Charlie Vazquez is a writer, musician, and meditation teacher who’s introduced hundreds of students to the power of “creative presence” for reducing stress, stimulating creativity, and cultivating wellness. He’s designed healing arts programs for the NYC Department of Health, Bronx Council on the Arts, Carter Burden Network, PEN America, and Acacia Network, serving recovering opioid users, the undocumented, queer youth, seniors, and other groups.

In 2020, he was certified through Tibet House’s 100-Hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, as taught by David Nichtern in the lineage of meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Charlie has studied and practiced Dzogchen meditation in the Dudjom Tersar tradition with The Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche and Mahamudra with Laura Kaufman through Nalandabodhi New York, among other teachers and sanghas.

With over 30 years of practice and teaching experience, he was the keynote speaker for Acacia Network’s Julio Martinez Memorial Fundraiser in 2023 where he reported on the success of his Creative Presence Project® workshops for recovering opioid users. An electronic musician, Charlie fuses meditation, spontaneous art-making, and soundscapes into his teaching style, which stimulates artistic and contemplative discovery through timeless techniques.

Languages: English, Spanish, some French.

Certification/Tibet House U.S. - Insured by CM&F Group/NY State