The latest Bodhi Meditation Health & Happiness Retreat has come to a joyful and auspicious completion. Let us open our hearts to hear the genuine experiences shared by the students.
Padma：Brighter Vision, Better Sleep, Happier Heart
I’m from India, where I had done other types of practices. I was very excited to attend Bodhi Meditation’s 8-Day Health & Happiness Retreat. I’m very grateful to attend and am grateful to the Grandmaster, all the staff and volunteers. For years, I used to wake up after hardly 3 hours of sleep and a few days into this retreat, I started being able to sleep over 4 hours in a row before I’d wake up. I’m sleeping much better. Plus I used to not be able to jump and now I can jump! I had eye surgery before. My vision is brighter and clearer after meditating over the last 8 days. I also received the great news that my granddaughter got into Georgetown Law School during this retreat! I’ve felt blessed during this 8-Day Retreat.
I’m 73 years old and I’m feeling good inside and out. I hope I’ll keep practicing GI at home every day.
Steven：Vertigo 90% Gone， Peaceful Sleep Restored
I had been experiencing vertigo for the past 7–8 months. The episodes came and went, but after this 8-Day Retreat, it truly feels as if 90% of my vertigo is gone. The second energy healing session was especially powerful — afterward, my mind was no longer foggy but clear and focused.
My sleep has also improved a lot. Before, I often couldn’t fall asleep until 4 AM or I’d wake up at 2 AM and not be able to go back to sleep. So I had to take naps during the day. During this retreat, I went to bed around 9 or 10 PM, drifted off within minutes, and slept soundly until 5 AM.
Aleleia: Bridging the Divide Between Heart and Mind
I came here because I was stressed out. It’s a doozy of a year with a death, my dad’s illness, me changing jobs and moving cross country. I read many self-help books looking for coping mechanisms and I knew there’s no point to fixate on what I can’t change. But I was feeling everything and I wasn’t coping well. Meditating, hearing the lectures in this retreat, I’m more able to accept and let go of the past and be more positive dealing with the present. I feel like I can let things go during the energy healing. I am more stable when I experience things in every-day life. There were also some relationship decisions that I have been struggling with that I was able to handle from a much more compassionate place, from the heart, during this retreat. This retreat was more than I expected and feels like a step in my spiritual and personal journey.
Mr. Zheng: No Longer Use a Walker After 6 Days of Class
I’m 90 years old. In recent years, my walking has become rather unsteady. Even when walking just a short distance, I have to be extremely careful and use a walker.
A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that Bodhi Meditation could help me. So, I immediately pushed my walker and walked nearly two hours by myself to the meditation center to sign up for the fitness class.
My daughter drove me to and from the center every day. As the course went on, I felt my whole body gradually improving.
▪️ After the first class, she was surprised to see that my complexion looked much better.
▪️ On the morning of the fifth day, my daughter couldn’t take me, so I pushed my walker and walked one hour and thirty-seven minutes to the meditation center by myself and I didn’t feel tired at all.
▪️ Starting from the seventh day, I stopped using the walk while I walked.
This is truly the blessing of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas!
I’ve already downloaded the music on my phone, and I plan to practice the Meditation of Greater Illumination three times every day. I hope I’ll have even more good news to share with you soon.
Lily: Vision Restored, Arthritis Pain Disappeared
These past few months, my mother’s health hasn’t been good. I’ve been very worried about her and often cried, which made my eyes extremely uncomfortable and caused my vision to worsen. When driving on the highway at night, as soon as the headlights from oncoming cars shone toward me, I couldn’t see clearly.
After attending the Health and Happiness Retreat, not only can I see clearly again, but my eyesight has actually become better than before!
I had trouble sleeping at night, and whenever I drove, I would easily get drowsy. As a result I often didn’t dare to drive on the freeway. During the Retreat, my sleep improved. I even drove to class every day and then back home at night, feeling calm and steady. I’m no longer afraid to drive.
I’ve had arthritis in my finger joints for more than twenty years, and whenever I did anything, my fingers were always in pain. After taking the Health and Happiness Retreat, the pain completely disappeared. It’s truly a miracle.
This whole week I’ve been very happy, in great spirits, and not easily angered. I’ve gained so much! I’m deeply grateful to GrandMaster, the teachers, and all the volunteers!
Lin: Skin itched for 3 month and itch disappeared after first day of class
Since July this year, my face and neck had been itchy, probably because the sunscreen I used wasn’t suitable for my skin. At first, I tried to relieve it by practicing the Meditation of Greater Illumination at home, but the results weren’t very noticeable.
So I decided to attend the Retreat at the meditation center, hoping it could help stop the itching. Surprisingly after just one day of class, the itching on my skin completely disappeared. The result was remarkable!
In the past, when I practiced the Meditation of Greater Illumination, I didn’t feel any warmth; sometimes the soles of my feet even felt cold. But during the Retreat, while practicing the Meditation of Greater Illumination, I was finally able to visualize the red fireball, and my whole body became warm.
Katie:
My breathing has become smooth
My lower back no longer aches
Even long drives feel easy now!
Since last December, I’ve attended five or six Heakth and Happiness Retreats in a row. But whenever I practiced, my mind could never settle down. Sometimes I’d be thinking, ‘Why are we not done?’ and other times I’d ask myself, ‘Does this practice really work?’
Before the start of this class, I offered two lights specifically to my karmic creditors, hoping that I could quiet my mind. To my surprise, during the class, I felt completely at peace. After practicing the Meditation of Greater Illumination three times, I even wished it could continue longer. That total immersion and joy in the practice was something I had never experienced before.
The changes in my body were also remarkable. I used to have short, labored breathing, but after the energy blessing on the sixth day, my breathing became smooth and natural, just like a normal person’s. The soreness in my lower back disappeared as well, and I felt light and flexible all over.
I live in Santa Cruz, about an hour’s drive each way, with winding mountain roads. In the past, I thought it was too far to drive back and forth every day, so I would stay at a friend’s home during the class. But this time, I could drive two hours round trip every day without feeling tired. In fact, I felt completely at ease. I believe these wonderful changes come from the uplift in energy.
Michelle: Letting Go Is Not Forgetting, it’s Making Peace with Yourself
I used to be a very happy person. I never thought I would truly understand what pain felt like. But when my younger sister passed away suddenly at a very young age, I was overwhelmed by guilt and self-blame, feeling that I hadn’t been able to save her. The pain was so heavy that I could hardly breathe, as if a heavy stone was pressing on my chest. My emotions had nowhere to go, and I knew I needed greater strength to help me heal. That’s when I came to Bodhi Meditation Center.
When I first began practicing the Meditation of Greater Illumination, I would feel tired after just one or two rounds, and even thought about giving up. But by the eighth day, two rounds of practice were not enough and I wanted to do more. In that moment, I realized that the Meditation of Greater Illumination gave me strength and helped me connect with the universe. I felt calm and peaceful. My heart finally settled, and I began to truly enjoy the practice.
After these eight days of practice, I feel that I’ve let go of so much within. The heavy weight on my chest is gone, my breathing feels free, and I am more relaxed. Perhaps Master helped remove that weight from my heart, allowing me to breathe freely again. I’m no longer burdened by pain or suffocation.
In Master’s teachings, he spoke about the impermanence of life. At first, I couldn’t accept it at all. But over these days, I’ve slowly come to understand and accept impermanence. I can feel the knot in my heart gradually loosening, little by little.
I am deeply grateful to Master and to the Health and Happiness Retreat. My sleep has also improved greatly. I used to lie awake for a long time before falling asleep, but now I drift off almost immediately and sleep peacefully through the night.