Building a Community of Coherence, One Ripple at a Time
“Make your interactions with people transformational, not just transactional.”
― Patti Smith. Photo Credit: Pixabay
Written by Kate Watters
Ten years ago, I attended my first IZL training at Spring Green Dojo. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was burned out from the stresses and challenges of my nonprofit job, and I was seeking guidance on how to be a more effective leader in a circumstance in which external pressures on my community were making our work more and more difficult and changing the very nature of what we were being asked to do. As environmental defenders, our responses were required to be increasingly human rights oriented in order to fulfill our mission, and that pivot was challenging.
That training changed my perception of leadership, opened my eyes (and hara) to the world of Zen, and introduced me to a community that has become central to my life. I completed the IZL training series, became a certified IZL teacher, became FEBI certified, and eventually became the Chair of the Board of the organization, a position I stepped down from at the end of 2025 after four rich years.
In short, my interactions with IZL have been transformational, and the ripples keep coming.
I did not know, when I first stepped into the Chosei Zen dojo and met and learned from Whitelaw Roshi and all the others, the impact those interactions would have. I did not know that during the pandemic, IZL, the virtual dojo, and my engagement with this incredible community would be lifelines in a sea of confusion. I did not know that regularly sitting zazen, learning the ZL flips, learning to play the shakuhachi, and all the other ways we connect through IZL and the dojo would fundamentally change my perspectives on so many parts of my life.
This is transformational engagement, and it continues to ripple and grow with every day, with every training, with every conversation.
IZL is currently wrapping up its annual fundraising campaign, and we are just $3600 shy of our $80000 target. If IZL has set off a ripple in your life, if your interactions with our community have been transformational, please consider becoming a member of IZL or providing a donation.
Here’s to the year of the Fire Horse and the power and transformation it holds.
Gassho,
Kate Watters
Editor’s Note: Get a feel for the resource library that comes with being a member - open to everyone through Jan 15, 2026. What else comes with membership? Find out here.
Kate Watters is the former Board Chair of IZL. She is a co-founder and the executive director of Crude Accountability, an environmental and human rights nonprofit. Kate works with environmental and human rights defenders to co-create a more just and sustainable world. She is also certified in Zen Leadership and FEBI, and is an RYT 500, E-RYT 200 certified yoga instructor with training in trauma informed yoga.