(Minghui.org) I recently talked to a Dafa practitioner about the lessons she learned from being attached to reading stories that people put on the Internet. She dictated her experiences so that I could share them here:

I created a WeChat group in 2014 to organize a reunion with former schoolmates. It took a bit of time to organize the group activities, but I was able to control myself so there wasn’t much interference.

I later discovered all kinds of interesting novels and stories on the Internet. I didn’t think it would be a problem if I just read them occasionally. But cultivation is solemn, and the bad substances entered my mind and turned into karma. They eventually manifested themselves in my dimensional field and appeared in my dreams as beasts or pythons. I knew they were meddling with me, but I just ignored them.

I got hooked on one story plot and followed it each week as new episodes were uploaded. I figured I’d read it quickly and be done with it. I later uninstalled my WeChat app but continued to read the story using my husband’s WeChat. He later uninstalled his app too, so I could no longer read the novels. I must have accumulated a lot of bad karma after months of reading the stories. The old forces began to attack me.

It normally took me five days to get over a sore throat, but this time the pain was excruciating and I felt unwell all over. After sending righteous thoughts around midnight on the fifth night, I sensed a huge field around my head, neck, and chest when I tried to sleep. I couldn’t lie flat, sleep, or breathe well, and felt like I was suffocating.

I quickly sat up and felt shrouded by an invisible sense of fear and unease. I wasn’t terribly scared and didn’t think of anything. I just knew the old forces were attacking me. I sent righteous thoughts for an hour, but as soon as I lay down, I had a hard time breathing and couldn’t fall asleep. It went on like this until four in the morning, so I got up to do the exercises and study the Fa.

I realized the tribulation occurred because of my human heart, and the only way to overcome the old forces’ persecution was to firmly believe in Dafa. I did things as usual during the day, and I didn’t have any human feelings. The unbearable part was the constant sore throat. It felt like knives cutting my throat when I swallowed saliva. It was even worse when I tried to eat porridge; the pain was so intense that my head and body twitched uncontrollably.

The old forces didn’t want me to sleep, eat, or drink and in this way they would take my life. I wouldn’t let myself be intimidated or get depressed, and I was determined to consume food and liquids. I wasn’t doing this just for my body, but also to negate the old force arrangements.

I made myself eat a large bowl of porridge at every meal. Although I wanted to skip the next meal because I was afraid of the pain I would feel, my will to defeat the old forces was stronger than the fear.

It went on like this for three more days and nights. Then the tribulation seemed to ease a bit, and the lower part of my throat didn’t hurt as much. I had a feeling the bad karma was being eliminated and the suffering was about to go away. I sent righteous thoughts around midnight and slept for more than an hour. I did the exercises the next morning and felt normal again.

This was a painful lesson that made me understand the solemness of cultivation. Only when I have a righteous heart can interference be avoided. We should negate the old forces’ persecution under all circumstances. A firm belief in Dafa and the will to defeat the old forces can turn things around and help us overcome tribulations.