(Minghui.org) My first few years of joining the morning exercises at the coordinated time, I got up at 3:50 a.m. every day. When I got up earlier than the scheduled time, I would wait for the right time to start. It became automatic: I woke up at the right time without an alarm clock; on an odd day if I missed it, I would hear my family members’ voices calling me. But there was really no one there. I understood it was Master who was waking me up to do the exercises.
Later on I went to stay with another practitioner a few times. She started the exercises whenever she got up instead of waiting for the set time. I just followed her, believing that she had cultivated better than I did instead of following the Fa. Gradually, I did not care when I got up. I would just do the exercises whenever I could. Then my attachment to comfort took over. It became very difficult for me to get up to do the exercises, and I had to make it up in the evening. When something came up, I would not be able to complete the five sets of exercises for the day.
Recently, I’ve been waking up on time at 3:20 a.m. to do the morning exercises. It felt good and I decided to keep at it. On the second day, I woke up at 3:05 a.m. but wanted to snooze for a few more minutes. I ended up going back to sleep.
In my dream, I was about to go to sleep in a big room when a man came in from outside yelling for me to go out and have my photo taken. He said, “Just wait for me the way you did. The last photo was a good one.” But I didn’t have any photos taken earlier. Then I saw a gold bust statue on my desk, about 20 centimeters high, with a glittering pattern on her top and a proper hairdo, which might have been the way I looked when I got up on time for the exercises. He asked me, “Is this the one?”
I went out and waited at the end of the line. I looked in the mirror and found that my makeup had not been done properly, so I decided to wash it off. But the water was not clean and I made a mess. I went to a cosmetics counter to have myself made up. But the girl was taking her time. I rushed back before it was done, only to find that everyone was gone. A woman told me that everyone had gone upstairs and maybe someone would come back to do a make-up photo shoot. I waited helplessly. Then the woman said to me, “He said we can’t send a plane just to pick you up!” She sounded like the photographer I had met earlier.
I woke up in shock. It was 6:50 a.m., right when the exercise time ended. “We can’t send a plane just to pick you up!” resounded in my ears. I felt like crying.
This dream bore many resemblances to my real life. I took my time to do things. I spent a lot of time putting on makeup, trying on different clothing before I finally got out the door, and barely got to work on time. I often missed the breakfast offered at work. I have a good environment at work where I could study the Fa, but I could not focus. When other people were chatting, I got distracted. I could barely study one lecture of Zhuan Falun. When I got home, I was preoccupied with housework. As a result, I could barely meet the requirements I set for myself to study the Fa, do the exercises and send righteous thoughts. Compared to other practitioners, I was way behind. I did not do much Fa-rectification work either. If I could finish the exercises in the morning, I would have time to do something to help save sentient beings in the evening. When something came up in the evening, I could not even do the exercises. I hoped to have a breakthrough but couldn’t get into a good rhythm.
I realized that not doing the morning exercises, not doing them at a set time, or not completing the five sets of exercises every day would mean the mechanisms that Master has bestowed on us would not be strengthened properly or provide an optimal cultivation state. The coordinated morning exercise time is a precious opportunity. One can imagine how magnificent it is in other dimensions. Whatever we do as Dafa practitioners, be it studying the Fa, sending righteous thoughts, validating Dafa, or saving sentient beings, is all recorded and preserved for eternity in the new cosmos.
Master said,
“But actually, there are so many eyes in the cosmos intently watching you that the number is simply unimaginable. Even a single particle of matter is packed full of these eyes—even the tiniest of particles are. All of the lives in the cosmos are intently watching all that Dafa disciples do. And divine beings are among these. Your every thought and action are being recorded, and more vividly than video recording—everything is recorded multi-dimensionally.” (“Teaching the Fa in Washington D.C. in 2018,” Team Yellow Translation)
Master also said,
“Every time a person improves, the Attainment Status he has validated and enlightened to rises.” (“Path” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Master has prepared the ship for us to return to our heavenly paradises. We must elevate ourselves to the requisite position on time to be able to board the boat. If we waste our time on sleep, entertainment, makeup and clothing, how can we catch up with the Fa-rectification process? If we miss the boat, they will not send a plane to pick us up.
This dream was a wakeup call for me. I hope this article will awaken all those who find themselves in similar situations to be diligent.
This is my personal understanding. Kindly point out anything inappropriate.
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Category: Improving Oneself