( Oprah.com ) -- When a former police captain stumbled on spirituality , she discovered a different way to serve and protect . For Cheri Maples , enlightenment began in a chiropractor 's office . It was 1991 , and the Madison , Wisconsin , policewoman needed treatment for a back injury- -- she 'd been hoisting a stolen moped out of a car trunk ; in the waiting room , Maples flipped through a copy of Being Peace , by the Buddhist monk and activist Thich Nhat Hanh . Oprah.com : Who are you meant to be ? `` It was so simple , so no-nonsense , '' she recalls . `` He described what mindfulness and meditation actually look like in day-to-day life . It gave me the desire to know more . '' Seventeen years later , Maples had traded her crisp police blues for earth-toned robes when Nhat Hanh ordained her as a Buddhist dharma teacher . As head of the Center for Mindfulness & Justice , founded in 2009 and based out of her Madison home , Maples travels the continent leading workshops and retreats for cops and others in the criminal justice system -- where she spent 25 years variously serving as a police captain , head of probation and assistant attorney general . Oprah.com : The way to find your brilliant ( next ) career . `` A cop 's life is hard , '' she says . `` There 's a lot of stress , trauma and emotional shutting down . People turn to alcohol , drugs , food , gambling , infidelity anything to cope . '' ( Maples herself has been clean and sober for 21 years . ) `` The workshops give cops the tools to examine their own intentions and biases -- to approach their job not with anger and cynicism but love and fierce compassion . '' Maples , the mother of two grown sons , has faced skepticism from what she calls `` the biggest of the boys ' clubs . '' `` Some cops think I 'm asking them to drink the Kool-Aid , so I use my own experience as a blueprint , '' she says . `` At my first-ever retreat , I had a chip on my shoulder . I said , ' I ca n't do mindfulness training -- I 'm a cop . I carry a gun ! ' But then a teacher asked me , 'Who better to carry a gun than someone who does so mindfully ? ' '' To date , Maples has trained more than 1,000 criminal justice personnel in mindfulness techniques . `` It 's amazing to watch a guy taking off his bulletproof vest before he meditates , '' she says . `` Police are peacemakers . And you ca n't bring peace anywhere unless you have it inside your own heart . '' Oprah.com : 25 women who 've built their dream careers . Subscribe to O , The Oprah Magazine for up to 75 % off the newsstand price . That 's like getting 18 issues FREE . Subscribe now ! TM & © 2011 Harpo Productions , Inc. All Rights Reserved .
Cheri Maples found a new way to serve and protect . In 2008 , the former police chief became a Buddhist dharama teacher . To date , Maples has trained more than 1,000 criminal justice personnel .