Since 1999, Pema has been reviving the ancient principles of the Tantra Kaula, based on practices that raise awareness of our actions and relations in our daily life. She offers these insights to others in different ways: The Kaula Heart of All, a family, which together evolves and creates a life rooted in love and awareness; WildTantra, where she offers retreats based on ancient rituals, initiations, and methods transmuting life energy into the highest form of consciousness and love; Pema Walk in Beauty, books where Pema transmits her experiences through mysterious and enchanting stories that reveal the Tantra's wisdom from various lineages.
Her unique way of transmitting Tantra carries within it a great deal of wildness, love, sharpness and an unpredictable sense of humour, all of which add a freshness to the intensive retreats which she leads around the globe.
About Pema Gitama
Pema's writing style
Before you embark on one of my book-journey, it is important that you understand the writing style that I use. It belongs to the ancient Tantric scriptures, where inner and outer are never separated. For example, if you read: Pema is sitting, and the Moon is rising. This can be understood in a down-to-earth way as an outer experience. But it can also be understood that the Moon is rising inside Pema, which then refers to a spiritual experience. It can also simultaneously refer to both experiences. This writing style is not to confuse and create mystery or enigma but to provoke the remembrance of your ‘Buddha nature’ and to illustrate and explain, various inner experiences that occur on the Path of Tantra. You have a choice in how you read the story. It depends on how open you are to receive it. You can choose to take it as a nice spiritual fairy tale and then you will have a good trip, a good dream and actually nourish your ego with this story. You can also choose to read the books as a spiritual inner journey supporting you to find your sword of awareness and cut your head off with it! Up to you! My intention while writing books is to seduce the reader to step onto the Path of Tantra and to enquire into the true nature of reality. How to meet reality, how to bow down and let go of our limitations, beliefs, conditionings, fears and ultimately our ego, at the feet of the inner and outer Master.
Pema by Pema
The main character of Pema Gitama’s books is Pema, a young Tibetan woman. We asked her if she could say something about Pema Gitama.
Here is what she told us:
What I heard, and I don’t know if it is all true, is that Pema and her twin sister were born in 1967 near a lake in the French Alps. She grew up partly in cities and partly in the mountains. At school, her interests were art, music, science, archaeology, sports, writing poems or stories, and later boys. In all the classes where other topics were taught at school, she spent her time dreaming, sleeping, or drawing. I have heard of a few significant events from her childhood, which I can tell you as best as I can remember:
The Perspective
She must have been only four years old when, one day with her drawing kit, she came to sit at her father’s side. He was painting flowers on a canvas. Her father had a passion for painting and music, which Pema greatly admired. While he was painting, no one could disturb him, and this Pema knew. She stayed silent at his side until he noticed her. With a smile, he asked her to stay and draw while he painted. Pema put her paper in front of her and started drawing a castle. Occasionally, her father looked at her drawing but did not say a word. He spoke only when the castle was nearly done. “You could add some perspective to your castle,” he said. Pema had never heard this word before and had no idea what it meant. “Come, I will show you,” her father said while drawing a few lines around the castle. Magically, the castle was no longer flat but stood in three dimensions. Pema was so astonished, she held her breath. While her father resumed his painting, she kept looking at the castle for a long time. Her whole vision of the world became different from that moment. Suddenly, there was depth in everything she set her eyes on.
The New World
When Pema was around five years old, she went with her mother to pick up her older brother, who was taking classes for children at an art school. While walking up the stairs of the school, a woman who appeared to be in her twenties was coming down. She had pink hair and wore a dress printed with bright flowers. Pema felt she must be a fairy of some kind! She looked at her in wonder and thought, “Oh! It is possible to be like this in this world!” She wished that one day she would be like that. When the fairy woman passed Pema, she left behind a scented trail of patchouli perfume that overwhelmed Pema to the point of altering her perception. When Pema entered the art school, she felt like she was entering a magical world. The smell of oil paint, old wood, and paper went straight to her heart. At that very moment, she realised this was her world and decided to study in a school like that, which she did many years later. The perfume of the fairy woman and the fragrance of the art school vividly opened her sense of smell. It became a vehicle for deep perception of existence.
The Time Alteration
At six years old, an extraordinary event changed Pema’s life. She was playing in the courtyard of her school when suddenly, from afar, she heard her sister screaming. At that precise moment, all sounds stopped, and she ran towards her sister. She could not see her but somehow intuitively knew where she was located. While running, the most peculiar thing happened: time stopped! All the people in the courtyard were frozen like statues. Pema felt like she was flying instead of running. She needed to make no effort, and she felt invisible to others. When Pema reached her sister, she found her crying with a face covered in blood. Her sister had broken her nose while playing a game with other children. Some people were already taking care of her. Pema was surprised to feel calm. She felt no panic or worry. Pema smiled at her sister and held her hand. The moment she came to her sister, time and sounds resumed their tempo. Pema wondered what had just happened. She thought about that for a long time. Pema could not speak about the experience to anyone, as she felt it was impossible to explain, even to herself. For Pema, that experience of time alteration became a huge enigma and a source of enquiry. Nothing was the same after that experience. She set out to explore the rhythm of time. Was it all linear? Was it all as the clock showed? She knew then that there was something more, some kind of secret behind the clock, and she wanted to find out about it. As far as I know, she tried many times to recreate that experience. I know she did finally manage to do that in her fifties.
I can narrate more stories of Pema Gitama’s life, but now, I know she is listening. And she does not like me to share details of her life, even though she does not mind sharing details about mine!
So I have created a secret page where she can't see and hear anything!
Follow more stories here:
Pema by Pema
Many greetings from the Land of Snow,
པད་མ།
(Pema in Tibetan)