(Minghui.org) I was in a deep sleep when my alarm rang—it was 3:15 a.m. I changed the alarm to 4:15 a.m. and went back to sleep. When the alarm went off again, I silenced it and continued to sleep. Soon, I started to dream.
I was flying over a tall mountain in an airplane. As I looked out the window, I saw big birds flying in a different direction. Other birds circled around them, but they didn’t collide. Everything looked dazzling and in perfect order.
My plane cruised in circles and landed at a castle-looking airport. Everyone got off to stay a while. We were told we would have to check in again. I needed to use the bathroom, but all the stalls looked dirty, and none could be used. I accidentally got my skirt dirty. I initially thought I wouldn’t wash it, but another passenger looked at me. I was embarrassed and had to wash my skirt. I found a bucket of water that wasn’t that clean. After washing my skirt, I lost my shoes. I finally found them and went to check in. Someone tried to keep me away, but I passed easily. I felt relieved after I checked in.
As we moved forward, I spotted a package of crackers in a shop along the way. The crackers were made at my favorite place. I knew my family liked them, too. I looked up and down, but couldn’t find the cashier. I realized that time was running out, so I ran up over to the castle to the departure point only to discover that my plane had taken off. The other planes weren’t going to my destination. Someone approached me and said, “Everyone who comes here has a ticket, but it doesn’t mean everyone can catch the flight. The planes don’t wait. They are the last flights!”
Looking at the other people who’d missed their flights, too, I became anxious and felt helpless, regretful, lost, and agonized—and I woke up in shock. The clock showed 5:15 a.m. I got up and did the exercises.
What I experienced in my dream indeed reflected my cultivation state.
After cultivating for over 20 years, I still have trouble doing the exercises. Sleepiness bothers me whether I do them in the morning or in the evening. Sometimes I can do the Falun Standing Stance for an hour, sometimes for half hour. I skip one day every week. I tried to get up at 3:15 a.m. to do the exercises for the past month but didn’t do well this morning. There seemed to be some insurmountable obstacle.
I do think that I have reached a certain level of faith after cultivating myself for over 20 years. I have followed Master’s teaching, despite ups and downs, until today. I’m also aware of the difficulties of cultivation and my mission, and I try to cultivate myself solidly. However, I’m not completely clear about the Dafa principles. For example, I follow closely what is going on in society, and I have attachments to the ending time of the Fa-rectification and to sentiments about my family. My worries and desires have made it hard for me to concentrate on my cultivation. I also lack a deep understanding of Dafa’s power to harmonize everything. Some elements of disbelief still remain in my mind.
I realize that I haven’t completely eliminated or changed my human notions and habits or formed any mature way of doing things as a genuine cultivator. When things come about, I unconsciously fall into the realm of human notions, just like looking for a bathroom. My dream reflected my attachments to comfort, an ordinary person’s life (buying crackers), reputation (washing my skirt), showing off, slacking off, and so on.
During the final stage of our cultivation, different forms of interference by the evil (just like the big birds) appear to be chaotic but have actually been carefully arranged to run through their course. They won’t affect genuine Falun Dafa practitioners too much. However, I have been held back by my remaining human notions. We have to pass tests at every stage of cultivation—just like checking in again. If we don’t cultivate diligently until the last moment, we won’t be able to pass and will miss our last flight to return to our true origin.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Improving Oneself