WHEN I WAS 27 YEARS OLD, my life fell apart. My sister had passed away, I was going through an excruciating heartbreak, and I had lost a business and a best friend. I had recently completed my master’s degree — a two-year period during which I gave it my all — and I was burned out and sick. At that time, nothing made sense to me. I couldn’t stop my mind from obsessively asking, “What truly matters in life?” I couldn’t find any rest, not even in my sleep. I wanted to find the stop button in my head, but instead, it felt as if I had turned up the volume. Sometimes, I even feared I would lose my mind.

One day, my mom invited me to a talk by a Tibetan monk in town. The name of the talk was “Where to Find Happiness.” After witnessing my chronic distress, I think my mother must have thought: “This girl desperately needs a dose of happiness in her life.” I think she was right, and so, out of despair, I went to listen.

I had practiced yoga before, but to be honest, I was feeling skeptical and hopeless. I decided to sit there anyway, and within the first few minutes, Mingyur Rinpoche taught us how to listen to the gong. To my surprise, in that minute, I found a sense of rest I hadn’t experienced in years. Although I didn’t know it at the time, that was the first minute of a whole new life.

After the talk, I felt hopeful again and enthusiastic about what else I might discover. I started reading The Joy of Living and found a really clear, friendly, and science-based explanation of how our mind works, which fascinated me. I won’t deny that the neuropsychologist in me was very attracted to and reassured by the fact that there was a collaboration between Rinpoche, the Buddhist tradition, and a few neuroscientists I admired. And since I had been a mind explorer from a very young age, I felt eager to begin my own journey through this ancient method that was completely new to me.

I joined the Joy of Living courses at the Tergar Meditation Center in Puebla, Mexico, and was impressed by the community’s formality and depth of knowledge. I had finally found a group that not only shared the same concerns I had but also guided and supported me in my process of seeking. I no longer felt out of place with the questions and experiences I had been carrying since my sister’s death; instead, I had found a philosophical, social, and spiritual framework in which all of them were welcome and explored with great depth.

Before I knew it, a year had passed since that public talk with Mingyur Rinpoche, and there were rumors that he would be back in Puebla in a couple of months. Around that time, Tergar Guide Maya Sepulchre-Amador told us about the practice of taking refuge, and without knowing exactly what it meant, my body responded with an inexplicable cry of joy and a clear, undeniable desire to take that step.

I clearly remember the confusion that accompanied me during those days of retreat. Everything was new: the chants, the images, the rituals, the words, the meditation practices, and the length of the sessions. It seemed like everyone knew what to do except me, which made me feel embarrassed and a little scared. Fortunately, an elderly woman with the kindest expression came over to help me. I felt sheltered by someone who could well have been my grandmother. For her kindness and generosity in those vulnerable and pivotal moments, I am deeply grateful, and I carry her warmly in my heart.

Even after almost ten years, I still get emotional when I remember the joy I felt the day I took refuge and officially became a Buddhist. Deep down, there had always been a certainty in my body that I had been walking this path for a long time without realizing it, but that day I was flooded with the sublime feeling of having found my way back home, with my wonderful teacher and my spiritual friends.

It is an invaluable sensation: to find what you have been searching for all along, without even knowing what it was. And yet, somehow, you had already experienced it before — a reunion in every sense of the word.

This is how I met the dharma — a beautiful journey of awareness, love, compassion, and wisdom. I can confidently say that this path saved my life, and I am deeply grateful to have found such a precious treasure. I carry in my heart an unstoppable wish to share it with everyone around me—those who, like me, simply want to feel at ease in their own skin, to feel connected, and to live a joyful, meaningful life.

May all find our true home.
May all recognize our true nature.
May all be free.

May all find our true home.
May all recognize our true nature.
May all be free.

November 2025