Turning Your Dream of Heaven on Earth into Reality

By Martin Rutte

There is a desire, a longing, deep within us, for a world that works. We yearn for the immoral and recurring sufferings of the planet like war, hunger, disease, and poverty not simply to get better ― but to end. We want our soul's dream of a world that inspires hope, engagement, and creativity to flourish. To put it simply, we want Heaven on Earth.

We've already proven that humanity can accomplish the extraordinary. We've returned a human from the moon, we've extended life by transplanting hearts, we're refining nanotechnology, and we're 3D printing human organs.

But our current story also contains suffering, fear, and horror. Their apparent strength contributes to our feelings of powerlessness. We believe that we are unable to make a true, deep, and lasting difference in our world. Yet even through these sufferings, times of Heaven on Earth, times of beauty, love, and tranquility still emerge and flower. We long for more of this, for more Heaven on Earth.

How can we do this? We establish a new model and vision of existence, a new collective purpose. This new civilization-fueling vision expands what's possible, focuses on and multiplies what works, and confronts and reduces what doesn't work. We then name this new story, this story of what it means to be a human and what it means to be humanity. We name it Heaven on Earth.

I've asked hundreds and hundreds of people to tell me a time when they experienced Heaven on Earth. No one hesitates or asks me what I mean. What they immediately do is answer the question with clarity and certainty. Some share moments of the birth of a child, an appreciation of nature, or a moment of deep communion. There's an "already knowing" about what Heaven on Earth is. Recall a time when you experienced Heaven on Earth. What was happening?

Heaven on Earth, like the desire for love, peace and joy, is hard-wired into us ― an eternal, innate truth that we want to extend from a moment to always. You can begin extending it to always by answering this simple question: "Imagine you have a magic wand and with it you can create Heaven on Earth. What is Heaven on Earth for you?" Just sit quietly and let the answer emerge from within you. Say it out loud, write it down, and then share it with two people.

Now ask yourself, "What simple, easy, concrete steps will I take in the next 24 hours to make Heaven on Earth real?"

You begin the new Heaven on Earth story by beginning ― by declaring this is the new story and taking your first steps today and tomorrow and the day after that and on and on, building an unstoppable momentum.

Did you know the Oxford English Dictionary defines “heaven” as a noun and, surprisingly, also as a verb. Yes a verb, “to heaven.” So you can go around heavening all day.

Getting started is easy. You could smile at two people today. You could help someone learn to read. You could welcome a new immigrant family into your community. You could buy some new toys for the local children's hospital. You could simply speak to two people in the next 24 hours about creating Heaven on Earth and ask each of them to speak to two people the next day, and so on. If everyone does their part, it would take just 32 days to reach the over seven billion people on Earth ― small acts, huge impact.

Your contribution is vital to this building process. Author Frances Hodgson Burnett said: "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."

I believe the vast majority of the world's people want to participate and play their part in a new global vision, a new human story of hope and momentum. United, we can and will create a grand and global planetary chorus, each person adding their voice, their gift, their inspiration. Through our intentions, our actions, more Heaven on Earth will be created and experienced. This truly is the work of humanity. This truly is fulfilling the deep longing we have for the world we want.

Having your dream for the world come true is exactly what your dream is supposed to do.

What one small thing will you do today?

Here, again are the 3 Heaven on Earth Questions:

1. Recall a time when you experienced Heaven on Earth. What was happening?
    
2. Imagine you have a magic wand and with it you can create Heaven on Earth. What is Heaven on Earth for you?
    
3. What simple, easy, concrete steps will you take in the next 24 hours to make Heaven on Earth real?

Martin Rutte is the host of the first ever free online Co-Creating Heaven on Earth Summit, taking place on November 3-5, 2015. Click here to register free.

Martin is also a new faculty for The Shift Network and will be teaching a course Heaven on Earth starting in December 2015.
 

Martin Rutte is a dynamic international speaker and consultant, is president of Livelihood, a management consulting firm, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The company's areas of service include: strategic vision, corporate spirit, performance management, facilitated dialogue, and creative leadership.

He is co-author of The New York Times Business Bestseller, Co-Author Chicken Soup for the Soul™ at Work, translated into over 20 languages.

To learn more about Martin, click here.