Heaven on Earth for My Nation
The way you begin a new story is by saying so, by declaring it, and by making your declaration have authority in your life. It’s giving your word and having your word count.
Right now, this very moment, you can begin creating the new story of your nation by declaring, “My nation is a Heaven on Earth nation.” And then, ask other people in your nation to make the same declaration. Together, you are co-creating the new reality for your entire nation….and it all starts with you saying so, with you realizing how powerful and impactful your word is.
A nation can choose to co-create Heaven on Earth by proclaiming and establishing it, and then by sustaining and nourishing it, and it can all begin with you right now.
Here are people in different nations of our world who have declared, “My nation is a Heaven on Earth nation.” Watch the videos and be inspired for your nation.
Austria
Brazil
Canada
Croatia
Denmark
Dominica
Mexico
African Continent
Prince Edward Island
Canada’s First Heaven on Earth Province
In the early 2000s, I gave a series of Heaven on Earth workshops in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI). Situated off the east coast, PEI is the birthplace of Canada and is the country’s smallest province.
One summer during a workshop, a thought popped into my head, “PEI is Canada’s first Heaven on Earth province.” I dismissed the idea at first, but the more I thought about it the more I loved it. The way you start a new story is to start the new story, so I said the sentence out loud to the participants and it became a declaration. In the years since, it’s continued to expand as others have joined in the same declaration.
Every summer, when I go back to the island, a group of us committed to this declaration explore it in more depth, discovering what we can do to expand and forward it. I especially want to thank Kele Redmond, Mark Belfry, Wendy Foster, Bob Mueller, and Amanda Gallant for their co-creative partnership.
Here are several projects and initiatives that continue coming out of a growing number of people’s commitment to “PEI is Canada’s First Heaven on Earth Province.”
The Kiwanis Key Club Heaven on Earth Leadership Award
Kiwanis is a world-wide service organization whose youth component is the Key Club. The Key Club at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown, PEI, has established the Heaven on Earth Leadership Awards. During the school year, students team up on projects that respond to the question, “Here is a magic wand and with it you can create ‘Heaven on Earth.’ What is ‘Heaven on Earth’ and what will you do to make it happen?”
The idea is to have members of the Key Club reflect on the kind of world they want, feel free to talk about it, and begin playing their part individually or in groups to make their dreams come true. This initiative is a natural fit with the Kiwanis Key Club mandate, which provides members with opportunities to provide service, build character, and develop leadership. Their vision statement is, “We are caring and competent servant leaders transforming communities worldwide!”
Gail Lecky of the Kiwanis Club of Charlottetown is excited to see what the youth members create. “We answered this question at an international Kiwanis event we hosted recently, and it’s a powerful individual and group experience,” she said.
The youth leadership awards will recognize a Colonel Gray High School Key Club member or group of members who “demonstrate leadership qualities in planning and organizing one of the following: an event, project, website, YouTube Video, newspaper editorial/column, advertising/marketing campaign, or other enterprise.”
Suzanne Lee, teacher adviser for the Key Club, says, “This is a great initiative. I’d love to see Key Clubs worldwide be able to apply for this award.”
Interviews with three prize winners: Abby Clow, Ollie Press, Haley Willis.
A tea merchant has created a Heaven on Earth Tea Blend that is now available across Canada and the US
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Katherine Burnett is a tea lover who has turned her passion into her business running Lady Baker’s Tea. She took one of my workshops and came up with the idea of blending a special mix for a Heaven on Earth tea. It is one of her signature blends. |
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Watch Her Interview
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The back of the package is reproduced in part here:
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PEI Business Women’s Association
Hannah Bell is the Executive Director of the PEI Business Women’s Association — “We empower women in business through training, counseling, and networking opportunities.”
I believe very strongly in their mission and work. To support them, I offered Hannah and the organization a workshop on vision building as my gift. She was delighted and accepted.
A couple of weeks later, we were having coffee to discuss the workshop and she asked me what other projects I was involved in. I told her about Heaven on Earth. She sat bolt upright and said, “That’s it, that’s it. We need to do your workshop on Heaven on Earth!” I immediately agreed, I led the workshop, the members loved it, and I did it again the next year.
The workshop title was: A BOLD Tomorrow: Co-Creating Heaven on Earth for Yourself, Your Work/Business, and PEI
The workshop “provides a process for you, your work, and your province to align with deeply held values and initiatives that enrich humanity. A BOLD Tomorrow for Islanders is motivated by a sentiment to do something, deep in our hearts, deep in our souls, which takes our province to its next evolutionary level. What we want is a new context, a new story for the Third Millennium — one that inspires us all.
“Come and hear what others are doing all around the world personally and in their workplaces to make meaningful change in unique and individual ways — and discover your contribution to your personal and professional growth and to a province and planet that works.”
A Heaven on Earth Vision for Anderson House
Anderson House is a provincial, 24-hour emergency shelter for women and their children who are victims of domestic abuse and violence, in Charlottetown, PEI. This short-term sanctuary offers a safe, secure environment in which to recover and recuperate while offering programs and services designed to enhance a family’s quality of life and enable them to move forward with their lives.
Learn more about Anderson House
Being a not-for-profit shelter, Anderson House relies on donations from community members and businesses. Amanda Gallant, a talented singer and event organizer, put together the PEI Heaven on Earth Extravaganza for Anderson House “a night of wonderful music, terrific food, and a whole lot of laughter with a silent auction in support of Anderson House.”
Amanda says, “I believe that Anderson House is a wonderful example of a dream to not only improve the lives of Islanders, but to give them hope. That is my vision of a PEI Heaven on Earth. A home filled with hope, where artists and businesses alike are free to express their highest and greatest vision for our Island family.”
Beginning a New Story for Summerside
Wendy Foster took the PEI Business Women’s course (above). She was so inspired by the workshop, the participant involvement and energy in the room, she said publicly that she was going to create a similar event for her community of Summerside, PEI’s second largest city. She also wanted to use it to officially launch her business, The Coaching Playground.
Wendy registered for and attended the next public Heaven on Earth workshop to deepen her perspective on the content and to observe from a facilitator’s point of view. Further inspired, she publicly declared that in three weeks she was hosting a Heaven on Earth workshop for Summerside.
Wendy and her partner, Bob Mueller, blitzed the city. They brought me down a week before the workshop to do an intensive marketing campaign. We met with the Mayor, influential businesspeople, and people we met on the street that Wendy knew. Wendy and Bob put posters up all over the city. Heaven on Earth was everywhere. The workshop was a success.
Two people with commitment, energy, and tenacity can begin a city’s new story.
An Editorial in PEI’s 'The Guardian' Newspaper
An Op-Ed piece, written by Martin, appeared in The Guardian, the provincial newspaper of record, putting forward the idea of PEI as Canada’s first Heaven on Earth province.
Heaven on Earth Coffee
The Kettle Black Café (@thekettleblackpei) is now offering a Heaven on Earth coffee blend.
Global Chorus 365 Voices on the Future of the Planet
Martin authored a one-day Heaven on Earth reflection for the book Global Chorus 365 Voices on the Future of the Planet. The book’s editor, Todd MacLean is an Island resident.Heaven on Earth in a Jewelry Store
Nessya’s Gems & Jewelry store includes a card with the 3 Heaven on Earth questions on it, with every purchase.
Heaven on Earth Keynote
Martin gave a Heaven on Earth keynote to the KIWANIS Eastern Canada & Caribbean Conference held in Charlottetown, PEI.
Croatia is a Heaven on Earth Nation
The following five examples came from a workshop on Heaven on Earth conducted in Croatia by Sanja Plavljanic-Sirola.
1.Clean water
2. Help for homeless and very poor people
Snježana started this theme and promised to collect information about possible sources of help (such as free food, donors, work possibilities, volunteering associations,…) that some of the poor people might not know about. Then, they would make flyers with that information.
She would also like to create some programs that would help them to move on and believe in a better tomorrow.
Also, by distributing the flyers, we could make a database about what each of them can do, to easier connect them with job providers.
3. Book Exchange corner in libraries
4. Finding people and organizations that are already acting in the direction of the “Heaven on Earth.”
Aglaja knows many such people, so we concluded that maybe we could organize them to speak in libraries and also create a little YouTube interview with each of them.
Also, she will make a list of literature about such topics.
5. Concrete examples of good deeds
Inja is a marvelous applier of the Heaven on Earth idea! During the summer, she reminded herself every day of Martin’s words: “What will you do in the next 24 hours?” and every day she would do a small (or bigger) step towards Heaven on Earth, by doing good deeds. She described 10 of them to us.
The Website
The Facebook Page
We want to share on the Croatia Heaven on Earth page as many concrete stories about big and small good deeds as possible!
Elisabeth Ziegler in Austria
How To Have Heaven on Earth for your Country
Denmark is a Heaven on Earth Nation
Susanne Frandsen is creating Heaven on Earth for her country, Denmark, and has also started a Facebook page, both in Danish and English, called: Project Heaven on Earth − i Danmark, Europa & Verden (which translates as “in Denmark, Europe, and the World”).
Susanne Frandsen
Denmark is a Heaven on Earth Country
Mexico is a Heaven on Earth Nation
Gabriel Nossovitch is a workshop leader and trainer in corporate leadership. He works in English in the U.S. and in Spanish in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.
He and I spoke about the terrorism, lawlessness, kidnappings, violence, and killing in Mexico. He was deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation and wanted to talk about what he and the participants in his workshops could do about it. He felt that the situation was very serious and that there was a very large, national negative belief system in place saying there wasn’t anything a person could do to change it. He asked me what I thought could be done. I thought about it and said, “Gabriel, why don’t you ignite the passion in Mexico to have it be great? Why don’t you begin an inquiry into what Heaven on Earth is for Mexico and what some simple, easy steps would be that people could take to create a new and empowering reality for their country?”
Gabriel loved the idea and to begin, he’s established a Facebook community, in Spanish, called: El Cielo En La Tierra Para Mexico (Heaven on Earth for Mexico).
In addition to the 3 questions, he’s asking people to answer a fourth one, specifically tailored to Mexico:
“Imagine you have a magic wand and with it you can create Heaven on Earth for Mexico. What is Heaven on Earth for Mexico?”
You can join the conversation by going to the El Cielo En La Tierra Para Mexico Facebook Page. Most of the responses are in Spanish, but there is an easy “See Translation” button for each entry.
Here’s Gabriel speaking, in Spanish, about what Heaven on Earth is for him.
Robert Braga, my dear ‘brother of the heart’, is very clear about his declaration for his home country, “Brazil is a Heaven on Earth Nation!”
He asked me to record a short video about Heaven on Earth, to which he then added imagery, music, and Portuguese sub-titles.
If you know anyone in Brazil, Portugal, or anywhere else, who speaks Portuguese, please forward this short video to them.
Several years ago, I met a wonderfully powerful, present, woman named Nakita Bruno Green. She’s from the Caribbean nation of Dominica, and was in the United States working on her Ph.D. in sustainable business.
During our conversation, she told me that Dominica has a government ministry which has Climate Resilience as part of its responsibility. I’d never heard anything like that before. I was intrigued and inspired. For me, this was clearly part of Heaven on Earth.
We spoke more about the ministry and what she wanted to see for her nation. Then, she declared, “Dominica is a Heaven on Earth Nation!”
This video interview took place shortly after she made her declaration, and you can see how ‘on fire’ she is about it.
Charles Tchoreret is originally from the African nation of Gabon. He left when he was 21, worked around the world, and now lives in Montreal, Canada.
He’s an engaging motivational speaker and a powerful coach. Charles calls his work ‘The Greatness Trilogy’ which consists of: Leadership, Fitness (physical and mental), and Spirituality.
For years he’s had a deep longing to do something for his continent, Africa. He knew something had to change, a new leadership for a new future had to emerge.
I was doing a Heaven on Earth workshop and asked the participants to stand up and share something they wanted that was “Bigger Than Themselves.”
Charles raised his hand and said, “That’s it! I want Africa to become a Heaven on Earth continent.”
He’d always wanted to do something that would unleash the power and the magnificence of his home continent and so his declaration was born.
And, with his declaration, Charles feels he’s now helping to write the new story for Africa. He’s releasing his continent’s full potential to contribute to its own people and to the entire world.
Here’s the Facebook page he’s begun. Please take a look. If you live in Africa, if you were born in Africa and live outside of it, or if you just love Africa and are aligned with this declaration, please join the group.
Other Heaven on Earth Countries
Argentina
Hungary
