Project Heaven on Earth -
Humanity's New Story

There is a desire, a longing, in each of us for a world that works.
There is a desire for the stupid, recurring problems of the planet like: war, hunger, disease, hatred, senseless suffering, poverty and environmental degradation, to once and for all stop.
We feel we want to do something, deep in our hearts, deep in our souls, which will actually and really take our planet to its next evolutionary level.
We know we have it within ourselves to tackle problems like these. After all, we've already stopped smallpox and leprosy.
We know the human spirit is capable of knocking down the Berlin Wall, stopping the fighting in East Timor, and bringing a peaceful transition to full democracy in South Africa.
At the heart of it, I believe what we want is a new context, a new story for the Third Millennium. One that inspires us all, one that enlivens humanity.
The story we've been living so far has to do with being separate and having others be different than us with suffering, with fear and judgement, with thinking that we are not able to make a true, profound, deep and lasting difference.
But, at this point in our evolution, there is a deeper desire, a desire for a new context for our planet. Why now?
Because we have for the first time, in our collective history, a sense of the whole of humanity.
This started with the famous photo of the "earthrise" from space, of the earth rising over the moon. This was the first time we 'saw' our entire home planet, as one. We were both physically out there in space looking back, and at the same time, we had the technological infrastructure which allowed that picture to be beamed back from space to the entire world. The collective global, planetary consciousness had truly arrived.

Several years ago Oscar Motomura, the President of Amana-Key, a management training and development company in Sao Paulo, Brazil said, "With global air travel, the internet and instantaneous global communications, the concept of Humanity is now tangible." At about the same time, Rob Lehman, President of The Fetzer Institute, began asking the question, "What is the Common Work of Humanity?"
I'd like to offer an answer.
Our common work is simply the creation of Heaven on Earth.
I believe that as we enter this third millennium, in the Julian calendar, our job is the conscious creation of Humanity's New Story, namely, Heaven on Earth. So on Oct. 28, 1999 we launched Project Heaven on Earth - Humanity's New Story.
I believe it is time for us to create a new model of existence, a new collective purpose for ourselves.
Ultimately, as my friend and partner in this project, Richard Porter says it's because Heaven on Earth is our Destiny.

Imagine for a moment what it would be like, what it would feel like, what it would look like to really, really have Humanity, for the first time in its existence, act as one, expressing a common purpose and a common vision.
I believe that common purpose is creating "Heaven on Earth."
Let me give you an analogy. You've just purchased a new piece of software. You install it and open it up. What you are immediately presented with is a new set of possibilities. And into these new possibilities you put your own unique content.
In the same way, Project Heaven on Earth opens up new possibilities for each of us into which we can put our own unique selves. Only this piece of metaphorical software can and will be used by everyone. Into this software we, you and I, will put our incredible content. Into this Project, all citizens of our home planet will put those actions which collectively contribute to Heaven on Earth.

Imagine if you knew that people all over the world were involved in doing their part to create Heaven on Earth. Imagine if you knew a woman in Brazil, a man in Yemen, a little girl in Canada, an Aboriginal in Australia, a grandfather in Russia, a priest in Namibia….all, were doing something with the express purpose of having Heaven on Earth.
I believe that you, that I, that the majority of people would want to join in and contribute their part to a project such as this.
It's as though each person is an instrument, playing in this Grand Planetary Symphony - Project Heaven on Earth.

Naturally, there will be those who say Heaven on Earth is a ludicrous notion. They'll say that it's: Childish.
A fantasy.
Beyond impossible.
Grandiose.
An easy target for skepticism and ridicule.
Something we've never had before in the entire history of earth (with the possible exception of the Garden of Eden).
What makes you think we can create it now?
It might even be considered blasphemous.
Humans are not supposed to talk about this. Only God can create Heaven on Earth.

These are all valid concerns and considerations, and their presence needs to be honored. In fact, it's almost a golden rule of creation, that the bigger the vision, the bigger the considerations. The context of Heaven on Earth can include doubts, considerations and fears, and it can and does still move forward.
The energy of a planetary commitment to a common goal can and will, in the gentlest of ways, overcome the strongest of obstacles.

Many of us are aware that we have a life's mission, a life's purpose.
But what we, as humanity, haven't consciously known and are now beginning to remember, is that all of us can have a collective vision, a collective purpose.
We've just never before had the collective consciousness, technology or aware interconnection to begin operating from it.
That's what Project Heaven on Earth is all about.
Thomas Merton said, "We are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are."

Let's suppose, for a moment, that we all accepted the notion of Heaven on Earth as something desirable and possible, and something we wanted to engage in.
First of all, what is Heaven?
We traditionally think of Heaven as a noun - the place where God, where the Angels live.
But much less frequently, Heaven was also used as a transitive verb, that is: "To Heaven." The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as:

"To make heavenly in character, to transport or transform in to heaven; also, to bless with heaven, beatify, render supremely happy."

Let me tell you a story.
In March of 1994, the members of Temple B'nai Jeshurun of Des Moines, Iowa awoke to find neo-nazi graffiti and swastikas scrawled on their synagogue. The perpetrators were soon found and arrested. They were a 19 year-old male member of the Aryan Nation and his 17-year old girlfriend. They were charged with felonies for their hate crime, and under ordinary circumstances would have been sentenced and jailed, no doubt deepening their hatred and assuring them a life of alienation and conflict.

But someone was already operating in a context of Heaven on Earth. A deputy district attorney, Fred Gay, approached the Temple's Rabbi, Steven Fink, with an idea: Would the Temple membership be interested in meeting with the two perpetrators to explain the damage done by their hate crime and to work out a sentence? The Temple leadership agreed, and a 4-hour facilitated session was planned.

The meeting was attended by the two offenders and the Temple membership, including two Holocaust survivors and a former Israeli military officer. It was soon discovered that the boy was from a broken home, a 98-pound weakling with a hearing disability. When he was 16, he had run away from home and was taken in by the Aryan nation. The girl was extremely unsure of herself and really had no idea what neo-nazi meant.

During the meeting, many raged that the two should have the book thrown at them, while others argued that throwing them in jail would just create two more hardened criminals. After heated debate, the following sentence was agreed upon. The two defendants were to do 100 hours of service to the synagogue under the supervision of the Temple's custodian, 100 hours of study of Judaism and its history with the rabbi, a referral to a hearing specialist for the young man, a requirement that he remove the nazi tattoos on his arms, and attainment of employment skills and psychological assessment of both the offenders, as well as fulfillment of requirements for a GED. After successful completion of all of this, the charges would be dropped.

Instead of simply slamming these two in jail, the young pair learned about Jewish history and culture, their individual needs were met, and while working with the custodian - an older, wizened jack-of-all-trades - they gained confidence in themselves and eventually finished their high school equivalency exams. They got married and had a child. Rabbi Fink and the custodian were invited to the wedding.

• When I listen to Jussi Bjoerling & Robert Merril sing, "The Pearl Fisher Duet."
• When I see my favorite flower, a Heleconia.
• When I see the beauty and love of my wife.
• When I produce a fine piece of art.
• When I put my tallis, my prayer shawl, over my head and pray the sacred Amidah in Synagogue.

• And it exists when I read of the compassion and magnificence of human kind.
  Let me give you another example.

Danny is the son of Korean immigrants. His father, a physician, arrived with his family in the United States with a few hundred dollars and two suitcases. He worked hard, invested wisely, and was able to raise his three children in affluence and comfort. Two of the children followed in their parents footsteps and went to university. But from a very early age, Danny was different. Even as a child he was donating his birthday and gift money to charity. Shortly thereafter, he began volunteering every chance he got.

At age 12, with just $10 he founded Earth 2000, a 25,000 member teen organization dedicated to the preservation of the environment. At 18, he announced to his parents that he was not going to go to college, but was going to fulfill his specific mission in life: "to show others that they can do extraordinary things if they allow themselves to reach their fullest potential."

As a warm-up act, he raised $30,000 in less than thirty days for Habitat for Humanity as part of Oprah's Angel network. His purpose in doing so was to illustrate to others how easy fundraising can be. He wanted to show others how to raise the maximum amount of money in the shortest period of time, and to this aim he has written a book called, of course, "Heaven on Earth", subtitled, "15-Minute Miracles to Change the World." If you want to be moved to action, pick up this little book published by Pocket Books of Simon and Shuster.

Let's pause for a moment and ask, "When does Heaven on Earth exist for you?"
Describe some of the times, some of the places, some incidents in which Heaven on Earth existed for you?
Please take some time to do that now.

Notice that there are times when Heaven on Earth existed or exists for you.
We've all had glimpses of it, had times of Heaven on Earth.
Now, if Heaven on Earth was the context for Humanity - was the way it is everywhere on the planet, all the time - what would it be for you? What would Heaven on Earth be for you? What we're doing is moving Heaven on Earth from a particular time or place to always and everywhere.
Take a moment to reflect on that now.

Now, for the larger issue.
Danny Seo says that good intentions never change the world - action does.
For example, if each of us talked to 2 people per day about Project Heaven on Earth, and asked each of them to talk to 2 people per day, and so on and so on, it would take only 33 days to have talked to the entire 6 Billion people on the planet.

Would you be willing to work on extending Heaven on Earth from a moment to always?
Would you be willing to work with others to have Heaven on Earth be the context for our planet?
Would you be willing to start now?
If you answered yes to these questions then you've begun. You've started!!
The more people we talk to, the more people we get engaged, the more the momentum grows, the more we have Heaven on Earth be the context, the paradigm that the earth works in.
We need pioneers now.
We need people to start it going.
We need people to start speaking about it, acting on it, engaging with it.
And over time, it will start to spread, it will start to happen, it will start to flower.
I know I am Project Heaven on Earth, I know Richard Porter is Project Heaven on Earth, Danny Seo is. I believe Nelson Mandela is, as is the organization, Doctors Without Borders.
Now it's time to ask, "Are you Project Heaven on Earth?"

• Hunger
• Disease
  The most dangerous infectious diseases in the world, and the number of people killed in 1998, according to the World Health Organization are:
  • Acute Respiratory Infections (including pneumonia and influenza) 3.5 million.
  • AIDS: 2.3 million
  • Diarrheal diseases 2.2 million
  • Tuberculosis 1.5 million
  • Malaria 1.1 million
  • Measles 0.9 million
• Illiteracy
• Non-Access to Opportunity
• Dirty Water
• War
  • The National Defense Council Foundation, a group that keeps track of battle zones, reported that in 1999, 65 of the world's 193 nations had conflicts going on, up from 60 conflicts in 1998.
  • According to the Office of Management and Budget, Center for Defense Information, the 1997 Federal Discretionary Budget total for the United States was $506 Billion Dollars. Of that amount, $267 billion (or 53%) was spent on the Military and $239 billion (47%) was spent on everything else: Commerce, Agriculture, Energy, Economic Development, General Gov't., Transportation, Science & Space, International Affairs, Veterans Benefits & Services, Natural Resources & the Environment, Justice, Health, Other Income Security, and Education & Training.
• Environmental Pollution & Degradation
• Prejudice and hatred for whatever reason: nationality, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sex, etc.
• Crime
• Slavery

• Government/Law
• Religion/Spirituality
• Medicine/Health/Relationships
• The Media/Culture/Sports
• Science/Technology
• Education
• Environment/Habitat
• The Military
• Agriculture
• Economics/Business

The Millennium is an opportunity, for those of us who use the Julian calendar, to reflect on the last thousand years and on the next thousand years.
Where have we been as humanity? What's worked, what's not worked? How would we like our home planet to be?
We can use the millennium to help launch our collective alignment and actions toward the creation of Heaven on Earth.

We've used the web for communication and e-commerce, but we've not yet unleashed its full potential for social transformation, for helping create Heaven on Earth. The Web is a magnificent, powerful tool for supporting us to unite in common purpose with our brothers and sisters around the world.
We have our web-site ProjectHeavenOnEarth.net up and running and will be adding to it. Our intention is that it becomes a powerful hub for this work. If you'd like to be added to our e-mail list simply send us your e-mail address.

• Being helpful to a neighbor
• Participating in community projects
• Meditating
• Going to religious worship
• Continuously affirming Heaven on Earth.
• Telling the truth.
• Being and doing good.
• Cleaning up a highway.
• Planting flowers

The opportunities are as endless and varied as the citizens of this planet.
The content of Heaven on Earth and what you'll do to make it come alive is up to you. But, by each of us doing our part, and more importantly, knowing that others all around the world are involved in the same project, it gives us all hope; it gives us all the energy, the strength and the courage to keep going.

Houston Smith, the great theologian and thinker, has a wonderful image for our humanity.
He thinks of the physical universe as being a horizontal line, that represents the 14 billion light years that is our known universe. Since light travels at 186,000 miles a second, this is a pretty long line.

He then sees a vertical line intersecting the horizontal line of the physical universe. And he considers this line to represent our common humanity - where we've been, our triumphs, our failures, our awakenings, our continual stretch and evolvement toward wholeness, enlightenment, or God. He considers this line even longer that the line that measures the known universe - longer than 14 billion light years.

When I heard this for the first time, I was catapulted out of worrying about the minutiae of my daily life into an intense realization of the magnificence of this incredible human journey we are taking together.

What we are creating together is a new and wonderful story of what it means to be human. It becomes a deep part of all of us living, working and being together.
Now, what about you?
What part will you play?

Project Heaven on Earth is "Humanity's New Story."
It is a collective story.
It is us acting in concert, in harmony.
It is not abandoning the individual for the collective. Rather, it is adding together, the Collective and the Individual.

We, the people of the earth, need to become experts at creating sustainable peace.
We, the people of the earth, need to ensure our entire family is fed.
We, the people of the earth, need to provide physical, mental, emotional and spiritual support for the well-being of all people.
We, the people of the earth, need to say with authority that we are responsible to each other for making our home, safe, healthy and enlivening for everyone.
We now have the will and the technology to make this happen.
We require a felt, shared sense of family. We can no longer talk about those people in East Timor, or those people in Kosovo or those people in Rwanda. We're talking about our family, about our relatives, about our fellow human beings . Whether you believe we all came from Adam and Eve, or from primates…are we not all from, and more importantly in, the same family.
What we're doing is changing Humanity's story from:
"This is Not Heaven on Earth"
to
"This is Heaven on Earth."

We're just beginning this Project.
The web site, ProjectHeavenOnEarth.net, will grow with your input.
We don't have all the answers.
We extend a warm invitation to anyone who wants to participate.
We welcome you with open arms.
We need your creativity.
We need your commitment, your pledge, to make this Heaven on Earth.

I want to look at what part God, Divine Grace, Spirit plays in all this.
What we do is play our part - give our gifts with integrity, with excellence, with joy, play and with full intention.We have free will, and it's this collective free will that we now want to harness for the common good.
And the rest…is up to God.
As Pierre Corneille said, "Do your duty and leave the rest to Heaven."

• Humanity is now a tangible presence.
• Humanity wants a new context, a new story, for the 3rd Millennium, which ennobles and inspires it.
• Heaven on Earth is the new story. It is the next phase of our human evolution, and its time has come.
• The work now is to take this conversation out into the world, to talk to people about being part of making Heaven on Earth real.
• We also need to produce tangible results which demonstrate that Heaven on Earth is actually occurring.
• We have the technology to get the job done, and with your help, we've now begun to unleash the interest and the intention to make it happen.
• Project Heaven on Earth is a global initiative whose time has come.

Think of Project Heaven on Earth as a beautiful, innocent, fat with possibility, Divine baby, placed lovingly in your arms for care and nurturing.

"At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, and then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done,
then it is done…
and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago."

We are now free
to explore
the adventure and wonder
of Heavening on Earth.

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