# Gathering Information, Noticing Patterns, Pondering

By [littlealona.eth](https://paragraph.com/@littlealona) · 2024-04-06

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### **Gathering Information, Noticing Patterns, Pondering**

In order to effectively gather information, one must adapt several filters in the mind with which all input gets sifted through, like a baker’s flour ready for a new batch of cookies. This prevents impurities in the thought process and helps us fight the urge to run to the next shiny object.

It’s one thing to casually tinker with the idea of exploring one’s own curious nature, but when things begin to tip into full-time, always-on exploration, it can become quite dangerous for those mind filters.

The term “mind palace,” if you’ve heard of it, comes into play here as well. It isn’t _only_ used for memory, a la Sherlock Holmes, though that is certainly one way to use it. Often, it’s a place of retreat, a place where I go to sit in contemplation. It’s how I can gather tons and tons of data every day and still recall with accuracy when the tiniest bit warrants sharing. Tending to this mind palace so it doesn’t decay, crumble, and rot away is critical for curiosity to flourish.

As I regularly sit to ponder on the information I’ve gathered, an incredibly important step in this venture is a meditative process cycling between:

3-4 hours of focused hunting + gathering

Followed by a long walk or nap

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*Originally published on [littlealona.eth](https://paragraph.com/@littlealona/gathering-information-noticing-patterns-pondering)*