THE ENDURING QUEST FOR HEAVENLY LIVING ON EARTH

Previous pages on this website were devoted to the topics of "Guns and Bombs," "War and Peace, and "Tolerance and Respect." This page is devoted to the topic of "Heaven and Hell." However, this "Heaven and Hell" page is not about the spiritual Heaven and Hell often evoked and envisioned by various religious faiths to connote an afterlife (or a life after death).

Generally speaking, I am not too much concerned about the existence or nonexistence of an afterlife nor am I too much concerned about the existence or non-existence of a supernatural entity such as God. Nobody knows with 100% certainty whether or not a God of some type exists out there in the vast Universe.

Rather, this page is about a state of Heaven and Hell right now on Earth. I am very much concerned about the quality of daily human life right now on Earth. I am very much focused on the human condition right now on Earth. I am very much focused on the survival of the human species far, far into the future. My primary focus is on what humans can do for themselves to improve their plight. My focus is not on the intervention of a supernatural entity to rescue humans from a dismal existence or to rescue humans from a catastrophic fate. To be exact, I ascribe to a scientific worldview. It is a worldview that is steeped in the scientific method's quest for knowledge and truth.

Synopsis of the Human Condition Right Now on Earth:

Weather Right Now on Earth:

Time Right Now on Earth:

UTC time-date right now is:
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Ottawa (Canada)'s time-date right now is:
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Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)'s time-date right now is:
Find the current time for any location or time zone on Time.is!

While I am the eternal optimist, sometimes the out-of-bounds and inexcusable behavior of some humans gives me a reason for pause. For instance, there seems to exist never-ending wars in the Middle East (which is, at once, somewhat ironical, paradoxical, and perplexing given that the contemporary Middle East is the birthplace and home for three of the world's great religious faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). There is rioting, looting, and gunplay in the USA. There is poverty, disease, illiteracy, superstition, and tribalism in Africa. There is climate change and global warming all across Earth. There is competition among nations for scarce natural resources. There is competition among nations for military supremacy with their stockpiles of conventional, nuclear, biological, and radiological weaponry. The list of challenges facing humankind goes on and on.

Humans are supposed to be the wise species. Will they choose wisely? Will they choose life over death? Will they choose survival over extinction? Will they choose a state of Heaven on Earth for the living to enjoy each day, or will they choose a day-to-day existence of living Hell?

How can it be—or why is it—that so many humans have opted to take a counterproductive path in life? Is it immaturity (especially among the youths and young adults)? Is it ill-advised peer pressure? Is it upbringing in a maladaptive-expressive type of cultural environment where violence and gunplay flourish? Is it negative socialization? Is it genetics?

In essence, some of the observed counterproductive behaviors are probably attributable to the marvel of mass and rapid communications coupled with the fact that humans are imitators. Take, for instance, places like Madison Avenue. Madison Avenue is the location of high-powered advertising firms. Madison Avenue is a major contributor on the production side of the mass and rapid communications ecosystem. Madison Avenue produces slick commercials to entice humans to conspicuously consume products.

The so-called "have-nots" are very much a part of modern society. The so-called societal "have-nots" see conspicuous consumption being glorified in advertisements, and the so-called "have-nots" want to engage in similar conspicuous consumption. The so-called "have-nots" see luxurious living being glorified in advertisements, and the so-called "have-nots," too, want to experience similar luxurious living. The stealing and the looting by the so-called "have-nots" are symptoms of or by-products of a broader desire by them to consume conspicuously and to live luxuriously.

Take, for instance, places like Hollywood. Hollywood, too, is a major contributor on the production side of the mass and rapid communications ecosystem. On the one hand, Hollywood provides viewers with a steady stream of high-class living in television programs and motion pictures. The so-called "have-nots" view all of this high-class living and modern gadgetry, and they want to experience it, too.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Hollywood also feeds viewers with a cradle-to-grave stream of violence and gunplay. Most television "action" programs and motion pictures conclude with a big fight scene, gunplay or shoot-out, and explosions or some combination of these recurring concluding scenes. Over time, the recurring and reinforced message in the psyche of viewers becomes this: Violence and gunplay are the primary ways to resolve disputes. A mindset emerges that views fighting, gunplay, and killing to be okay.

The challenge does not end with the motion picture and television industries. The radio industry also plays a role in fueling this counterproductive behavior among youths and young adults. The radio industry does so when some radio stations opt to feed their listeners a steady stream of gangster-rap type of music where counterproductive kinds of behaviors are glorified, celebrated, and exalted. The radio industry also contributes to counterproductive kinds of behaviors when some political talk-show radio programs opt to take a mean-spirited, us-versus-them approach to presenting their content.

Come now the World Wide Web to appear on the scene. Some (popular) social media sites on the World Wide Web have proven to be huge influencers on societal norms—and oftentimes for the worse rather than for the better. Given the presumed anonymity of social media (for instance, given the existence of anonymous nicknames and avatars and given remote connections from all around the world), some social media participants feel free to express their unfiltered and oftentimes acerbic opinions about various topics with impunity.

Not all of the observed counterproductive behaviors can be attributable to places like Madison Avenue, Hollywood, motion pictures, radio, television, or the World Wide Web. For instance, some of the counterproductive behaviors are being driven by the unsavory aspects of an illicit drug culture. Some of the counterproductive behaviors are being driven by a burgeoning firearms culture. Countries such as the USA are awash in firearms, and all too many of the USA's citizens have begun turning their firearms against one another. In contrast, the original intended purpose of the firearms, primarily, was for those firearms to be used to defend the country against armed foreign invaders whose plans were to overthrow the USA government and the USA way of life.

The billion-dollar questions become ones such as these: What will it take to inspire humans to turn their attention away from counterproductive pursuits (such as violence, hatred, fighting, gunplay, and crime) and towards more productive pursuits? What will it take to transform the human mindset into perpetually embracing positive and constructive pursuits? How can humans rise above the mire? How can the human species constructively enjoy life and have good times without recourse to violence, hatred, and debilitating pursuits? What will it take to inspire the youths and young adults of the world to reach for Higher Ground? What will it take to inspire the youths and young adults of the world to want to become better humans? Will humans turn to a future of Heaven on Earth for the living to enjoy each day, or will humans opt to turn Earth into a daily living Hell? What will it take for humans to make wise choices in life? Ideas anyone? Answers anyone?

The broader point here is this: It will take a different type of human mindset to overcome the evils and ills of the world. Will it be Heaven on Earth going forward, or will it be Hell?

VISIONS OF HEAVEN AND HELL

Once upon a time in human history, the prospect of going to either spiritual Heaven or anti-spiritual Hell was enough to inspire most humans to choose Good over Evil. Take the Christian religion, for instance. Since year 1 A.D., followers of the Christian faith believe that, at some point after death, they will transition into a bountiful brand new life—an afterlife—in Biblical Heaven. The prospect of going to Heaven or the prospect of not going to Hell was enough to cause humans to somewhat self-regulate their conduct and moderate their social behavior to comply with acceptable and lawful societal norms.

Heaven or Hell:

Visions of Heaven:

Visions of Hell:

As if the prospect of spending eternity burning in the infernos of Hell were not disincentive enough for humans to turn away from the path of Evil, and similarly, as if the prospect of divine immortality were not incentive enough for humans to turn towards the path of Good, it is said that, in Heaven, there will exist no hatred, no hunger, no prejudice, no racism, no inequality, no want for material things, no sorrow, no sickness, no loneliness, no bickering, no bills, no depression, no suffering, no crime, and so forth. Once upon a time in human history, all of these heavenly incentives—or hellish disincentives—were enough to persuade the faithful to choose to walk down the path of Good in life.

The next bloc of images provides additional glimpses or insights into the age-old human visions of Heaven and Hell.

Visions of Heaven and Hell:

In this contemporary time of mass and rapid transportation coupled with mass and rapid communications, planet Earth is becoming more integrated and globalized. Humans can hop of an airplane and criss-cross Earth in a matter of hours. Humans instantly can communicate with one another all over the globe by telephone, television, or the World Wide Web. With globalization, societies have tended to become more secular in their outlooks and norms. The prominence of religion in the daily lives of humans significantly has eroded.

Religion, increasingly, seems to play a less important role in the daily lives of many humans. While there exists a great many fun and productive things to do on Earth, far too often and far too many humans have begun seeking fun and fulfillment in counterproductive things like substance abuse. It is as if humans have begun to confuse achieving a state of higher consciousness (such as understanding the meaning of life and existence) with an altered state of consciousness (such as substance abuse to escape reality). Regrettably, substance abuse sometimes leads to addiction. In turn, addiction sometimes leads to financial distress, ruined lives, broken familial relationships, broken marriages, and broken homes. Addiction sometimes leads the addict to turn to criminal and other kinds of sordid conduct to support the addiction.

As religion's moderating role on social behavior diminishes throughout the broader society, the question becomes this: What comes next to fill the religious void? It has been stated that music has the power to sooth the savage beast. In reality, throughout history, the calming and redemptive power of religion has played vital and crucial roles in soothing the soul of humans by pointing them in the direction of greater moral and ethical pursuits (for instance, the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule). Typical governmental approaches to fill the religious void include law enforcement, monetary fines, community service, probation, and incarceration. These various governmental approaches are meant to discourage, disincentivize, and punish those who behave unlawfully in civil society.

CHOOSING HEAVEN ON EARTH, OR FOSTERING EARTH AS A LIVING OASIS

At the top of this page, I posed questions such as these: What will it take to inspire humans to foster an Earth devoid of violence and hatred? What will it take to inspire humans to foster an Earth where prosperity for all prevails as a matter of course? Collectively, as a species, are humans capable of uniting to the extent that they can realize a perpetual state of Heaven on Earth? It is my hope that Vangelis' musical work titled Heaven and Hell, in some small way, can assist in inspiring the world to rise above the mire and reach for higher ground. Vangelis' musical work titled Heaven and Hell certainly has inspired me to want to become a better human being. It certainly has inspired me to want to foster a better world.

In my humble opinion, life should be about realizing prosperity and peace for all on Earth both for the humans of today and the humans of tomorrow. The opposite of human progress would be for humans to slide backwards, regress, or even worse, for humans to become extinct. Click the two images below to listen to Vangelis' musical work titled Heaven and Hell. The two images below are the cover art for Vangelis' Heaven and Hell.

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THE LONG HISTORICAL JOURNEY FROM THEN TO NOW

The next two images represent a view of Earth's history from the scientific perspective of geologic time.

Stop the Hatred / Stop the Shooting / Stop the Looting / Stop the Killing Right Now on Earth:

HOPES AND DREAMS FOR A BETTER TOMORROW ALL ACROSS THE WORLD

What is philosophy? Astronomer Carl Sagan's reflection on the "pale blue dot" says it all. Carl Sagan's reflection on the "pale blue dot" represents the essence of philosophy. Live and let live; no more national conquests.

Depiction of the Solar System's Size to Scale Relative to the Sun Featuring the Pale Blue Dot Called Earth:

HEAVEN AND HELL CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A BETTER TODAY AND A BETTER TOMORROW

In conclusion, the ensuing multilingual display represents human choosing wisely. The display represents humans opting to live positively and constructively in daily life. Click the down arrow to reveal the display "in different languages" and click on a language to see the display in that particular language.