(Minghui.org) I am a new practitioner in my mid-twenties. I began practicing Falun Dafa about one year ago. I want to share my story of finding the Fa and how its boundless power has transformed my life.

Growing up, I felt different from the rest of the world. I was told as a child that I may have an extremely slight form of autism. It was not enough to be very noticeable or to be diagnosed with anything, yet enough to feel and act different from others in many ways. Due to my perceived differences I generated a great amount of resentment toward the world. I saw others fitting in and making friends easier and felt that life was unfair. I isolated myself every night with video games, pornography, or some other form of escapism. Raised Catholic, I was a spiritual person, so I would continuously pray for a better world at nighttime. However, during the day my anger and resentment resulted in much pain and suffering for myself and my family.

I seemed to be a happy and cheerful person to people around me, and I was successful in schooling and in my career and had several close friends. But in reality I was depressed, lonely, and miserable. I was consumed by lust and continually accrued karma. One day while struggling with this strong form of addiction I had this feeling that this was a test for myself and that I was being watched. I was not able to pass it as I did not have a strong will and was used to abandoning my main consciousness.

I felt deep down that there was much more to life than this and that we are alive in a very special period of time. I looked to spirituality for answers. While I was experiencing many hardships I had this feeling that there was another side to myself, a higher side that was kind and saw things in a different way. 

In my daily life I would oftentimes feel resentment for my lot in life, especially when I compared myself with others who fit in very easily. But the other side saw it much differently. Instead of feeling resentful it saw that by being “half in, half out” of society, perhaps I was actually given a gift to be able to see human society a bit more clearly. I felt I was being guided in some way but I didn’t really have words to describe it. For example when I read certain books or certain spiritual topics came up in conversation, I would feel tingles of energy throughout my body as if it meant something really important deep down in my soul and I would read more about that topic.

I began to practice different types of meditation and to read about all sorts of different spiritual practices and research on the mind and consciousness. One thing that really stood out to me was the importance of the master-disciple bond in elevating spiritually to higher realms. I knew that I needed a stronger will to overcome my challenges, but I knew I needed to find a master and a righteous practice to help me. One night a few months before moving to a new city, while meditating I had this very strong feeling that I would find a master and a spiritual practice when I moved to this city.

Later on, a few weeks before moving to this new city, I had an extremely vivid dream. In this dream I was in a different dimension and I saw what I can only describe as levels of spinning wheels. Each was rotating at different speeds and seemed to almost be a sort of filtering process like something you would put dirty water through to sift out any impurities. The layer closest to me was spinning rather slowly and each one a level away was spinning faster and faster and seemed less and less substance could make it through without being filtered out. The faster wheels were spinning like jet engines. I had no idea what these wheels were or where I was but I was in awe. Suddenly the level closest to me that was spinning the slowest almost like a fan on slow speed with plenty of room to enter began to suck me in. It is difficult to put into words but as I got closer and closer I almost began to be a bit nervous as I felt that these wheels were going to chop me up as it would be difficult to make it through especially once the wheels started spinning faster. Right as I entered the stack of wheels I awoke from the dream. I told the family that I was living with at the time about this amazing dream. I didn’t think anything else of it.

A few weeks later, upon watching a Youtube video on an ancient spiritual practice, I scrolled downward to the comment section and I saw a comment saying that if you are interested in this video there is a book and a qigong practice you should read and it may interest you. That book was called Zhuan Falun and it had a link directly to the text. I thought: “Wow I had never heard of Falun Dafa or this book, but it seems interesting. I should see what this is about.”

I did not even know what qigong was at the time. I immediately clicked on the link and from the opening words in the book, “Dafa is the wisdom of the creator,” I was in tears. Energy flowed throughout my body and every additional word was more and more touching. I continued to read that night until I could read no more. I had found what I was looking for and had this feeling that everything I had learned in my life was leading me to understand this book. It was just like Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) says in “Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland”: “It works just like electricity: When the two electrodes make contact, ‘Bam!’—they connect.”

Later on I remembered my dream and realized that the wheels that I had seen were in fact Faluns at different levels! I had entered the Fa before I had even found the book! Words could not describe my gratitude!

I found a practice site near my home and decided I would go to try and join the exercises. I still remember the excruciating pain of trying to hold the 2nd exercise for 30 minutes for the first time. It felt unbearable but I was able to endure through and my whole body felt lighter. I remember when doing Exercise Five for the first time. I was only able to hold the half lotus position for about 30-40 minutes. 

Early on in my cultivation I had a beautiful dream. I was reading some other spiritual book, however I held it in my hand and it tore in half like a thin sheet of cardboard. I then picked up the Fa. This book was magnificent and golden with each and every word radiating pure light.

Though this first year of cultivation has not always been easy, I have seen and experienced its true joys. I have gone from being lazy, always tired, and unmotivated, to needing only a few hours of sleep and feeling fully energized every day. I am now able to do both Exercise Five in full lotus and Exercise Two for an hour without the mental anguish despite the occasional bouts of pain. I have fully experienced the power of looking within and the grand compassion of Master. My entire view of the world has changed.

I had the pleasure to work at the Shen Yun Shop recently. During my time interacting with customers I had a very beautiful realization. I suddenly saw that a multitude of universes that the beings seeing the show represented were rectified after seeing the show. I suddenly understood that universes that each one of us is validating represents a specific piece of the Fa representing our own wisdom given to us by the Fa. I suddenly saw just a tiny glimpse of the boundlessness of the Fa.

I also learned to see how practitioners validate the Fa principles on different levels. For instance, in the past, when I would hear another practitioner share their experiences and things they enlightened to, sometimes I would not understand and feel at times that it was different from what I had enlightened to. 

I felt that there was something off with what they were saying as I could not understand it. I realized that I was wrong in thinking this way. It wasn’t that I was right – which was a false sense of ego from enlightening to certain principles – but rather this was because we are all validating different facets of this enormous Fa that encompasses everything, something sacred and profound.

I am honored to have this opportunity to assist Master in this sacred time and I hope that we all will continue to do the three things well until the end. I hope my story inspires fellow practitioners to always cherish your own cultivation journey.

As Master Li Honghzi said during the “Fa Teaching Given at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference”: “You must cherish the part of the journey that you’ve already completed, and you have to do well with what’s left ahead, too.”

This article is my personal understanding limited to my level. If there is anything incorrect, please kindly point it out.

Thank you.