(Minghui.org) Some time ago, a fellow practitioner told me that she practiced the exercises early in the morning. Afterwards, she sent forth righteous thoughts at 6 a.m. Then she would study one lecture of the Fa, and then do some housework. I was a little bit surprised and wondered if she felt sleepy after getting up so early in the morning and studying the Fa right after practicing the exercises without taking a nap. For me, I usually take a nap after the morning exercises, and then I study the Fa and take care of other things. The gap between me and that practitioner was quite large. I knew I needed to look inward.

First, I found that I thought of the exercises as a task to complete. Whereas in reality, I was very lucky to have such a good cultivation environment, compared to fellow practitioners in prison who cannot practice the exercises. I also tended to think highly of myself when I was doing well at practicing the exercises, even if I am not that good at other aspects of cultivation. This is a reflection my attachment to showing off. I am ashamed of such thoughts.

Master taught us:

“That's because doing the exercises is the most effective way to get rid of fatigue, it's the best way to quickly make your body recover.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV.)

I had the notion that I would be tired after doing the exercises. Therefore, I always felt sleepy and felt a lack of energy when doing the fifth exercise. My notion was the same as that of ordinary people: only when you feel well rested and sleep well can you practice well.

I used to think that I dozed off while practicing the exercises because I didn’t get enough sleep. Therefore, I tried various methods that non-practitioners might use to solve this problem. For example, I would do the first four exercises before 12 a.m., and then lie down to rest. I often couldn’t wake up to send forth righteous thoughts at 12 a.m., and if I did, the effect wasn’t that good as I wasn’t clear headed.

I am determined to change my human notions. I no longer think that practicing the exercises is tiring and that it will take away from my sleep time. I no longer passively regard doing the exercises as completing a task. As a result, I didn’t feel sleepy after I got up at 3 a.m. and did all five sets of exercises. I didn’t even need to go back to sleep after sending righteous thoughts at 6 a.m. 

I truly understand what Master said:

“...And human notions change,The degenerate things purged,Brightness now shines forth.”(“Born Anew,” Hong Yin)

Please point out anything in my sharing that is not based on the Fa.

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Category: Improving Oneself