Building Self-Discipline
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
We all have nighttime dreams. Sometimes we even dream within a dream, so that it becomes difficult to discriminate between dream world and reality. At times, we find it hard to wake up in the mornings and start to worry about being late for school or work. At that moment, we think we hear the alarm clock go off and instinctively reach out to turn it off but somehow never managing to. Finally we open our eyes only to realize that we have been dreaming.
Some people never dream at all which is quite a feat in itself. This is because it can only happen to those who never worry. There are also those who have clear dreams in which they are aware that they are dreaming. This is also an indication of a high level of personal attainment.
Of course the worst cases are those whose dream imagery is all jumbled up so that one can hardly make heads or tails of it. These people do not sleep well either and feel groggy upon waking. If you are one of them, then you should pay attention and work on cultivating your mind. In that way you can calm an anxious mind and improve concentration.
In my experience, those who have a lot of weird and random dreams can be helped by practicing Qi Gong. If we use a proper method to train ourselves and do it regularly, then we will develop discipline. The development of discipline enables us to bring the real world into the dream world.
At first, many of my students doubt the truth of it. However after a period of training, they discover changes in the way they dream – their dreamscape becomes clearer, the structure more reasonable and less wacky; even if they do have a wacky dream, they are able to alert themselves to pay attention to whatever is necessary and will not find themselves lost and confused.
Regular practice improves our cognitive abilities, so that we are able to relax our mind and focus better. It also leads to gradual transformations in our subconscious mind so that our dreams increasingly mirror our subconscious. In this way, the subconscious will be made conscious, leading to an integration of the two minds so that they are no longer at odds with each other.
“Developing discipline in our lives can improve mental health and focus, and release our inner potential.” — Lee Feng San Shifu