Compression is a phenomenon in conceptual integration that allows human bei
ngs to simultaneously control long diffuse chains of logical reasoning and
to grasp the global meanings of such chains. Compression operates on a smal
l set (under twenty) of relations rooted in fundamental human neurobiology
as it applies to shared physical and socio-cultural human experience. So-ca
lled Vital Relations, including Cause-Effect, Change, Time, Identity, Inten
tionality, Representation, and Part-Whole, can apply across mental spaces,
and also define essential topology within mental spaces. In blending networ
ks, a vital relation across inputs (outer-space vital relation) can be comp
ressed into a vital relation within the blended space (inner-space vital re
lation). We show how one of the overarching goals of compression through bl
ending is to achieve 'human scale' in the blended space, where a great many
of our conscious manipulations take place.