(Minghui.org) I was a Christian for most of my entire adult life, but like a lot of people, I turned away from the church after witnessing various hypocritical events, though I still believed Jesus was my savior. As the years passed, I began to notice that everything I was taught in school and in society was taught from a Eurocentric perspective. I began to question a lot of things that I was taught in school and I began to research African wisdom and African history. I had so many unanswered questions about life and the universe.
Tormented by PTSD
In 2013, I developed an unquenching thirst for knowledge while I was working overseas as a defense contractor for the United States military. I started reading many books, watching debates, and listening to lectures. I learned that Christianity was brutally forced on Africans when they were forced to become slaves. I began to share my findings on Facebook for others to know the truth about how Africans became Christians. The comments that people made on my posts were very polarized. Some people would support me and others opposed me and appeared to get upset. I wanted to know what my ancestors’ religion was, but I did not know where in Africa I came from or what religions used to be in Africa.
While serving in the military overseas, I developed symptoms of PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). I was so close to losing my mind and just breaking down. I began to drink heavily because the mental pressure was too great. It was a lot for me to handle. Sometime later, when I was walking out of a store, I had a seizure right there in the middle of the city. I could not keep staying overseas with so much pressure. I decided to quit and return to live with my mom in Texas. I returned to Texas in 2015, after working overseas with the military for 10 years.
I returned to America with severe PTSD. I started having nightmares. Whenever I went to sleep, I would have constant and intense war dreams of being in the military and our base was being overrun by enemy soldiers, or being surrounded by armed terrorists, or I was hiding somewhere and could hear enemy troops searching the area and getting closer and closer until I woke up with my entire body drenched in sweat. Every single night, I would wake up multiple times from nightmares with my whole body, my head, chest, legs and feet drenched in sweat. I did not like going to sleep because of these dreams and so I would drink myself to sleep only to be woken up very shortly afterward from these intense nightmares. It was a vicious cycle of paranoia by day and living out my most dreaded fears in my dreams at night.
I could not find work when I returned to Texas and so I worked in construction for the first few months, until I was offered a job as a security officer. I still had very bad PTSD when I began working there. I slowly got more comfortable working there over time, but I never spoke to anyone about my personal life. I was an alcoholic and I smoked cigarettes every chance I got.
A Miraculous Book Brings a Change
Even with everything going on around me, I was still solidly determined to continue my search for knowledge. I was constantly reading books and listening to lectures and debates on African history and various aspects of the African-American community. I was still sharing much of what I had learned on social media and debating with anyone who would disagree. I wanted to continue my search for knowledge at the college level, but I was unable to find any universities in America that taught African History through online courses. Most only teach African-American history, which begins with the enslavement by Europeans.
One day in early 2017, a friend emailed me Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Dafa also called Falun Gong). I decided to read it. I would normally read a book very meticulously and look up each word that I did not understand and after I understood the book completely, I would then put it away and move on to the next book. Zhuan Falun was different than any other books I had read. I could not understand it completely. The more I dug into it, the deeper it would go. It was very fresh and interesting.
I used to smoke cigarettes while I read books and articles on my cell phone or as I scrolled through Facebook. One day I tried to smoke while reading Zhuan Falun on my phone, but I literally could not smoke while I was reading it because the smoke would make me feel sick. It was hard to inhale the smoke and it was making me feel nauseous, unlike how I normally smoked while reading other books and articles on my phone. I thought this was very strange. I tried to smoke again the next day while reading Zhuan Falun and I had the same experience, feeling like the cigarette was just too much to smoke. But when I started reading something else, the feeling would go away and I could read and smoke again with no problem.
30-Day Falun Dafa Trial
After I finished reading Zhuan Falun, I told myself I am going to try to practice Falun Dafa for 30 days and see if this is true or not. I wanted to see if improving my morals and thoughts would really change my body and the environment around me. I expected to see maybe some slight or subtle changes, but that was not the case. From that moment on, since I started practicing Falun Dafa, I have never had another war dream of any sort or woken up sweating from nightmares. My PTSD and paranoia took a little longer to go away, but within a few months, it had faded away and disappeared completely.
I began to read all the other writings by Master Li Hongzhi that I could find online. I found all of his writings very profound. He didn’t write like other authors. He went into so much detail. I thought to myself, “If he is lying, he would not continue to go further and further into these details of things that could possibly be disproved by science. If he was not telling the truth, he would have stopped explaining there.” I was amazed at his knowledge.
The first time I tried the five Falun Dafa exercises at home, before I began, I had a very bad hangover. I was feeling dehydrated, weak, and I had a headache. When I finished the exercises, I felt incredible, like a new person. I had so much energy and my hangover seemed to have magically disappeared. I thought how is this possible from these simple movements? I went to tell my wife. While I was talking to her, the energy in my body was so strong that while I was standing and talking to my wife, my other hand was straightening and lining up items on the dresser. Then I cleaned around the house and immediately took my dogs on a skateboard walk and we went around the neighborhood. I could not believe how good I felt and how much energy I had when I had just had a headache and felt very weak.
One night early on as I was listening to some of Master’s lectures and writings, everything was coming together in my mind and I was understanding more and more. All of a sudden, this uncontrollable squeal of joy erupted out of me as I realized this cultivation thing was actually for real! All of my thoughts and actions were actually being counted in this new way of life I had learned called cultivation and it made me so happy. Before I did not think it really mattered much if someone did the right or wrong thing, as long as it did not hurt anyone.
As I continued to go through all of Master’s lectures and writings, all of my questions about life and the universe began to be answered one by one. I felt as if my life was paralleling everything in Zhuan Falun. I no longer had the need to keep searching for knowledge and I was learning so much more than I could have imagined and I was living it. This was what I had been searching for. There were even questions I had, but didn’t know I had, and they were explained. I had never considered reincarnation as something believable and I never knew anyone who believed in it or even spoke about it. But it makes a lot of sense the way it is explained. The more I put into it, the more I get out of it.
Incredible Change
Within a week or so of beginning the practice, I looked in the mirror and I did a double take. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was shocked that I looked younger in my face. I stood there looking in the mirror with amazement. Master said:
“So, from this point on this person will not age naturally. His cells will not die, so he will stay young forever. In the course of cultivation, a person will look young and will ultimately stay that way.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
I quit drinking about six months after starting the practice and I quit smoking about four months after that. I tried to quit smoking several times before but was unsuccessful. With the power of Falun Dafa was I able to quit for good, and it has been over two years now since I have touched alcohol or smoked. I feel better than I have ever felt in my life.
Before I started practicing Falun Dafa, my car tires used to go flat every couple of months, and they were very expensive to replace. It seemed that every time I was able to save some money, my car tires would need to be replaced. Now, this type of thing stopped happening, and my tires have not had a nail or gone flat in years. They seem to have lasted longer than normal. Even my shoes are not wearing out like they used to. Before, my work shoes used to get worn out and torn up quite often from walking and patrolling so much. I even had to glue them together when I did not have extra money. Now that I am practicing Falun Dafa, my work shoes rarely need to be replaced.
I used to get bitten by mosquitoes all the time. Every time I walked outside, I would try to avoid getting bitten and they would chase me around and bite me several times and it would itch really badly. Shortly before I started practicing, I remember sitting outside and looking down at my foot and seeing three mosquitoes all biting the same foot all at once. I woke up on many nights after getting bitten by mosquitoes while sleeping. It made me so miserable that I was planning to move away from Texas the first chance I got. Even the mosquitoes stopped biting me since I started practicing Falun Dafa. I’ve only been bitten by a mosquito maybe once or twice in almost three years.
My wife and I used to argue over various things at least once a week. Now I can’t remember the last time we argued. Our relationship is the best it has ever been. My relationship with my mom has also improved greatly. We used to argue often and sometimes I would go days without speaking to her, even though I lived with her. I have learned to be compassionate and now I consider how my words will make her feel.
My wife had migraines almost weekly for 10 years. When I started practicing Falun Dafa, my wife stopped having migraines and she has not had a migraine since, even though she did not practice Falun Dafa initially.
Master said:
“We teach salvation of both ourselves and others, as well as of all beings. Thus, Falun can save oneself by turning inward and save others by turning outward. While turning outward, it gives off energy and can benefit others. This way, within your energy-covering field others will benefit, and they may feel very comfortable. Whether you are on the street walking, in the workplace, or at home, you can have this effect on others. People within your field may unintentionally have their illnesses healed since this field can rectify all abnormal conditions.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
When my wife started practicing Falun Dafa, her hemorrhoids shrank and she no longer needed to wear glasses. She could see perfectly clearly without her glasses when she started the practice, but she later stopped practicing. She has since resumed practicing again and she is more diligent now.
Cultivating in the Work Environment
Since I started practicing Falun Dafa, I became a lot more confident at work. I was promoted twice and I am now the Security Account Manager. I manage, train, and lead 25 security officers at two separate properties covering four different buildings. I also ensure that all security posts are filled 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I give daily briefings, lead our security team during emergency situations, and I do this all without the slightest bit of nervousness or anxiety. I no longer have any problems with PTSD or paranoia like I used to have before I started practicing Falun Dafa.
With my two promotions and increase in salary, my wife and I were able to move out of my mom’s house and get a nice apartment in a very good area.
Every new officer we get, I am sure to tell him or her about Falun Dafa. One security officer who began practicing Falun Dafa had diabetes for about two years and it disappeared after he started practicing. His doctor could not believe it and even told him to stop taking his diabetes medicine because he did not have diabetes anymore. He used to have a very bad anger problem and now he is so much calmer. He said his family life has improved so much. He tells me that his family can’t believe how much he has changed for the better and that he no longer gets angry at them.
Another coworker’s wife had not been able to sleep through the night for as long as he could remember. After I told him about Falun Dafa, he told his wife and she tried the exercises. She slept all the way through the night for the first time in many years.
Another contractor at work had a bad knee for over two months and he could not kneel down. He is a network installer so this affected him a great deal. I told him about Falun Dafa and he practiced the exercises and his knee was healed instantly, and he could kneel again and go up and down ladders with no problems.
When I first became a manager, I would occasionally make mistakes and I would get emotional and upset when I felt disrespected or wronged, especially when the issue came up unexpectedly. Now I’ve learned to pause and remember, “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance,” before I respond to people. I’ve learned that you can’t go wrong when you act in accordance with Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Miraculous Effects of Doing the Exercises
I’ve had seasonal allergies for my whole life. Every year when the spring season comes so do my allergies, which cause me to sneeze, to have a runny nose, and itchy eyes. When my nose starts running from allergies, it does not stop. I’ll be constantly blowing and wiping my nose the whole day. Now with the CCP Virus (coronavirus) going around, people at work are especially aware of who sniffs, sneezes, and coughs. For someone to blow their nose at work would cause a big uproar of surprised looks and impolite comments.
When I do the exercises before work, my seasonal allergies disappear like magic even when the pollen levels are very high. But recently on two separate occasions, I did not do the exercises before work. Each day I had to leave work early, after only a couple of hours, because my nose would not stop running. It is way too awkward for someone to blow their nose or sneeze during these times.
The third time that I did not do the Falun Dafa exercises before work, my allergies hit me hard again. It was not a good day to have this happening. We were going to have less security officers than normal and I really needed to be at work to help with coverage. I gave a very short briefing in the morning to the security officers because I did not want them to notice my nose was running. I went to the restroom a couple of times to secretly blow my nose. Then I went to our dispatch office because I was training a new officer. I couldn’t really speak to her because I was turning to the side to hide my runny nose. I left several times to secretly blow my nose and return to dispatch to continue training. I tried to hide my runny nose, but it was uncontrollable. All I could think about was going home to do the exercises and returning to work as quickly as possible.
I asked Master for help and then I remembered that there is a prayer/meditation room in the building. I told the trainee that I would be back soon. I did the one hour meditation exercise, in the prayer/meditation room and my runny nose instantly stopped and I returned to the dispatch office feeling great with new energy and not a single sniffle or sneeze for the rest of the day. I’m actually thankful for my seasonal allergies because it has helped me become more diligent at doing the exercises.
Eternal Reverence to Master
Little did I know that my 30-day trial period of Falun Dafa would continue on for three years now. For me to have fully recovered from PTSD and to be fully confident and no longer paranoid, to be saved during this pandemic, to understand what is going on in the world and why right now on multiple levels to not fear infections in this unprecedented time, and for so much more than I can explain.
My reverence, gratitude, and upmost respect to Master cannot be put into words. It is indescribable. For Master to care for each of us and to show us the Great Way and to guide us day-by-day, minute-by-minute, even in the little things, shows his great benevolent compassion. The honor of being a Dafa disciple during Fa Rectification, to be an emissary of salvation during this epoch time is beyond words.
I will try my best to show my respect and gratitude to Master by doing the three things well and living my life to the standard of a Falun Dafa practitioner.
Thank you, Master! Heshi!
