DPF #17- 3/7/21- Your Choice of Stimulus is your Mind’s Food

Just as one could choose whole, healthy, nutritious, well-balanced food or low-quality, ultra-processed, chemically-“enhanced”, and gluttony-inducing food as one’s nutritional and energy input for the body, so one has similar options for the nutrition and energy for the mind. Our thoughts, reactions, and ruminations often stem from our recent experience. That experience is largely shaped by what we choose to input, in the form of stimulus. That late night horror tv show may not seem that damaging, but those images, sounds, and reality remain in your subconscious well after you turn off the tv. The same is true for the quality of books, conversation, and other uses of your free time. The opposite (beneficial) effect is also possible. If you ever go out in nature, for a hike, or a walk, that sublime, peaceful effect on your subconscious will stay with you for some time, until you perturb it with more stimulus of the stress-inducing variety. I recommend meditation/reflective practice of some sort, regular exercise in nature (hiking/jogging), music/art digestion and creation, gardening/farming, and smiling.