October 12, 2025

The Job of the Brain

The job of the heart is to pump blood. The job of the lungs is to suck air. The job of the brain is to make thoughts. The lungs and the heart work ALL the time and never turn off. Same. The brain never stops making thoughts. That’s it’s job.

This can be hard to live with!

Sometimes (a lot of times maybe), we want the thoughts to stop. Yet getting your brain to stop making thoughts is really, really hard it turns out. People practice meditation and try to “empty the mind,” yet another strategy is to “change the mind.”

When troubling thoughts are streaming in, I try to replace the troubling thoughts with peaceful thoughts. I intentionally manufacture fun things to think about. I actually DO fun things so the planning and the doing and the reflecting all take up space in my brain. Not only do I try to see my glass half-full rather than half-empty, I try to actually fill the whole glass with good thoughts so there’s no empty space for bad thoughts.

Another strategy: I’ve learned that I have choices about where to look; what I read and view online. Whatever I look at is gonna generate thoughts; that’s the job of the brain. I try to keep that in mind.

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The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is an inspiration

Happy Indigeneous Peoples Day Everyone

The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is the official visitor orientation for the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument along the East Branch of the Penobscot River, homeland of the Penobscot Nation.

It's nice to see how the new National Monument recognizes and tries to honor the native heritage of this place.

Learn all about it here.

Carol and I visited last weekend. The federal government was shut down but the staff were working because a charitable gift was paying their salaries.

I always love learning about the native people of Maine; it’s always both a wonder and a sadness. Mostly I’m in awe that they lived as they did. And sometimes envious.

Two things about the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station. One, they don’t sell anything there. No food. No souvenirs. Nothing. Intentionally different from a typical park visitors center. And personally, I think that’s fanTAStic; that they have made this sacred space a capitalism-free zone. Good for them. Two, the Penobscot River system is etched into the floor. I’ve lived in Maine for over 40 years and I'm just now coming to understand the vastness of the Penobscot watershed with its innumerable lakes and rivers all connected. It's a system. An ecosystem.

It was an honor and a privilege to spend time in that part of the world last weekend. On the weekend of Indigenous People's Day, it's a marvel to reflect on the people who once lived here. And I try to remember that native people are still here, living among us, due our respect.

Join me online at 1pm ET on Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Have you heard of the Rainbow Rule?

Join me and Dr. Gray Cox of the College of the Atlantic to learn all about it.

More info about the Rainbow Rule here.

Register for the Training Talk Show here. No charge.

What do you think of the Rainbow Rule? How do you think it could be applied? Let's talk.

Maine Lakes Bucket List

Carol’s Dad loved fishing the north Maine woods. He’s passed and we recently found a box labeled “Lake Maps.” Inside was this piece of paper. A list.

Is this a list of favorites that he already visited? Or maybe a dream list. I’m thinkin’ to make it MY list.

Northern Maine is so sparsely populated that we call it the Unorganized Territory. It’s divided it into a grid of townships and regions; hence labels like T9-R15.

Turns out the box contains hundreds of maps. And an order form. The form itself is amazing because it lists thousands of Maine lakes and ponds and shows that he ordered over 300 maps of Aroostook County lakes alone.

Here’s a little video that explains more.

I posted photos from northern Maine on LinkedIn if you want to take a look. The photos are all in the Big Eddy / Abol Bridge area of the West Branch of the Penobscot River, homeland of the Penobscot Nation.

Links to get along and find peace

Written and published by Craig Freshley. Thanks for walking along with me.