(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. I thought of a problem while I was practicing the exercises today, which I found to be rather serious.
I remember when I first started practicing the Falun Gong exercises, I focused very well on the exercise music and Teacher's verbal instructions accompanying the music. In other words, my main consciousness always predominated.
After so many years, it seems as though I no longer focus when I practice the exercises. At times I am not even following Teacher's instructions. For example, when Teacher says to raise both arms during the third exercise, I sometimes find myself raising the wrong arm, which means I practiced either more than or less than nine times before Teacher says to raise both arms up. This goes to show I haven't been focused when I practice the exercises.
Today while my wife and I were practicing the fourth exercise, I found my wife losing her concentration because she was exercising at a higher speed than Teacher's verbal instruction. When I told her she was too fast, she admitted that she had lost her concentration.
Come to think of it, I had been practicing the exercises badly. I often fail to enter tranquility when I practice the exercises. Why? I think it's because I fail to cultivate myself and, instead, I allow my secular thoughts and attachments to run wild. Although I was thinking about clarifying the truth, it is not a reason to not enter tranquility when doing the exercises as I should have.
I adjusted my mentality and found my main consciousness taking the reins of my mind. When I practiced the second exercise again, I listened to every note in the exercise music at first. However, after 20 minutes, I was distracted by my thoughts and lost my concentration again.
In hindsight, I had lost concentration and failed to enter tranquility for a long time. This is a very serious problem. By sharing my problem, I hope to expose and eliminate the evil elements that have been disturbing me. May this also be a kind reminder to those fellow practitioners sharing the same problem to reinforce their main consciousness and cultivate their mind so as to enter tranquility when practicing the exercises.
