom to make our own choices moment by moment. Doesn’t it seem strange that when two countries are at war both sides believe God energy is on their side supporting them to win? How could that be? If it were true, God energy would be out of integrity. That is very unlikely. What’s really happening is that God energy is simply allowing each side to choose their own experience. Unfortunately, the warring factions are not yet aware that they are all ONE. [Since September 11th, I can say we are not aware that we are all ONE.]

Where was God on September 11, 2001? God was watching the cosmic ticker tape to see how ITs investment in the idea of human "free will" was doing. Although the long term trend is positive, there have been set backs along the way. Fortunately, God is in it for the long haul, so IT continues to monitor human progress. IT knows that Life, as humans see it, is all just "experience" from a spiritual perspective – the experience that we collectively choose. It’s like a play. Planet Earth is a spiritual experiment in the evolution of human consciousness. The outcome is up to us – ALL of us. As The Four Agreements author, Don Miguel Ruiz, stated during a visit to The Center for Creative Living, "Life is a game and we are all toys". So, why not enjoy life just as God energy created it. We are here to enjoy Life to the maximum and do what makes us feel fulfilled. Within each of us is the desire to be happy, joyful, and fulfilled. That desire is God energy’s investment in you. Follow it! That is the key to finding your true purpose. Follow your heart. Follow your joy and you will be expressing God’s will for you. And, guess what, then your will and God’s will - will be identical. God would love for you to be happy, joyful, and fulfilled. As this occurs, pass your joy along to others so someday "God Bless America" will become "God Bless Us All" recognizing that All is ONE.

Bruce Doyle has over 20 years experience as a Corporate Executive, Career Coach, and Business Consultant. His book, Before You Think Another Thought, is dedicated to helping individuals achieve their full potential by having them realize that it’s their beliefs that create their limiting life experiences.

Before You Think Another Thought, available in bookstores and at: www.hamptonroadspub.com and www.amazon.com has been translated into Spanish, German, and Portuguese. Bruce has over 15 articles published, appears on radio talk shows, leads PowerUp for Success workshops, and serves as a keynote speaker. He is the Principal of Growth Dynamics International and is a member of the Board of Directors of The San Diego Leadership Initiative and the Corporate Director’s Forum. He can be contacted at: bdoyle@leadershipinitiative.org.