Florida's “Space Coast” Meets Traditional Chinese Spiritual Practice

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the popular Healthy Living Expo on Florida's Space Coast on Sunday, March 8, on the campus of Florida Tech University. A colorful display at the Falun Dafa booth introduced this traditional Chinese spiritual practice to the vibrant Space Coast community.

The "Space Coast" is home to the Kennedy Space Center. The Apollo moon-landing mission lifted off from here, followed by the space shuttle program.

The Expo, an annual event in this part of Florida, brings together information, products, and services for achieving good health and a healthy lifestyle. Throughout the event many Expo attendees stopped at the Falun Gong booth to learn about the benefits of this traditional Chinese cultivation practice.

Practitioners demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises and introduced the spiritual teachings. Visitors appreciated receiving informational flyers and observing the exercises, while a number of people actually learned them.

Cynthia, who works in the health insurance field, talked with a practitioner about the power and value of compassion. She said that when she went to her daughter’s volleyball game, several of the other spectators became rowdy and rude towards her. She remained calm and non-confrontational, which led to a positive outcome. She was pleased to learn about Falun Dafa's core principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Steve, another visitor to the booth, had spent time in the formerly communist country of Czechoslovakia and was familiar with the harsh life under that type of regime. He was saddened to learn that Falun Dafa is being persecuted in China, its country of origin.

Several people were interested in the spiritual benefits emphasized in Falun Dafa, such as “not hitting back,” and “looking within.” Karen, who had tried several qigong systems, could see the value of learning a qigong that emphasizes upgrading one’s morality in addition to doing exercises.

Falun Dafa has been visible and available for free on the Space Coast, and around the world, for at least 15 years. Local practitioners doing the Dafa exercises together in nearby parks are now a familiar sight.