Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa

CTR Quote of the Week

First Thought

We have created layer after layer of security mechanisms in our lives. We are taught to consult authorities or experts about almost everything. If you feel sick, you ask a professional for advice, who is called a doctor. If you feel mentally unwell, you ask a professional called a psychiatrist or a therapist to help you. If you have a leak in your roof or something is wrong with the plumbing in your house, you call in a professional roofer, a plumber, or a general contractor to fix the problem.

First thought is an intuition that we pick up on in ourselves, but we often don’t accept it. In our practice of medication, the need for professional advice may lead us to reject our first thought. We’re not prepared to accept our own experience, without outside validation. We ask ourselves, “What is the proof?” Or we ask, “Is it okay to feel this way? If I go along with this first thought, something might go terribly wrong. Then what?” That second-guessing of ourselves is precisely the problem, the second thought that gets in the way.

First thought is a spontaneous starting point. It is a flash or a spark of what you are about, who you are, and what your are. On the spot, you can rediscover your mind, what your mind might be, what your mind really is.

From “First Thought,” in Mindfulness in Action: Making Friends with Yourself through Meditation and Everyday Awareness, page 42.

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CTR Quote of the Week

The CTR Quote of the Week is coming to you from the Chogyam Trungpa Institute at Naropa University. The compiler of the quotes and the moderator of the list is Carolyn Gimian.

All material is used by permission of Diana J. Mukpo.

Photo of Chogyam Trungpa by James Gritz.

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