The Adventures of Little Qi Shifu & Friends

The Long Night Before the Journey

(Preparing for Singapore)

@2026_Aileen-C-Jong-LAc_QiMastery | TM | All Rights Reserved   

It had been a truly super-hot, bone-dry California summer day. Even after sunset, heat still rose from the earth beneath the ancient Sequoia trees. Lady Qi Shifu and her friends were camping beneath those magnificent trees, surrounded by everything that should have felt peaceful: stars, crackling campfire, pine, and the nighttime chorus of insects beyond the glow of the flames.

But nobody was appreciating any of it. They were hot, bothered, buggy—and definitely not sleeping. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe the bugs. Or maybe it was because, in only two weeks, they would be flying across the Pacific for their big journey to Singapore. Nobody wanted to admit that part.

They sat unusually quietly around the campfire, watching orange-yellow sparks spiral into the darkness—until Fearful Freddy couldn’t hold it in any longer.

It Starts With Fear

“What if something bad happens?” Freddy blurted out. “We’re going so far away! What if they don’t like us? What if we forget the keynote speeches? What if nobody comes?” He paused, eyes widening. “WHAT IF TOO MANY PEOPLE COME?”

Octii opened one sleepy eye, but Freddy was only getting started. “What if the family hurts me again? What if I disappoint Dr. Hu? What if we’re not ready?” One fear produced another, then another. Some belonged to tomorrow. Some belonged to Singapore. And some seemed much, much older.

Soon poor Freddy was exhausted from being afraid of things that hadn’t even happened. Unfortunately, fear rarely stays politely inside one corner of the Five Element family. It travels—and Octii’s tummy heard everything.

And Then Octii Starts Thinking...

Professor Octii had been happily snoozing near the fire. Not anymore. “Freddy,” he groaned, pulling the blanket over his head, “can’t the fears wait until breakfast? Besides, I’m the one who’s supposed to be overthinking tomorrow.”

Too late. Freddy’s fears had landed squarely in Octii’s nine brains. What if Freddy was right? What if they weren’t ready—or good enough? What if everybody discovered they had no idea what they were doing? Octii’s stomach began to bubble. “I’m afraid too! If Freddy is this scared, maybe there really IS something to be scared about!”

His nine brains began thinking eighteen different thoughts at once. The peaceful campsite was deteriorating rapidly.

Raging Reggie Joins the Party

“I CAN’T SETTLE DOWN!” Reggie started raging. “I’M WORRIED!” POP! Head number two showed up. “WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!” POP! Three heads.

Now all three were talking at once. One wanted to rehearse the keynote again. One wanted to check the packing list. The third was certain nobody should sleep until every possible Singapore catastrophe had been anticipated and solved. The fire crackled higher. So did Reggie.

Commander Larry Takes Control

Commander Larry had had enough. Someone needed to restore order—and naturally Larry decided that someone was Larry. “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SETTLE DOWN! YOU’RE WAKING UP THE WILD GEESE!” Nobody listened. So Larry issued instructions, then more instructions, then instructions about the instructions. The more everyone ignored him, the more frustrated he became.

And Poor Bombo...

From the edge of the firelight came a sniffle. Bombo sat hunched beneath his blanket. “I’m sad... Nobody is going to come see Lady Qi Shifu do her Qi Magic.” He stared mournfully into the fire, already imagining an empty conference room. “Maybe this whole expensive trip isn’t even going to be worth it.”

Now everyone felt terrible. Well. That certainly didn’t help. Fear had become overthinking; overthinking, agitation; agitation, frustration; and frustration had collapsed into sadness. The entire Five Element family was officially awake.

Little Qi Shifu Listens

Lady Qi Shifu had been listening quietly. She didn’t promise Freddy that nothing bad would happen. She didn’t tell Octii to stop thinking, argue with Reggie, wrestle Larry’s clipboard away, or convince Bombo the conference room would be full. She couldn’t know what tomorrow would bring.

Instead, she sat beside the fire and began to hum—a familiar lullaby, slow, steady and gentle. Eventually Reggie stopped shouting long enough to hear it. Larry lowered his clipboard. Octii’s tentacles became still. Freddy listened. Bombo lifted his head.

Nobody had solved Singapore. Nothing about tomorrow had changed. But their attention had, and slowly their breathing changed with it. When the lullaby ended, Little Qi Shifu took a deeper breath. The others recognized what came next: the Six Healing Sounds—breath, vibration, attention and intention giving each feeling somewhere to move.

XÜ — Let the Anger Move

“XÜ...” (虚) Commander Larry breathed the Liver sound slowly. Again: “XÜ...” His shoulders dropped, his grip on the clipboard loosened, and he watched frustration drift away like campfire smoke. “I choose calm. I can lead with patience and understanding.”

KE — Let the Heart Settle

“KE...” (可) Raging Reggie breathed out. One head disappeared. “KE...” Then another, until only one peaceful red dragon remained. Regal Regina curled beside the fire. “I release the fire. I return to my true self.” After a moment: “I am enough.”

HU — Come Back to Center

Professor Octii placed his attention on his tummy. “HU...” (呼) His thoughts didn’t immediately disappear. In fact, 18 anxious thoughts were bouncing around his nine brains—two per brain. Boing. Boing. Boing. Poor Octii. No wonder his tummy was bubbling.

He breathed again. “HU...” He didn’t need to stop every thought; he simply didn’t have to chase every one. His tummy softened. “I belong. I don’t have to prove anything. I have prepared. Now I can be present.”

XIA — Let the Sadness Clear

“XIA...” (吓) Bombo breathed. With each breath, the heaviness lifted and his breathing opened. Slowly Bombo transformed into Bombi, her Crystal of Clarity shining in the moonlight. “I am loved. I am seen. I am where I need to be. There is no wrong moment.”

CHUI — Fear Can Move Too

Finally Freddy took a breath. This one was harder. Some of his fears had been traveling with him for a very long time. “CHUI...” (吹) He breathed the Kidney sound into the darkness. The fear was still there—but now there was space around it.

The forest was still dark. Singapore was still far away. The future was still unknown. But Freddy remembered: not knowing what happens next does not mean something bad will happen. “CHUI... I am safe right now. I can meet whatever comes. I can move forward with courage and grace.” Fearful Freddy was becoming Fearless Frederick again.

XI — Returning to Harmony

Little Qi Shifu smiled. “XI...” (嘻) She breathed the Triple Warmer sound gently into the night. One by one, her friends climbed into their sleeping bags as the campfire burned lower beneath the ancient Sequoias.

Nothing had been guaranteed or completely solved. Singapore still waited across the Pacific—with airplanes, keynote speeches, new students and friends, old family and childhood friends, memories, possibilities, and plenty they could not control. But tonight, none of it needed to be solved. Tonight, they only needed to breathe.

Freddy closed his eyes. Octii’s nine brains finally stopped holding a committee meeting. Regina curled peacefully beside him. Larry put away his clipboard. Bombi tucked the Crystal of Clarity beside her sleeping bag. Tomorrow they could prepare again. Tonight they would rest.

Because sometimes the first step of a very big journey is trusting yourself enough to sleep the night before it begins. Qi had returned home.

晚安。 Wǎn ān. Good night.

My Reflection: The Journey Before the Journey

As I prepared for Singapore, I realized that the greatest journey was not the flight across the Pacific. Another journey was already happening inside me—the distance between fear and trust.

Some fears were practical: Had I prepared enough? Would people come? Would the presentations resonate? Would I remember what I wanted to say? But some fears were much older. Returning to Singapore also meant returning to the place where I grew up—to family, memories, old relationships with old childhood friends, and old emotional patterns. The adult professional in me could prepare keynote slides, organize workshops and make travel plans. Fearful Freddy wasn’t interested in my résumé. He kept asking: What if you get hurt again?

Isn’t that what fear often does? Something happened long ago, and fear quietly whispers that because it happened once, it might happen again. Larry plans harder. Reggie tries to take control. Octii digests every possibility until all nine brains are exhausted. Bombo imagines disappointment before anything has even happened. Suddenly the entire inner Five Element family is awake at 2:00 a.m. trying to solve a future that hasn’t arrived yet.

Little Qi Shifu knows better—not because she knows what will happen, but because she has learned that certainty and trust are not the same thing. So we return to something simpler: slow down, breathe, feel the body, make the sound, let the emotion move, return to the present moment, return to the Tao.

The Six Healing Sounds cannot promise that every presentation will be perfect, every person will understand me, or old relationships will suddenly become different. That isn’t their job. Their gift is helping me meet what comes from a more balanced place.

Fear may still arise, but fear does not have to drive the plane. I can listen to Freddy without handing him the controls. Perhaps that is one meaning of self-empowerment: not eliminating fear, but learning that I can feel fear and still move forward.

I can prepare. I can practice. I can breathe. I can trust the decades of training that brought me here. I can honor Dr. Hu not by trying to reproduce him perfectly, but by carrying forward what I learned from him in my own way. And I can allow Singapore to become whatever Singapore is going to become.

Nothing outside the tent had changed. But something inside had. Qi had returned home.

晚安。 Wǎn ān. Good night.

Wisdom from the Tao

Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.

― Verse 16 - Tao Te Ching
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