(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master and fellow practitioners.
In 2005, practitioners in Israel decided to establish an Israeli branch of The Epoch Times. In 2006, the company needed someone to manage sales professionally. I realized that I should fill the role. I thus became the magazine's first full-time employee in Israel.
I have since been fulfilling many roles involving the commercial aspects of the magazine. I have also established my life as being part of regular society. That came from the understanding that we should leave a path for future generations, and also adjust as much as we can to regular society.
I also married another practitioner, and we brought four children into the world. We established ourselves financially and did our best to be active as much as possible in everyday people's activities. This understanding of being part of society, as well as our way of living, helped me tremendously in my commercial activities for the magazine, and in understanding business management and how all levels of society work.
The Epoch Times went through major transitions in 2011. We came to realize that we should make serious changes throughout the organization in order to advance and become a serious organization in society.
We had previously operated as a weekly magazine that published general news without any distinction or differentiation from other newspapers. We hardly managed to sell any ads, and we couldn't pay any salaries for our employees, except for the salespersons who worked on commission. After reorganizing, we gradually started paying salaries to more and more employees. We switched our format to a monthly magazine on chrome paper. We had advertisers from top leading brands. We also built our unique identity and content.
Master teaches in “Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference:”
“By leading you all in doing Shen Yun, Master is in fact giving you a model. I have made Shen Yun the best show in the world. At the very least, in the performing arts, in the field of the arts, it’s playing the lead role. So how about our other projects, then? When what you do has just a little bit of success, you’re so pleased with yourselves. But are you playing the lead role [in your field]? You haven’t even managed to play a supporting role, and some are playing the role of a clown! Is that what Dafa disciples should be doing? Is that what Master has asked you to do? Some of us are saying, “We don’t have sufficient funds, so we can’t get the project going.” But that is because you haven’t done a good job on it. You didn’t treat it as something that Dafa disciples really need to do, as a real enterprise to run. An international media company isn’t considered a major corporation if it doesn’t have a few hundred million dollars in working capital. Of course, when I put it this way some people will certainly feel pressure. I’m not saying it’s unacceptable if you don’t achieve that. I’m merely talking about it in terms of principles, and that we have to approach things this way.”
In order to reach a new phase at The Epoch Times, we went through a long and complicated process that included many transitions. One of the things that helped bring the magazine to where it is today was the decision to start holding feature events.
We decided to hold these events because we realized they would be a wonderful way for us to introduce more people to The Epoch Times, and also generate income while clarifying the truth.
Master said in “Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference:”
“The purpose of your media is to clarify the facts, save people, stop the persecution, and expose the evil. And whatever else you do is to raise the profile of your media so that they can be successful at those purposes.”
Last March, we held a gala with lectures produced by The Epoch Times Israel. The event was attended by 800 people, many of whom were part of Israel's business and medical elites. The event was sponsored by top leading brands.
After gaining some experience in producing events for 200 people and 400 people, we realized that we had the capacity to draw more people to attend our feature events. We decided to take a leap and produce an even bigger event.
Every event we hold is oriented around a different topic. This time we decided to hold an event for 700 attendees on the topic of health. One of the lectures was on the topic of forced organ harvesting, given by Professor Jacob Lavee, a director at Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH).
Our attempt to produce an event of that magnitude made all the preparations more challenging and difficult. We decided on the production only four months in advance, a record-breaking time frame for us. We worked very hard and did a lot of things right, but our progress on the surface wasn't very fast. Things went very slowly, and we didn't yet have any sponsors. Other practitioners were loaded with other tasks, and they found it difficult to assist. These hardships caused me to slip into a state of anxiety and frustration.
I dreamed at night that I was attending the event, but it failed because not enough people arrived. I had severe headaches and felt like I was in a constant foggy state.
Something then happened that turned everything around. I lost my composure in front of the group. I was distressed about the lack of volunteers for the tasks required. This incident led to increased team communication, and the team members were eventually able to see the situation more clearly. People started volunteering one after another, saying they would do whatever it took for the event to succeed.
On the following weekend, we held a national group Fa study to promote the arrival of Shen Yun in Israel. In the preceding few years, I didn't take leading roles among Dafa practitioners in Israel, because I felt criticism, jealousy, and a general lack of trust among Dafa disciples. These feelings waned through the years, and before the meeting I felt that I wanted to take part, and proposed myself as a host for the experience sharing part of the weekend. However, in light of all the work still ahead of me in preparation of the gala event, it wasn't such a rational thing to do.
That step was apparently very significant. Something has changed profoundly in me. Master allowed me to see each and every practitioner with a complete, profound respect. Just like a mother observing her children, with all the good and bad in them, yet with endless compassion. While sharing with the group, other practitioners were able to see what we've been going through at The Epoch Times, and I believe that it helped them support us later with stronger righteous thoughts when needed at the time of the event.
This once again reminded me that our progress as a group is more important than my individual progress, and that the success of The Epoch Times can be guaranteed only if we decide together to progress towards the next step. If I act only by myself, it's really worthless. But if we can accomplish things together and succeed, that would be real success.
After the weekend, we arranged a full staff meeting at the magazine first thing in the morning, in order to start cooperating better in preparation for the gala event. I experienced a few tribulations that morning. I tripped and almost fell while carrying my baby daughter up the stairway to her kindergarten. But something stopped me and prevented me from stumbling. Later, on my way to work, I got involved in a minor car accident. The other person involved started behaving irrationally and yelled at me. It caused me to lose my temper, and I was quite upset when I finally arrived at the office.
During our staff meeting, I shared my experiences with everyone. While sharing, I awoke to my own shortcomings. I thought that these tribulations were proof that the event was very important, and the fact that I managed to overcome them proved that I was a very good cultivator. I realized that by using these tribulations to prove that the project was important and that I had cultivated well, I was actually giving the tribulations power. I realized that it was possible to do important things and make progress in cultivation without having to deal with any disturbances from the old forces.
After realizing that, I still encountered tests, but things weren't as emotional as before, and such dramatic interference never recurred.
However, ten days before the event, the situation was still not simple at all, although everyone pitched in. The registration rate at that point was very low, less than half the people expected; we still had a huge task list to complete that was far beyond reasonable, and the pressure imposed on me from other dimensions was so enormous that I could barely breathe. I had a strong sensation that we were trying to achieve the unachievable. I also felt that my supernormal powers were simply insufficient, and that my xinxing level was inadequate. I felt blocked.
And then, suddenly, while driving my car, I experienced the supernormal ability of Precognition and Retrocognition, in which I clearly saw the whole timeline of the event in one brief second: before, during, and most importantly, after the event.
This understanding put everything I was doing into perspective. I realized that no matter how good or bad this specific event might turn out to be, in any case there was still a lot to be done before and afterwards. But most importantly, if the event already existed in another dimension, then it already occurred, so now all I have to do is go back to the starting point, ten days before the event, and fix the errors as needed in order to improve things. I realized that I had received a huge gift–that of having a “second chance” while still being on the first chance.
From the moment I experienced the ability of Precognition and Retrocognition, the darkness that surrounded me completely vanished. I turned back to being calm, rational, efficient, and mainly happy to keep walking this path and enjoying every minute of it. I was actually realizing that the path itself was even more important than the destination. What's most important was that I walk my path well.
In Lecture Two of Zhuan Falun, while discussing “The Supernormal Ability of Precognition and Retrocognition,” Master says:
“With the constant upgrading of your level, the capability of Precognition and Retrocognition will naturally emerge. This scenario will occur in your future cultivation practice, and you will know what is going on when this capability develops. Therefore, we have taught these principles of the Fa.”
Every day, every step of the way, as the gala event approached, including during the event itself, there were many tests that tried to examine whether or not my heart would be disturbed.
One day before the event, one of the speakers, a vice president at one of the biggest hospitals in Israel, notified me that she had been blacklisted by the CCP. She was supposed to travel to China and also host the deputy prime minister of China at her hospital. Her message was very alarmed, but my heart remained unmoved, and I wasn't worried at all. I was able to answer her calmly.
I shared this with other practitioners, and we supported her with righteous thoughts. She came to speak at the event. The following day, she posted pictures of the event and wrote a positive post on her Facebook page, and she couldn't stop praising us. She said that she was very happy to become part of us.
Two hours before the event, my elder's daughter teacher called me, and we had a very harsh conversation. While speaking with her, a fellow practitioner approached me, signaling me to end the conversation immediately. He told me that one of the speakers sent an email that he could not attend, owing to a personal crisis. I thought about it for a second and realized that no matter what happened, the event would succeed. I realized that Master sent my daughter's teacher to call me a minute earlier, so that our harsh conversation would help me take the speaker's notice in perspective. I realized that before I continued preparing for the event, I should take a minute and assimilate to the Fa. This, of course, helped me maintain my righteous thoughts. I was very quickly able to enter a state of tranquility.
Being tranquil, I realized that it didn't really matter whether or not that speaker attended. I phoned him with a tranquil heart. I spoke for him without any selfish motives and without having any attachment to the result. A few minutes afterwards, he texted me back, saying that he would come. My heart was still unmoved, as I thought that it was his choice. His talk at the event was outstanding.
When the event began and people started arriving, a conflict broke out between two sponsors. The magazine's CEO, who is responsible for sponsorships, wasn't able to resolve the issue, and one of them threatened to sue us. The CEO called me urgently. There wasn't much time left, as people were already entering the lobby. I had no idea how to resolve this. My only understanding at that moment was that it must be resolved instantly. I suddenly recalled something that my father used to say to me when I was a child. I said the same thing to him, and the issue was resolved on the spot. I understand that when we have the Fa with us, divine beings will help us, and they can unfold our wisdom; otherwise, how could I have known exactly what to say in order to resolve that problem?
As for arguments among practitioners and disagreements that surfaced at the event, we learned how to resolve most of them, since we have been working closely together, and we have an open and sincere atmosphere that allows us to resolve conflicts efficiently. It is amazing how, in real-time situations, everyone stands up for everyone else, and the levels of harmony and cooperation are just fabulous. It astonishes me anew every time.
The event was a tremendous success. Around 800 people from Israel's societal elite attended, and the auditorium was packed. But this is all just in the standards of everyday people. We descended down here from heavenly kingdoms in order to lift our standards as high as possible. Master doesn't limit us in our personal cultivation, and he doesn't limit us in terms of our deeds and actions. Therefore, this was only one small step along the way. It still doesn't meet our highest standard, as I see it. If we can always remember that Master is the one who is pushing us forward, then we will be able to ascend back to our highest realms.
In Lecture Eight of Zhuan Falun, Master teaches us:
“…but now it is very easy no matter how far you walk. You feel as if being pushed while riding a bike, and you are not tired when going upstairs—no matter how many floors there are. It is guaranteed to be this way.”
I would like to thank Master for pulling me out of hell and giving me a ladder to climb back to my home. I want to thank all practitioners who are helping me advance and improve in my personal cultivation.
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Category: Journeys of Cultivation
