June 28, 2006
Golden residents are learning the positives and negatives of Falun Gong this
summer.
On the plus side, Falun Gong is a Chinese meditation reputed to induce serenity
and cure medical conditions. Lisa and Andy Ellsmore are leading an introductory
workshop in the practice at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 1 at Parfet Park.
Meanwhile, a group of women traveled through town earlier this month raising
awareness about the Chinese Communist Party's ongoing persecution of Falun Gong
practitioners. They will return to Golden to march in the Buffalo Bill Days.
Andy began practicing Falun Gong about five years ago after reading about a man
who used Falun Gong to cure his narcolepsy.
Familiar with yoga and Tai Chi, Andy tried the meditative practice.
"I felt very calm and energized at the same time," he said. "It
was pretty unique."
Compared to Tai Chi and yoga, Andy said Falun Gong is easier physically but can
pose a greater challenge mentally.
Both he and Lisa wanted to quit drinking. After a month of meditation, Andy put
down the cocktails for good. At the influence of her husband, Lisa adopted the
practice and stopped smoking and drinking a week later.
"(Falun Gong) has really made me look inside at my shortcomings. It's just
had such a big impact on my life," Lisa said. "I'd always been looking
for some meaning of life. I read books here and there," she said, but
hesitated to embrace any particular religion.
Lisa discovered that she argues less with her family and thinks more clearly
from day to day.
Andy found that the practice enables him to awake easier while needing less
sleep.
The couple practices in Parfet Park and along Clear Creek.
"It's nice and open and peaceful," Lisa said.
They also go to Washington Park in Denver at 9 a.m. Saturdays to practice Falun
Gong with other devotees.
"The interesting thing about Falun Gong is the way it's structured,"
Andy said. "There's no hierarchy. People come and go freely to the exercise
site."
But in China, the practice is far from 'free.'
Joy Zhao immigrated to the United States from China in 1995. Now residing in
Aspen, she journeys from state to state to raise awareness about the persecution
in her native country.
The Communist leadership banned Falun Gong in China in 1999. Zhao's
mother-in-law and father-in-law spent a month in jail for practicing Falun Gong.
They were forced to sign a paper vowing not to practice, and were released.
"She signed the paper, but it's not (with) her heart," Zhao said of
her mother-in-law who now lives in the United States and continues practicing
Falun Gong.
A Toronto Sun article reports that 4,500 Chinese people are executed for their
beliefs, though critics claim the number is closer to 10,000. Many of those are
jailed and persecuted merely for practicing Falun Gong.
Organs are harvested from many who are executed.
"That's the shocking thing," Zhao said. "That's why we've
launched the car tour, we're trying to ask the people in Colorado to call the
White House so our government can launch an investigation over there."
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