There's an increasing amount of neuroscience and psychology research that supports all of these conclusions. In short, our brains haven't evolved as quickly as

There's an increasing amount of neuroscience and psychology research that supports all of these conclusions. In short, our brains haven't evolved as quickly as the environment around us, and our nervous system (e.g., amygdala) tends to react agnostically to sensory, environmental, contextual, etc. inputs. If we are not aware of those reactions and don't redirect them toward "good" weights (taking the definition of "good" and "bad" as Packard describes in Lesson #1), then our brain's neural net just reinforces the weights in a "bad" direction. The point is that if these lessons come off too "woo woo," spiritual, and rooted in philosophy to you, know that the science of the brain (and thus, the mind) supports all of these conclusions, as well. Specifically, the lessons laid out herein are requisite for long-term and sustaining contentment from a scientific perspective, as well. I am working on software to deliver this knowledge to people along with tools to effectively implement habits that can help them live better (i.e., more content and purpose-driven) lives. Lastly, if this read sparked something in your mind and you want to read more, I suggest reading "Something to do with Paying Attention" by David Foster Wallace. It's an incredible novella that, as the title may suggest, deals exclusively with Packard's notion "to keep aware and awake." Nihilism is the devil and we must defeat him.