Just as we grow externally by the food we eat, we grow internally by the dreams that we cherish.

The current culture fills us with dreams that are either trivial or sensational.

Trivial like our favorite sports team winning a world championship – what difference is that going to make to the quality of our life or the life of anyone else?

Sensational like we winning a lottery or getting the perfect partner – things that rarely happen outside novels and movies. And even if they happen, they still need a lot of hard work to sustain, hard work of consideration and commitment that the fairy tales hardly ever highlight.

Why is such a diet for our heart unhealthy, even deadly?

Firstly, it distracts us from the actual undeniable reality of material existence – it’s a place of misery and mortality, so few of our dreams will be fulfilled and even those that are fulfilled won’t last.

Secondly, it deprives us of the truly healthy diet of Krishna-centered visualizations, aspirations and dreams. Knowing the reality of material existence doesn’t mean that we have to give up our dreams; we need to spiritualize them so that they become progressive parts that contribute to our ultimate dream of loving Krishna and living with him eternally.

That’s why Gita wisdom repeatedly urges us to offer our mind and our intelligence to Krishna. These two central subtle faculties comprise the pathway for our heart; the mind provides the content and the intelligence provides the compass for our dreams. Using our intelligence, we choose to love Krishna and using our mind, we concentrate our emotional energy on him.

The Bhagavad-gita (08.07) assures us that when we offer both these to Krishna, we march straight to him for a life of everlasting happiness.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 08 Text 07

“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krishṇa and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.”