"In recent years, as more and more people experience many incidents that cannot be explained by traditional sciences, research in the areas of spirit and consciousness greatly increases."
"In a certain period in history the two were separated, and as a result we have science and religion. Science confines its research to the scope of the physical world, whereas the churches are in charge of the spiritual world."
"Now, through studying spirit and consciousness with science, it is possible for us to re-combine spirit with science."
As I read this conference notice, I at once realized that this was a great chance to promote Dafa. After I checked the Internet, I found that this announcement was for the International Symposium for Science, Spirit and Consciousness. The deadline for registration had passed long ago; the deadline to submit papers earlier still. But still I called the hosting organization of the symposium. The lady who answered the phone immediately showed great interest after she listened to my brief introduction of Falun Dafa. She not only allowed me to register, but also promised that if anyone cancelled his/her speech, she would consider me first for the chance to deliver a presentation.
Though I was not scheduled to do a presentation, I still made full preparation. I prepared a set of slides and some relevant materials. The symposium was to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Dafa practitioners closest to that city would be several hundred miles away. It seemed that I would have to rely on myself this time.
The day before the symposium, I received a message from the conference organizers. One of the scheduled speakers could not attend the symposium for some reason, and it was arranged that I would give a one and one-half hour presentation. I fully understood this arrangement and sincerely thanked Master Li for giving me such an excellent chance to promote Dafa.
My presentation was on Sunday. On Friday I found two unexpected things: the first thing was that the number of participants was far beyond my expectation. This conference for non-mainstream science attracted 700-800 people from around the world; the second thing was that many people showed a lot of interest in Falun Gong even before my presentation.
My presentation was extended to two hours. During my speech, I talked about the biology of "Zhen-Shan-Ren" (Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance), the features of "Zhen-Shan-Ren" features in biological systems and immunology systems, the modern molecular foundation of cultivation of the body, the supernormal cells of Falun Dafa practitioners and the favorable changes of practitioners' gene expression. My presentation was well received by the attendees. In the last half an hour of my presentation, about one hundred attendees learned the five sets of Falun Dafa exercises, following along with Master Li's exercise-teaching tapes. It is worth mentioning that nearly one third of them were able to hold the double-lotus position.
This presentation was very successful. One of the participants said, "No matter who that person is, I am glad his absence gave you the chance to give this presentation." Some attendees said, "This is what I have searched for all my life." Some said, "This is the best speech of its kind that I have ever heard. I was genuinely able to understand why Falun Gong practitioners could rise above the persecution and determinedly insist on their belief. I would have done so if it were me in their position." On the evaluation form for the presentation, most of people gave this presentation the highest score--10. After the conference, one lady asked me how she could help us. Before I gave any answer, she said, "I know what to do. When I go back home, I will teach more people to practice Falun Gong and let more people know the benefits of Falun Gong." Many people hoped to buy the two Dafa books- Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong- immediately at the conference. Everyone said they wanted to buy Dafa books when they went back home. One person from Germany who had come across Falun Gong before, said he would like to start to cultivate Falun Gong as soon as he returned to Germany.
It was the first time that most of the people who attended the conference had heard about Falun Gong. Yet these people themselves had strong spiritual inclinations. Some of them had good pre-destined relationships with Dafa. There are many such groups in western society that lie between cultivation and research, between science and spiritual belief. Unexpected effects could be achieved if we promote Dafa to these people.
Later report:
Yesterday, I received emails from Dafa practitioners in San Diego and Los Angeles telling me that some of the people who attended the conference in New Mexico had contacted practitioners in those cities and wanted to learn Falun Gong.
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Reported by a Falun Gong practitioner from USA
On May 10, 2001
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