A year-long online transformative journey in 4 parts
Fall 2026 - Summer 2027
Led by 4 transmitted Zen teachers in love with service, art, philosophy, and discovery
On the path of Zen, the core purpose could be said to be “to thoroughly know yourself, and to thoroughly be and express yourself.”
Through practice, we uncover the light that is us, that is all of us. We find the inexhaustible radiance that is there from the beginning and we find our unique expression of this radiance. One light, many expressions. One lamp, a vast array of shapes, colours and dimensions.
The Buddha taught that this is our inherent birthright – to realize and to emanate this light that has no external source.
This is not about becoming someone or something else, nor about finding something that is not already there. Rather, this is about becoming more of who we are, more truly ourselves, and unearthing our particular form of the light. And in these times of deep divisions and conflict, much suffering and heartbreak, the world needs the you-shaped medicine that only you can share.
Yet, the journey to thoroughly realize and fundamentally express ourselves cannot be studied theoretically. The only way is through experience. Through practice. Through penetrating our doubts, our unhelpful habits and the particular contours of our minds and our hearts.
"The task of a liberated person is not to scold the world and preach to it, but to delight it back to its senses”
~ ALAN WATTS
Why this work now
Learning stabilizes you amidst change.
Unlearning frees you up to adapt.
Liberation provides space for everything, just as it is.
Aligned, healthy community cultivates and protects the quality of your care.
lucidity brings your learning and liberation together into your community of practice.
Series #1 (Fall):
October 18 - December 13
(no class November 15), 2026
Series #2 (Winter):
February 7 - April 4
(no class March 28), 2027
Series #3 (Spring):
April 18- June 6, 2027
Series #4 (Summer):
June 20 - August 22
(no class July 11 & August 8), 2027
Who is this for?
Our course participants bring an intention, capability and willingness to continuously practice being human.
This class is intended for people who desire to:
- live more coherently,
- love more courageously,
- laugh wholeheartedly,
- grieve more congruently,
- be a friend to the unknown and unknowable,
- and learn more robustly within this very moment.
Your lucidity course exhibits some Zen Buddhist flavors; however, our learnings are not confined by or limited to any single religious or spiritual inclination.
You can and must live your limited and precious life with bold confidence, respectful humility and nuanced skills. There is no compelling reason to wait for a “better” version of yourself; your messy, vulnerable vehicle is already ideally suited to progress your journey into loving more deeply, choosing more wisely, and expressing more freely.
"Everyone without exception holds on to the jewel that glows in the night… Unless we turn the light around and shine it within, how can we hold close the jewel when we are lost in the outlying countryside?"
~ ZEN MASTER DOGEN
Curriculum
Each seasonal Session has a different focus that is connected to the overall arc of the yearlong course.
**Note that class descriptions and specific content of the sessions are subject to change.
What you will receive
Eight 90-minute live Zoom sessions per series with transmitted Zen teachers, featuring:
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- In-depth dharma talks to bring alive the teachings
- Guided meditations to support your experience of presence
- Embodied practices and guidance to awaken lucidity in the body-mind
- Interpersonal practices with other participants to engage more fully with the teachings
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- Q&A sessions to clarify your practice questions
- Audio & video recordings of each class, added to a video platform accessible for 90 days after the completion of the course.
- Two 15-minute one-on-one meetings with the teachers (Dokusan) to clarify your questions and explore your practice (optional).
- Opportunities for online group meditation in between classes.
- Optional small peer groups to stay on track with practice commitments.
- An online Community Platform, to connect with the course community and explore questions between classes.
- An excellent foundation of learning, practices and awakening to support more wholehearted engagement with your life and your purpose.
Your Teachers
Lisa Genki Gibson Sensei has been practicing with Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi in the Soto Zen lineage since 2008 and received Dharma transmission in 2023. As a Zen teacher and committed student of reality, she is passionate about the potency of Zen practice to deepen our expression of wisdom, compassion and joy in everyday life. Based in Vancouver, Canada with her family on the unceded ancestral lands and waters of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Wauthuth Nations, Lisa works as a coach, facilitator and educator, to support the wholehearted engagement of a more just, caring and sustainable world.
Brooke Teisui McNamara Sensei is a Zen teacher, lineage holder, and poet. She has practiced as a student of Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi since 2010, receiving monk ordination in 2012 and Dharma Transmission in 2023. Prior to 2010, she was a student of nondual teacher and poet, Dorothy S. Hunt. Brooke has published two books of poems: Bury the Seed and Feed Your Vow, and has taught at Naropa University in Yoga Studies and CU Boulder in Dance. She holds an MFA, and teaches in-person and online courses and retreats to facilitate the awakening of innate wisdom, compassion, artistry, and play. She lives with her husband and two sons in Boulder, CO.
Robert Daishin McNamara Sensei is a transmitted Zen teacher, advisor, consultant and executive coach. He is the author of three books, most recently Powerful Listening. He is a co-founder of the advisory and consulting firm Delta Developmental. Rob serves on faculty at the Ivey School of Business’ LIFT Advanced Coaching Program, Real LIFE Programs and is a former Harvard University Teaching Fellow teaching adult development at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. McNamara currently advises, trains, and coaches executives and teams addressing organizational viability risks. Rob’s passion supports leaders to better navigate complex organizational and civilizational challenges vital to current and future institutional capabilities.
Brian Butsudo Turner Sensei has been practicing Zen in the White Plum branch of the Soto lineage for over fifteen years. He received monk ordination in 2012 and Dharma Transmission in 2023 from Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi. He does his best to present the Dharma with warmth, humor and pragmatism. Butsudo loves the forms and rituals of Zen practice provided they are inhabited with intention and relaxation. He lives in Erie with his wife and daughter and has two adult children. Brian has a Ph.D. in physics and currently works as an engineer in an optics manufacturing company.
"When even for a moment you sit upright in samadhi… the whole phenomenal world becomes the buddha’s seal and the entire sky turns into enlightenment… This broad awakening comes back to you and a path opens up to help you invisibly."
~ ZEN MASTER DOGEN