Practicing Falun Dafa Helped Me Overcome My Substance Abuse

(Minghui.org) I was born and raised in Moscow, and I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for many years. The practice helped me get through life’s miseries—I was once a nonconformist, but I’m now a law-abiding citizen. The transformation was not easy, but I was able to succeed because I practice Falun Dafa.

Both of my parents were alcoholics, and they argued constantly. I had learning problems and dropped out of school before I finished the seventh grade. I never stayed home and I preferred to wander the streets. By the time I was 15, I was an alcoholic.

I spent most of my time with other kids my age, drinking and smoking. We washed cars and sometimes stole corn and sold it to make money. Kids older than me stole alcohol and shared it with me. I liked to act like a gangster, terrorizing my neighbors and getting into fights. My life involved drinking, making trouble, and spending time in the police station. Many of my friends died of overdoses or ended up in prison.

As I grew older, I became a soccer fan and went to other cities to watch the games, and, of course, drink and get into trouble. At a soccer fan gathering when I was 25, I tried narcotics and quickly became addicted. Because I has high on drugs, I got extra gratification from fighting and beating people up. I didn’t care about the consequences and thought I could stop using drugs whenever I wanted to.

I tried to quit drugs for six years, but I repeatedly failed. I even went to a drug rehab clinic, but it didn’t help. This situation continued until I learned Falun Dafa.

In 2015, I watched an online video about Falun Dafa and decided to give it a try. All the information I needed was available online for free. After reading Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa’s teachings, I understood why good and bad things happen, the purpose of life, and the importance of living by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

Soon I experienced positive changes: I stopped heavy drinking and smoking. Six months later, without the help of professionals in the drug rehabilitation facilities, I quit using drugs.

Besides physical changes, my personality changed for the better, and I started to care about other people. I mended my relationship with my mother and reconciled with those I used to fight with. The desire to do bad things ceased to occupy my thoughts.

The entire time I have practiced Falun Dafa, no one ever asked me to donate money. The practice is free, yet its healing and fitness effects are powerful.

If I did not practice Falun Dafa, my life could have ended badly—like some of my family members and friends—because no one ever showed me how to live. Now I have IT skills and can easily converse in English.

My experience shows that Falun Dafa benefits society, the opposite of what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims in its propaganda that defames the practice. The CCP launched the persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999, and, since then, untold numbers of practitioners in China have been harassed, incarcerated, tortured, and died. The persecution should have never happened and should end.