Xiamei Liu
It has been a long time since I attended a class. Even before the start of the pandemic, I hadn’t attended a Health and Happiness Retreat for about a year. I thought I had taken a lot of higher-level classes and the Health and Happiness Retreat seemed “very basic”. However, since I had the time now and it is a new center, I thought I should recharge myself with a class. I didn’t expect to get so much out of it. It totally exceeded my expectations. I am very surprised!
My benefits are in five areas, which helped restore my body to health. In addition, I gained a youthful vitality and a spiritual uplift, which has elevated me to a new height in my life.
Shoulder pain disappeared
On the third day of class, my shoulders suddenly became sore. In the morning, when I was practicing the Meditation of Great Illumination, raising my hands high and doing the Universal Connectivity Mudra, both my shoulders felt sporadic pain. I have had an issue with my right shoulder for many years. I used to have my own business. To meet the deadlines, I would work alongside the workers (printing and binding) and I would have to put pain relief patches on my shoulder to relieve the pain. The pain in my right shoulder always bothered me. Sometimes I was so tired from work that I couldn’t lift my arm, I couldn’t comb my hair, and I didn’t even have the strength to hold chopsticks. After I joined Bodhi Meditation, I practiced Energy Bagua consistently. This resolved the shoulder pain. My right shoulder has been fine since then. Unexpectedly, both shoulders were aching on the third day. On the fourth day as I immersed myself and enjoyed the practice, I suddenly felt no pain in both shoulders. Not only did they not hurt, they were also relaxed. I think both shoulders received healing and the hidden problems were solved. Now, both shoulders are in better condition than before the class.
Spine problem resolved
On the fifth day, my spine started to become painful and sore, and I was weak and tired. After that, the pain went all the way to the lumbar spine. The lower half of the lumbar spine was painful. I knew the cause of this problem. During the pandemic, my school’s curriculum was changed to online classes. I sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, with a small table in front of me. Each class was three hours. The homework required sitting for additional hours. Sometimes I sat for almost the whole day. I didn’t know I had a lumbar strain until my back started hurting. When I finished my studies and the frequent sitting stopped, the pain in my lumbar spine stopped. But to my surprise, it started to hurt again during the Health and Happiness Retreat. I persevered with the practice through the pain, and on the seventh day, I suddenly felt no pain in my lumbar spine, and I felt very relaxed! I now can sit on my bed and type at a small desk without any discomfort in my lower back. My lumbar spine has fully recovered.
Spontaneous fasting and weight loss
On the first day of the Health and Happiness Retreat, after only one practice of the Meditation of Greater Illumination, I realized that I had entered the spontaneous fasting state. When the energy came in, my whole body was instantly relaxed, flexible, and energetic. During the closing steps, when I did the action of bending over and touching my fingers to the ground, my palm touched the ground at once and my whole back was flexible. Under normal circumstances, I know I can’t even bend my back if I’m tired, not to mention touching the ground with my fingers. But the energy was so amazing that I remarked on the effectiveness of Grandmaster’s method.
I lost 8 to 10 pounds after eight days of spontaneous fasting. Losing weight is my dream. During the whole pandemic period of not going out and not being active, I gained a lot of weight. Even when I met my classmates for a gathering at the park when our course was over, the greeting was, “You’ve gained a lot of weight.” Being able to lose weight this time was one of my most treasured benefits from this class.
It’s been more than a week since the end of the retreat, and I’m still in a semi-spontaneous fasting state. All I have wanted to eat is vegetable soup with some vermicelli and tofu in it. This soup is so delicious to me that I think it’s the best in the world. Even when I saw a lot of good food on the street, it did not appeal to me. I still found the vegetable soup most delicious – now that I think of it, my mouth is watering again.
This change in my body can be seen in my excrement – my urine is very clear, like clear water, and my “poop” is as clean and neat as the “golden poop.”
Speaking of spontaneous fasting, its benefits to body improvement and health can be evidenced.
As we all know, during the spontaneous fasting, one can still “poop” every day. The first day, my stool was normal. The second day, my stool became mushy and shapeless. This lasted for several days. On the seventh day, it went back to normal, like the “golden poop” kind, and on the eighth day it was also the same. This shows the body condition improvement. This “self-adjustment” can actually be evidenced!
The beauty of the Dharma
The more I practice Grandmaster’s dharma methods, the more realizations I have. I learned that regardless of the levels or types of Grandmaster’s courses, so long as you practice, you can benefit from it. The feeling and sensation you get can be different every time. I’d like to share the sensations I had when I received energy healing on my spine.
On the fifth day, the pain in my spine was so bad that I had trouble standing and maintaining balance. Following Grandmaster’s narratives in the Meditation of Greater Illumination, I suddenly felt that my lumbar spine was like the main root of a big tree: the root was moist and soft, the surrounding soil was supporting it, and there was a lot of nutrition in the soil. My root was absorbing the nutrients. The tiny root whiskers were my blood vessels and tendons; they were absorbing and extending. The flesh of my body was gone. Only the root whiskers were absorbing and breathing. The Buddha’s light was shining down through the soil… and I felt my whole body was transparent and bright, with energy and vitality…. When I patted my body, the sound was loud and hollow. My body felt empty and soft. When jumping, I could jump high. I felt light and bouncy…. On the seventh day, my lumbar spine pain surprisingly disappeared. I feel so relaxed and free!
Spiritual development
Chanting was part of the retreat. One time, at the end of a chanting session, I suddenly had an answer to a question in my heart: “In heaven and on earth, I am supreme.” Everything is up to you. You get to decide how you would like to perceive any matter. The actions of others are just like every blossom having its own color. If you think it looks beautiful, it is beautiful; if you do not think it is beautiful, that is your problem – there is no bad color, only bad mentality – accept the good and the bad in the world!
With a mind free of any resentment, return to your own nature; with a mind free of any hindrance, discover yourself and be yourself.
Self-cultivation really has many phases. I never expected that returning to a Health and Happiness Retreat would benefit me so much and let me reap so many rewards. I didn’t expect it, but it was not surprising, and all I can say is: “I didn’t know the magic, but I was able to witness it.”
I think I will want to take the class again. If my circumstance allows, I will take it. If my circumstance doesn’t allow me, I will create the circumstance to let me take it. I know that self-cultivation is in phases. Each phase is a new height in our life, and more so a new starting point in life too!
Gratitude to Grandmaster! I am grateful to the meditation center and to the teachers for their dedication. Taking the meditation class has made me a happy person!
The intent of the testimonial is to offer wellness information of a general nature. Individual results of practice may vary.