Pieter Oosthuizen’s journey arcs from the wild edges of apartheid-era Johannesburg to the heart of contemplative practice. As a boy, he roamed the veld with a slingshot; by 19, he was an intelligence officer in the Angolan war. Afterward, he slung on a backpack and wandered east to a life-shifting encounter with a serene Tibetan porter in the Himalayan foothills, followed by the Dalai Lama in India and Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche back in South Africa – the first of many esteemed Buddhist teachers.
After earning his Law degree he again crossed oceans to Colorado in the U.S. Here he did stints as an Assistant Vice President at Naropa University and as Executive Director at Tara Mandala Retreat Center, where he later served as President of the Board for six years. Somewhere along the way Pieter also founded CELSUS Bio-Intelligence, an organic skincare company rooted in alchemical principles. Nowadays, as a Senior Teacher in Lama Tsultrim Allione’s lineage, Pieter teaches internationally on Skymind, Feeding Your Demons, meditation, and a variety of Vajrayana Buddhist practices, and writes about the non-dual nature of reality. Across his roles, he continues to ask the question at the core of Skymind: How can we meet this moment with with radical presence and embodied courage?
Charlotte Z. Rotterdam’s path began in the creative heart of Tribeca, roller-skating through a Manhattan loft shared with her father, an abstract painter, and her mother, a doctor. A curiosity for life’s big questions led her from the streets of New York to Swarthmore College, where Buddhist scholar Don Swearer first awakened her interest in Buddhism. After two years ski-bumming in Jackson, Wyoming (earning her reputation as a “kickass skier”), she returned to her studies at Harvard Divinity School where she earned a Masters in Theological Studies. In 1995 she moved to Colorado and began working at Naropa University. There, organizing a visit with Lama Tharchin Rinpoche became a turning point: the radiance of his presence ignited a deep joy and interest in the dharmic path. Charlotte went on to receive teachings from Buddhist masters in a variety of lineages, and made a special heart connection to Lama Tsultrim Allione, eventually moving to her retreat center, Tara Mandala. Charlotte’s other key teachers include Adzom Paylo Rinpoche, Lama Wangdu Rinpoche, Tulku Sang Ngag Rinpoche, and Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, among others. Now a senior teacher (Dorje Lopön) and lineage holder at Tara Mandala, Charlotte teaches internationally, guiding students in meditation, Chöd, Feeding Your Demons®, a variety of Vajrayana Buddhist practices, and nature of mind teachings. Charlotte is faculty at Naropa University, directs the Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education, and co-developed and teaches Naropa’s Mindful Compassion Training. A mother of two, her writing has appeared in Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma, and Fearless Nest. Through Skymind, she invites readers to rediscover the boundless clarity and compassion already within them.
