Category: Stories from the Heart Page 6 of 8

My Near-Death Experience

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Guest Post by Jim Jackson

In the summer of 2023, I had a memorable experience that was both frightening and uplifting. This took place a few days after my positive Covid test in the Marquis Newberg Rehab facility where I was undergoing treatment for my knee.

Outfoxing a Fox

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Guest Post by Riley Carson

I used to go running on a sheep trail along the river that ran in the valley behind the college I was attending. It was open countryside with no people or houses around, which is why I loved it.

One day I noticed a fox up ahead. She noticed me about the same time I noticed her. (Just guessing on the gender.) 

A Flatlander in King Arthur’s Court

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Guest Post by Al Coffman

I was born in Wisconsin, in the heart of the flatlands, and never tired of the mountains’ majesties of the American west. We were winding up our vacation, enjoying the drive through the spacious plateaus of southern Oregon. After a number of high desert adventures we were ready to put it on cruise control. Little did we suspect that we were about to fall through the proverbial looking glass. 

“The Flame,” a Poem by Anne Roberts

Reading Time: < 1 minute

By Michael Avery

Our dear friend, Anne, wrote this poem called “The Flame.” It was inspired by a quote from a book called The Slow Burning Love for God: “The slow burning, long-lasting love for God will lead us home—eventually. The turning points of change, which are the tests of purification, bring balance and open the heart to more love.”1

On October 7, 2023, Anne set sail for “home.”

One Flamingo Summer

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Guest Post by Al Coffman

On Easter weekend 2020 our small town was filled with tension as the government placed restrictions on the activities of daily living.  Many people had stopped going out to work, shop, or exercise.  They holed up in their homes, venturing out only for walks and a little fresh air.  People didn’t know what to do.  What was safe?  What was kind to others?  

I enjoy connecting with people in a store or on the street to share a smile, a joke, or an uplifting story, and most important, a little love.  How could I reach out to people when everyone nervously stayed at arm’s length?  One approach bubbled up spontaneously and blossomed over time.  

Love Comes in Many Flavors

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Guest Post by Dennis Ernst

Love comes in many flavors, and you never quite know when it might show up. I was learning how to give love but receiving it was more of a challenge. A “sticky” encounter one weekend in Ashland, Oregon, left me with a deeper insight about the gift of receiving. 

Messages from Memories: “The Smile”

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Michael Avery

Pichaya often reminds me to be here now in this present moment. She is right of course. But sometimes a memory will arrive at my doorstep unexpectedly and shuttle me off to the past. At least that’s the way I used to view it.

But what if those memories have really come from my past and into my present for a purpose? Why would they do this? I asked myself. Could it be they have messages they are trying to communicate? 

When the Cats Wake Up First

Reading Time: 4 minutes


By Michael Avery

I remember the early morning antics of two, 10-week-old kittens like it was yesterday. They woke me up from a sound sleep, but they were so cute that I couldn’t stay mad at them for long. 

Looking back at the memory, it is apparent that the experience was a “Waking Dream in Retrospect.” In other words, there was a lesson hidden in the chaos that morning, one I was only able to understand in retrospect.

Listening to Our Inner Guidance

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Guest Post by Anna Finch

Did you know there is a powerful tool you can use to help your life run more smoothly? It is listening to your inner guidance. It has taken me many years to trust this inner guidance which comes as an inner voice/knowingness for me. It sometimes gives whacky instructions that I often doubt. “Are you sure?” I question. 

But, by following through on these whacky instructions, I am always amazed at the results; none more so than during the summer of 2020. 

How Divine Intervention Saved My Life

Reading Time: 2 minutes

By Pichaya Avery

“Don’t go to work today,” my Inner Teacher whispered in his gentle voice one morning during contemplation as I sang my love song to God—HU. The date was June 14th, 1995. It could have been my last day on earth if not for divine intervention.

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