From “Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart” by Brian D. McLaren
One of my mantras for life after doom is “mind your mind.” Pay attention not only to external evidence but also to the subjective internal dynamics that are constantly influencing your perspective as you evaluate and interpret that evidence.
When I say “mind your mind”, I don’t just mean your rational processes. Instead, I mean your whole nervous system, the hardware on which the software of your consciousness runs. It includes the brain, but really, it is much larger, comprising the network of nerves that extends through and is integrated with the whole human body. (It’s worth noting that through all our media of communication, from speech and writing to the internet and social media, our individual nervous systems are linked as never before with billions of others too.)
One thing we know about our nervous system: it is far more complicated than we understand. That’s why we reach for metaphors – each of which is admittedly limited and imperfect – to help us understand the system by which we understand.
My current working metaphor for my nervous system is “the board of directors of Me, Incorporated.” This board of directors has three main committees. Each committee is composed of various arrangements of specialized cells that are located in various parts of my brain and body. Each of these committees has many subcommittees, but to keep the metaphor simple, I’ll focus only on the three main committees.