(Clearwisdom.net)

Before I started to practice Falun Gong, my health was terrible. At just over 40 years old, I had problems all over my body, the most serious of which were sleep apnea and an irregular heartbeat. The doctor said that my life was at risk. Life was easier during the daytime, but at night I needed special attention because it was very possible for me to die in my sleep. Hearing all that, my whole family was worried. In the middle of the night, I saw my wife's trembling hand turning on my cardiac monitor, but I was helpless to comfort her.

I had to take both Chinese and Western medicine every day. My heart problem did not seem to improve, but I started to have headaches, dizziness and numbness in my upper limbs. The diagnosis found that I had pathological changes in a cervical vertebra. The doctor told me to get more bed rest and avoid physical activities. I had to undergo daily traction; otherwise later on I would be unable to control the muscles in my body. I consulted traditional Chinese medicine doctors, followed by Western medical doctors. After finishing with electrotherapies, I had massage therapy. Each week I paid several hundred yuan in medical expenses. It would be no problem if these high expenses showed results, but the treatments did not seem to work. I thought, "It seems I do not have many days left, but so what! It doesn't matter; it'll happen sooner or later. I will count my days one by one, living one day at a time!"

I remembered the many years that I had toiled to support my family, and now without much hope, I was shrouded by gloom and despair. I went out every morning to exercise, trying to relax my mind.

When I was doing morning exercises one day, I met a person who came to Beijing to visit her daughter from another part of the country. She was doing a kind of Qigong exercise. I thought the exercises to be very good while I observed her practicing. I followed her movements, trying to do them, too. After she finished her exercise, I asked her about them and learned that she was practicing Falun Gong and had attended Master Li's lectures. She did not talk about treating illnesses. She only said that she had tried many other Qigong practices and, after trying Falun Gong, she found this practice to be the best. She said that Falun Gong is the true cultivation method. There were no Falun Gong books to buy at that point. I borrowed a photocopied Falun Gong (revised edition). I was fascinated by the book. I knew this was a good practice and that Falun Gong leads people toward the righteous path. How right every statement by our Teacher is! Beginning in May of 1994, I had the good fortune to have stepped onto the path of cultivation.

Just a few days after I started to cultivate Falun Gong, I suddenly felt muscle numbness on one half of my face. The symptoms were just like my old problem of facial numbness. When the problem had recurred before, I would have to take acupuncture, electrotherapy and take Chinese traditional medicine. It took long time to get over it. Why did it recur this time?

On my way back home after the practice, I talked this over with practitioners who started practicing Falun Gong earlier than I did. They told me that this was a sign of cleansing my body and this was to totally eliminate the illness. I thought that I had not seen Teacher and I had not taken any classes. Even my book was photocopied, and I only started the practice for two days. Did the effect already start? Was this practice so miraculously effective? I felt doubtful. After two days, all the symptoms were completely gone and I felt physically much relaxed. I was so excited - Falun Gong is really amazing! Everything I read from Master Li was coming true!

I continued to practice Falun Gong and to study the Fa. Soon I suddenly found that I did not feel discomfort in my heart anymore. I do not even know when the discomfort disappeared. I no longer needed the cardiac monitor. I was energetic and full of vigor, and my face showed a bright, pinkish complexion. All the people who know me said that I changed and looked younger. I tasted the feeling of being free from illnesses, and I was able to say a complete goodbye to the hospital and to all the medication.

Dafa set me free from being on the verge of death, and my hope for life was rekindled. I share this experience of mine in the hopes that people will know why so many people cherish this precious opportunity of cultivation.