Why You Feel Stuck—And How Emptiness Sets You Free
A Four-Week Class
Thursdays, December 4, 11, 18, 2025, and Jan 8, 2026
5pm to 6:30pm, pacific time
Peer integration circle: January 1, 2026
online via Zoom
Tired of feeling trapped by your own thoughts?
You meditate, practice mindfulness, try to stay present—but somehow, you still get caught in the same cycles of stress, reactivity, and dissatisfaction. What if the very sense of being a solid "someone" dealing with separate "problems" is actually what keeps you stuck? And what if discovering the emptiness of all experience is the doorway to the profound freedom you've been seeking?
Join Buddhist teacher and psychologist, nico hase, for this transformative four-week journey into one of Buddhism's most liberating—and misunderstood—teachings. Drawing from years of monastic training and deep study, this course offers ancient wisdom and practical methods for recognizing the insubstantial nature of all experience.
What You'll Discover
Week 1 (Dec 4) – Why, What, and How of Emptiness
👉Why emptiness matters, what it really means (not nihilism!), and how to begin seeing through the illusion of solidity.
Week 2 (Dec 11) – The Three Doorways: Impermanence, Suffering, and Not-Self
👉Discover the liberating power of anicca, dukkha, and anatta—and how to see through everyday constructs like "days of the week," revealing the invisible "glasses" you're always wearing.
Week 3 (Dec 18) – Awakening Through the Senses
👉 Discover the liberating power of pure perception with the Buddha's teaching: "In the seen, there is only the seen."
Peer Integration Circle (Jan 1) – New Year's Day Community Practice
👉Begin 2026 with deep reflection and community connection. Share insights from your holiday integration in a peer-led circle—an intentional way to start the new year.
Week 4 (Jan 8) – The Emptiness of Self and the Heart of Compassion
👉Deconstruct the sense of self through the five aggregates, and discover how emptiness naturally opens into love—the ultimate freedom that includes both wisdom and compassion.
What's Included
Weekly 90-minute live sessions with nico hase (first 3 weeks, all recorded)
New Year's Day peer integration circle (January 1)
Final live session with nico (January 8)
Private online community for ongoing support
Guided meditations and exercises to explore emptiness in daily life
What Past Students Say
"The emptiness course plunged fearlessly into rich and complex Dharma terrain, but nico's thoughtful talks and resources made it surprisingly accessible. The classes were a perfect balance of stillness and discussion, and I felt my practice sinking deeper each week - especially my ability to hold life's difficulties with lightness and even humor." — Sophia P.
"Emptiness is probably the most challenging of all Buddhist principles to understand. Nico takes these seemingly abstract teachings and makes them plainly understandable, without oversimplifying. This course shows how immediately relevant emptiness is to every moment of our daily lives. This course is very beginner-friendly, but just as useful to experienced students. One of the strongest aspects is the deep integration of emptiness and metta—this course shows that when properly understood, emptiness is actually down-to-earth, joyful, loving, and freeing." — Marcello S.
Course Details
Dates: Thursdays - December 4, 11, 18, 2025, and January 8, 2026
Live Sessions: Thursdays, 5-6:30pm PT
Peer Circle: New Year's Day, January 1, 2026, 5-6:30pm PT
Registration & Payment
Please use the button below to register. We are offering this class on a dana (donation) model. The suggested donation is $120 to $360 for the course. You're warmly invited to offer whatever is generous and sustainable for you—whether that's more, less, or right within the suggested range.
nico hase lived in a monastery for six years before earning a PhD in counseling psychology and becoming an Insight Meditation teacher full time. He currently mentors mindfulness teachers, teaches online and in-person retreats, and speaks with students in one-on-one sessions. He and his beloved life partner devon are the authors of How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Buddhist Survival Guide for Modern Life.
