The Two Me’s 245„heaven‟ appears, it will turn eventually into „hell.‟ In other words, if we
want lasting results, we must use solid building material.
I suggest that the United States from the Second World War to the
1990s provides an illustration of this principle. Never in the history of
mankind have so many people had it so good for so long as in the United
States during this period. What is experienced daily goes far beyond what
the medieval person dreamed for in paradise. How have Americans
responded to this „heaven on earth‟? Curiously, we find American society
pervaded with destructive thoughts, images and actions. There is violence
on television, murder in the streets, confrontation in the courts, and dog-
eat-dog competition in business. Isn‟t it strange that a country which is so
close to „heaven‟ would lust after „hell‟? Why is this? I suggest the basic
reason is that at the core of their personalities, Americans are really
„Russian‟ and not „German.‟ Deep down, they follow emotional 'facts' and
are repelled by rational logic. After all, does it make sense to choose to
focus upon pain and disaster?
Second, if we want to construct a vision of „heaven‟ which can be
brought „down to earth,‟ then I suggest that it must be possible for
Perceiver thought to find logical similarities between present life and any
„heaven‟ which we see hovering in the clouds. In other words, if we want
to redefine me using Perceiver confidence and logic, then it must be
possible to redefine me using Perceiver confidence and logic.
This means that personal transformation is only feasible if I use
Perceiver strategy to search for connections and similarities between the
present me and the possible me of the future. This is because Perceiver
thought operates by looking for connections and similarities. If I expect
my „heaven‟ to be completely different from my present life here on
„earth,‟ then „heaven‟ will always remain a vision in the clouds, separate
from me, because by its very nature, it will be unattainable.
Finally, I suggest that a „heaven‟ must always contain Mercy
experiences which are like those in our present life. This is because
Perceiver logic is only capable of relinking experiences which live within
Mercy thought. It cannot destroy Mercy memories or create them out of
nothing. It can only take Mercy memories apart and put them together in
new ways.