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Cultivating in the Current Climate and Deeply Believing in the Power of the Fa

April 10, 2021 |   By a Western practitioner

(Minghui.org) In the nearly 30 years since Dafa was made public, the world has become smaller with the increase in technology, yet the global problems seem larger. There have been times when a public figure looked to be in a position to resolve a major issue related to our practice, and it was easy to imagine how Donald Trump could potentially be in this type of position. However, we know from previous experience that a non-practitioner cannot fill that role for us.

As the significant dates of January 6 and 20, 2021 passed by and Trump did not retain the presidency, I began to wonder how practitioners could turn the pending situation around. Yet he was chosen by the divine, so what did all this mean?

Around the time I was considering this, I had a dream that seemed related to this situation. I don’t generally remember most of my dreams, and when I do, I don’t pay any attention to the ones that don’t make sense.

However, vivid dreams with familiar people or events usually relate to something in my cultivation, and some have proven quite helpful in exposing gaps and inspiring deeper introspection. So I take the time to give them some consideration for the purpose of improving my cultivation.

The dream I had after January 20 confirmed to me that communism and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) are everywhere in our country. However, it was not presented in a threatening way, just a presence. At the end of the dream, the energy fields of practitioners resolved the situation, pushing the evil specter out, and in my understanding, eliminating it.

This reminded me of a time earlier in my cultivation when I was really questioning whether my energy field had been cultivated to a state that made any kind of difference for anything. I rarely saw anything in other dimensions to give any indication of such things, so I had a lot of doubt.

This question was on my mind back in 2009 when I took a job as a caregiver for an elderly gentleman. After a few conversations, I realized that I had met him before when he worked at a local hardware store, where he helped me a few times as I was collecting materials for projects at home.

He was a humble yet rather an interesting sort, telling stories of his youth, including multiple times flipping his car in accidents that found him upside down in the nearby river. Granted it isn’t a huge nor deep river, but there is plenty of water to drown a person in an overturned car. Somehow he always survived in good condition. It seemed obvious that we had a predestined relationship, and that he came to obtain the Fa.

I brought a copy of the Epoch Times newspaper to him the first week, which he was quite intrigued with. Based on his questions and interest, it was an easy lead-in to talking about Falun Dafa. So I took a copy of Falun Gong on a Friday, which he finished reading over the weekend and was ready for more. I then brought him Zhuan Falun. This was just in the first couple of weeks.

Every day from the time I first started to work for him, though, he complained about being lightheaded. He was taking blood pressure medication so I suggested he talk to his doctor. He thought that was a good idea, but as he told me later, he actually just started reducing it himself. Yet he continued to complain. I began to wonder if there was a difference in his blood pressure and blood sugar numbers we had been recording for him every day, so I checked the book and compared them to before I started.

I discovered that the very day I started to work for him, all his numbers improved significantly! It was quite a surprise and really touched my heart. I was so happy for him. It was a perfect arrangement by Master Li Hongzhi (Falun Dafa's founder) to answer my question, and was even measurable. Within six months, he stopped taking five of his blood pressure medications and reduced the sixth.

And, since he had begun reading the Fa teachings, he understood that my presence had made a difference in his condition, in addition to obtaining the Fa himself. He also learned to do the exercises. His brother was so impressed that he also wanted to learn more about Dafa. Before long, they each had copies and were reading Zhuan Falun daily. Each purchased a filing cabinet and had a set of all of Teacher Li’s articles and lectures printed at a local office supply store. They also took the two or three extra Epoch Times newspapers I ordered for them to share in their outings – sometimes locally, or even when they traveled out of town. They treasured the Fa and this new purpose in life of sharing it with others.

This gentleman had so many health issues, though, that it was a lot for him as a new practitioner to change his thinking. He had to call an ambulance a few times during the time I knew him and always told me later that he would not let them take him out of his apartment without first getting Zhuan Falun for him, which he held close to him the whole time. He didn’t want to miss a single day of Fa-study.

So this amazing experience was how Master answered my question. It had a big impact on that gentleman’s life, and mine as well.

Back to the present, as practitioners of Master Li, we are certainly employing a vast number of means for eliminating the evil communist specter. However, since the aspect of the power of Dafa disciples’ energy fields was addressed in the dream, I wondered if I was really deeply believing yet.

So, as I sat down to send righteous thoughts, I did so with the intent that my energy field was strong. The result was that the impact of my righteous thoughts definitely seemed more far-reaching, I was more focused, and I also felt very peaceful. If a stray thought appeared, saying “Falun Dafa hao, Zhen-Shan-Ren hao” cleared the interference and the focused and peaceful state returned. Reciting “Falun Dafa hao, Zhen-Shan-Ren hao” didn’t use to have much effect that I noticed before, so I think it is a deeper belief in the Fa and the power of the Fa that has allowed this to mobilize.

Then I read this paragraph from Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference, where Master says:

“One thing though: Although there are no such requirements, you must consider yourself a cultivator! You should take it upon yourself to study the Fa! If you do not study the Fa, how can you do this thing? You may say that you can. Relying on a human’s cunning mind and quick-wittedness to do things, it is guaranteed that you cannot do it. Why? You can do it in business or work among ordinary people, but you cannot do it in this thing, because the words you say have no energy and are not aligned with the Fa. You want to save him, but the words you say cannot eliminate his karma and remove his attachments; how can you save him?! If you want to save him, you yourself must be a cultivator, so the words you say will have energy that can eliminate his prejudices and attachments; it has such an effect and can restrain those bad things that interfere with his thoughts at the time; only then can you save him. This includes clarifying the truth in various environments, isn’t that so? There are also people who think: I am a veteran practitioner and there won’t be a problem if I do not study the Fa for a period of time. There is a problem; it doesn’t matter how veteran you are, because the part of you that has been cultivated is already separated from you. Your gong that has been elevated to your original heavenly position will function only if combined with your righteous thoughts in the Fa. If you do not study the Fa and are away from the Fa, your gong cannot be mobilized, because that is Fa’s power.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)

This not only reinforced the purpose of Fa-study for me, and staying in the Fa, but also pointed out another means where a practitioner’s energy can eliminate the evil, and where I can be more aware of the Fa’s power in my thinking and make a more effective difference—A greater awareness that we carry the mighty power of the Fa with us that rectifies the environment.

My understanding at this time is that the level of my belief in the power or strength of my energy field has been rather passive in nature and that just a change in thinking makes a significant difference, potentially allowing the gong to be mobilized. Even though I have always wanted to do my part to eliminate the communist specter, it is apparent that there is a difference between wanting to eliminate evil and believing in the strength of the Fa power of one’s energy field and gong to eliminate evil.

My objective now is to maintain this greater awareness while sending righteous thoughts, when speaking to and being in the presence of others, and to become more aware of other possibilities, such as my Dafa projects and work, where I can shift my thinking and have a greater impact in eliminating the communist specter.

Writing this sharing, as usual, led me to better understandings. One that I just noticed was due to reading about the Trump lawyer who lost his opportunity to teach Civil Rights Law at a university. He informed the interview committee ahead of time that he would be one of the lawyers representing Trump at the impeachment hearings in case that made a difference to them. I wondered why he did that instead of holding the thought that his team’s potential success in representing Trump could actually draw students to the university for the very opportunity to attend his classes, classes taught by someone who helped make history.

I then realized that I don’t tend to have this type of confidence in myself, and this is an area where I can change my thinking. Not that it is about me personally, but about the ability of the power of the Fa to transform what is needed in a given situation, and to dissolve whatever is blocking sentient beings from obtaining the Fa and being saved.

In summary, my current understanding is that the shift in thinking I needed to make was to observe all my thoughts more carefully to catch any gaps, lack of confidence, or negativity, and to more deeply believe in the power of the Fa. I definitely understood that it is by the grace of Dafa and Master that I am able to do certain things, but this took it to another level that it is not about me personally doing things, but instead truly and deeply believing and conscientiously (not just passively) holding this thought in the all-powerful Fa to transform things with my thoughts, words, and actions in ways that eliminate the communist specter and help save sentient beings.

From a most grateful heart, I thank Master and fellow Dafa disciples.