Tips on mental housekeeping.

Managing the growth of the mind.

Energy is a universal requirement for life. Even the most basic cellular functions require significant amounts of energy. Sunlight, water, and food are the sources of energy for the body, and these energy substrates are the foundation for everything else we do in life. The body is highly efficient in extracting and storing energy. Even though sunlight, water, and food may be in abundance, the body uses what is required and any excess, to a limited extent, is stored for later use. The mind depends on the incoming sensory information from the five senses for its growth. No experience from the world can enter our mind unless they pass through one of the five senses. Unlike the body, which sends a signal to pause eating once the stomach is full, the mind does not send out a message to the senses to cease bringing in experiences. That is the nature of the mind. Managing the growth of the mind becomes our responsibility and may be a challenge in light of the enormous amount of sensory information we process every day.

Like the body, the more we feed the mind, the more it bulks up.

This growth of the mind, however, is invisible to our eyes which are projected towards the world. We cannot easily assess the scope and dimensions the mind assumes over time. Our conscious perception of the mind’s…