Report from Finnish Newspaper Turkulainen: “From Hurrying to Patience”

This article was published on Saturday 10 May 2003 in the Finnish newspaper Turkulainen. The newspaper is delivered to each household in the City of Turku, and it reached approximately 100,000 people.

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When hurrying fills the day, at night the mind easily wanders. Western people hurry all the time and they don't feel good that often. It shouldn't be that way. A good feeling wells up from inside oneself when a person is well balanced from the inside.

Maria Blomqvist found a path to a more patient way of life less than a year ago: “I've always been interested in spiritual matters and participated in many different courses. When Falun Gong was introduced at the Book Fair, it really felt right.”

Falun Gong is a Chinese practice, which reminded me of Tai Chi. Practitioners of Falun Gong are guided in their practice by the principles of Zhen-Shan-Ren - Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance. The practice was founded by Chinese citizen Master Li Hongzhi.

Practising the exercises is not the principle aspect; instead it is striving to live in balance mentally and physically. Falun Gong is not a religion, and it has no connections to politics, Maria explains. In China Falun Gong is seen as a threat. People have been tortured and killed because of this, she added. Nevertheless, the practice is spreading rapidly. There are more than 100 million practitioners in over 60 countries. Peace and harmony attracts people and that's why the practice is gaining a world-wide foothold.

The charm of the five exercises

“Falun Gong is based on five simple sets of exercises, including a meditation. The purpose is to not think about anything, but still be aware that you are practising,” Maria Blomqvist describes.

Physically Falun Gong doesn't require flexibility or a good health condition. Rather it tests mental endurance. The goal is a calm and peaceful state of mind. Practitioners have noticed that they don't have the stress they had before starting the practice.

“In addition to the mental side, I don't have pain in my back and shoulders anymore.” The exercises harmonise and open the energy channels. However they don't have the full energy potency unless a person has a heartfelt desire to improve oneself according to the virtues of Zhen-Shan-Ren, Maria says.