A Life's Work

This is the story of my lifelong effort to figure out why it was so hard for me to be happy, and the surprising result when I finally did. It tells how, having exhausted the traditional paths of philosophy, psychology, religion and external material success, I began to pay attention to the ongoing drama in my inner life. When I did that, I realized that most of my thoughts, and much of my external behavior, were not what I wanted. That, in turn, drove me to learn about the origin and nature of my brain, leading me to conclude that my brain, for all its indispensability, is a mindless computer that doesn't care about me except at the most physical, existential level. Having recognized my brain for what it is, I describe a practice I have developed to manage the thing, which has led me to being happier than I have ever been.