(Minghui.org) During the recent Shen Yun ticket selling process in my region, we encountered a problem. Close to the opening night of the show the sales of tickets over $100 were slow, while the majority of tickets below $100 had been sold. In many other areas the better tickets sold very well or were even sold out first. I wondered why the “high price tickets” in some areas sold quite slowly?
Practitioners talked a lot about their experiences and understandings. Some suggested that we should not consider the best tickets as being “high price tickets”, because when we think like this, we subconsciously believe that our ticket prices are too high and hence cause a psychological burden for us when we sell tickets.
It is true that for a long time the mindset of practitioners has caused a lot of problems in many of our projects. Some suggested that we had sold enough tickets to the middle and high classes in society. I think this is merely one aspect of this issue. Most critical is our mindset toward Shen Yun.
Deep down in our hearts, do we truly think that Shen Yun is the best show in the world and superior to all first class shows held in world renowned places such as Broadway, Vienna, Italy, and Paris?
1. Having a positive attitude toward promotion of Shen Yun
It's been our experience during the past several years that ticket sales won't be smooth when the majority of practitioners in a certain area do not pay enough attention to Shen Yun. When more practitioners put their hearts into it, we can sell more tickets even though no additional manpower is available. When practitioners as a whole realize the importance of Shen Yun, most tickets will be sold out and the key coordinating practitioners will feel strong righteous thoughts supporting them.
As more and more practitioners have matured in the recent years when promoting Shen Yun, the majority of us have a positive and supporting attitude toward the promotion of Shen Yun in their respective areas. Therefore, the majority of tickets were sold. But on the other hand, many practitioners still have not fully realized the true power of this divine performance and the proper status of the best show in the world. Practitioners are not as confident when selling the best tickets, hence these tickets are not being sold, while the overall ticket sales go well.
2. People tend to underestimate things and persons that are familiar to them
Take a very common scene for instance. A tells B that C excels in a certain aspect. B blurts out, “I know C well. He is just so-so …” While saying that though his facial expression depicts that B does not think too highly of C.
Shen Yun is promoted by Dafa practitioners and the artists are practitioners too. Many practitioners subconsciously underestimate Shen Yun artists because they are part of us and familiar to us. When some practitioners talk about a certain dancer, someone says, “that is the child of so and so” or “so and so are related” or “who looks like who” etc. While practitioners chat with zealotry, they actually lower the standard of Shen Yun in human society. This negative and underestimating mindset has been going on during recent years and has not been fully rectified. Practitioners simply don't show it on the superficial level any more.
When we sell tickets in the $60-80 range, the issue is not as clear because subconsciously practitioners think the show is definitely worth that price. When selling $100 tickets, it may still be okay. However, selling $150-200 tickets will expose their problem: Lack of confidence and lack of righteous thoughts. Thus $200 becomes a “high price.”
Currently, practitioners in many areas, as a whole body, have put their hearts and minds into the promotion of Shen Yun and tickets were sold out. However, the Fa has a higher requirement for us. In order to completely and truly open up the field and have a breakthrough with the middle and upper classes, it is critical to sell all the best tickets. It's been human nature in the entire history of our civilization that the general public will follow the fashions and trends initiated by higher class society.
No matter whether a local practitioner is diligent in his or her cultivation, his or her thoughts have an influence on the overall ticket sales of the local area. As Dafa disciple, our positive thoughts are divine and powerful; our negative thoughts are thus beyond the level of ordinary people, as well as our neglect and lack of interest.
In order to have a good effect and achieve a breakthrough, we must rectify our own attitude toward Shen Yun, whether we are coordinators or regular practitioners. Only then will everyday people cherish and respect Shen Yun. Maybe we should start within each Fa study group and form a powerful consensus among practitioners through experience sharing. This applies not only to the ticket sales of a certain year.
In fact, the issue of “high ticket prices” is a matter of whether we can treat ourselves and fellow practitioners as well as Dafa projects properly. If we can truly value our fellow practitioners, whether they happen to be Shen Yun dancers and artists, truly see their amazing side, truly realize they are the best in this world, truly cherish and be grateful for all Shen Yun has brought us, we will truly agree that Shen Yun is undoubtedly the best show in the world and it is priceless.
