The following is a practitioner’s account of experiences from the winter retreat for the new practitioners. As Told By Lee, Gwonhan(35,M)
(Translated by Son, Gyeonghee and Patrocinio D. Rivera)

At the beginning of the Opening Chiseong, I saw ancestral spirits scrambling to take a seat next to their descendents. When practicing mantra meditation, I could see Sangjenim, Taemonim, Taesabunim, Taesamonim and other great spirits sprinkling something toward us as if trying to convey the qi to all of us.

A little later, I began to prostrate a thousand times in prayer and felt myself become light as a feather, as if reborn into a new body. My body had been entangled with iniquitous and unclean qi before starting, but soon after I initiated my meditation, I felt my body settle down in a light and peaceful state. All these experiences made me feel privileged.