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How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth

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John Wade II starts with a goal or mission: "I will try to love and help create a heaven on earth." To accomplish this he starts with defining what would be necessary to achieve a heaven on earth.

He came up with ten elements: 1. Peace, 2. Security, 3. Freedom,
4. Democracies, 5. Prosperity 6. Spiritual harmony, 7. Racial harmony,
8. Ecological harmony, 9. Health and 10. Moral purpose and meaning.

He then defines what he understands each element to mean. He does all this in the preface to the book. This is probably the most valuable part of the book. Here he sets out his mission and philosophy and you need to understand this to know the purpose and direction of the book.

Next he has assembled short essays from 101 authors that give their perspective on one of these elements. These essays are generally one to two pages. The authors include an extremely well known cross section of thinkers and leaders.

There is a wonderful mixture of ideas and thoughts presented here. There is no doubt that each reader will find some essays that really touch them and some that don't. This must be the case with presenting such a wide variety of authors.

What you gain from the book will depend to some extent on your personal philosophy and how open you are to new ideas and thoughts.

Because there are so many different authors and the essays are of necessity very short, no one is able to explore any topic in great detail. Depending on your taste, this is either very good or very bad. There is something to be said for being exposed to many different viewpoints and being able to pick and choose what you read. It is certainly not necessary to read cover to cover. I would pick and choose which essay I read. It is a great book for reading when you have very limited time.

I found the most thought provoking essay to be A Look at Radical Islam by Paul Marek. But there were literally dozens of great essays in the book.

The book would also make a great gift. Anyone can find a number of essays they like in this book.

The overall philosophy of the book is certainly one we all should give more attention to: trying to make the world a better place, creating a heaven on earth.

Length:: 2:56 Mins

Whether we are religious or not, the heaven-on-earth idea resonates. It is positive in the extreme, and universally understood. It is an idea that stirs the imagination and can motivate us to do something personal to help bring it about. While the 101 essays in this book take 101 different slants on the issue, all are upbeat. And although many of them point out problems and roadblocks, they also highlight solutions and ways around those roadblocks. Most of the essays suggest a particular way of making a contribution to the world around us. None of these contributions, by themselves, will bring about a heaven on earth. But taken together they give us a sense of the power inherent in a multitude of small individual actions. And while none of the suggested ways may be exactly your way or my way, I don't think any of us could read this book without getting our own thoughts deeply stirred. The result: we are very likely to get insight into how we ourselves could nudge the process in the direction of that heaven-on-earth ideal.

John Wade offers to the world an eclectic mix of essays that will uplift and inspire you. His vision of building a better world is presented in 101 short contributions on subjects as diverse as politics to gardening. I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Wade in person and he strikes me as a man committed to the betterment of the lives of those around him. As a contributor to this project myself, I am amazed at the diversity among my co-authors. This abundance of opinion and perspectives is a great testament to John Wade's stated goal of achieving a heaven on earth. Like an orchestra with strings, woodwinds, percussions and brass, Mr. Wade conducts a plethora of distinct authors but harmonizes them into a single great symphony. Bravo!

Is there truly such a thing as heaven on earth? Is it something that is achievable? These two questions came to mind as I started reading this book. This book contains essays on many topics: peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony, health, moral purpose and meaning, and individual paths to heaven and earth. And as you read these essays, written by people from all walks of life, you will start seeing how heaven can be achieved on earth.

Is a heaven on earth possible? John Wade II writes in his preface, "I believe that if we - one by one, million by million, billion by billion - would all accept this challenge, the world would progress immensely. Think about the words and use them to motivate yourself to reach out to love and help others." After reading the book and reflecting on the essays, it is clear that we could find heaven on earth.

Is heaven on earth achievable? After reading all the essays heaven on earth is something we can all help to achieve. You will learn from the experiences of the authors, you will find ideas and suggestions that can be implemented to achieve a heaven on earth.

This book is one which you can read from front to back, or you can pick it up, open it and just read one essay. The essays are short and to the point. The preface written by John Wade II is a great summary of why and how the book came about. Certainly a book that will inspire you and give you lots to think about.

We highly recommend this book; you will find it inspiring and full of ideas.

Is it too much to ask? A heaven on earth? Not to the 101 contributors of this book, "How to Achieve A Heaven on Earth", edited by John E. Wade II. These writers come from all walks of life--politicians, world leaders, philosophers, scientists, authors, motivational speakers, artists, businessmen and visionaries--all humans, all citizens of the world.

Wade gathered insightful essays focusing on a simple concept: we can achieve heaven on earth if we really wanted to. The essays, however, reveal the painful fact that it's not as simple as it sounds. There is no single, simple how-to formula to follow.

Because achieving a heaven state requires a major confluence of countless factors and variables, Wade defined the basic pre-requisites for mankind's ideal world. He listed the ten elements that are essential to achieving heaven on earth and grouped the essays accordingly.

The ten essential elements border on the nebulous. But when you delve into the thoughts of the contributors, you will note that despite the seemingly unfathomable mission of building a heaven on earth through world peace, democracies, racial harmony, or moral purpose and meaning, among others, simple solutions abound. Fortunately, these small and simple solutions have the capacity to proliferate and create a global impact.

More than a hundred minds poured wisdom and advice into this book. Many are saying the same things, looking at the same dilemmas, offering the same solutions. Many spout religion, while some trust in the intrinsic goodness of man. Their message is one: heaven on earth -can- be achieved. John E. Wade II published this book to inspire all of us to do our part. -Ruby Bayan, OurSimpleJoys

How to achieve a heaven on earth is not a question that can be answered by the likes of Obama and 100 other do-gooders and fat cats. For one thing, where is the input in this collection from any Islamic leaders? Is this heaven on earth something that is to be imposed by force as usual? How many American troops will be needed? How much taxpayer money will it cost? Do we have the cooperation of the Chinese or the Russians? Let me give the 101 know-it-alls a challenge: Solve the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and then report back to me. Then, if you have solved this, I will send you forth to solve all other problems. Did it never occur to you that one man's idea of heaven is another man's idea of hell? I forget the author, but I vaguely remember a poem that includes "... you silly child, You must alter human nature, And they all sat back and smiled." The very title of this book is enough to make me laugh, and the list of contributors completes the joke.

How to Achieve A Heaven on Earth packs in 100 contributions from notable personalities from Al Gore and Thomas L. Friedman to George W. Bush, all of whom explore themes of peace, freedom, and spiritual and racial harmony. These essays encourage readers to reflect on their own means of achieving peace in their lives, making for a fine addition to any general lending library!

The book is like no other in its intent and broad scope. It is hard to label because it is so unique. It was ten years in the making, beginning as I was inspired to write about a heaven on earth in the Holy Land (Syria, Jordan and Israel) on a Presbyterian trip.
With much time, energy, effort and money we compiled essays, articles and speeches from President Obama, President Bush, Vice President Gore, Tony Blair, Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, other notables and ordinary people. All are well written,thoughtful and truth-seeking.
There definitely is a spiritual element, humankind can't reach a heaven on earth without God's enduring, steadfast love. However, most of the book is related to what we can do,individually and collectively. If you don't have an destination in mind, it is doubtful that you will ever reach it.
Individually, motivate yourself with my conceived pledge, "I will try to love and help create a heaven on earth."
Collectively, search for peace, security, freedom, democracies, prosperity, spiritual harmony, racial harmony, ecological harmony, health as well as moral purpose and meaning.
Aside from the pledge, the thing that stands out in the book is the quote from Tony Blair in speaking of the new world order, "Idealism becomes the new realism." That is reflected throughout the book and is a must-read for a comprehensive overview of our great possibilities.
John E. Wade II
Editor
"How to Achieve a Heaven on EarthHow to Achieve a Heaven on Earth"

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth is an assortment of essays from a variety of sources/authors and is very enlightening.