I am speaking Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Unity of Calgary
There are seasons when living from the heart feels natural, like your chest is a warm house and the door swings open without effort.
And then there are seasons like this.
The fabric of our society is being torn apart. Conversations are turning into combat. People are picking teams, sharpening opinions, and treating “being right” like it is the same thing as being good. Add in the silliness of politics, provincially, federally, and to the south, wars across the planet, the waste and destruction of resources, and the subtle hunger to get more than our neighbour, and suddenly “live from the heart” can feel difficult, sometimes near impossible.
I get it.
But here’s the twist: this is exactly when the heart path matters most. Not as a nice idea. As a spiritual discipline.
On Sunday, February 1, 2026, I’ll be sharing a message at Unity of Calgary called:
Living From the Heart, in a world that keeps daring us not to.
This talk is for anyone who has felt reactive, discouraged, heavy, or spiritually tired, and still refuses to become cynical.
The world does not calm down first
A lot of us are waiting for the world to settle so we can be peaceful.
That is not how it works.
The world does not calm down first, so we can open. We open first, so we can remain ourselves.
Living from the heart does not mean you approve of harmful behaviour. It does not mean you surrender discernment. It does not mean you become a doormat with good intentions.
It means you refuse to outsource your character to chaos.
It means you keep your heart open, with wisdom, even when your reflex wants to close.
The real test
At a basic level, many of the things we are living through are tests.
Tests of our resolve to love another in spite of their behaviour.
Tests to stay open when we really want to close.
Tests to guard the heart without turning it into a bunker.
That is the work.
Not because it is comfortable, but because it is freeing.
A simple truth I come back to often is this, guard your heart without building a wall. The heart is the wellspring, and what flows out of you shapes your home, your relationships, your choices, your peace.
What you’ll take home from the talk
This will be practical. You’ll leave with clear, usable lessons you can take into real life, including:
- How to stay open when you really want to close
- How to shift from reflex to choice in the heat of the moment
- How to respond with love without approving bad behaviour
- How to set clean boundaries without hatred
- A simple 7-day heart practice to rebuild calm, clarity, and courage
- A set of 12 guiding principles Neil will introduce, designed to become a daily compass for how you live, love, and lead, especially when the world feels noisy
A heart you can stand on
The heart is not a fragile thing. It is a forge.
This message is about becoming the kind of person who can face reality without losing their humanity, who can stand for what is right without becoming what they are fighting, who can stay grounded when everything around them is trying to pull them into fear, outrage, and division.
If your spirit has been feeling a little scraped raw lately, come get steady again.
Event details
Talk: Living From the Heart, in a world that keeps daring us not to
Speaker: L. Neil Thrussell
Date: Sunday, February 1, 2026
Location: Unity of Calgary
For service times and details, visit:
unityofcalgary.org
