Living from the Heart Course

Description
Course Content
Testimonials
Locations & Dates

Living from the Heart offers a learning community that invites participants to deepen their experience of intimacy with God, self, and others.

Biblically speaking, the heart is the very core of life out of which intellect, emotions, and intentions flow.

Opening to God’s heart of love with our whole heart, especially in our most broken places, brings a healing integration within and provides the courage to offer our lives in loving compassion to the world around us.

Learning and Teaching Approaches

A variety of collaborative learning and teaching approaches are used including:

mini-presentations
short, structured written personal reflections on assigned reading;
demonstrations
small group discussion and activities.

Participants will be invited to engage their imaginations with the use of textures, colours, music, poetry, prayers—and plain old fun!

Between teaching times, we encourage mutual support among participants through community gatherings. The small team of facilitators will provide feedback on reflection papers and offer what they teach honestly and vulnerably, sharing experiences from their own lives.

The Way of the Heart

Opens us to encounter God personally, integrates body, soul, mind, and spirit, and helps us live out of who we truly are in Christ.

Spiritual Awareness and Receptivity

We explore ways to become more open to respond to God’s presence in all of life and identify what inhibits our receptivity.

Spiritual Transformation

We gain a deep sensitivity to the dimensions of spiritual transformation into Jesus’ image, coming to freedom in our deepest truth in God, dealing with the masks we hide behind, and cultivating spiritual practices that support our life in God.

Contemplative Prayer and Discernment

We come to understand that prayer is responsiveness to the active, living presence of the Holy Spirit; learn ancient contemplative practices; and discover how prayer is integrated into all of life and deepens our ability to discern God’s will.

Contemplative Living

As Jesus’ friends, we are called to love our neighbour, care for the earth, and seek justice. With joy, we discover that our response to the world becomes a natural outflow of contemplative prayer and practice.

Course Requirements

Full participation in both weekends & all Saturdays
Full participation in all Soul Care group meetings
Reading and reflective book responses
Receiving regular spiritual direction
A 24-hour personal silent retreat

Completion of this course may be used for credit in some theological colleges in Canada and is also a prerequisite for SoulStream’s Art of Spiritual Direction course.

“Living from the Heart offered me a safe and spacious place to explore my doubts, fears, and lack of spiritual answers. I didn’t end up with more answers, but what I received was so much more valuable. LFTH led me into a more authentic way of living that encompasses my whole being, enlarged my view of God, and deepened my awareness of the Sacred in me and all around me. LFTH was so much more than a course; it was a place of transformation.”
—Anonymous

“I joined Living from the Heart hoping to take my fledgeling contemplative practice deeper. The cohesive and vulnerable team of facilitators presented well-planned content that included beautiful and meaningful music and poetry. They also shared deeply from their personal journeys, which set the tone for a spirit of openness within the cohort. Although the days were intense, we had time to reflect individually as well as to share with others. It was clear that each and every person was respected in terms of where they were and how able they were to be open with themselves, others and God. My connection with myself and with God has indeed grown deeper and I look forward to continuing the journey as it unfolds. I am excited by life with God!”
—Anonymous

“Living from the Heart has been a journey of healing and new beginnings. I am so thankful for the creative way that the Christian tradition was offered to me, with both intellectual and spiritual freedom, which has helped me to live into the truest part of who I am. Today, almost a year later, I find myself walking much more gently with myself, others and God. I find myself opening to my day-to-day life looking longer and listening deeper to the ‘teachers’ that come almost every day.”
—Anonymous

Alberta 2023-24

Location

This course is offered through two weekend retreats held at the beginning and end of the course and six full-day Saturday sessions all held at the FCJ Centre in Calgary and six Saturday sessions with location TBD.

Dates

October 13 – October 15, 2023
November 4, 2023
December 2, 2023
January 13, 2024
February 3, 2024
March 9, 2024
April 13, 2024
May 3 – 5, 2024

Weekend retreats: 7:00pm Friday to 5:00pm Sunday

Saturdays: 9:00am to 4:45pm

Cost

See brochure for details.

Tuition: $1450.00
Application fee: $75.00
Accommodation and meals for weekend retreats: $785.00
All books, travel and cost of personal spiritual direction (10 sessions) not included.

Fees and Cancellation Policy

Program Fees and Payment Schedule

Tuition: $1450
Accommodation: $1000 (Accommodation and meals for weekends and day use on Saturdays (includes lunch)

Tuition and accommodation fees will be payable as follows:

50% within one month of acceptance to the program ($1225)
50% by September 1, 2023 ($1225)

Not covered by program fees:

Personal spiritual direction (10 sessions)
Books required for the course
Transportation

Cancellation Policy

SoulStream recognizes that unforeseen circumstances might arise that may cause participants to withdraw from the cohort. However, the format of the course makes it difficult to fill vacancies left by last minute cancellations and SoulStream faces our own cancellation fees and non-recoverable prepayments. With this in mind, the cancellation policy for Living from the Heart is:

Participants who cancel before September 1 will be reimbursed the total cost of tuition and accommodation.
Participants who cancel between September 1 and 7 days before the course begins may defer the tuition payment to the following year and will be refunded 50% of the total accommodation fee.
Participants who withdraw after start date and before November 1 will not be able to defer or be reimbursed for their tuition but will be refunded 50% of the total accommodation fee.
Participants who withdraw after November 1 will not be reimbursed for tuition or accommodation.

Contact

soulstream1@gmail.com

Deadlines

Registration deadline date: August 15, 2023 or when the course is full.

Course Facilitators

Download PDF Brochure

Online Application