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Note: This the first post in the series entitled "The Tree of Life"

The First Leaf in our Tree of Life is The Art of Welcoming the Dawn

Waking up is an art in itself. The way you spend the first few minutes after you wake up influences your mind for the rest of the day .

Lama Surya Das is a renowned dzogchen teacher in the west, he is also the author of the book - 'Natural Perfection - Essential Teachings , Meditations and Chants from the dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism ' . This is a Book(and an Audio Book) i highly recommend to my readers.
Lama Surya Das says that the first thing one must do as one wakes up is to just sit stratight spread your hands high and wide apart and stretch them as apart as you can , take a deep breath in and just breathe out saying 'AAHHHHH".

Thast it ! All you have to do just say 'Aahhh'. When i first heard Lama Surya Das say this i said well that's just child's play! and so i did it the next day and believe it or not some thing magical happens in you. There is something deeper to this very simple exercise, its the act of showing the universe that 'Aahhh' yes i have woken up and i embrace life. The fact is you don't even have to say the meaning of this to your self. This simple act just is a way of conveying beyond words your presence and aliveness to the outer world.And when you do that you will feel it , a feeling that cannot be put down in words. A little something that leaves you with a feeling of joy for the precious life that you have ,for the rest of the day.


His Holiness The Dalai Lama has this advice to give about waking up. Every day, think as you wake up, 'Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive , I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am going to not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as i can.'
This simple act just is a way of focusing presence and awareness to your inner world.

-- Sachin Modeel

I first read this poem in "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche.

"Autobiography in Five Chapters"

1) I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost . . . I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

2) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

3) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in . . . it's a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it

5) I walk down another street.


i would be starting a series of posts entitled "The Road to Enlightenment" and another parallel series called the "The Tree of Life". I am off on a retreat for 3 weeks . So the series shall receive its postings very soon.
Most of it has already been started but theres more that needs to be written.i am unaware of many things, thats what the retreat is for.

I am reminded of Krishnamurti's Notebook when this idea had come to me....."time shall teach me what ever i need to learn".This is some thing that is beyond all limits of what i have ever creatively done in my life.