Heaven Makers
Have you ever met someone and had the most remarkably good feeling about who they are and what they’re doing in their lives? These are people who have found their niche in life, the one made just for them. They’ve jumped in fullheartedly and are loving what they’re doing. When you’re with them, you experience Heaven on Earth. I call them Heaven Makers.
A Heaven Maker is someone who is helping co-create Heaven on Earth. They help create pathways to and experiences of Heaven on Earth for others. Heaven on Earth is their heart’s desire. It’s an essential part of their Soul’s intention and service to life. It enlivens a vibrant dynamic within them. It’s what they’re here to do. It’s their contribution to the creation of Humanity’s new story.
Around the globe, there are many examples of Heaven Makers who have taken on co-creating Heaven on Earth, and are adding their own ideas and coming up with their unique contributions. Here are just a few of them…
In Europe…
The Daily 7pm Heaven on Earth Meditation
People all around the world have joined the daily 7pm Heaven on Earth meditation which was initiated by Elisabeth Ziegler-Duregger, the Heaven on Earth country co-ordinator for Austria.
In a recent call with her and the country co-ordinators for Denmark & Croatia, Elisabeth told us she has a 7pm daily alarm set on her phone. Every day when the alarm goes, she says out loud, “May there be Heaven on Earth Everywhere.”
What a simple, easy, intention/meditation.
I loved the idea and now I also have my phone set for a daily 7pm reminder. I thought about what words felt right for me as my mediation/intention and came up with: “With thanks…We are experiencing and co-creating Heaven on Earth.”
I’ve chosen the alarm sound to be Belinda Carlisle singing ‘Heaven Is a Place on Earth.’ (Download/listen from iTunes or other music sharing sites.)
Some other possible mediation/intentions you could use are:
- We’re in the adventure of Heaven on Earth.
- We’re experiencing being Heaven on Earth’d.
- This, Here, Now is Heaven on Earth.
- I’m co-creating Heaven on Earth.
Would you be willing to have 7pm, every day, be your Heaven on Earth intention/meditation time? If so, what’s your meditation/intention?
This simple daily practice increases it’s impact as more and more people, all over the world, join in.
Having a growing number of people on our beloved planet doing this simple act, at 7pm every day, will increase the field of Heaven on Earth and the power of Heaven on Earth.
We will be both experiencing Heaven on Earth and co-creating Heaven on Earth.
Will you join us? 7pm every day.
Heaven on Earth in The Future of Western Civilization
Heaven on Earth in The Future of Western Civilization
In England, after interviewing Martin, Dr. Nicholas Beecroft wrote a chapter entitled “Creating Heaven on Earth –Taking Small Steps in the Right Direction,” in his book The Future of Western Civilization.
Heaven on Earth for Business Leadership & Growth
In Sweden, Margareta Kull, a business consultant, did something very exciting with the 3 Heaven on Earth Questions; she expanded them in her area of expertise (business and leadership) and began using them in her ‘Creating Courageous Leaders’ program. She asks her clients the 3 Heaven on Earth Questions, AND one more: “Again using your magic wand, what is Heaven on Earth for your business?”
Incorporating this Heaven on Earth exercise was the missing piece that made it simple for her clients to start thinking about what’s possible for them in their work responsibilities and their industry as a whole.
Watch this video to see how these questions can bring more clarity and expansion to your work and your work life.
Heaven on Earth at the Women’s Social Change Summit in Slovakia
In Slovakia a women’s group sponsored a women’s empowerment global webinar, Women’s Social Change Summit. They interviewed Martin on Heaven on Earthand on Heaven on Earth for Your Nation.
Watch on Vimeo |
Watch on Vimeo |
The New Magna Carta includes Heaven on Earth
In 1215, England’s King John was forced by noblemen to sign the Magna Carta, transforming the country from an absolute monarchy into a democracy. 2015 marked the 800th anniversary of the document that changed the story of governance.
Dr. Nicholas Beecroft is a British psychiatrist. He thought the 800th anniversary would be a good time to revisit the Magna Carta and write a new version, which he’s done in his book New Magna Carta: A Psychiatrist’s Prescription for Western Civilization. The book offers a bold vision, along with a strategy, aimed at rejuvenating western civilization.
Chapter 5.11 begins with Nicholas presenting my three Heaven on Earth questions. He answers Question 2 — Imagine you have a magic wand and with it you can create Heaven on Earth. What is Heaven on Earth for you? — in great depth and clarity. His answer is extensive, detailed, and expansive.
Not getting caught up in the pessimistic cynicism of our time, New Magna Carta envisions a bright future. It invites us to rise to the challenges we face and harness the creative energy of every human being alive to create a new civilization that enables each one of us to fulfill our potential.
In South America…
64 Powers in Brazil
In Brazil, a woman has written a book (whose title translates as): 64 Powers…and the many ways to create Heaven on Earth.
Heaven on Earth in Argentina
In Brazil, a woman has written a book (whose title translates as): 64 Powers…and the many ways to create Heaven on Earth.
In North America…
A Heaven on Earth Christmas Card for the Entire Family
Patty O’Sullivan in Santa Fe, New Mexico, saw the Project Heaven on Earth presentation just before Christmas and had an idea. She asked forty of her extended family members to send her a very short description of what Heaven on Earth is for them. Thirty-three people responded and she combined them all into her Christmas letter, which she sent to all forty.
Here are some of the responses she received.
- Having the family that I do. They’re all so thoughtful. There isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other. (Mom)
- Being surrounded by my family and having such a wonderful family, including my children, their wives and husbands, grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. Being content with everything that has transpired in my life. I’m proud of my family and I’m at peace with the world. Heaven on earth is, most of all, my wife, Ruth. (Dad)
- A newborn baby’s smile. (Peg)
- Heaven on Earth is love at first sight…and the miracle of marriage. (Megan)
- Being with Patty and Buddy in our home. (Sam)
- The children of the world being loved, cared for and valued, and being a catalyst for that to happen. (Patty)
- Waking up to a bright morning sun, the smell of fresh sticky buns in the oven, and Claire’s laugh. (Bill)
- World peace. People living full lives. No war. People loving life. (Terry O.)
- Remembering to feel the Divine connectedness in all moments, all things, and all people. Imagining a world where all people feel that connectedness and love the spark of beauty and uniqueness in each other, where each one lives and enjoys their own unique gifts passionately. Such a world will harbor no ill or anger or war. It will be a miraculous, beautiful symphony of differences. (Rosie)
- To be around my kids, especially when they start having families, and to be near family members. (Mar)
- The recognition of how blessed my life truly is. I feel so much gratitude for the gifts I’ve received — family, friends, and teachers. The only way to appreciate God’s gifts is by giving back and living as compassionately and selflessly as I can. (Donna)
Heaven on Earth for Policing
I asked Justin Criner, a police officer in Texas, what Heaven on Earth is for policing. He looked at me and instantly said, “The end of crime and everyone helping each other in acts of kindness.”
Justin then created a 16-page manual, Discovering Heaven on Earth for Law Enforcement, that helps anyone begin the process of ending crime in their own community, whether they are in law enforcement or not.
Watch the Interview
“Heaven, I’m in Heaven”
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David Sunfellow studies people who have had Near Death Experiences (NDE’s), people from all races, religions, and cultures who have died and then returned to life with fantastic stories about what they experienced while clinically dead. He has first-hand reports — audio, video, and written — from thousands of people.
David says we, “systematically study, teach, and seek to embody the core truths presented by near-death experiences.” Here are the twelve essential attributes that David describes in his “The Formula for Creating Heaven on Earth” chart and worksheet:
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Heaven on Earth in Your Congregation
Bread of Life is a spiritual center offering programs in an economically depressed area of Sacramento, California.
I gave a couple of Heaven on Earth presentations for them. Their Co-Director, Sandra Lomasson, felt that Heaven on Earth would be a wonderful program to offer in every church in the country. To have that happen, she wrote a 28-page Heaven on Earth for Congregations Resource Packet. It’s written for: Christian, Jewish & Muslim congregations.
The packet is free. If you do use it please consider making a donation to ‘Bread of Life’ and let them know that it’s for the use of this packet. You can donate here.
Watch the Interview
Ask Your Board
Ray Blanchard is the President of Blanchard Consulting Group, LLC, a training and development, and consulting company with offices in San Antonio, Texas and Burbank, California.
I asked Ray the three Heaven on Earth questions and he loved them.
A week later, he had a meeting of his company’s Advisory Board, which was looking at the future of the business, and he asked them the three questions. He later told me they were actually crying, because they were so deeply in touch with Heaven on Earth for themselves and the company.
He said, “Heaven on Earth puts us back in touch with our passions for our work, and it set a powerful context for getting things done. We’ll be using it again and again.”
The End of Homelessness – A Home for Everyone
Brenda MacKenzie, a real estate agent in Halifax, Canada, and I were having coffee one day and talking about Heaven on Earth. I asked her what world suffering upset her the most. Her face went pale as she said, “Homelessness.” I asked her what Heaven on Earth would be for homelessness and she simply said, “A home for everyone.”
Then, she immediately went into how difficult that would be. “Martin you don’t understand. I’m a real estate agent, I work 60 hours a week and I’m also in a relationship that takes time. How am I supposed to do all that and create a home for everyone?”
I responded by saying, “Brenda, put all your very real considerations aside for the moment. Now, how are you going to get this done?” — and that’s when a light bulb went on for her.
She went back to her real estate agency and called an all-agents meeting. She told them she wanted to end homelessness, create a home for everyone, and she wanted it to be easy to do. Would they agree that every time they sold a property to have $100 taken out of their commission and put into a special fund to end homelessness? They all agreed and set up a “Home for Everyone.”
Each year, they fund innovative programs that help end homelessness, asking for submissions from registered charities. The last time I spoke with Brenda, her agency had raised over $50,000. They have six volunteer board members, one chosen by each realtor, who review the applications and choose what they feel is the best match for their criteria.
Last year they were able to help the Wiggins Family purchase a house in Halifax. Watch the video below or visit their website to learn more.
IMAGINE…a Heaven on Earth Musical
Catherine Burnett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I shared the Heaven on Earth presentation and questions with her and several weeks later, she came up with an idea.
She gave her intermediate year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) acting students the assignment of interviewing different people of different ages about heaven on earth by asking them the Heaven on Earth questions. The students would then re-create these people on stage in monologues. The first-year BFA actors were given their own assignment of choreographing several musical pieces.
The show they created is called IMAGINE. It explores the concept of heaven on many levels, empowers individuals to create Heaven in their own lives, and affirms that now is the time to start.
The show includes music, dance, acting and visual imaging and it brought together her students with outside professional artists. It opens with the Fred Astaire/ Ginger Rogers dance number “Cheek to Cheek” (with the famous line “Heaven, I’m in Heaven…”) and closes with a dance piece to “Your Love Lifts Me Higher.” The show is infused with an art expression piece featuring a soprano, a tenor, a singer-songwriter, and a jazz artist. Also participating in the show were a whirling Sufi dancer, a local professional actress, and an African dancer.
Catherine and her fellow artists believe it’s through the medium of the arts that the Heaven on Earth message has the most impact.
The Flowering of Heaven on Earth
Jocelyn Ann Flores is a young poet in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I discovered her poem from a Google Alert sent to me. I wrote asking for permission to publish it and she asked me why.
I explained that her poem expresses the essence of what I’ve heard many people say Heaven on Earth is for them.
Heaven on Earth
I’m on a search for heaven
And at times I find it in the strangest places
In the flowers that bloom
And in childrens’ smiling faces
I’ve witnessed a man stand up for what he believes in
I’ve witnessed the changing of the seasons
I’ve woken up with a smile on my face
And I’ve seen light shine down on the darkest of places
I’ve seen the hardest working people struggle for success
And I’ve seen them come home to three small smiling faces with no regrets
I’ve witnessed real love that a man has for his wife
And the joy of knowing he comes home to only her every night
I’ve seen leaves dance with the breeze
And I’ve seen a lake provide joy for entire families
I’ve felt the sun share its warmth during bone chilling days
And I’ve seen rain unselfishly shower flowers till the month of may
Generation after generation
In search for peace within yourself
You must look at the beauty around you
At times it seems as though heaven has found you
A Heart's Yearning - Collected Wisdom on Creating Heaven on Earth
John E. Wade II, a businessman in New Orleans, Louisiana, felt a real heart’s yearning for Heaven on Earth. Taking action on his yearning, he compiled and edited a significant book on the subject, How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth: 101 insightful essays from the world’s greatest thinkers, leaders, and writers. John believes there are ten elements that are essential to do this: Peace, Security, Freedom, Democracies, Prosperity, Spiritual Harmony, Racial Harmony, Ecological Harmony, Health, and Moral Purpose and Meaning.
His book has contributions from both Barack Obama and George W. Bush, among many others. When I asked him why he’d included both of them, who are clearly from different ends of the political spectrum, he said, “If we’re going to create Heaven on Earth, we’ll need everyone.”
John’s next step was to ask four people, including myself, to co-author a new book with him, Glimpses of Heaven on Earth: Inspiring Quotations and Insightful Essays, published in 2014.
John continues writing and publishing on his heart’s yearning, Heaven on Earth.
 Learn More |
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Making Change: Ending Violence Against Women
In Canada, a woman developed a program asking people in her county to donate a penny a day to help end violence against women. The program was called Making Change.
Her group handed out mason jars with a photo of a woman on it. On the left, half her face is bruised. Then come the words, ‘Making Change,’ and the other half of the photo shows the woman’s face bright, alive, healthy.
The project raised $2,500 and the group then took that result to the Canadian Government which gave them $100,000 for each of the following three years, a total of $300,000!
People initially thought, “What difference can one penny make?” Now they ask, “What can I do to help?”
Why Choose Hell When You Can Have Heaven on Earth
In New York, a Pastor, Dr. Joseph Lathan, has written a book, Why Choose Hell When You Can Have Heaven on Earth?.
This book is intended to open a dialogue on God’s plan for mankind at the beginning of creation and how we can enjoy life to the fullest despite the tragedies we see in the paper, on the news or in our own personal experiences.
Heaven on Earth in Your E-mail
In Hawaii, a woman embedded her definition of Heaven on Earth at the end of every e-mail she sends out: “Heaven on Earth is creating food sustainability by nurturing the soil of our earthly Garden everyday with love and seeing us all as part of the same village co-creating together.”
Another woman in Chile copied the idea, and then added the 2nd Heaven on Earth question so that people reading her e-mails could discover what Heaven on Earth is for them: “Imagine you have a magic wand and with it you can create Heaven on Earth. What is Heaven on Earth for you?”
Watch the Interview
A World That Works - TV Series
The same New Orleans man has produced a documentary TV series, A World That Works, discovering individuals and organizations that are doing their part to work toward achieving Heaven on Earth. Here are 3 of the episodes focusing on: Racial Harmony, Peace, Ecological Harmony.
Racial Harmony |
Peace |
Ecological Harmony |
Heaven on Earth Poems
I was intrigued and asked him to write a poem on Heaven on Earth.
The poem just flowed out of him, quickly and effortlessly.
Here he is reading it. Enjoy!
Painting Heaven on Earth
Is it possible to ‘paint’ Heaven on Earth?
That’s the challenge I put to my friend, and Santa Fe, NM resident, artist Julie Claire.
I started by asking her the 3 Heaven on Earth questions so she could ‘get’ what Heaven on Earth was for her. Then for 45 minutes she painted, allowing Heaven on Earth to show up on the canvas. We sped up the video so you can see the whole creation in only one minute, after our short interview.
She wanted to make it clear that what she did was a process and not a finished product.
I loved watching Julie paint Heaven on Earth and learned so much. I’ve taken several classes from her and she has taken the art that I do (monotype print making) to a much deeper level.
As you watch Julie paint consider applying your art form to Heaven on Earth. How can you sing Heaven on Earth? How can you poem it? How can you story it?
Experiencing Unconditional Heaven - A Workshop
GP Walsh is a spiritual teacher, speaker, author, storyteller, and master coach. He was one of the featured guests on the The Shift Network’s Heaven on Earth telesummit that I had the honor of co-hosting.
In this video, GP goes deep into Heaven on Earth as here and now…and when I say deep I mean deep.
You’ll experience the Heaven that is always here, always now – and not only be able to experience it once, but to replicate that experience again and again, even sharing the experience with others.
This video is almost 30 minutes long, and it’s worth it. It’s not an interview, it’s a mini-workshop. Sit back in a quiet place and get ready to dive deep into this-here-now Heaven on Earth.
The 3 Questions in Bootcamp
In New York state, prison guards are asking young offenders in a boot camp program the 3 Heaven on Earth Questions.
After one of Martin’s Heaven on Earth presentations, Dr. Cheryl Clark told Martin that she had created Heaven on Earth in prisons! She was in charge of a program called Shock Incarceration, which is a bootcamp style program for first-time non violent offenders serving their first term of state incarceration. Listen to Cheryl talk about this program and the impact it had on the young people in this interview.
Visit Cheryl’s Website
The Heaven on Earth Video Contest
technology to do it. They created The Heaven on Earth Video Contest.
People were asked to create a YouTube video introducing the possibility of Heaven on Earth becoming a reality in our world.
It ran for four years and was open to anyone on the planet. The total prize amount was $10,000.
The judges were looking for a 2-5 minute video that will open up people’s minds to Heaven on Earth being a possibility in our world. Your job was to imagine how incredible Heaven on Earth would really be. Your video would open the door to this new world, and would ideally enable others to think: “I want that!”
Potential video messages included:
- Heaven on Earth would be an incredible experience.
- Heaven on Earth is a reality that is possible NOW.
- Heaven on Earth can happen easily and gracefully (no catastrophes needed).
- Heaven on Earth is for absolutely everyone!
See 4 years of Contest Winners
Watch the Interview
Also in North America…
- In Nashville, TN a Heaven on Earth Country & Western song is being written.
- In Mexico, a woman spoke to two people every day for 33 days about Project Heaven on Earth.
- A photographer in Hawaii is setting up a Heaven on Earth photo site.
- A songwriter in Las Vegas, NV is writing a Heaven on Earth song.
- John Wade II, the same New Orleans man who published the Heaven on Earth books and video series detailed above has also produced a Heaven on Earth logo’d sweater.
In Asia…
A Theme Song for Singapore’s Environment
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The National Environment Agency of Singapore holds a contest every year in search of a new theme song for their “Clean and Green Singapore” campaign. The 2011 theme song was “Heaven on Earth,” music & lyrics composed by Kathryn Cheng:
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They’ve posted a beautiful video of the song: |
How to Uncover Your True Purpose
In Malaysia, Mindvalley, a global on-line personal development company has produced a video, How to Uncover Your True Purpose – Heaven on Earth Exercise.
Live Your Quest Through Heaven on Earth
The company Mindvalley has produced a documentary movie, Live Your Quest, in which Martin Rutte speaks about Heaven on Earth and asks people to answer the 3 Heaven on Earth Questions. The movie has viewers globally.
Also in Asia…
- In India, a Muslim woman has committed to Heaven on Earth for the Arab speaking world (for her, the countries are: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine (which entails peace with Israel), & Saudi Arabia.
Heaven Maker Questions
After reading these Heaven Maker examples:
- What are the characteristics of a Heaven Maker for you?
- Who in your life would you say is a Heaven Maker? Why?
- Did any of the Heaven Makers spark any ideas in you?