An Introduction to Falun Gong

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is an advanced self-cultivation practice that improves mental and physical wellness through physical exercises and the development of one's character. In China, cultivation practices have a history of thousands of years and formed the spiritual foundation of Chinese civilization. In 1992, Falun Dafa was introduced to the public by Master Li Hongzhi. The practiced quickly spread because of its profound principles and proven health benefits. By 1999, with over one hundred million practitioners Falun Dafa had grown to become the largest practice of its kind in China and around the world. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on energy channels and believes that the health of the body is related to the health of the mind. Falun Dafa cultivates mind and body simultaneously improving the body's natural immunity. I had a very very bad immune system I was sick all the time and I came to the practice for spiritual reasons but I immediately stopped getting sick. I kept thinking, 'Why am I not getting sick? I woke up suddenly, what's wrong?' As a matter of fact, I go to parties now and they used to say give the sick babies to Jeanne she never gets sick. I feel an energy in my body that's very subtle and hard to describe but it feels very good. I could have very little sleep and I'll feel awakened but not like a coffee energetic, but like a very calm and collected energy. And that one hour can feel like a day and then I'm refreshed and ready to go. Before I practiced Falun Gong, when I got scolded by my boss or supervisor I was very annoyed and immediately I would complain about others or felt it wasn't fair, but after I started practicing the biggest lesson I learned was looking inside and always find something to improve within myself. If I didn't like something that another person did I would think about 'Oh, I don't like that. I don't like that that person does that.' And I realized that it was having a direct effect on my health by having that bad thought about that person and as soon as I realized that I changed my thinking so that I wouldn't think about what things I didn't like or liked about other people and more just how I should be responsible to being a good person and controlling my thinking and quieting my thinking and then the headaches went away. The first time I heard about Falun Dafa was actually when I was 12 years old. At the time I was going through a rebellious stage. I barely talked to my parents, you know I'd come home, slam the door. Meditation taught me to look within. I started talking to my parents more. I started respecting them more. So my mother was very happy because you know, because it's like she got her son back. In 1983, I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, which is incurable in Western and Eastern medicine. In February 1998, a friend from China wrote me a letter. She told me that Falun Dafa is a true practice that can improve people's morals as well as physical health so I began to practice to Falun Gong. In three months, I totally recovered. At the core of Falun Dafa are the values of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Falun Dafa teaches that these are the supreme qualities of the universe and takes them to be a guide for daily life and practice. Well, when I was little I would stare at night just sit in my bed and look at the stars and think 'Why are we here in the first place?' 'Why do you even exist?' and most of all 'Where do you come from?' First time I read Zhuan Falun, the book on Falun Dafa I felt a lot of those questions were just immediately answered. I think the best benefit is the peace of mind. I have incredibly peace of mind. My family certainly has benefited. My husband said to me within a month I was much easier to live with. Applying Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance to my daily life is the greatest challenge of my life actually. You would think it's so simple but therein lies the challenge. But everybody else around you feels it you know because you become lighter, you smile a lot more and you become much more genuine. It was like I was always searching for something and it's so easy to think that what we're searching for is outside whether it's money, or clothes, or beauty, or whatever and Falun Dafa just provided me with an inner peace that I just feel like whatever happens around me I'm fine like I have these values and principles that I can follow. It's like just a sense of, not security, but inner security and sense of calm and peace, which I didn't have before.