Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy

Gratitude and Joyfulness Set My Heart Free

In my childhood, it was hard for me to understand the proverb，"Love well, whip well". When I was a little child, my parents were very strict with me. I learn to watch people carefully, because whenever I did or said something wrong, my parents punished me harshly. It hurt my heart a lot and I felt timid about just anything and I had no self-confidence at all. I even buried the hurt deep inside.

Years after I entered Tai Ji Men to practice qigong, one day I suddenly realized that the bad feeling inside of me had unknowingly long gone and I had been relieved of the burden. Recalling these years, I diligently practice qigong day and night, and I listen to the wonderful real-life stories of brothers and sisters in the academy. The happy and joyful energies of my fellow brothers and sisters have great influence on me. I am like soaking in the spring of wisdoms. I feel relaxed and comfortable from head to toe. My heart is full of positive and happy energy, and naturally and gradually my negative thoughts disappeared.

In the process of practicing qigong, I have learned to reply to my parents’ care and upbringing with gratitude. My mother was a dressmaker. She often made beautiful dresses for me besides making dresses to earn money. Even though she is getting old and not able to make dresses any more, she still buys fashionable dresses for me, hoping that I can dress up prettier. Mother had a very bad temper and was very authoritative. She was born in a poor family. My grandfather passed away when my mother was young. Grandmother was weak of hearing and almost blind. As the eldest daughter, my mother had to assume the responsibility of taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. She made every possible effort to help her brothers and sisters until they were able to stand on their own feet. I could only imagine what kind of hardship she had to go through.

She was unfortunate to have an apoplexy four years ago, and all her brothers and sisters came looking after her. Fortunately my mother and father joined Tai Ji Men to practice qigong to cultivate their body and mind. She has since not only improved their health, but also changed their bad temper a lot. Before, if I did not follow her instruction to cook or my dish was burned, mother would get very angry and blame me for a long time. But now, if I ask her how to cook a dish, she would say it’s up to you. Once a burned the fish, I thought I could be blamed by her. To my surprise, she ate the burned fish without any complaint. I felt quite a relief.

Few years ago, my elder brother left home and spent all the savings of my parents. At first, they were sad. But Shifu’s teaching and fellow brothers and sisters’ sharing of real-life stories in which they overcome adversity have gradually inspired them and make them think positively. Once I asked my mother: "What wisdoms have you learned in Tai Ji Men?" She answered: "I learn to let go!" I found she has learned a lot during the years of practicing qigong. Now, whenever she encounters difficulty and cannot deal with it, I will remind: "All the difficulties and unhappy things are opportunities for you to learn to let go. It would be you who get the suffering if you don’t let go." In the beginning, my mother cannot transform her thoughts, but now she can transform her thoughts and encourages my father. She says: "Life is like a dream and let all unhappy things go!"

Shifu often teaches us: "Treat the people and things around you with hearts of gratitude. Both the Chinese characters of "kindness" and "resentment" consist of a character "heart" at the bottom. Choosing to reply with kindness or reply with resentment is simply a flash of your thought. However, the two choices bring totally different feelings. I feel an immense gratitude to Shifu. He let me learn to overcome adversity of my life with a heart gratitude and joyfulness. The hurt that buried deep inside of my heart has been cured with medication.