IT WAS OVER TWELVE YEARS AGO that I stepped into a Joy of Living session offered here in Madison, Wisconsin. The path to that moment was long and winding, yet along the way there were many subtle — and not-so-subtle — nudges toward the dharma that I either ignored or was simply not ready for.

I was born in Switzerland in the early 60s, in a typical family of the time: conservative, with women not yet granted the right to vote. Yet there was something in my upbringing that felt unusual, fascinating, and a little exotic. My beloved grandfather, a businessman, had a regular yoga practice that demanded complete silence from the family while he practiced. His library also sparked my curiosity; it was filled with books about great explorations of the Himalayan regions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including encounters with Tibetan and Indian yogis. Sadly, I was told I was too young for those books, but at the age of twelve, I discovered a large photo book in a bookstore with striking images of Tibetan monks debating and performing rituals. It was clear to me that this had to be my parents’ Christmas gift.

That was the beginning of a calling I couldn’t explain or understand. Throughout my many years of school, education, and work, I always felt that life held something more than what society led me to believe.

The “Tibetan theme” continued to appear unexpectedly in my life. A school friend’s older sister dated one of the first Tibetan refugees I had ever seen, and again I felt a strange fascination. After my studies, I spent a year traveling in Asia, including two months in Nepal. I felt deeply at ease there, as though it were familiar, but I still did not encounter the dharma. 

Years later, while working for the Swiss Red Cross, I formed close ties with a woman who managed Red Cross support for the large Tibetan diaspora in Switzerland. Later, when I looked for a new physician, I discovered he had spent many years in Tibet helping build clinics that combined allopathic and traditional Tibetan medicine. Even the therapist I saw at one point was married to a Tibetan woman and was deeply involved in the Tibetan community and monastery in Switzerland.

Each of these encounters deepened my sense of longing and fascination for something I couldn’t yet name. Meanwhile, my life took other turns. I began practicing yoga, completed a teacher training, and taught yoga for many years alongside my Red Cross work. I traveled multiple times to India, where I met a teacher and spent extended periods in an ashram. Despite my deep involvement in this beautiful community, something still felt amiss. In our meditation practice, we all longed for and got hooked on subtle energy experiences and moments of bliss. I remember sitting in a long Kirtan chant where, at its peak, people would rise blissfully to dance — yet my experience was one of stillness and clarity, which in that context felt out of place.

In my mid-forties, I met my French husband in India, who worked at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. After some years of long-distance dating and figuring out our lives, I decided to “give it a try” in Madison. At first, I didn’t even know exactly where it was on the map — somewhere in the Midwest — but as my move approached, I learned that the Dalai Lama would be giving teachings shortly after my arrival. This felt exciting and auspicious, so I attended the three-day teachings. It was a wonderful experience to be in his presence and in the vibrant community around him, yet I remember telling myself I was too old to begin yet another path.

As I settled into my new life in Madison, I gradually noticed that my time with my former spiritual community had run its course. I continued to meditate and practice yoga, but it took a few more years before I decided to explore the local meditation groups.

That brings me back to my first visit to a Joy of Living evening in Madison. That is where my dharma path truly began. It became clear to me, almost immediately, that I had finally found my teacher and my sangha — my spiritual home. Since then, I have followed the path by completing both the Joy of Living and Path of Liberation levels. Looking back now, I can clearly say that this was when true transformation began.