Heaven Here on Earth: Explore How & Why Heaven is Accessible to Us

by Curt Melliger

Overview

While attending catechism class as a child, Curt Melliger was taught that if he obeyed the rules all his life he would be allowed to enter a place called Heaven when he died. The priest and nuns described it as a sacred abode up in the clouds that contained all of the very best things in the universe. There was sunshine and blue sky, pretty flowers and double rainbows, peace and happiness, ringing bells and beautiful music, saints and angels and the all-enveloping love of God. The young boy's mind processed this information and came to the stunning conclusion: "Why, they're talking about Earth!"

Since that early revelation Curt has been discovering other examples of paradise incarnate wherever he goes. This book is a collection of stories on subjects ranging from water, fire, and stars to adrenaline rushes, near-death experiences, and the place where goosebumps originate, from skiing powder and climbing high mountains and walking in reverse to the changing of seasons, the lessons of night, and the reason for dreams, from wild animals, unseen visitors, and beings that do not die to the magic of the human touch, beatific ecstasy, and what awaits us on the other side of the veil that only partially separates this golden realm from the perfect one.

For the Ultimate is much closer than we have been led to believe. Indeed, it is readily available right here on this planet, this Garden of Eden, this one-of-a-kind oasis in space.

Right now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781940265537
Publisher:	Ozark Mountain Publishing
Publication date:	10/15/2018
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Curt Melliger grew up in the very middle of America and left at age 17 to see the rest of it. During and after his travels he worked a number of jobs including pearl diver, pool cleaner, garbage collector, door-to-door solicitor for the Polish Relief Fund, railroader, bridge builder, engine mechanic, apprentice lineman, night watchman, carpenter, custodian, and caregiver before discovering his true calling in 2004. Since then over 80 of his articles have appeared in a wide variety of magazines, newspapers, and literary journals including Alaska, Bird Watcher's Digest, Catholic Digest, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Cribbage World, Mountain Gazette, New Mexico, Oregon Coast, and Snowy Egret. Window Full of Rain is Curt's first book and a new take on an ancient, almost forgotten subject: Access to heaven while still on earth. He currently lives near Cortez, Colorado, where he spends his free time exploring the wild places.

Table of Contents

Introduction i

Ecstasy in Motion 1

Riding the Dragon 4

Summit of Silver 8

Thank You Times Three 13

Through the Rainbow 16

The Blood of Earth 19

Bridges 23

Upon Awakening 26

Middle of Night Ode to Joy 34

On the Dark Side of the Earth 37

Edge of the Flames 41

Things That Do Not Fade 44

Angel in the Room 47

The Mother Goddess Mountain 52

The Upper Falls 56

Snow Light 64

Window Full of Rain 69

Road to Nowhere 73

Walking Backward 76

The Movement of Trees in the Forest 79

A Day Without Wind 85

Still Life with Cactus Flowers 88

Patient as a Predator 94

The Doing of Dishes 98

The Hands of God 101

An Oasis in Space 105

Life at Three Miles an Flour 108

The Swallow People 112

The Vallecito Lake Monster 118

House of Many Rooms 121

Dream Mesa 126

Earth Quakies 129

The Gray Season 133

Colors of the Cold 136

Waking the Bears 139

The Little Girl Who Loved Lilacs 144

Teacher in a Wheelchair 146

The Can Lady 149

The Only Hippie in the Oklahoma Panhandle 152

Epiphany on Grand Mesa 159

First Light 165

The Land of Yonder 168

The List 170

References 173

About the Author 175

Editorial Reviews

"I was predisposed to enjoy Heaven Here on Earth, a recently published collection of essays by Curt Melliger. Since Melliger used to write a column fairly regularly for the Four Corners Free Press (and still sends us one once in a while), I knew his style of writing, and it isn’t dreary or morose.

There are 43 essays in Heaven, and though I haven’t read them all, I have yet to find one that doesn’t exude hope and joy. Not a syrupy sort of joy, but a robust optimism that is a bit reminiscent of Whitman. Like him, Melliger finds delight in the world around us, in the quotidian and little things. “One of the most sstunning sights in all of creation” he writes, “is the supremely concentrated palette of hues produced when gas leaks from a car’s fuel line. . .” This is a collection about heaven on earth, after all (though there is one essay about near-death experiences). It definitely has a spiritual flavor, but not a religious one.

The essays are meant to be read slowly and in small doses. This isn’t a collection you would race through in a few sittings. Melliger’s style, full of repetitive cadences, is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. But if you want to take a stroll through a world that is imbued with beauty and pleasure, quirky characters and small miracles, this is a good read.

Melliger’s musings can be thought-provoking. Americans today “tend to live in boxes,” he notes. “. . . four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. . . we are almost constantly surrounded by them. Kind of like coffins for the living.”

Mostly, though, he writes about things that simply make you smile. The smell of wood smoke, the joys of watching a fire, a little old lady who picked him up hitchhiking, the special view you have of the world when you take off your eyeglasses.

If you’re looking for something to give you a feeling of positive energy rather than despair, Heaven Here on Earth is waiting." —Gail Binkly

Gail Binkly

"As a hospice doctor I learned that people approaching death remember moments of life, not their big accomplishments. In the essays in Heaven on Earth, Melliger celebrates his moments with poetic grace. Curt’s life exemplifies an emphasis on savoring each moment while following instincts on what experiences to embrace. His self-directed education comes from life experiences, not a conventional path toward a particular career. His poetic descriptions of the beauty and depth of life in the Southwest mountains bring the reader into his experience. Living life to the fullest is the overarching theme as essays range from odes to movement and adventure to his honoring of the compassion and wisdom of people often dismissed by society to appreciation of nature up close and personal. His insights were an inspiration to me and I strongly encourage you to read this book. It will increase your appreciation and awareness of each moment!" —Pamela M. Kircher, MD, Author of Love is the Link

Pamela M. Kircher

"Here is a beautiful, simple, sometimes funny book, well written, and very interesting. But don’t be lulled into somnolence. For the author here is echoing centuries of wisdom passed on by the wisest and most learned men of our history. Shamans, mystics, spiritual people and poets, all spoke with similar ideas. From Lao Tzu, 6th century B.C. “love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.” Or from Li Po, one of China’s most famous poets, 7th century, “Thoughts on a quiet night- Before my bed the light is so bright, it looks like a layer of frost, lifting my head I gape at the moon, lying back down I think of home.” So simple, yet containing so much. These thoughts of the importance of Nature in our lives have been carried on into our times by Wordsworth, Thoreau Muir, Carl Safina, and others.

This is a wonderful book by a person in love with the world around him. We can all learn from these well done writings. I love the long sentences containing word groupings, coming from many different places, that surround the idea of the sentence. Sometimes it’s like the essence of an author’s complete work in a single sentence. And the internal rhyming in sentences is fun, my favorite being “from Nebraska to Alaska.” Some would say the author has been able to depress his ego and its effect on the default mode network of the brain, (located in the posterior cingulate cortex), and the result has been this uninterrupted flow of beauty, joy, and awe. Read this book. Learn from it. You won’t be disappointed. This is an important work." —John Marshall, author of several Silverton, Colorado books with Return to Mountain, Tai Chi, Between Heaven and Earth by Dolores LaChapelle with photography by John Marshall

John Marshall

"Here is a beautiful, simple, sometimes funny book, well written, and very interesting. But don't be lulled into somnolence. For the author here is echoing centuries of wisdom passed on by the wisest and most learned men of our history. Shamans, mystics, spiritual people and poets, all spoke with similar ideas. From Lao Tzu, 6th century B.C. "love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things." Or from Li Po, one of China's most famous poets, 7th century, "Thoughts on a quiet night- Before my bed the light is so bright, it looks like a layer of frost, lifting my head I gape at the moon, lying back down I think of home." So simple, yet containing so much. These thoughts of the importance of Nature in our lives have been carried on into our times by Wordsworth, Thoreau Muir, Carl Safina, and others.

This is a wonderful book by a person in love with the world around him. We can all learn from these well done writings. I love the long sentences containing word groupings, coming from many different places, that surround the idea of the sentence. Sometimes it's like the essence of an author's complete work in a single sentence. And the internal rhyming in sentences is fun, my favorite being "from Nebraska to Alaska." Some would say the author has been able to depress his ego and its effect on the default mode network of the brain, (located in the posterior cingulate cortex), and the result has been this uninterrupted flow of beauty, joy, and awe. Read this book. Learn from it. You won't be disappointed. This is an important work." --John Marshall, author of several Silverton, Colorado books with Return to Mountain, Tai Chi, Between Heaven and Earth by Dolores LaChapelle with photography by John Marshall


"As a hospice doctor I learned that people approaching death remember moments of life, not their big accomplishments. In the essays in Heaven on Earth, Melliger celebrates his moments with poetic grace. Curt's life exemplifies an emphasis on savoring each moment while following instincts on what experiences to embrace. His self-directed education comes from life experiences, not a conventional path toward a particular career. His poetic descriptions of the beauty and depth of life in the Southwest mountains bring the reader into his experience. Living life to the fullest is the overarching theme as essays range from odes to movement and adventure to his honoring of the compassion and wisdom of people often dismissed by society to appreciation of nature up close and personal. His insights were an inspiration to me and I strongly encourage you to read this book. It will increase your appreciation and awareness of each moment!" --Pamela M. Kircher, MD, Author of Love is the Link

From the Publisher