Practitioners Hold Workshop Series in the Flathead Valley of Montana

In honor of World Falun Dafa Day, our group of practitioners wanted to inform more people in our community and neighboring communities about Falun Gong. We decided that we would hold two workshops and invite all attendees to an outdoor meditation to celebrate this special day. This opportunity was also taken to petition the area city governments for proclamations of Falun Dafa Day.

We wanted to tell as many people as possible about Falun Dafa and our workshops. We first contacted the libraries to make sure we would have a location to hold our workshops. We then contacted the newspapers and asked them if they would like to report on our group for a human interest story that connected local events with something that is going on globally. We posted flyers in many communities in the surrounding areas and called the radio stations for their nonprofit service announcements. We also invited many of our friends to learn more about the practice.

The dates we wanted to give the workshops at the libraries were open even though the public rooms were quite busy. Our offer to the newspaper was well received and resulted in a full page interview with photographs in one paper and a letter to the editor in another. All of these things occurred at the perfect time just as I am sure Master planned. Unfortunately, because of our own attachments, the radio stations were contacted too late for them to air our events. We were disappointed since this was one way that could have informed many people about Falun Dafa.

Many people attended our first workshop from four different towns in the Flathead Valley. Many people saw the article in the newspaper and told us they attended because they wanted to learn more about this powerful practice. We introduced Falun Dafa to them and then demonstrated the exercises. The workshop was informal so that any questions asked could be immediately answered and planning for the introduction was minimal to allow for flexibility. We did follow a general outline for introducing Falun Gong, which we downloaded from the internet. Everyone who participated was glad they attended. Many were curious about where our practice sites were and if their community could have one. The next evening, people from three communities came to learn more about Falun Dafa and went home hopeful.

After our workshop series we obtained one proclamation from the city of Whitefish in honor of Falun Dafa Day. We sent more letters to the editors of the local papers to tell them this and why it was important. We also thanked them for their help.

This series of events was a great cultivation opportunity for us, which led us to overcome many different forms of karma. We learned that even though Master arranges many things, it is important to start planning your events early. Government officials are busy with many different issues, so proclamations are not always at the top of their agendas. Deadlines at some of the media sources led to our events not being posted. It is important to think of others and how they do their work.

We learned that contacting folks a second time leads to further opportunities for spreading the Fa. A thank you to the editor can be printed in the newspaper also. We understood in new ways that there is a purpose to our actions and Master has plans for us.