Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- Some Insights Gained During Cultivation
- Three Insights
- Breaking Through the Attachment to Comfort and Eliminating the "Sleep Demons"
- Some Thoughts after Reading Zhuan Falun
- Enlightening to the Connotations of Reading the Book Over and Over Again
- How to Deal with the Pain from the Sitting Meditation
- Falun Gong is The Best Way to Build Up Positive Energy
- 1. Welcome
From Falun Dafa India Newsletter Team
Here's some good news! The Falun Dafa India website (www.falundafaindia.org) is functioning and we have sprung back after last month’s crash of the server and the loss
of data. The miraculous discovery of some old floppies with data was of course a tell-tale sign of Master helping us back on our feet.
We could not recover the archives of the newsletter. The last newsletter was the twenty seventh one. Since we can’t maintain continuity, we shall
from now refer to the newsletter by the name of the month. So, welcome to the October 2006 newsletter.
As we did in the past, we have an experience sharing Article by an Indian practitioner and as usual we have a compilation of experience-sharing Articles culled from Clearwisdom that always shine through because of their insights and fine quality of the sharing. It is important to read the Clearwisdom, Pureinsight and other Dafa sites. This is our way of selecting Articles from the Archives which people don’t go back to and are relevant even today. Contributions are welcome, but even with repeated requests, they are extremely hard to come by!
Heshi! Hope, you like the selection of Articles.
Falun Dafa India Newsletter Team.
PS: Since we are unable to provide the facility of the Feedback Form any more,
if you could please confirm the reception of the newsletter by writing to us at : admin@falundafaindia.org
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- 2. Some Insights Gained During Cultivation
By a practitioner from India
Recently, when a practitioner mentioned to me that he is pressed for time
and feels drained out at the end of the day, and has regrets for not being able to do any Fa study, I realized something. Aren’t we all slaves of Time, programmed by the physical clock that tells us the time of day or night and what to do--it is time for lunch or dinner, or time to go to bed.
At the back of my mind I know Time is also a God in its own right and the old forces use it to deter my progress in cultivation. Since we are all ‘time bound’ and since the clock rules over our lives, it is a constant battle against Time. We race against time and fill up every moment with activity which is often not productive, or are bored stiff and lethargic about the long hours we have on our hands! We get tensed up trying to meet deadlines; we also get stressed not knowing how to ‘kill’ time; we wish for more hours in a day and long for more hours of leisure.
At the end of a workday that gets stretched to its limits, we are totally deadbeat and there goes another day without Fa study or exercises or sending forth righteous thoughts. Sometimes, the clock tells us we have missed SFRT by a few minutes and that becomes an excuse to skip it; the clock tempts us to snatch those extra 5 minutes of snooze time as the alarm goes off in the morning which eventually makes us late for group practice; the clock tells us it is way past bed time, so we put off Fa study for another day.
I realized that if we cultivate well and give more importance to our body clock than to the
man-made clock or wrist watch, we won’t be limited or restricted by Time. Of course, in the everyday world we need to give importance to the physical clock to keep appointments or meet business schedules. But in cultivation, we should stop being ‘clock watchers’. So, if we stop measuring our cultivation by the clock, we can probably spend more time on SFRT, on the exercises, on Fa study, on truth clarification, etc.
Another insight gained recently which has helped me tremendously is that I imagine Master in front of me during the hour-long meditation. I feel I cannot be disrespectful to Master by not sitting through the full hour in a tranquil state. And it has helped me every time to sit for an hour with a stronger resolve. Also when any distracting thoughts come during the meditation I just think of what Master says in Zhuan Falun : “My fashen in another dimension knows everything on your mind. Because the concepts of the two time-spaces differ, in another dimension the formation of your thoughts is seen as an extremely slow process. It will know everything even before you think it. Therefore, you should abandon all your incorrect thoughts.”
Yet another insight or revelation I had was related to the exercises and SFRT. For instance, in SFRT we first clean the karma within and then with the hand movements we eliminate the evil, “The Fa rectifies the cosmos, the evil is completely eliminated”.
I feel that the hand movements in the sitting meditation is communicating with the divine and also helps in transforming our karma and rectify the Fa. So the hand movements in all the four standing exercises not only strengthen and reinforce the energy mechanism and other things Master has planted in us, but also help in Fa rectification.
It would be nice for practitioners who are lethargic or have a mental block or resistance towards exercises to make a note that by doing the exercises they contribute towards Fa rectification. Of course, we always need to be diligent about the three things Master has asked us to do because each one is complete on its own and contributes towards Fa rectification and together they work as a potent combination.
We need to realize, as Fa-rectification disciples we can and must affect the cleansing of this world. Did Master Li not tell us that long ago we signed a contract stating that we would assist him with the Fa-rectification of the human world?
The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
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- 3. Three Insights
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China
1. It is Very Harmful to Regard Oneself as Infallible
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, it is arrogance and complacency, the attitude of regarding oneself as infallible, and the unwillingness to correct one's mistakes, rather than clumsiness, that is the most serious problem.
The attachment to regarding oneself as infallible manifests in many ways. Some people center everything around themselves and take everything that does not conform to their notions as interference; some don't listen to any advice or acknowledge their mistakes at all, let alone strive hard to correct themselves; still others carry strong jealousy and do not allow any one to surpass them. This is an extremely dangerous mentality. Those who have the problem to a slight degree appear to be cultivating and practicing, but in fact are not truly cultivating. In more serious cases, they grow giddy with success and easily go down demonic paths as a result of "transformation according to one's thoughts." The root cause for this is selfishness. However, selfishness, arrogance and complacency are the very attachments that we have to eradicate as Falun Dafa practitioners.
How do we get rid of these attachments? The first thing to do, in my opinion, is to be honest and modest, and to correct any mistake as soon as we recognize it. In life, it is not hard to learn and acquire one type of skill, but it's extremely precious to be consistently modest. The process of cultivation is to assimilate to the Fa (1) in every aspect of our lives and to get rid of our attachments. The fact that we have attachments or loopholes is not the worst problem. It is very bad, though, to regard oneself as infallible and to defend one's attachments with various excuses.
2. Let Go of the Attachment for Quick Success
There is a saying among everyday people, "more haste, less speed." Some fellow practitioners always try to achieve quick results. They end up with little achievement instead. When a good practitioner or an enlightened being are faced with a difficult situation, I believe that they calmly and peacefully analyze their situations and handle them well with the wisdom they have learned from the Dafa principles. They will calmly and unhurriedly work out what they are supposed to do and accomplish their missions.
One day I took two children to play a shooting game. The younger sister was hasty. She quickly used up all of her bullets without hitting the target. In contrast, the older brother was solidly seated, slowly picking up the gun, patiently aiming at the target, and resolutely pulling the trigger. With every step so concentrated and serious, he achieved a very good score. The business owner walked over to me and said, "This boy is really exceptional. At such a young age, he is so calm. With such a style, he will certainly do everything well." The boy received not only the prize, but also a gift from the owner. He then shared his gifts with his younger sister. On the way home, I was thinking: to calm themselves, ancient people would do breathing exercises even before writing. As practitioners, we must walk with even firmer steps to elevate ourselves. Otherwise, we will end up shooting for quick results but achieving nothing, just like the little sister.
When we are anxious to get quick results, we are demonstrating our attachment. It is disrespectful to the teachings of Falun Dafa and irresponsible to ourselves to take cultivation as something with which to increase personal gain and reputation through quick efforts and quick results without any suffering or sacrifice. Cultivation is a serious and rigorous process. Only when we are consistent in our hearts and our actions, and are striving hard, can we really elevate ourselves. It cannot be achieved easily or quickly without a great deal of effort.
3. Truly Understanding Benevolence
I used to easily lose my temper before I started to practice Falun Gong. To help me get rid of this twisted notion, Master alerted me many times in my dreams, gave me hints when I was lost in day-to-day living, and guided me when I was studying the Fa.
One morning, I dreamt that I tripped and fell down a flight of stairs. After I woke up, I didn't even think about this dream and went straight to work. That day my colleague was trying to shirk a certain work responsibility, so I explained to him patiently that this was his job and that he needed to complete it quickly. To make sure I made my point clear, I repeated this a few more times until he finally responded angrily, "Shut up and get out of here." Unconvinced, I tried to argue with him. In the end, he kicked me out. I felt wronged. I started to think of his problems and believed that I had tried to help him without any return. As soon as I returned to my desk and started to read the Fa, the words "Truly Cultivate" first appeared, followed by "Minding Your Speech." It's obvious that Master was telling me that I hadn't done well in these two areas.
Later I learned from Master's teachings that everything has a cause and effect. The reason my colleague was rude to me was because I hurt him using negative comments. Although we were good friends, karma has to be returned. Whatever I owed him I have to return to him, because cultivation involves no human sentimentality. It's my karma that caused him to yell at me. He was actually helping me to dissolve the karma and to elevate myself. In fact, Master hinted to me in advance that I would fall down if I didn't cultivate well. But I didn't pay any attention. Despite my terrible mistakes, Master was still helping me out without giving up on me. Every conflict is an opportunity for me to elevate to a higher level. Without giving up or suffering, how would I elevate my level? We must take every conflict as an opportunity to quickly improve ourselves in cultivation practice.
Lately my cultivation practice dipped to a low level again. I was sleepy all day long; I was unable to concentrate when reading the Fa; and I could not calm down and my attachments kept surfacing when sending forth righteous thoughts. I was frustrated and even desperate. While my fellow practitioners were advancing in cultivation, I couldn't take responsibility as a practitioner or live up to Master's expectations. I shared my confusion with my fellow practitioners. They told me to keep going without thinking too much. They said I was cultivating pretty well. I was really encouraged. That very night, I dreamed that Master asked me to carefully study the new articles he gave me. I was puzzled when I woke up: where are the new articles? A few days later, a fellow practitioner brought to me many articles. I eagerly read all of them and began my journey anew.
Still, I didn't do well in terms of clarifying the facts. I asked Master to instruct me clearly. One night in a dream, without saying a single word, Master gave me a pen. I was suddenly enlightened to the understanding that despite the different paths in cultivation, everyone can walk his own path well by recognizing his abilities and making good use of his strengths. With good writing skills, why can't I use my pen to save sentient being by helping them establish their righteous thoughts? Since then, when I have written down my thoughts, they have flown out like a spring and my articles have been spoken of highly. I have to attribute all of these achievements to Master's teachings.
I am often enlightened to the fact that it is selflessness that makes heaven and earth perpetual, and it is the fact that they are completely unselfish that makes enlightened beings eternal. What Master teaches us is the magnificent Buddha Law. Master gives us his trust, his protection, and suffers for us. Master's giving is boundless and is focused on saving us without seeking any return. Having studied the Fa so much and cultivated for so long, how much have we done for sentient beings? While we are complaining about the lack of results from our efforts, or sighing over the treacherous human world, we must think twice: how well do we understand the grand benevolence Master has taught us? Have we followed Master's requirements in terms of righteous thoughts and righteous actions? Have we utilized the wisdom Master granted us? Are we willing to "take hardship as joy" as Master taught us? Have we gotten rid of the attachments that Master taught us to let go of?
We must cultivate ourselves solidly, rather than superficially. Perhaps our achievements are not magnificent but we must still look inside ourselves without any hesitation and try hard to do well what we are supposed to do. Forgiving the mistakes of sentient beings, taking the hardships of all sentient beings as our own, and helping them out without seeking any return, let us warm up every heart with the sunshine of the Fa.
1. Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.
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- 4. Breaking Through the Attachment to Comfort and Eliminating the "Sleep Demons"
By a Falun Dafa Practitioner in Jilin City, Jilin Province
I was under the influence of "Sleep Demons" for quite some time, as I had an attachment to comfort. I worked long hours, from half past seven in the morning until five o'clock in the evening. After getting home I would take care of the cooking and the laundry, then I would help the kids with their homework. With all this accomplished I usually felt tired and sleepy. As I had not practiced the exercises in quite a long time, I would tire very easily.
When I picked up a Falun Dafa book I would feel very sleepy after reading only a few pages. As for sending forth righteous thoughts, I found that even more difficult. Sometimes I would even fall asleep when I tried to send forth righteous thoughts. Twelve o'clock midnight (Beijing time), when practitioners all over the world send forth righteous thoughts together, I would get up feeling dazed with sleep and finish hastily. Sometimes when I was awakened by the alarm clock, I would turn it off and go back to sleep. In doing so I even made excuses, telling myself that my job was too hard, so it was okay for me not to get up at midnight. Gradually the intention to send forth righteous thoughts at midnight seemed to fade from my mind. As for doing the five sets of exercises, I would consider it good if I managed to do one set in a week or ten days. I especially disliked doing the second set and felt it was extremely hard to hold the wheel in all four positions. Whenever I thought of practicing the exercises I would tell myself to go to bed to have a little sleep first and do the exercises later, the usual result being that I slept straight through until morning, without studying the Fa or practicing the exercises.
The precious time Teacher has given us to save sentient beings was being wasted. Clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to people was even more difficult for me. Whenever I met people who could not understand the Fa, I would show my impatience. I thought that they could not be saved because they had poor enlightenment quality. Actually, I sincerely wished to cast off all of these bad thoughts. When sleepiness came, however, my attachment to comfort would coax me to sleep for a while. I knew that this was the result of not studying the Fa enough. In this way I drifted further and further away from Teacher's requirements. I even worried that I was one of those who was arranged by the old forces to play an adverse role in Fa-rectification. However, whenever I thought that way, my original nature would not fully accept it.
I came to realize the seriousness of the problem and I asked myself, if I continue like this, won't it be like going in the opposite direction of the righteous Fa-- Then Teacher published the article "On Reading Weathering the Storm" After reading the article I could not stop crying and enlightened to the fact that cultivation is a very serious undertaking. We are suffering through hardships and we are very busy, but this is the path of human beings becoming Gods! Hardships embody mighty virtue. I knew I couldn't go on like that. Even if I did continue like that, who would be most pleased-- It would be the old forces. They just wanted to drag down practitioners like me who aren't diligent. Suddenly I thought of the true meaning of "under Buddha's infinite grace." Those sentient beings who had entrusted their greatest hopes to me are waiting for me to save them, and the people who have predestined relationships with me are also waiting for me to save them! Yet I was still driven by these "sleep demons" and the mentality of seeking comfort, and I didn't want to be diligent-- I was determined to totally deny these arrangements made by the old forces; those are part of the persecution that I would not accept. I must nobly and righteously walk the path of cultivation arranged by Teacher.
When the righteous thoughts became ever stronger in my mind,
"Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, Diamond-Like Bodies, it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is."
("Also in a Few Words," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I found the "sleep demons" disintegrated instantly. Now I go to bed after midnight every day, sometimes as late as 2:30 a.m., and I still go to work the following day and don't feel tired at all. I study the Fa and practice the exercises diligently. Now I myself get to say when I go to bed.
In cultivation our thoughts have to be righteous, not human. My cultivation path is very ordinary, not like other practitioners whose cultivation paths are glorious and splendid. The reason I wrote about the "sleep demons" is to tell fellow practitioners who are still controlled by them to pay attention to this issue. Teacher arranges the path of our cultivation. When we are able to resist the bad thoughts we are actually strengthening our righteous thoughts and the evil is indeed powerless.
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- 5. Some Thoughts after Reading Zhuan Falun
A Dafa Practitioner from Taiwan
My first contact with Dafa seemed like a coincidence. I saw the book Zhuan Falun in a bookstore. At that time, I was curious as to why the book wasn't called Falun Gong or Falun Dafa, but Zhuan Falun (Turning the Law-Wheel).
Recently I have come to a better understanding of this question. In The Great Perfection Way of Falun Buddha Law, the Teacher said, "The fourth exercise is called 'Falun Heavenly Circulation.' Here we've used two terms from the Buddha School and the Dao School so that everyone understands it. This exercise used to be called 'Turning the Great Falun'." This made me think that turning the Falun itself is a form of Heavenly Circulation. When the flow of energy travels through this small universe called the human body, it corrects everything that is not right. In order to rectify the entire universe and firmament, the Great Falun has to turn.
The Teacher said in the poem "Assisting the Fa,"
"Making a wish to save sentient beings,
Assisting Teacher in his journey in this world;
Aiding me to turn the Fa wheel,
The Fa succeeds and free in heaven and earth."
And in the poem "Clarity of Mind," the Teacher said,
"I spread the Fa, your Master, for salvation of all,
The earth’s four corners I pilgrimage,
the Fa Vessel I board,
In a world full of sin and venom I transmit Dafa,
Turning the Falun, the Cosmos is set right.
(From Teacher's book of poems, Hong Yin)
These poems are further indications to practitioners that assisting the Teacher in his journey in this world is assisting the Teacher in turning the Falun (Law Wheel), and helping with Fa-rectification.
I have thus realized that the title of the book, Zhuan Falun, is actually giving us the concept of Fa-rectification. It follows then that the content of the book is to guide practitioners to cultivate through Fa-rectification. Because practitioners have different enlightenment levels, some people understood it when they read the book Zhuan Falun, but others did not understand it until they read the Teacher's recent articles. Some people still have human notions that impede their understanding, and they use the excuse that Teacher did not mention Fa-rectification in Zhuan Falun to justify it. Whether Fa-rectification was mentioned in the book is actually a matter of enlightenment. Zhuan Falun includes the highest laws and principles of the universe; it certainly includes everything and leaves out nothing. How can it not include the Fa-rectification, which is happening right now? If we completely give up human notions when studying the Fa, then we can realize this matter of Fa-rectification from studying Zhuan Falun, and will earnestly hold ourselves to the requirements of the Fa principles at our own levels and do well.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 6. Enlightening to the Connotations of Reading the Book Over and Over Again
By a Dafa Practitioner in the Western U.S.A.
A fellow practitioner mentions in his article that reading Zhuan Falun over and over again is like a big falun automatically changing our bodies and improving us. Upon reading this, Master's article "Seeking Discipleship with Teacher" from Essentials for Further Advancement came to my mind. "A person who truly cultivates will gain things naturally without pursuing them. All of the gong (cultivation energy) and Fa lie in the book, and one will naturally obtain them by reading Dafa. Those who learn it will change automatically, and they will already be in the Tao when they read the book over and over again." Master suggests we "read the book over and over again," which not only lets us obtain gong in terms of changing our bodies, but has the connotation that the Fa in the book can also guide us to get rid of attachments and notions, thus enabling us to improve our xinxing.
Our true nature is covered by layers upon layers of notions, just like a rusty steel ball. With thick layers of rust covered outside, the shining essence cannot be seen any more. During the first two years of my cultivation, I always focused on certain points of the Fa and ignored the others when I was reading the book. I tended to comprehend one side of Master's words and to become estranged from society, friends and family. On the surface I still harmonized with everyone but my heart drifted apart. I thought I was very diligent, but actually my cultivation was not within Fa. I cultivated on a deviant path.
Master said in Lecture at the Conference in Switzerland, "Those attachments are just like a big, sturdy padlock that locks you in. You have to open every padlock as you progress on your path. If you don't, they will lock you in and delude you, and you won't see the truth." After I read this paragraph of Fa given by Master and recalled my cultivation experience, I realize that these attachments are associated with each other, as if the padlocks were interlocked, layer by layer, shielding and covering each other. It is impossible for us to cut off these attachments, which are like twisted roots and gnarled branches, from the top to the end once and for all. We can only crush them one by one and get rid of them layer by layer by reading the book over and over again.
Our individual cultivation is this way. Cultivation during the Fa-Rectification period also requires our continuing understanding of the Fa from within the Fa.
The mistakes we have made all have their costs. Master has quietly endured a lot for us that we do not know, helping us to truly understand the Fa and to assimilate to the Fa gradually during our Fa-Rectification cultivation. Master said in Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference (July 22, 2002), "To do well is to not walk down the path arranged by the old forces; the goal is to not allow the old forces to take advantage of your gaps. Despite all of this, our Dafa disciples as a whole have become more and more mature, and they're handling all of this with greater and greater rationality, composure, steadfastness, and seriousness." It is time for us to be able to study the Fa correctly and to do all of the necessary things well.
The above is my personal understanding, for my fellow practitioners' reference.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 7. How to Deal with the Pain from the Sitting Meditation
By a practitioner from Taiwan
I have mixed feelings about the fifth Falun Dafa exercise -- "Strengthening Divine Powers." I love it and yet fear it. While enjoying the miraculous sensations, I suffer excruciating pain from sitting meditation. For me, the pain reaches the limit of my tolerance. But I understand the significance of suffering the pain, I persevered and practiced every day. With time I could do the full lotus position instead of the half lotus position. I initially could only do it for five, ten, or thirty minutes. Now I manage to meditate for one hour. However, the pain has not gone away with time. When I shared my experience with other practitioners, most of us just bear the pain. During summer vacation, one Swedish practitioner joined our practice group. Upon seeing our expression while meditating, he said, "when doing sitting meditation, no matter how painful it is, we need to keep our body unmoved. Meanwhile we need to keep a serene countenance. We have to bear with the pain. Otherwise the ordinary people who pass by would never dare to join us upon seeing our expression." I agree with him. But I truly cannot control myself and keep unmoved.
I asked him how to achieve this. He said: "Clear up our minds and upgrade our xinxing (mind nature)." I did not get what he meant. When conflicts and tribulations occur, we improve our xinxing and can easily overcome them. However, how can improving xinxing overcome the pain from sitting meditation? I did not enlighten to it.
On the third day, when the pain became increasingly unbearable, I kept in mind the words of this practitioner and put down my attachment. With the gradual letting go of the attachment, I felt my heart became empty and my mind gradually rise above and my level reached higher and higher until my heart became completely empty. At that time, my body felt weightless and very light but only my legs were not able to move. I clearly felt the separation between my spirit and physical body. Although I still felt the pain, my mind was somewhere higher above and the pain was unable to control it. I truly realized the sacred and solemn image of keeping a serene countenance and bearing a compassionate heart. With the pain of my legs, I deeply understood the meaning of "Hardship suffering treated as joy" ("Tempering One's Mind and Heart") and realized the magnificence of sitting meditation. After overcoming this test, I took a big step forward and felt that it would not be difficult even if I further extended the time for sitting meditation.
The above is an experience that I would like to sincerely share with other fellow practitioners. Only after overcoming the pain and suffering can we improve our level. Meanwhile we will have a deeper understanding of forbearance.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 8. Falun Gong is The Best Way to Build Up Positive Energy
Glenda Audrey McNiece from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
My name is Glenda McNiece. I am a Natural Therapist working on the Sunshine Coast in Southeast Queensland, Australia, which is about 100 kilometers north of the city of Brisbane.
I was introduced to Falun Gong almost a year ago, hearing of a class practising it in the suburb of New Farm, in Brisbane. My partner Gerard began going to classes to learn Falun Gong after he was told a group of people were doing the exercises there.
After a couple of months, I decided to begin practise myself, putting aside my Yoga exercise of some 15 years. Gerard had been teaching Qi Gong for nearly 6 years and learning an internal martial arts form.
Twenty-two years ago I was involved in a motor-bike accident which left me with a broken collarbone and back injuries including bruising around the vertebrae and a mal-aligned pelvis. From this, I suffered severe neck and sciatic pain. Over the years, I have managed, to a certain degree, to overcome these injuries by practising Yoga, meditation and visualization techniques. Though my mobility improved, I still suffered some neck, shoulder and sciatic pain.
I also had numbness and pain in my left foot due to a breakage ten years ago, as well as an ongoing intermittent pain in the abdominal region from menstrual and intestinal spasming.
When I first started practising Falun Gong almost a year ago I felt immediate relief from the neck and shoulder tension, as if a great weight had been lifted from me! As I continued I found my overall strength greatly improved, especially through the arms and legs.
Gerard was asked to present Falun Gong to the people on the Sunshine Coast, so after nearly a year of practice and learning Falun Dafa, Gerard and I decided to begin, as we wanted to share Falun Gong with others.
When time permits, both Gerard and I travel the 100 kilometer distance down to Brisbane to join our fellow friends and practitioners in New Farm Park. One morning when I was unable to attend, I was practising at home at the same time as the group in Brisbane. In the final cross-legged tranquil, with my inner vision, I began to see the whole group down in New Farm Park seated in a circle. I noticed Gerard leaning against a timber post for support. On his return, I asked Gerard whether he had been supporting his back against something during the final meditation. He replied he had, as it was difficult for him to maintain the double cross-legged position at first, and keep his balance while seated in meditation.
This gave me a wonderful feeling of connection with the group. In attempting to follow the Xinxing indicated in China Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun, the hardest thing for me to come to terms with is to let go the attachment to my imagination and clairvoyant vision, as it has always helped me tremendously in the past. When I used to meditate, I used a visualization of nature to create a powerful state, then drifted on to receive visions and dreams of all sorts of content. It was very meaningful for me. I found, after a while, I would then come to a very peaceful state in my meditation.
Now, I don't have my familiar places to go to, or the deities I used to call on in order to bring peace, and I am finding I'm challenged more than I've ever been on my spiritual journey.
At times, while practising the tranquil meditation, I have seen deities whirling around together in my mind's eye, and I feel very confused and dizzy after this. Although I've never held dogmatically to being a Christian, I have been given the notion that Christ is the only savior. Because of my many years of practising yoga, the Indian deities are presenting themselves to me as never before. When I was younger, I used to always say, if anyone asked me, that my religion was love, and God was love. Now, even though I don't want to, I find myself seeking a name, even though my understanding of God has somewhat deepened.
As an alternative health practitioner, I practised hands-on healing for many years, thinking it was a good thing to do.
What had helped me, I wanted to share with others. Although I was often witness to many miracles during that time, I found I was frequently taking home the symptoms of my clients' illnesses, and struggling to let go of other people 's thoughts and feelings. Through this painful experience, I eventually learned I was not only interfering with other people's karma, I was taking in their karma as well. From there, I made up my mind to focus on the tools of my profession, rather than use my own energy for healing.
Master Li' s teachings of cultivation have deepened that understanding for me even further. I was once working on a stall in a Natural Health Exhibition opposite a stand where people were practising the healing energy. From my perspective or third-eye-sight, the people who are giving the energy had more polluted energy field than people receiving it. Individuals I've known who have worked intensively as clairvoyants without any other focus often became seriously ill or died prematurely because of this. I myself have had to overcome periods of very low energy for this very reason.
Whilst practising the fifth exercise meditation, I have seen Master Li and I always feel more peaceful when this occurs.
Physically, I have noticed that the Falun Gong has greatly improved the balance and co-ordination between the left and right sides of my body. It has had a regulating effect on my menstrual cycle, eradicating cramps and breast soreness. My intestinal spasms are diminishing. The circulation in my left foot has been restored, as there is not the degree of pain after having walked any distance, as there used to be.
A great amount of heat is generated in my body whilst doing the exercises, and the physical sensations of energy circulation are very strong whilst practicing.
Beginning the day with Falun Gong has been wonderful for me. I have often woken in the morning worrying with one concern or another on my mind. After completing the exercise, I am always able to feel more positive.
I am extremely grateful that Falun Gong has been presented to us by Master Li.
In the accelerated pace of modern living our bodies and energy fields are constantly subjected to bombardment, not only from negative things like junk food, tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Unseen forces like powerlines, mobile phones, television, radiation and microwaves all have life diminishing effects.
From my perspective experience, the practice of Falun Gong profoundly counteracts these destructive forces by clearing and building up the energy of the whole person.
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