Western Practitioner: Experiences Bringing Shen Yun to Wales

(Clearwisdom.net)

When we were asked to look for suitable venues for Shen Yun, I thought of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. It is a magnificent venue and it is as if it was specifically built for Shen Yun.

How wonderful it would be if Shen Yun could come to Cardiff and save the people of Wales. This thought was followed by: "How can that be possible when there are no practitioners in Cardiff? It wouldn't be fair to ask practitioners to travel such a long way in order to promote the show."

A practitioner said in an online meeting that in one US city, even though it only had one practitioner, a Shen Yun show was held there successfully.

This encouraged me, and I decided that if it was possible for Shen Yun to come to Cardiff, I would give up my job to help promote Shen Yun full time. I felt in my heart that this was predestined, and it was an opportunity that I had waited many lifetimes for, the chance to help Master in Fa rectification.

When I told my wife that I wanted to retire early in order to help Shen Yun, she became very angry and said that she had had enough of Falun Gong and that she wanted a divorce. I knew that she really meant it at the time and that it was a test for me. Within a couple of days she was able to accept it.

Trust in Master

I remember thinking that I didn't have any experience, and that there were practitioners who were more capable than me.

I thought that the only thing I could do was to trust Master. Master would provide whatever was needed.

Time and time again, whenever I felt the pressure and huge responsibility, I just put my trust in Master.

I am also very grateful for the support from fellow practitioners who were able to encourage me when my thoughts were unrighteous or lacking in faith.

Righteous Thoughts

Before a meeting could be arranged with the Wales Millennium Centre, whenever possible I traveled to Cardiff and sent righteous thoughts inside the centre.

When the UK coordinator and I met the manager, we showed him the Shen Yun promotional DVD. He was very impressed with the artistic merit of the show but was concerned with the political implications and was not confident that Shen Yun would be commercially viable or supported by the people of Cardiff.

He said that there were no vacant slots for February or March, but there might be a chance of a cancellation in April.

Months passed and we could not get a commitment.

My intuition told me that he had met with the executive team and they were undecided regarding possible political pressure from the Welsh Assembly, the sponsor of the Wales Millennium Centre. The centre and the Welsh Assembly have strong political and commercial ties with China. The manager had mentioned that the centre had an arrangement with a theatre in Chongqing, China, where the centre's management would travel to advise them.

From time to time I had negative thoughts come into my mind that it was not going to happen. Each time the thoughts came, I thought that this was such a righteous opportunity for Wales. People were to be saved and Master and the heavens are supporting it. Nothing ordinary people could say or do would be able to prevent it from happening.

I can remember having conversations in my mind with the knowing side of the centre's executive team. I reminded them that they were here to serve the people of Wales and that they should follow their hearts and not be influenced by political or commercial interests. They would then fulfill their predestined paths and gain the mighty virtue of helping Master bring Shen Yun to the people of Wales.

After many phone calls and emails, the manager and his team offered us one day in April and eventually agreed to let us have two days.

The Value of Cooperation

During the early days of promoting Shen Yun, there was an important meeting between the centre management and the coordinating team. When I was about to leave home for the meeting, I turned on the main water supply for part of the house that hadn't been used during the freezing weather. Water started gushing down through the ceilings. Fortunately I knew a very good plumber who said he would come straight away to fix it. When I arrived in Cardiff for the meeting, my wife phoned me in tears and said that she couldn't cope, that there was water everywhere, and she wanted me to come home to help.

The plumber told me that the problem was that none of the pipe connections were secure, and he had to locate and secure every joint. I reflected on how this might be related to Shen Yun in Cardiff.

If we did not have good connections between practitioners, then we would waste a lot of energy when Master installed the heavenly circuit of Shen Yun manifesting in Cardiff. Along with righteous thoughts, we needed good cooperation and organisation to be successful. We needed to work as one body. Only then would the energy field become strong enough to save people.

Many practitioners said that they could experience this field when they came to Cardiff and that it provided a good environment for cultivation.

I can remember being asked to do some work other than Shen Yun and saying that I was too busy. For several days afterward I felt I had lost the support of the heavens. It was a big lesson for me. When I later apologised to that person and did the work, I felt the support return from the gods in the heavens.

Ticket Sales Faith and Cultivation

The manager of the centre was very impressed with how well we had promoted Shen Yun, but several weeks before the show he had received complaints that organisations and businesses had been contacted several times with the same information.

At our online meeting it was generally agreed that almost all of what could be done to promote the show had been done and that we should now concentrate on sending righteous thoughts, improving our xinxing, and having faith in Master.

I was told that there was very good cultivation sharing among practitioners, and teams of practitioners were continually sending righteous thoughts. We tried not to focus on the ticket sales but on the numbers of people who could be saved.

By the time of the performance the energy field in Cardiff had become very strong and 85 percent of the seats had been sold. Each performance received a standing ovation from the audience.

Why Practitioners Are Special

When the time came to begin the promotion in Cardiff, a flat was hired and I wondered whether practitioners would come to help.

Six Chinese practitioners arrived but only two could speak English.

I was very touched that practitioners who could not speak English gave up their time to help. I felt a compassionate energy field develop. They worked hard putting up posters, and I recall many people said that they bought tickets after initially seeing these posters.

I saw practitioners come to Cardiff almost every weekend for months in all weather to help promote the show.

I saw practitioners who had used up all their holidays to come and help.

I saw the generosity of practitioners who were able to help provide facilities and financial assistance for practitioners less well off.

I noticed the tireless work of those behind the scenes without getting recognition.

I am deeply honoured to have been able to play a part along with fellow practitioners in helping Master bring Shen Yun to Cardiff. It has shown me why cultivators are so special. Everyday people cannot understand how it is possible that practitioners can work so hard and give so much to help others. Everyday people don't have what we have been given: They are waiting for Master's saving grace.

Please point out any incorrect understandings.

Thank you, Master.