To Become Secure and Anchored in the Fa

Respected Master, dear fellow practitioners, 

My name is Maria and I started practicing Falun Dafa in 2001 when I was studying at the university in Umeå. 

I had pain in one knee and could not continue training in martial arts, so I thought I could try something calmer. There had been an exhibition about Falun Dafa at the city library in Umeå. When I arrived at the library, the exhibition had been taken down. The only thing left on the table was a small note that read, “Do you want to try Falun Gong?” There were also contact details for a practitioner. I called, got information about the next opportunity to try it, and went there. I became hooked. I appreciated the calmness I felt while doing the exercises. It was an unusual feeling for me at the time. I remember vividly one time in the beginning when I thought: “Should I stand here for 45 minutes?” The subsequent thought was: “It will take 45 minutes whether I think about it or not.” I continued to do the exercises and started studying the books. Fate had brought me to the cultivation without my knowing it at the time.

Practicing together

I have had the privilege of going to Visby to participate in the Almedalen week for the past two summers. For me, who has a job and a family while also trying to do the exercises, study, and cultivate myself, it is incredibly luxurious to be able to focus on clarifying the truth, cultivating myself, and socializing with other practitioners for almost an entire week. Even though I am mindful of my thoughts and how I behave in everyday life and try to cultivate in everything I do, it is different during these days. There is a different sharpness, and nothing else is trying to get my attention. I can also take responsibility for tasks that I would have a hard time managing in my daily life.

A few others and I were assigned to demonstrate the exercises in the square. During the hour we had a manifestation every day. We talked beforehand about doing the exercises in sync with the music and each other. I became aware of how demanding it was for me to perform the exercises in rhythm. The slightest thought affected me, causing me to lose the beat, and usually, I end up doing the exercises too fast. The third and fourth exercises have been particularly challenging for me. Even though I have known for a long time where I should be in the exercise when the different Chinese words are spelled out, I still drift away. In order to successfully perform the exercises correctly, I need to focus entirely on the instructions. When I asked myself, how can you stay ahead of Master’s instructions? It was then that I realized I really needed to sharpen my focus and pay attention to Master’s instructions all the time. I think it is about my conscious mind, to maintain focus on what I am doing and not let my thoughts wander while I practice as well as when I study.

During our activities last year, there were many practitioners who wanted to do the exercises. When we practiced, it was as if everyone stood there as individuals. We were not in sync and we did not follow Master’s instructions. I paid attention to this during the evening when we exchanged experiences, and we discussed it. We all agreed to take the exercises more seriously and make an effort to practice in sync with Master’s instructions and try to be more like one body. I and another person were tasked with encouraging and reminding everyone of this during the activities. It made a significant difference immediately the following day. People passing by, who would otherwise just glance at us and then pass by, started to stop and stand and watch us. We also noticed a difference in our own experience of the exercises when we practiced in sync. Even when I close my eyes, I feel when we are in harmony—the energies become stronger.

Once again this year, I was tasked with reminding and supporting practitioners who were doing the exercises. I perceived that all the participants involved in the activities felt it was important for us to practice together, and the coordinator was clear that no one should take it as criticism, but rather the purpose is for us all to be able to do better. At the beginning, I stood at the front, followed the music to stay in sync, and occasionally looked back to see how the group was doing while encouraging everyone to keep the tempo. After a day or two, I positioned myself at the back, which allowed me to get an overview of the entire group. For example, when we were on the third exercise, I could say “up, down, up, down” so those who were out of sync could correct themselves. I also said “slow down” when the exercises were done faster than the music. When we were on the second exercise and during the meditation, I corrected the different positions if needed. 

On the third day, a thought came to me: “It is almost always the same people who do the exercises too quickly, who don’t hold the positions correctly, or who fall asleep while sending righteous thoughts. Then I decided not to think about it but to just continue correcting and reminding my fellow practitioners. It could just as easily be me who has trouble staying focused, stops doing the exercises in time, or becomes drowsy during righteous thoughts. It still happens when I lose focus. I need to keep my attention on the music and listen to Master all the time to be able to do the exercises at the right pace. At the end of one day, I thought: “Now there is half an hour left, how nice it would be to sit down and have dinner.” This took only a few seconds to think, and suddenly I was out of sync with the exercise music! Even this year, we noticed the effect of practicing in unison. Many passersby paused, looked at us for a long time, and even filmed us.

It happened on a few occasions when I had corrected a practitioner’s exercise movements, the practitioner then came and corrected mine. Before I traveled to Visby, I had read lectures where Master addressed the issue of accepting criticism. Now I was reminded that I may have difficulty accepting criticism, and that I consciously or unconsciously want to retaliate against the person who criticized me. My new boss at work said on one of her first days that we should come to her if we have any points of view on anything, and that she does not take it badly when she receives criticism. I thought, how can she as an ordinary person take criticism so lightly when I as a practitioner am so deeply affected? For some reason, my first thought is often that the person giving me criticism does not like me, instead of feeling gratitude towards the person who points out what I can improve on. Becoming aware of one’s behavior is the first step towards improvement. When it comes to being able to take criticism, I have been inspired by the practitioners who have approached me and truly thanked me for pointing out how they can correct their exercises. I want to thank the Master for assigning me to correct the exercise movements during our activities, which gave me the opportunity to gain all these insights. Thank you Master. 

To adapt myself to the person I am explaining the truth to

When I clarify the truth, I try to be attentive and understand what kind of person I have in front of me. Is it a child, a teenager, or an adult? What type of person are they? What are they most interested in: the exercises, cultivation, persecution, organ harvest, etc.? Once I understand what interests them the most, I start talking to them about that. I continue as long as they show interest in that topic, and then I tell them about the other parts. My goal is always to include something about the exercises, cultivation, and persecution before I let them move on. Asking them a question can make them want to hear more and usually works well when I notice that I’m losing their attention. When it’s a family with younger children, I take the children’s version of how the lotus flowers grow up in the mud and turn into beautiful flowers, and then I draw the parallel that one can try to be a good friend even if someone else is being mean to them. That one can try to be like a lotus flower, which tends to appeal to both children and parents. Then I talk to the adults a little more, or if they are already on their way, I hand them a flyer and say that you can read the adult version here. 

There was once a time when I couldn’t get a woman’s interest, no matter what angle I took. She just shrugged. Then I asked if she wanted a newspaper. I usually bring an older version of The Epoch Times and hand it out when it fits. She said, “Yes”. And when she got the newspaper, it was like a door opened. She asked what was written on the signs, and all of a sudden, I had her interest and could tell her the truth. When we are at markets, there are many young people there, and I really want to reach out to them, even the “cool ones” who easily walk by. When I notice that they have difficulty focusing, I say: “Give me two minutes, I want to tell you something important that is good for you to know.” Sometimes they stop, and sometimes they don’t. Once there was a guy who said: “You can get three!” They listened and stayed longer.

I have worked at the same place for many years. In the beginning, I took various initiatives, such as offering my colleagues the chance to learn the exercises after work, and I always mentioned that I practiced Falun Dafa when we introduced ourselves and talked about what we did in our free time. When someone had a birthday or was leaving, I gave them a lotus flower that I had folded. I feel that I was more targeted talking about Dafa at my job before than I am now. Once, I put out a petition in the copying room and sent a group message to my unit inviting them to sign it, which many did. I still try to take the opportunity to tell new colleagues about Falun Gong and the persecution in China. Many of my coworkers share what they did over the weekend or bring up their favorite conversation topics during break times, so I think I can do that too and thus explain the truth to them. One way that I have been using more and more is to talk about how a person I met reacted when I told them about the persecution and organ harvest, or to mention that I attended a health fair and that there was great interest in trying out the exercises.

Wanting to promote Shen Yun

When it was time to start promoting Shen Yun ahead of the upcoming performances nearly a year ago, I felt downcast. Already after last year’s performances, I had decided that next time I would contact rotary clubs in Örebro and offer them lectures on traditional Chinese culture. I knew what I had to do, yet I was not motivated or had no inspiration. I began by sending an email to the rotary clubs. One of them responded, and the contact person there was a former boss from my job. Fall passed, and it was time to prepare the lecture and create a slideshow. Nothing happened. I felt that I had nothing to offer them, that my knowledge of traditional Chinese culture was low. What would happen if they asked questions I couldn't answer, or if it turned out that someone in the audience knew more than I did? It was like studying for an exam at university; I did everything but prepare for the presentation. 

One day, when I was going for a walk at lunch, I decided to ask Master for help. I thought I wanted to carry out the presentation I had committed to, to come up with an interesting talk and be able to deliver it well. The walk unfolded in such a way that Master guided me by asking questions that I answered. I talked about how I started cultivating Dafa, how my cultivation had developed, and what I had experienced while clarifying the truth, previous presentations at rotary clubs and at schools. My story emerged and was painted before me. By the end of the walk, I realized what a journey I had made and that I could talk about how my interest in human rights in China and traditional Chinese culture had developed through my practice of Falun Gong, as an introduction to the presentation. I also found a common thread for how I could structure my presentation and was then able to go home and start creating. As the presentation approached, I read an article about the Chinese Communist Party's new strategy to destroy Falun Gong, Shen Yun, and media like The Epoch Times. I incorporated this as a conclusion in my presentation, which allowed me to tie together the various parts about traditional Chinese culture, human rights, Falun Gong and Shen Yun. 

When I stood there in front of the members of the Rotary Club, I felt confident in my role. I was inspired to do everything in my power to awaken them and their interest in these issues. The presentation went well, and several of those present were engaged and asked questions. 

Thank you, Master, for your guidance. Thank you, fellow practitioners, for listening to my experiences. 

Please feel free to speak out if you've noticed anything that I can improve. Thank you all!

(This article was presented at the 2025 Nordic Fa-Conference)