Information is flooding our minds all day long. We have work and family responsibilities, piles of mail and papers to deal with, projects, chores, the business of living. Then we layer on tv, radio, news, You Tube, Netflix, social media. The chatter never ends until we go to bed and close our eyes.

But does it end there? Is the quality of my sleeping and dreaming affected by what I’m putting into my mind? Is the quality of my conversation and socializing during the day affected by what I’m paying attention to? I doubt we think about that very much––probably because we are too busy thinking about all that other stuff!

I have a little note in my kitchen which asks: “What are you putting in your mind? What are you using your mind for? How could you improve that?” In other words, how could I be more conscious in my choices? Today, a friend added: “How is what I’m taking in affecting what I’m putting out?”

The construction project in my home has been dragging on. I am spending my mental capital doing things like researching polyurethanes and calculating gallons for square feet. I feel sluggish and irritable. I am capable of this, but it does not feed me. It’s a lot of left brain activity: analytical, calculating, controlling. I feel so much more connected when I am doing right brain activity: free-associating, being curiously creative, allowing. That’s the kind of brain wave activity that occurs during retreat time.

Every thought and action in our lives is made up of energy waves. They create energy impressions in the world and the impressions add up. If my current way of functioning doesn’t allow for healthy energy, then it’s up to me to choose something else. To make room for the kind of energy that feeds my spirit. To prioritize that. To welcome it. Not just so that my time on Earth will be more satisfying, but also so the energy that I am creating enriches the Universe.