[Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] My Life's Silver Lining

(Minghui.org) I am a psychiatrist and worked part-time after graduation since my baby was young. Practicing Falun Dafa purified my body and mind. I worked wholeheartedly, following the principles of Falun Dafa and keeping my heart upright. Sometimes when things seem too difficult, there is always a silver lining waiting for me.

Body Purified, Energy Increased

I developed an awful seasonal allergy when I moved to a city in the Midwest. I did not recognize it was an allergy at first and thought I was just stressed out at work. I could not sleep, felt dizzy, and had trouble breathing at night. Over the years, the symptoms got worse, from one month a year to two months a year. No medication worked. I required almost daily acupuncture to be able to sleep lying down.

When I did the Falun Dafa exercises, particularly the meditation, I had to put a big towel in front of me, because my nose kept dripping like a faucet. My allergy disappeared that very year. It wasn’t until the end of the allergy season that I realized that I no longer had an allergy!

I was poorly nourished as a child and had anemia. I was tired all the time even with ten hours of sleep. I always had to take naps in college, otherwise, the afternoon classes would be a struggle. When I began practicing Dafa, I noticed my energy level improved significantly. I now sleep six hours a night and don’t feel tired during the day. Just imagine how much of my life has already been extended!

Since I began to cultivate, I almost never miss the morning exercises. To me, it is like my body is going to another dimension to be adjusted, aligned, and purified. I feel so energized afterward, I will not miss it for the world.

Another interesting phenomenon after a very good exercise session is that I will have huge hives all over my legs. They are itchy and red, but they usually subside within a few minutes.

My body was purified from time to time, mostly through headaches, fever, and body aches. It usually happened on weekends or days that I was off.

Handling a Major Tribulation Calmly

I chose to work part-time after I graduated. After three years, the hospital where I worked closed down all its outpatient clinics. Since I was moonlighting at another community mental health center, I spoke with the medical director there (whom I’d known since I was a resident) and said it would a good match for them. They agreed to take over the clinic and everyone kept their jobs. Dr. Dan (alias), whom I’d worked for for three years, became the director of the clinic and I continued to work there part-time.

Since Dr. Dan’s schedule was full and he was unable able to take on any new cases, I took 90% of the new patients after I came to the clinic. I believe in treating the root cause and aimed at treating the syndrome. I make a thorough evaluation of every new patient, not just their current symptoms. I go way back to their teenage years or even younger. I collect their family history, substance use, and trauma history, as well as their response to various medications in the past to give an accurate diagnosis. By treating the syndrome, most of their symptoms subside. The patient not only gets well, but stays well.

The reality proved this was a good tactic. I might have had new patients who required close follow-up initially, but they eventually got well and their symptoms stabilized. As long as they continued taking the medicine and stayed away from any substances, most of them were able to live a symptom-free life. That opened up my schedule.

Dr. Dan did not believe it was possible for a new graduate to do this: I had no patients in crisis and handled 90% of incoming patients. Even though I worked part-time, I made most of the profits for the clinic.

It was right when I started to practice Dafa that Dr. Dan decided to challenge me. He filed a complaint with the main center regarding my practice pattern. The previous medical director came, randomly pulled 50 of my charts and reviewed them. He gave me an excellent review: “If I were her, I would do the same thing.” But somehow Dr. Dan and the new medical director completely disregarded the review and terminated me.

Facing such a sudden and serious tribulation, I knew something was not right. I felt it should be all right to clarify things. So I made an appointment with the CEO of the company and explained the rationale of my medical practice and my concerns. Since he was not a clinician, he stood behind the decision to let me go on National Doctor’s Day in 2006. When I was facing a group of people in front of me and was asked what I had to say, I asked them to write down verbatim what I said below:

“You will bear all the responsibility for your decision and action. With no malpractice, no patient complaints, and not a single mistake made in patient care, you released me from my duty based completely on subjective feelings, not objective findings. If anything happened to my patients, you will bear all the responsibility.”

My family was surprised at how calm I was. I knew I would be fine. I just needed to let go of the mentality of challenging them. Many friends encouraged me to sue the company for discrimination and wrongdoing. But I thought that, since I was a cultivator now, it was not just a simple matter of one person against another—it was a form of persecution. If they truly were manipulated by the old forces to persecute me, they were the victims, not me. I did not need to waste my time getting even.

I knew it was a test, a major one. But I had Master and the Fa to guide me. I intensified my Fa study and continued to carry on with life as normally as possible. My husband was more worried and anxious. What about the house payment, what about our three young kids (ages 7, 4, and 6 months)? I refused to let my mind go along with the negative thoughts. I consoled him and told him not to worry. In the meantime, I began searching for a job.

I felt sorry for the person who initiated this. His jealousy and insecurity were taken advantage of by the old forces. Six months later, the clinic closed permanently.

Another Door Opened

About two weeks after I left the clinic, a hospital less than four miles from my home made me an offer. I had called the hospital a few weeks before I lost my job. This hospital was established in 2004 and it was called the “sanctuary of healing.” It is a medical hospital with no psychiatric services. When I called, the operator connected me directly to the CEO and he interviewed me that very week.

We talked for over two hours. He exclaimed that he’d never seen anyone fit the profile as well as I did. I have many specialties and I also practice Chinese medicine. “You are such a fresh breath of air!” He promised to expedite the process. I began to work as a psychiatric consultation liaison for the hospital one month after I left the previous clinic!

I was also thinking about opening my own clinic. With just that one thought, my colleague called me. She had just opened her own clinic two years before, and she showed me how. Within a month, I set up my own clinic. The area around that site was beautiful. Outside the big window was a large rose garden. Everything was so smooth—as if it was meant to be!

The big suite was spacious, and I eventually used it for my Falun Dafa class. I clarified the truth to the administrators regarding Falun Dafa. They were impressed that I would give free classes on weekends. They helped pass out the information in newsletters as well as local newspapers for a number of years.

That year, not only did I not suffer any financial loss, but also my time also became more flexible, and I was able to carry out more Dafa projects. I never advertised for my clinic and I do not process insurance. Most of my patients come through word of mouth. It has been 17 years since I established my clinic, and it continues to flourish.

I once took in a very sick patient with a mood disorder and severe trauma. But she was a fighter. She not only refused to be on disability, but she also works while going to college. After the evaluation, I thoroughly explained her illness and treatment plan. She cried on her way out, “It is people like you that give others hope.” She has been symptom-free for years, living just like the rest of the others. But I cannot claim any credit for it. It is Dafa that guided me to be who I am now.

Years later, Dr. Dan and I met at a conference. He stared at me in surprise. I shook his hand and gave him an update on my work and life. He was impressed with how well I do with my own clinic. He was visibly relieved that I took the initiative to talk to him. I took his business card and later send him the information regarding Shen Yun.

Over the years of cultivation, I paid more attention to getting rid of the mentality of competitiveness. I can now handle intense situations with calm instead of overreacting. I keep a close eye on every thought that I have, do not indulge in any negative thoughts, and abide by the principles of the Fa in my life as well as work. I am humbly aware that in my whole life, I wanted to do different things and that it’s Master who has been looking after me and helping me realize my wishes all along, even before I took up Dafa.