(Minghui.org) Standard-Examiner , a local daily newspaper in Utah, published a report about Falun Dafa exercise classes in the local community. The classes are hosted by David Thurston and his wife Cheyenne (Showyen) Liu in Salt Lake City.

Cheyenne is a mother of two, works as a business analyst, and has benefited from practicing Falun Gong since she first started in 2001. She started practicing more regularly in early part of 2013.

Ms. Cheyenne Liu

She was introduced to Falun Gong in Taiwan in 2001, during which time, she was trying to find something to fill the void in her life. She had a sense that the world was becoming a dark place and wanted to become a nun to get away from it. Once she stepped onto the Falun Gong practice site, she felt “very fortunate to become a practitioner.”

Speaking of how practicing Falun Dafa has benefited her life, Cheyenne said, “My family, work, and health are all in good harmony. Because I practice Falun Gong, I am a more patient and insightful mother. Since beginning the practice, my relationship with my kids has vastly improved.”

Break Through Shyness

As a Falun Dafa practitioner, it is important to clarify the truth to the public so that more people can become aware of the benefits of the practice, and also take a stance against the violent oppression that is forced upon practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party in mainland China.

Truth-clarification activities were a complete eye-opener for Cheyenne since she started participating in the summer of 2013. She recalled, “Our group set up a booth for a 4th of July festivity. I am a pretty shy person and really don’t enjoy talking very much, especially to strangers. I can be pretty quiet and rarely socialize, even at work. To come out to the public and speak to strangers was a big step for me and my cultivation. It really is an act of putting others before yourself.”

Using Teacher's Help and Gaining Confidence

On another occasion, Cheyenne contacted galleries and museums to host the Art of Zhen Shan Ren (Truth-Compassion-Tolerance) Exhibition. Without previous experience to guide her, she started to write emails and letters to the museums and galleries that she could find. She found rejections and unresponsiveness from many of the galleries that she wrote to.

Cheyenne shared, “One weekend, my husband and I decided on a Saturday to drive out to a gallery that is about one hour away from our house and drop by unannounced, hoping to talk to the gallery director. With Teacher Li’s blessings, we were able to meet with the assistant director of the center (who is rarely there on Saturdays) and discuss the possibility of hosting the exhibit. She coached us on how to submit the portfolio to the board, and now we will be putting on an exhibit in May of this year. The gallery also agreed to let us set up a table during their Friday art strolls to promote Shen Yun for the months of January and February 2014.”

At a different event, Cheyenne had some success with promoting the practice and different forms of art inspired by Falun Dafa. She also met some people interested in the practice. Cheyenne explained, “This woman stopped me and told me that she has been looking for a meditation practice, and was glad to hear about Falun Dafa. Teacher gave me the strength and wisdom to be able to talk to a group of around 25 people without any preparation, and it went really well.”

Now that Cheyenne has been found some success, it has built confidence for her to do even better with her cultivation. She shared, “My husband and I have been going to senior centers and community centers on a monthly basis to teach Falun Gong exercises. These were one of the first initiatives that my husband and I did on our own to promote Dafa. During a class that we were teaching at the community center, a local newspaper reporter came in and wrote up such a nice article about Falun Dafa. It was good exposure from a third party media outlet.”

Such experiences led Cheyenne to the realization that Teacher is always helping practitioners to improve, as long as they are acting with the Fa in their hearts.