Our Obsession With Being ‘Special’ Is Making Us Miserable—And There’s a Cure
A purpose beyond self-aggrandizement leads to the good life
Mindset Shifts—Essays by Barry Brownstein
Awareness of your mindset is the portal to change
Live Last read · last published · next check
Latest posts
The Screwtape Letters, Session 7: Choosing Love Over the Ego’s Scraps
A bitter idol, rather than a symbol of Love, advances Screwtape’s mission.
Eat, Pray, Demand: The Selfish Hunt for Self-Gratification
We must undergo a fundamental revolution in our attitude, shifting our focus from what we can take from life to what life expects from us.
The Screwtape Letters, Session 6: Love After the Thrill Fades
Feelings are not meant to be the control center of our lives.
Dr. Fauci, Vasily Grossman, and the Evil of Good Intentions
Life is not evil, but bureaucracies will be cruel when power is unchecked, and conscience is subordinated to institutional loyalty.
The Screwtape Letters, Session 5: The Ego’s War on the Present
Anticipating future relief is just another delay tactic that sacrifices our current freedom
The First Week of August (2026)
Focus on fully enjoying the tiny slice of experiences you actually do have time for.
The Screwtape Letters, Session 4: Drifting and the Life Recovered
"Ten years ago, I turned my face for a moment, and it became my life.”
When Science Becomes a State Religion
The Fauci problem was always bigger than Fauci.
The Screwtape Letters, Session 3: The Trough Is Where the Work Begins
Character is not a thing you have and then express; it is a thing you build by repetition, act by act, until the repetition has made a disposition.
Hail the Hollow AI Caesar
No matter how much AI flatters you, it doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t appreciate you or understand you. It never will.
The Screwtape Letters, Session 2: Waking Up to Reality
Acceptance of suffering works only on suffering that is actually present.