Granted I’ve only read The Elementary Principles of Philosophy and On Contradictions from Mao, but the examples are still very vague and abstract. I’ve been trying to think of every day situations where I could apply dialectical materialism but I just can’t seem to understand it well enough.
EDIT: Amazing replies from everyone, everything is much more clear.
If you can follow what you read, you are understanding well enough at this stage, especially if you’re not used to reading philosophy and how it works. You’ve barely started, and these are complicated philosophical concepts! You have some good reading recommendations here, and I would recommend trying to understand what they’re saying as well as possible (go slowly if you need to), but don’t worry about going beyond that yet. This is also a philosophy firmly rooted in real-life class experience, so organizing with your community will help you understand with time (and your study will make you a better organizer at the same time).