A Conversation with Dr. Robert Muller
(The complete Flip interview, with only minor edits, not found in the book)

Dr. Robert Muller (www.robertmuller.org) has dedicated his life to the promotion of peace and the elimination of national borders. Author, statesman, “Prophet of Hope” and “Father of Global Education,” Dr. Muller’s distinguished career in the United Nations culminated in his rise to the post of Assistant-Secretary-General. He has been awarded both the Albert Schweitzer International Prize for the Humanities and the Eleanor Roosevelt Man of Vision Award. In 1989 he received an UNESCO Peace Education Prize for his “World Core Curriculum.” Currently serving as Chancellor of the University for Peace, Robert has also created a “Framework for World Media Coverage,” a “Framework for Planetary and Cosmic Consciousness,” and a “Framework for the Arts and Culture.”

We asked Robert what started him on his life’s mission. “My grandfather’s nationality changed five times as a result of three wars between France and Germany,” he explained. “As a child I was confronted by borders that I was not permitted to cross, and I dreamt that one day those borders would disappear. During the Second World War, I escaped from Germany and went to fight with the French Underground. On my return, I learned that my father had spent eight months in prison because I had refused to join the German army.

“At one point while I was in the Underground, we got twenty young Germans to surrender to us, and I promised them that they would not be killed. But I later learned that they had been. I just couldn’t stop thinking of their mothers and fathers, waiting and never even receiving news of their sons’ deaths, because we had not even taken the soldiers’ names. I swore to those twenty kids that I would spend my whole life working for peace. I went to the University of Strasbourg, and one day I saw an announcement for a contest. Students were asked to write an essay about how the world should be governed. I wrote one and sent it in, got first prize, and entered the United Nations. And I spent thirty-eight years there, working for peace.

“At one point I decided to write down every idea and dream I had for happiness and peace,” Robert chuckled. “I published 6,600 of them!” Then he became serious. “There must be a science of peace for the entire planet,” he recommended, “containing examples of all the successful peace making by various people, and movements towards peace, around the world.

“When I was a kid, every Sunday the military marched through the streets, and we had to dance and applaud them. Today militaries don’t even dare to show themselves. I recommend that all the soldiers become policemen, true ‘agents of peace,’ as the French refer to them. Have them help avoid robberies and killings in the world.”

Is it possible at this point in history to transition from a fear-based, warring consciousness to a peaceful civilization? Robert believes that the shift is well underway. “For almost sixty years now, we haven’t had a world war! Can you imagine? It is marvelous that peace has become the rule! For example, Bush started his own war in Iraq, but nobody in the world admires him. Peace has become the law and no longer war. When I joined the United Nations, we were not even supposed to speak about peace. Yes, cooperation and working together, but the word ‘peace’ was absolutely prohibited. And now it is an important topic of discussion. We put it on the map. Today it is being studied everywhere, and we have more peace than ever before. The miracle is happening.”

As peace becomes the norm, what does “The Prophet of Hope” see as the next priority for Humanity’s evolution? “Now I am working on doing the same for happiness,” he replied. “I want to see it become a major objective of the United Nations to make happiness a world affair!”

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The Flip, by Jared Rosen and David Rippe, illuminates a clear path to a vibrant enlightened world where millions of people already live and thrive. It describes in vivid detail and real examples evidence of an upside down world in decay and a Right Side Up world of authentic beings bright with possibility.
The Flip is an owner’s manual for the twenty-first century full of insights, conversations with recognized experts, thought leaders, and visionaries, and actionable exercises and tips you can use to begin your own personal flip.

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