Peter Bolland

Peter Bolland is a professor of philosophy and humanities, a meditation guide and a singer-songwriter based in San Diego. He was born in West Paterson, New Jersey, the third son of Dutch immigrants Hilbert and Amy Bolland. When he was four the family moved west to the coastal town of Ventura, California. He remembers it for golden hills, lemon blossoms, fog horns and long, empty beaches. He and his friends spent their time surfing, playing guitar, hiking the back country and arguing philosophy. In his words, "the die was cast."

After a few years at Ventura College, he transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara and earned a BA in religious studies. At Southwestern College he has taught philosophy, comparative religion and world mythology for thirty-three years, according to his YouTube channel. His semester-length courses there include World Religions, Asian Philosophy, World Mythology and Ethics. He also offers shorter classes and talks at San Diego venues. These include the Osher Institute at UC San Diego, Oasis centers and spiritual communities such as Vision: A Center for Spiritual Living and the San Diego Vedanta Monastery. His channel, Peter Bolland TV, carries the tagline "Bringing Wisdom to Life." He is a columnist for Unity Magazine and the author of The Seven Stone Path: An Everyday Journey to Wisdom.

On the Insight Timer app he offers guided meditations in 15- and 30-minute sessions. He describes them as especially helpful for beginners and for anyone struggling to get past the early hurdles of a meditation practice.

As a songwriter, acoustic guitarist and singer, he performs regularly at a variety of venues around San Diego County.