“Just stop and look at the quality of light in the room where you are, the sounds in the distance. This is where you enter. All this is a gift. Set forth this miraculous gift.”
~MICHAEL STONE
From every angle, the world around us is becoming more fractured, destabilized, and complex. Rather than turning towards each other in difficult times, in many places we are pulling apart, creating more divisions and becoming isolated exactly at a time when we need each other most. We are faced with vast uncertainty while being flooded with suffering, destruction, and heartbreak in so many domains.
The TASTING ALIVENESS 3-day in-person retreat is an invitation to experience the vitality, creativity and wonder that is available to you in each moment. Designed to support beginners and seasoned practitioners alike, this retreat is an opportunity for you to come home to this very life in all of its beauty and messiness, and to anchor yourself in the steadiness of the breath, wisdom of the body, and the ever-present liberation we can always taste and realize here and now.
Integrating timeless teachings of the Zen tradition with the gentle power of interpersonal practices, pathways into aliveness and creativity, and restorative movement, we will awaken, deepen, and unfold ~ together. We will sit as stillness, move with the breath, and practice frameworks for accessing more vivid, authentic experiences and expressions of the here and now. We will bring a generous spirit to whatever arises, awakening our unique forms of compassion and skillful action. It will be a weekend full of stillness, connection, play and inquiry. We hope you can join us.
A butterfly -
What dream
is making your wings flutter?
~ CHIYO-NI (18TH CENTURY JAPAN)
DETAILS:
Join us in beautiful Vancouver BC to experience liberation, connection, and aliveness.
Early bird deadline: Friday, September 20
Final registration deadline: Friday, October 18
Early bird pricing tiers (pay by Sept 20)
Please choose the price that works for your current financial context. All those paying higher amounts will ensure opportunities for those with financial constraints.
$395 ~ $445 ~ $495
~ prices in Canadian Dollars ~
Regular pricing tiers (pay by Oct 18)
Please choose the price that works for your current financial context. All those paying higher amounts will ensure opportunities for those with financial constraints.
$445 ~ $495 ~ $545
~ prices in Canadian Dollars ~
Registration limited; please enroll at your earliest convenience.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 24 - 7pm-8:30pm
Friday, October 25 - 7am- 5:30pm
Saturday, October 26 - 7am- 5:30pm
Sunday, October 27 - 7am-12pm
Please plan to arrive on time for the retreat and to stay until the end. This will support creating a strong container of practice and community.
YOUR TEACHERS ARE:
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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
The retreat will take place at:
Bridge & Enrich Lives Society
718 East 20th Avenue
(Fraser and 20th)
Vancouver, BC
Please plan to arrive before the start of the retreat (6:30pm registration on Thursday, October 24) and stay through the end of the retreat (12pm on Sunday, October 27). In other words, please ensure your travel plans will allow you to participate in the entire retreat.
3.5 days of programming in Zen practice and aliveness practice with 2 transmitted Zen teachers and certified facilitators
Breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday.
Coffee, tea, and snacks on Thursday evening, and each morning and afternoon.
~ prices in Canadian Dollars ~
Dinner
Travel
Accommodations
Guests are responsible for purchasing travel medical insurance and cancellation insurance which are strongly recommended.
If you need to cancel, 50% refund will be provided before October 1st. No refunds will be issued after October 1st. No refunds will be given for failure to attend or complete the retreat.
Two partial scholarships are available for participants with financial constraints, who are willing to contribute through work-trade. Preference will be given to BIPOC and current students. Please email dragonmoonzen@gmail.com to express interest in a partial scholarship.
If you are travelling from out of town, please let us know if you’d like accommodation recommendations or if you’d like to be put in touch with other participants who are interested in sharing accomodations
All participants are required to sign a health & liability waiver in order to attend this retreat. This will be provided after registration and before arrival to retreat.
All participants are encouraged to purchase travel insurance. Please explore your options to purchase a premium policy with a Cancel For Any Reason contingency. Group travel bookings are not protected so it is the individual’s responsibility to protect their own investment.