(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners who work in NTD Television and The Epoch Times held their annual experience sharing conference in New York City on Saturday, October 27, 2018. They came from different offices in 44 cities in 18 countries.

Twenty practitioners shared their cultivation experiences and understandings of the Falun Dafa teachings at the conference. To everyone’s surprise, Master arrived at the conference and told everyone that to have a real impact on society, the practitioners working in the media must first cultivate themselves well. The media also must report based on traditional culture and universal values.

NTD Television and The Epoch Times held their annual experience sharing conference on October 27, 2018, in New York City.

Master Helped a Practitioner Pass Tests Many Times

Teresa

Teresa started to practice Falun Gong at the age of five when she attended Master’s lectures in Beijing in 1996. She and her parents went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong after the persecution started in 1999. She witnessed firsthand how the police in China persecute practitioners.

Teresa came to the United States to study and after graduation, she decided to become a full-time reporter with The Epoch Times. Her busy schedule prevented her from doing the three things. One night she had a dream that she was climbing up a wall at full speed and suddenly slipped down. She then saw Master walk over. He warned her sternly that she only cared about going up quickly and had not given any thought to how her cultivation was.

She woke up in shock, not knowing what to do. She gave up and quit her job. Over the next few months she was miserable. She didn’t know how to cultivate and doubted that she was good enough to be a practitioner.

Nonetheless, she believed that “as long as I don’t give up on myself and stay a practitioner, Master will not give up on me.” Again in her dream she saw Master. He asked her how her cultivation had been recently. She lowered her head and whispered, “It's alright.” She lifted her head and saw Master looking at her “with endless compassion, like looking at a child who made a mistake.” In her dream she wept and Master then asked her if she knew what to do from then on.

She has since carefully managed her time to do the three things. She believes that Master removed many negative substances from her. “Perhaps in my hardest time I was still able to keep the most fundamental righteous thought, the thought that believes in Master and the Fa,” Teresa said.

Eliminating the Desire of Wanting to Be a Leader

Siyamak was a corporate executive before he started working for the media full-time last year. He had problems with the local practitioners when he moved to New York City. He didn’t think much about it, nor did he look within. It lasted a few months and he realized that the reason he became a full-time employee was to “expand the company and do something meaningful like an ordinary person.” He realized the importance of the media and gave up his attachment to pursuing achievements. He was able to work hard with a humble attitude.

After he changed his thoughts, Siyamak found that the local practitioners really welcomed him. “I learned how to look within,” he said.

Sometimes Siyamak’s supervisor wouldn’t listen to his suggestions. On one occasion his subordinate talked to him, and the subordinate was unhappy with another coworker. As a result Siyamak had a hard time accepting the valuable suggestions his subordinate had to offer. He realized that when he talked to his supervisor, he also complained about one of the employees. He believed that “attachments hidden in the words is a main reason why communication was unsuccessful.” When talking to his supervisor now, he knows that he shouldn’t have the attachment of showing off or validating himself and that he should look within if his opinions aren’t accepted.

Once Siyamak was stressed out with the large workload given to him and thought about leaving the media outlet. He realized that “there was nothing shameful about failing. It is running away that is truly shameful.” “My supervisor was giving me more opportunities to validate the Fa, like I originally intended to do when I came here.”

Not Giving Up on Cultivation

Emilie from Paris

Emilie had practiced Falun Gong since she was little, only because her father made her. She stopped after she entered college. Before she graduated, she watched Shen Yun perform and was amazed by the perfection that she saw. She looked within and became a true practitioner. She saw that she was far from being a practitioner during Fa rectification and was thankful that Master had given her a second chance, “I must quickly catch up and do what I am supposed to.”

She came to New York City from Paris and joined the media. She felt tremendous pressure at first. “I became exhausted,” she said. She would sit in front of her computer knowing exactly what must be done but still wasn’t able to focus. She was lost and felt homesick. She was sad and lonely. She realized that it was her emotions getting to her and told herself that she must be strong. Gradually she was able to focus and help the company.

Three months later her mother and brother objected to her continuing to stay in New York City working for the media. She knew that it was a test for her and asked herself, “Would I still want to work in the media without family support and a good salary? Would I still choose the media if it meant that I have to give up everything and was left only with the heart for wanting to save people?” The answer was “yes.” Suddenly things began to go well. Her family agreed for her to go back to New York. Emilie thanked Master for his arrangement for her, “When I had a strong will, the troubles on my cultivation path disappeared.”

Miracles Happen With the Heart to Save People

Legends Unfolding producer Wendy Ma.

Wendy Ma is the producer of Legends Unfolding, a documentary series about Falun Gong practitioners who have incredible life stories. Ever since the persecution started, she had a strong desire to use the documentary film medium to expose the persecution and show audiences the beauty of Dafa. In the process of producing these documentaries, she has felt Master's compassion and experienced the miracles of Dafa.

Many times she had scattered ideas about what she’d like to do. In the process of studying the Fa or exercising, inspiration would come to her. When she started to write a story in front of her computer, new ideas and inspiration would come together naturally and became the take-home messages in her films that she had initially wanted.

“It’s about how to tell a story in persuasive and acceptable ways that also move people to let people understand Falun Dafa and oppose the persecution,” she said.

Every time she made a film, she was amazed by how she came up with it, “When I have the heart to save people, Master will guide me to accomplish it.”

Changing Stubborn Ideas

Wendy at one point had problems with a practitioner that she worked with. The practitioner wouldn’t talk to her and was cold. When she tried to communicate with her coworker, the co-worker never seemed to have time. Wendy looked within and realized that she was the person who had distanced herself from the coworker because she found out that the coworker had lied about something. She couldn’t accept the fact that a practitioner could lie like that.

Through studying the Fa, Wendy realized that “Truthfulness” wasn’t about saying whatever was on her mind. It also wasn’t right that she wanted other people to conform to her standards. She should be considerate and forgiving. She also realized that she always shies away from conflicts. A conflict is a good thing and she should face it in order to improve herself. Wendy asked her coworker out for a cup of tea and sincerely apologized. The conversation went very well and the practitioner finally had a smile on her face.

Improving in the Process of Memorizing the Fa

Tina, a news anchor at NTD Television.

Tina realized that she had progressed very slowly in cultivation, but had mistaken it as progressing steadily, until one day when two practitioners who worked with her pointed out her problems. Tina carefully looked within and found that she was able to seriously face her big problems, though she was indifferent to small issues and responded to them like an ordinary person would. “It’s a matter of whether I actively cultivate or passively do so,” she said.

Tina began to memorize the Fa last year. The amount of Fa she could memorize was dependent on whether her mind was clear or not. She sometimes became anxious about how slowly she had progressed. She later realized that the anxiety came from an attachment to quick success.

People often tend to only care about the result and not the process. “It’s not important to ‘finish’ memorizing the Fa. It’s important to cherish the process and assimilate to the Fa in the process,” she said. Also in the process of memorizing the Fa, she gained a deeper understanding of the teachings. She now does not wait until a problem becomes too serious before she faces it. She takes the initiative to discover the big problems behind her small issues, so that she can quickly improve herself.