Personal Life Media

Project-Peace on Earth is an annual worldwide telecast concert of Superstar musicians performing Sacred Music from the most mystical concert venues on the planet: Egypt's Great Pyramids, England’s Stonehenge, Australia's Ayers Rock, Peru's Inca Pyramids, Japan's Mount Fuji, and California's Mount Shasta to name a few. Mike Mitchell (Executive Producer of Live Aid and producer of 8 Olympics) and Hal Uplinger (Producer of Live Aid) are engaged to produce this event. Steve Robertson is the Creator and an Executive Producer of Project-Peace on Earth.

The premise of the Project—Peace on Earth concert is unique and originates from the belief that there are special musicians on the planet.  As you may be aware, great composers like Bach wrote at the head of their compositions “A.M.D.G.,” the Latin initials for “To the Greater Glory of God.”  Similarly, when musicians create and perform from a devotional and self-realized state, this intent, at the level of quantum physics, formats their music into an energetic formula that expresses the enlightened perspective of love or what Pythagoras called 'Music of the Spheres,' a series of frequencies and harmonics that would be analogous to what Abraham Maslow would have described as a state of Self-Actualization, or what Yogananda would have called Self-Realization . . .thoughts of love, compassion, forgiveness, empathy, etc. . . . all of the higher orders of thinking that move us from the linear and dualistic view of the world . . . right/wrong . . . good/bad . . . connected/separate . . . into more of a holographic understanding of the Divine inner connectedness of all things.

Our belief is the soul already operates on this same frequency of the “Music of the Spheres” or Om, Love, Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammad Consciousness (all the same thing), and when we experience Sacred music that reflects these same harmonics, physiologically through the ears, and intuitively through the psyche, it is like two computers talking the same protocol, the Law of Sympathetic Vibration dictates that the mind will resonate correspondingly.  Therefore, the process of listening to spiritually-inspired or Sacred music, establishes the protocol whereby the mind stills and the body relaxes.

In this state, the mind is moved into a present-time reality where the sacred vibration of harmony (OM, Aum, Amen, or Cosmic Vibration) is least distorted and the mind is quiet enough both to witness and to remember the Song of the Self, or the mystical principle of the “I AM,” the Divinity within.  Here, the mind is moved from passive hearing to an active listening of the “Word” or “Primary Harmony.”  In other words, the process of listening to Sacred music empowers the mind to perceive and to release illusions of fear, pain and suffering so that it experiences and remembers the reality of the love it already is.  Thus, atonement and the integration of Divine Will, are made possible. 

The idea for Project—Peace on Earth is to do a globally-telecast, Live Aid-like event featuring Superstar musicians performing Sacred music from the world’s most mystical concert venues, to reach over 2 billion people, to raise awareness, to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to address pressing issues affecting children worldwide, and then to track how these funds are used in a Reality Extreme Village Make-over TV show.   While the scope of Project—Peace on Earth is ambitious, at the same time, it is clearly doable. 

Mike Mitchell (Executive Producer of Live Aid and Producer of 8 Olympics) and Hal Uplinger (Co-Executive Producer of Live Aid) are engaged to produce this event.  Patrick Leonard is the Music Director for Project-Peace on Earth.  Patrick is a songwriter and music producer known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. He is also credited for writing and producing albums for Roger Waters, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Julian Lennon, Jeff Beck, Jewel, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Kenny Loggins, and Patti Labelle to name a few.  In addition to his songwriting and producing Patrick is an accomplished keyboardist also credited for working with many of the same performers including David Gilmor of Pink Floyd.  From the first sound of the Concert and every word spoken, every note, each lyric and every song played thereafter, the Concert will be designed to create a transformational goose bump experience, one that at times tearfully reminds us of the horrors our world’s children have endured, one that most importantly inspires each of us to experience our own innate divinity so that we forever more recognize that same divinity in others, in the animals and in all of nature.


More directly from Steve:


My name is Steve Robertson.  In November of this year I will be turning 50.  Since early childhood I’ve had a profound fascination with how music has the ability to give me goose bumps and on occasion, bring tears to my eyes.  
This is my story of how Project-Peace on Earth came to be. 

At the age 29 I had a huge spiritual breakdown.  Within a 24 hour period, the woman I was engaged to ended our relationship and I lost my job.  The unbearable depression that resulted from this experience ultimately lead me to read a book, written in 1924, by Florence Shinn entitled “The Game of Life and How to Play It”.   There, in this masterfully written book I found two questions that would change the course of my life.  One, she asked, “If you could do anything in the world and there were no limitations (and she specified that there weren’t) what would you do?  The Second question, “What do you love the most?” Upon reading these two questions I said to myself, that is it, the questions I’ve looked for all of my life…in essence…why Am I here and what is my purpose in life?   From that day forward, I knew I would not stop until I was able to answer these two questions.  I sincerely believed that if I knocked on the door of my heart long enough and with enough intent the answers would come to me.  And, given I had no girlfriend and no job at the time, I had plenty of time to knock.

I began meditating, persistently asking these questions within, determined to hear the answer.  Finally, one did.  A voice spoke to me from within.   The answer was “Music.”  As a teen I had grown up on a constant diet of rock music…the Who, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Yes, Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Jeff Beck, etc.  Later on, in college I became a DJ and the school’s radio promotion manager.  I had also become an expert on what would soon become known as  “New Age” music.

To be honest, after hearing that my purpose was “Music”, I felt even more confused than before.  What was I supposed to do with or about “Music”?  I was not a musician at the time, nor did I have any interest in becoming one.  I grew up playing football and then later I raced motorcycle motocross turning pro at the age of 18.  How was I going to find my purpose through “Music”? Then I remembered the second question that Florence had asked in the book…”What do you love to do the most?”  The answer to this question came almost instantly…What I loved to do was share beautiful, spiritually uplifting and inspiring music with my friends and anyone else who I met that appreciated music.  

Naturally I asked “If sharing beautiful music with people is my life purpose, how do I make a living out of this?” So I came up with the idea of creating a company like Muzak.  One that would play beautiful New Age music in hotels and restaurants rather than the sterile soulless, music that was currently being played in these places.  I did all of the research on the various delivery systems, radio, tapes, etc…and catalogued thousands of songs by time, temp, duration, and the emotions I felt from each piece of music.  At the same time I was reading every book on metaphysics that I could find.

Shortly thereafter, while living in Houston (1986), I was introduced to a woman from from Monaco  named Elizabeth as it turned out, she had been friends with King Hussein for twenty years and had been the interior designer for all of his palaces. She had an idea in mind to do a concert to promote “Goodness” as a means of facilitating peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a cause which I felt was very important.  King Hussein had given her permission to use a piece of land in Jordan for the event and she was in the process of lining up performers to participate…artists like Elton John, Dire Straits, Pavarotti, and various other rock groups…but, I immediately recognized that missing from the roster were musicians that were about facilitating inner peace through their music.  So in my first meeting with her I told her exactly that “Unless you have the music at the concert that is about promoting inner peace you won’t be able to facilitate the outer experience of peace you are hoping to accomplish through the concert.”  She agreed and I immediately offered to contact the artists who I felt performed this peace inspiring music, artists such as: Kitaro, Yanni, Enya, Vangelis, Yes, and others on behalf of the concert and to enroll them to perform at the event.

Now, having just offered to do outreach to these performers, a thought came to my mind “I had absolutely zero idea about how to go about doing this nor did I have contacts to facilitate my offer.” ! But, what I did know was this…that if my inner voice had instructed me to offer this service it would also show me how to accomplish it.  My job was to have faith and to act with unwavering courage based on my inner guidance.  With this belief, I pledged to God that I would do whatever I was told and do whatever it took to accomplish the mission of bringing the power of this spiritually transformational music to mainstream public awareness.

Almost immediately thereafter, while living in Houston, a DJ friend of mine who had a popular New Age music radio show invited me to travel with him to Dallas to see and interview Kitaro who was performing in his first American tour called “Light of the Spirit”.   Kitaro, at that time spoke very little English and required a translator.  By his side was Eiichi, who is still, to the present day, his manager.  I remember his words when asked why he didn’t have lyrics sung to his music…”Words” he said “Limit the imagination.” Back stage I also met the renowned violinist Steve Kindler.  I talked to everyone about the Jordan concert and collected telephone numbers to follow-up.

Shortly after Kitaro’s concert, I was offered a job and moved to Dallas to work for Johnson Controls Company selling industrial process control computers.  I had become the youngest sales executive in their corporation’s history, as I was later told by the head of HR.   Not long after moving to Dallas the artist Yanni was doing a record signing at a local record store for the release of his album “Out of Silence”.  Tried as I may, I could not facilitate a connection with him.  My intuition instructed me to just go to the store and try to contact him there.  It seemed like an odd suggestion and I was more than a little uncomfortable about what to say to him once I got there.  But I did exactly what I was told, went to the store and stood in a long line of people wanting his autograph.   When I got to him, finally at the front of the line, I explained briefly that I wanted him to participate in the big peace concert in Jordan. He politely dismissed me to speak to a person standing to the side…who as it turned out was a fellow by the name of Jeff who was at that time the VP of Private Music…the label he was on.  I repeated in a more detail to Jeff about the concert and explained why I felt it was important for Yanni to perform.  With little more said Jeff then invited me out to have dinner with them after the autograph signing session… which I agreed to immediately.

Shortly thereafter, in Dallas, I connected with Suzanne Ciani who was doing a concert there.  This encounter opened door after door after door with musicians until one day I received a call from Elizabeth, who informed me that the concert was off…major geopolitical problems in the middle east, money, greedy people, egos, etc…as you can imagine, I was heart broken.

To heal, I poured myself into my new job.  However, the idea of this concert, my mission of getting this inspirationally healing music out into the mainstream never left me.  Then  one day the Word said “Why not”…Why not a concert of the music you love the most?”  I thought to myself “Why not indeed!”.   I have the contacts with these artists, so “Why not?”  So with this inspiration I started mapping out on a paper napkin at lunch time what a concert like this would look like.  From that day on I spent my lunch hours, evenings, and every spare moment I had to create the concept for the concert, which I originally called “The World Music Festival.”  Simultaneously, I was looking for ways to  scientifically describe what made this New Age/spiritually inspirational music so unique.  

Through friends of mine in Dallas who where going to Parker Chiropractic College, I was introduced to Dr. Bernie Siegel’s book “Love, Medicine, and Miracles”.  After reading the book it became clear to me that Bernie was not talking about healing from cancer as much as he was communicating the importance of learning unconditional love for oneself. A prerequisite for facilitating the essence of what Hippocrates meant when he said “Physician heal thyself.”  That’s when the light bulb came on for me.  “That’s it” I said.  This is what is so important about this special type of spiritually inspirational music, the music that had always given me goose bumps, brought me to tears, and create euphoria for me…what is coming through this music is the essence of unconditional love.  

Soon thereafter, I was guided to connect with Bernie through his ECaP (Exceptional Cancer Patient organization), and we became friends.  Later, through my relationship with Bernie, I arranged for him to speak to the students at Parker.  A short time passed before, I connected and became friends with Dr. Larry Dossey, who was living in Dallas at the time.  Larry was the Chief of Staff of one of the major hospitals in Dallas   and had recently written a book entitled “Time, Space, and Medicine.”

Through reading these books and numerous other similar books, it was becoming very apparent that the through-line of these books dealt with emerging medical research that exacted a relationship between negative emotional (psycho-spiritual) states and resulting diseases, or dis-ease, as it was being newly phrased.  While reading these books I found myself deeply and continually perplexed.  Why had none of these major holistic doctors considered music as a plausible means of affecting even correcting the negative emotional states responsible for the dis-ease that they said could be healed by the self.

It was becoming clear to me that I was seeing something that others weren’t.  In order to further clarify for myself and those that I was talking to about the importance of a concert with the sort of inspirational/New Age music that I loved, began to write a position paper.  This paper became the foundation from which I finally understood myself and the reason why certain types of music had so deeply moved me, and most of all, why producing this concert was so very important.

Pythagoras, the father of mathematics, believed that the philosophical principles of love, peace, wisdom, compassion, forgiveness, and joy were embodied in the harmonics of what he termed “Music of the Spheres”.  This music, he believed, was heard and recreated in proportion to the composer's level of spiritual evolution and most importantly their intent to create compositions from that devotional mind set.  This state of spiritual intention, according to history's great mystics, is accessed through a devotional and contemplative listening to the small still voice within that guides the self into union with Divine Will.  "Be still and know that I am God" says the Bible.  Paramahansa Yogananda, author Autobiography of a Yogi  stated: "The Veda's, India's most ancient scriptures, was divinely revealed to the rishis, or 'seers.'  It was a revelation by sound, directly heard."    Aldous Huxley said: "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet said: "My soul counseled me and charged me to listen for voices that rise neither from the tongue nor the throat.  Before that day I heard but dully, and naught save clamor and loud cries came to my ears; but now I have learned to listen to silence, to hear its choirs singing the song of ages, chanting the hymns of space, and disclosing the secrets of eternity." 

Great composers like J.S. Bach wrote at the head of their compositions “A.M.D.G.”, the Latin initials for “To the Greater Glory of God.” Similarly, when musicians create and perform from a devotional and self-realized state, this intent, at the level of quantum physics, formats their music into an energetic formula that expresses the enlightened perspective of love or what Pythagoras called 'Music of the Spheres', a series of frequencies and harmonics that would be analogous to what Abraham Maslow would have described as a state of Self-Actualization, or what Yogananda would have called Self-Realization …thoughts of love, compassion, forgiveness, empathy, etc…all of the higher orders of thinking that move us from the linear and dualistic view of the world …right/wrong …good/bad …connected/separate…into more of a holographic understanding of the Divine inner connectedness of all things.

My belief is that the soul already operates on this same frequency, that of the “Music of the Spheres” or Om, Aum, Love, Christ, Buddha, Krishna Consciousness (all the same thing), and when we experience Sacred music that reflects these same harmonics, physiologically through the ears, and intuitively through the psyche, it is like two computers talking the same protocol, The Law of Sympathetic Vibration dictates that the mind will resonate correspondingly.  Therefore, the process of listening to spiritually-inspired or Sacred music, establishes the protocol whereby the mind stills and the body relaxes.

In this state, the mind is moved into a present time reality where the sacred vibration of harmony (OM, Aum, Amen, or Cosmic Vibration) is least distorted and the mind is quiet enough to both witness and remember the Song of the Self, or the mystical principle of the “I AM”, the Divinity within.  Here, the mind is moved from passive hearing to an active listening of the “Word” or “Primary Harmony”.  In other words, the process of listening to Sacred music empowers the mind to perceive and release illusions of fear, pain and suffering so that it experiences and remembers the reality of the love it already is.  Thus, atonement and the integration of Divine Will, is made possible.

Back in Dallas, I had been downsized and let go from my job as a sales engineer at Johnson Controls.  Fortunately, this happened about the same time I decided to work more full time on the concert.  However, having made this decision over the next several years I found that I was in for a very rough financial ride… Eventually, I had to move from my luxury apartment and sleep on friend’s couches, I ate what was given, I had no car, had no phone, and spent my last dime over and over again paying for stamps to send letters about the concert to people who I thought would help.  I know what it like to have just enough money in your pocket to buy a cup of coffee and then eat free bread, butter and jam at a cafe…I wore my power suits to important meetings…often riding the bus or walking to the meetings…I lived on the ragged edge of poverty all the while working every waking moment on the concert.  My father, who was a very successful physicist who ran the space program for TRW thought, thought I had lost my mind.   For years he couldn’t bring himself to speak to me.  At times I thought he might be right.  It was a very lonely journey.  Eventually, I managed to get on my feet financially and I moved into my own apartment. 

Then one day, I read a cover story article in Newsweek magazine on the emerging Self-esteem movement launched by a California Assemblyman in Silicon Valley by the name of John Vasconcellos.  As I would later find out he was also Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, responsible for balancing the state’s some 60 billion dollar annual budget.  After getting about half way through a letter I had begun writing to introduce myself to him and tell him about the concert (originally called “The World Music Festival”) my inner voice spoke very loudly again…”Pick up the phone and call him now”…I hesitated for a moment and the message repeated itself.  I immediately picked up the phone and called his office.  I got right through to his personal secretary and left her brief message with my name, phone number, and the reason why I was calling.

About five minutes later the phone rang and on the other end I heard “Hi, this is John Vasconcellos returning Steve Robertson’s call.” We spoke about his Self-esteem work and about the concert I was producing.  Over the next several months I was in constant contact with John’s Self-Esteem staff, waiting for the right moment to invite John to join the Board of Trustees for the concert.  After about seven months of contact I was finally told the timing was right to talk to John about this and so I did.  He agreed and at the same time he told me “Use my name…but don’t expect much of my time because I’m overwhelmed with balancing the state’s budget.”  I hung up the phone and faxed the Board invitation to John.  He signed it and not more than about five minutes later John’s secretary called saying that he was doing an overnight in Dallas in route to Florida to do a speech and asked if I could have dinner with him.”  “Sure”, I said.  About a week later I picked John up at the airport and we stayed out until about 3 o’clock in the morning talking about world politics and spirituality.  I drove him back to his hotel and then woke up early in the morning to have breakfast with him and see him off.  Over the course of the next year, John would travel to meet with me in Dallas and I to meet with him Santa Clara. We became best friends.   About a year afterwards, John invited me to move to Santa Clara to work on the concert and live with him in his spare room.  He had always said that California was the place to do the concert.  So, in 1990 I sold everything I owed, piled it into an old Cadillac I purchased for $400 and drove out to California on may-pop tires and moved into John’s place.

I was with John, side by side and day in and day out.  He graciously introduced me to everyone on Capitol Hill, I was his shadow.  He had become my best friend, my mentor, and a father figure.  After moving to California I worked to strengthen the Board of the concert.

In time, I moved to Los Angeles to run the Whole Life Expo, as I continued working on the concert.   Eventually, I had the idea of producing a promotional video for the concert.  The consulting fees that I had gotten from running the Expo were running out.   Through dear friends named John and Mark I was introduced to a wonderful man named Peter who ran a non-profit organization and had office space that he offered to share with me on Avenue of the Stars near Beverly Hills.  

Once I settled into my new office I began writing the script for the promotional video that I had envisioned.  Mark, a film director, introduced me to another young film maker named Shandor who had his own camera equipment and was pioneering a new film look that used 35mm film cut into 8mm strips on a fancy French 8mm camera.  He was willing to help shoot the promotional piece if I could acquire the film stock.  Determined to do this I attended a film screening for ECO, an entertainment industry organization that produced beautifully inspiring environmental film trailers. There, I met an executive from Eastman Kodak who I told about the promotional DVD I wanted to produce and shortly thereafter he arranged to donated can of 35mm film. I was on cloud nine.  Now I had the film, and someone to shoot it but, no money for a production budget.  

Through my friend John Vasconcellos I was introduced to Gary, the President of the California Wellness Foundation.  I submitted  a proposal and they provided $3000 to produce the film.  From that date forward I drove around the state with Shandor filming the people in the promotional trailer. With this video I secured the donation of the LA Coliseum, DDB Needham to do the ad campaigns, the stage, lighting, and sound were donated, a billboard was donated, Casey Kasem provided money to print the Billboard banner, board member Marc Brickman who was the lighting and stage designer for Pink Floyd, Genesis, offered to design the show;  I also enrolled the original LIVE AID team - Mike Mitchell (Executive Producer), Howard Zuckerman (Executive in Charge of Production), and Jim Tuverson (recently deceased) and Vince Darago (who both coordinated the global telecast for Live Aid).  The event, slated for June of 1995….was just a little ahead of its time and the biggest act we had was YES.  The event lacked the necessary marquee performers such as Bono, Madonna, Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins, etc.  Big name acts that were required to sell the event.  At the time much of the popular music lacked spiritual depth that I felt was vital to feature in the broadcast.

From this experience of getting so close to producing the concert I learned many valuable lessons.  Firstly, the Cause that the event benefits is less relevant than the names of the marquee value of the musicians who are headlining.   Artists like Yanni hadn’t made it big…he hadn’t done the PBS special  “Live at the Acropolis” yet…which became their biggest fundraiser to date raising $75 million in three airings, and later the number one selling concert DVD.  I had met with the President of HBO, to talk about a production partnership only to find out that he didn’t even know who ENYA was.  I was astonished, given recent trade publications that stated that she had sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Despite that, she had never performed live which in and of itself presented a huge logistical problem.  

The most important lesson that I learned was this - without the money you do not get the big marquee artists to commit (and even artists like: Vangelis, Yanni, Enya, and Kitaro were not and still are not considered headliner A list) and without the A-List talent, you will not get the A-List fortune 500 sponsors.  It is the classic Hollywood chicken and egg story.  So in June of 1995, two weeks before the concert, with not enough tickets sold, and lovingly caring call from Jon Anderson, I made the decision to pull the plug on the event.  I was exhausted.  Painfully, I called everyone involved one by one to tell them of the decision and expressed my disappointment in letting them down.  To my surprise, each and every one of them compassionately understood and promised to be there if and when I was able to pull it together at some future point.   

Friend and Board Member, Gary Zukav, aware of my exhaustion, graciously and generously paid to have me stay at a retreat in Maui for a couple weeks to relax and heal.  I called my father, who had recently softened.  He sent me some money along with an airline ticket.  I returned to LA somewhat rested, and healed, but with little money and no place to stay.  The very small 7x12 ft. trailer I had graciously been given to live in over the year leading up to the Concert in June was on a property that had now been sold.   I resolved myself to work and heal Steve financially before attempting the project again.  I came back from Maui and started painting houses.  I produced a major fundraiser for Big Sisters.  I took a full time job selling engine management and Data Acquisitions systems for Indy Cars, and then eventually started my own business in the insurance industry.

Since June of 1995 I have done very well financially.  Today, I live a very blessed life. I’m married to an amazingly beautiful and loving wife, I generate a wonderful income, and have two beautiful homes.   For twenty years I’ve never lost sight of the vision of producing the Concert.  Every time I ever lost hope along the way, each time I was about to throw the towel in, I remembered the words of Richard Bach, “You’re never given a dream without also being given the power to make it come true….When you have come to the edge of all the light that you know, and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” 

I hope you will join us in this vision of bringing peace to our world through this Globally Telecast Musical Prayer, and in your own way, find a way to support the production of: Project-Peace on Earth.  May your life be blessed.  May peace prevail on Earth. Amen.