(Minghui.org) When a fellow practitioner reminded me to write an experience sharing article for the Twentieth Anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction, I thought it must be Master encouraging me to share some of my experiences with fellow practitioners. I have experienced a lot, and it started before I obtained the Fa.

Searching for the Purpose of Life

I have suffered from many illnesses, and when I was young, one of my kidneys had to be removed. Then when I was middle aged, I developed a rare disease. The doctor told me that it was incurable, and that all they could do was to delay the development of the disease. I was very saddened to hear that many patients had died from this illness.

In 1997, I suffered greatly from this disease. My spirits were low, and I was fearful of dying. Parts of my body were becoming numb, and I was losing my weight and strength.

When I was young I had many goals, and liked to do good deeds for others. I also questioned, “What is the true meaning of life?” But as I got older I paid more attention to my career, money, and personal interests. I became selfish. Superficially I had everything, a job, money and a family. But I clearly felt that something was missing. What was it? I wondered how I could move on in my life, as my life seemed meaningless in many aspects.

I asked the heavens many times in my heart to direct me to a true path. I also tried many different meditation practices, but none had much of an impact on me.

Phone Call Brings Good News

In fall of 2003, an acquaintance called me and said that a Falun Gong exercise class was being held at a local college. She read to me the details over the phone and asked if I would like to go with her. I replied, “OK.” Choosing this simple word became a major turning point in my life.

When we first attended the class, we watched the exercise video, and a practitioner taught us the movements. I then bought the book Falun Gong. However, I didn't read it right away, because I wanted to focus my attention on learning the exercises. I felt a great effect from the exercises, and as I practiced more, I felt very energetic, comfortable, and calm. Each time after I exercised, I longed for the next time.

It wasn't until two months later that I read the book Falun Gong. I then bought the book Zhuan Falun and started cultivating myself according to principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. My husband always used to be very nice to me, but he started to get angry and often insulted me. I remembered that in Zhuan Falun, Master talks about practitioners not striking back when beaten and not swearing back when being sworn at, so I tried to keep calm. Also, my boss used to allow me to make many important decisions before, but began picking on me over the most trivial things. I felt very sad, but I didn't quarrel with him, and just did as I was told.

As I continued to do the exercises and read Zhuan Falun, Master started to purify my body. However, when I went on holiday, I smoked a few times and drank some champagne. That evening, I could not calm down and felt sick. My body had started to reject these things. I found that I didn't need to force myself to stay away from cigarettes and alcohol, as my body could no longer accept these filthy things.

Several months later, I read the part about getting rid of cigarettes and alcohol in Zhuan Falun, and was very surprised. I knew that I had finally found a true path. It is just like Master said:

“...we have removed the fundamental causes of your illnesses and your poor health. But you still have a field of illness. A person whose Celestial Eye opens at a very low level can see in your body clusters of black qi and turbid pathogenic qi, which is also a condensed cluster of black qi in high density. Once it diffuses, it will spread all over your body.” (Zhuan Falun)

As my body was being purified I felt dizzy and sick, and had diarrhea. I was not feeling comfortable in myself and stopped reading the book for a few days. During that time, I received a phone call from a fellow practitioner. When I told him that I could not continue reading, he consoled me and encouraged me to continue. I followed his advice, and continued to read Zhuan Falun. I felt my body being purified and then I felt very comfortable, a feeling that I had never experienced before.

After suffering for many of years, Dafa gave me new energy and the courage to live on. I could endure more physical and mental hardship, my weight increased, and my attention and memory also improved. I felt like a new person.

Practitioners in my city initially only did the exercises together. But after several of us had read Zhuan Falun we created a Fa study group, where we did exercises, and read Zhuan Falun and Master's other lectures together.

From my fellow practitioners, I learned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. I then started to tell more people about Falun Gong and the persecution, and started to participate in Falun Gong activities. I also hoped to tell others about the wonderfulness of Dafa.

My sharing is a summary of my starting cultivation. What I have is all from Dafa. I am grateful to Master from the bottom of my heart.

From the Call for Submissions to Commemorate the Twentieth Anniversary of Falun Dafa’s Introduction