Shrines, Shrines, and More Shrines

This weekend, I made some adjustments to my shrine. I made it so it's dedicated solely to Brighid. And I put all the other pictures in separate shrines.

The first Bridghid version is here. First, obviously, is a wonderful image of Brighid in a frame. I flanked her with two red primroses. (Primroses were often found on my altar years ago when I first got into Paganism.) Underneath Brighid are three candles, which represent the three circles at the top of the symbol for Awen. Then, I have three more candles extending downward to represent the three rays in the Awen symbol. Then, next to the center ray, I have little metal cups with earth, water, and incense. To the left and right, is my Wild Wood Tarot deck, with my Daily Tarot Card, and my copy of A Book of Pagan Prayer. 

But the next day, this is the setup I came up with. First, I had added three more candles to make the three rays more distinct and removed the cups. Then, I put the Tarot card leaned up on the left. But then the whole thing was off balance. So I thought the right needed something. I looked around the room and spotted my wedding picture. Of course. The thing I love most belongs on my altar. So I added it on the right, along with one of the hand-made sachets that my wife had made as wedding favors. 

But then I thought about the three rays. To me, the ray in front of my wife and stepdaughter, should represent love. And love for all of humanity. Then, what do the others represent? 

I saw a pattern. The right represents love, which in my mind, correlates with the element water. So are the other elements there? Where's earth? Of course, not only should I love people, I should love the Earth. So maybe I put something that represents the earth. I wanted to put a type of statue, but don't have one at the moment. So I found a wonderful image of Gaia and framed it. I wanted to add some other earth-representative objects as well. And after a look around the house, my yard, and even a short stroll around the neighborhood, I came up with a stone, a seashell, and a mandarin orange.

So the middle ray? Well, element-wise, it represents both fire and air, which to me is the interaction between the the Great Mystery (Brighid as Awen) and myself. Sprit outside myself. And Spirit within. Thus, a perfect place to put the day's Tarot card.

Above and behid (not seen) is a Hanuman wall hanging. I'm going to try and make a hand-made hanging with the Awen symbol in the middle. Higher above is this cheap, little hand-made pentagram made of woven twigs that I picked up at a craft store. And above, to the side is a cheap, little hand-made broom made of some kind of stiff straw or reeds. I occasionally use it to spiritually clear the space. (But I usually forget.)

And this one I just made this today as a whim. It started as two azaleas I picked up today at the supermarket. Then I wanted put put a small bowl of fresh fruit in my office, and it seemed to fit in front of the flowers. Then, for some reason, I added a scented candle. I think I wanted to add a pleasant scent to the room without firing up some incense. Then found a very beautiful painting of Awen online. I printed it out, framed it, and looked for a place to put it. It seemed to fit well with the others. Except the two flowers were now too much. So I moved one of them elsewhere in the room.

I find it quite beautiful. And since it's sitting right next to my computer, it helps to balance out the tech. And I think I'm going to make another one like it at work.

And here is where all my Hindu pictures went. It was hastily-built, so I still need to get some more frames. From left to right: Krishna; Ganesh (figurine in front); Kali; the Holy Mother Sarada Devi; one picture with Rama, Sita, Laskshmana and Hanuman; Hanuman (figure in front); Sri Ramakrishna; Lakshmi (figure in front); Swami Vivekananda; and my late Gurudev, Swami Swahananda.

There's also a stuffed and embroidered Hanuman hanging above, which was hand made by a talented friend in Brazil that makes all sorts of deities and other objects. You can find samples of her work here.

And here are my Christian images, St Francis, Jesus, and Mary with the infant Jesus.

Now, any time I'm in my office, I light the single candles in my Hindu and Christian shrines, and the three top candles in my Brighid shrine. I usually only light the rest of the candles when I'm praying at it.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Common Experiences at Religious Events

I've been reading a lot accounts by Pantheon attendees. And they all describe similar experiences or reactions.

Here are some examples:

I Wear My Crown - by David Salisbury
PantheaCon: Much Work to be Done - by Teo Bishop

But what I found most interesting, is they're descriptions are IDENTICAL to those I heard from people that have attended similar Christian events, whether multi-day conventions or weekend retreats. And this includes my experience during and after those events. (And I'm sure some of the Woodstock attendees experienced the same thing.)

I would feel a massive, dramatic, sobering movement of the spirit during the event. (Usually coming to a climax during the final program on Saturday night.) Then leaving the event, glowing and floating on a cloud. Then the following week, having to process all the inputs and impressions. And eventually, things going back to normal.

At the time, it would give me confirmation that Christianity really is the one true religion. Because if it wasn't, these things couldn't have happened.

But I have long stopped thinking that way. And I love hearing all these similar stories about PantheaCon. Because it is just another example of how similar all the spiritual paths are. That spiritual experiences happen to everybody in every religion. And no one religion is any better than the other.

Or, it just proves that we're all nuts :)  

Hail Holy Queen Brighid

I've noticed that there are a number of prayers to Bridghid that devotees have created by adapting prayers originally written for St. Brigid. I myself don't really feel that much of a connection to St. Brigid, but I do have a life-long connection to the Blessed Mother Mary. And one of my favorite prayers to her is "Hail, Holy Queen." And sometimes, when sitting with Brighid, the prayer pops up in my mind. But I don't want to recite it, because there are elements that don't connect with Brighid. And not enought elements that do. And it mentions sentiments that I no longer ascribe to, such as "that we may be made worthy of the promised of Christ."

So I took the time to adapt the prayer to be more aligned with my devotion to Brighid. Here is my first attempt:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of comfort!
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor wandering children of Danu,
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Cover us, most gracious goddess,with thy thine mantle of healing;
And show unto us the blessed mysteries of Awen;
O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother Brighid.
Kindle our flames, O Holy Mother Eternal,
That we may spread mercy, compassion, and love throughout all the earth.

I posted it on a few social media sites. And most of the feedback was positive. And though I didn't receive any negative feedback, I did get some scholarly correction. Mostly with my use of "Awen," since it is technically a Welsh term, and Brighid, maybe at least as I spell it, is an Irish name. There was also some feedback about my use of "Thee," "Thou," and "Hail," saying the culture or spirituality out in which Brighid is central would never use these terms.

Well, I responded to some of this feedback, and I wanted to share it here:

------------------------------

Keep in mind, that I wrote this out of love of Brighid. And I wanted another way to put those feelings into words. So I was not aiming for scholarly accuracy. But emotional resonance. And though Brighid is a Celtic deity, to me, she is that and much more. 

To me, she is the human-faced persona that I currently clothe the Goddess in. And the Goddess has been the comforter and protector all my life. For a great while, that persona was Mary. And for some part, it was the Holy Mother Sarada Devi in the Hindu Ramakrisha movement (along with Kali and Lakshmi). But now, Brighid is calling to me. And I am calling to her. And this prayer was one way of carrying over some of those feelings I have felt and feel for Mary.

The final result, is obviously very syncretic. It contains elements of my Catholic past (and present), connection to modern Neo-Druidry and Neo-Paganism, and Irish and Welsh language/mythology/spirituality. And my use of Awen is deliberate in that it is the name most used within modern Druidry to refer to the Great Mystery behind this whole picture show.

Obviously, this originally catholic prayer to Mary can be used as a backbone to a prayer to (almost) any Godess to any Pantheon. (I'm thinking of doing one devoted to Kali for my Hindu friends.) Thus, if you were so inclined, I would encourage you to do an authentically Irish one. Or, I might just take your feedback and do one myself.

How to Use Google Calendar as a Spiritual Diary

I have a number of posts from my old spiritual blog, The Four Realms, that I want to migrate to here. This is the first.

I assume many Wiccans and Pagans keep a diary or journal. I myself sometimes post to the private online journal Penzu, and sometimes in my hardbound journal. And with a diary, you can look back and see what you've been doing and thinking, so as to track your spiritual progress (or non-progress, as it may be.)

The problem with these type of journals is it's hard to get an overall view or spot patterns and trends. Also, sitting down and composing a paragraph is sometimes intimidating or takes up too much time. So, in addition to my traditional journaling, I've been tracking stuff in my Google Calendar as well. Sometimes, this entries are all I do. Sometimes they serve as notes to when I do write the long-form entries in Penzu.

First, I started by creating a new calendar called Diary, and colored as I saw fit. Then I started adding significant spiritual events. But, over time, I started adding more and more stuff. This is not only helpful, but coincides with the concept that one should not have a spiritual life and a mundane life, but should be one and the same.

Things to Add

• Practices such as meditations, rituals
• Positive and negative personal interactions
• Spells and successes
• Acquisition of sacred objects and books
• Daily Tarot Readings - I tag these as "DTR"s
• Creative pursuits
• People you've met
• Encounters with the divine
• Communion with nature
• Things that weighed heavily on your mind

Put Things in Context

Another thing that helps is context. I have other calendars in view, such as personal events and appointments and U.S. holidays. But I've added other stuff as well that helps put spiritual and personal diary entries in context.

• Wiccan Holidays
• Phases of the Moon
• Moon Signs

Some calendars can be found by going to the "Other Calendars" box in the lower left, clicking on "Add" in the lower right corner of the box and selecting "Browse Interesting Calendars." Then you'll get to a page with three tabs near the top: "Holidays," "Sports" and "More." You will find Phases of the Moon under "More."

Unfortunately, with the other two, I don't have links. I found them and added them, but forgot where I found them. If you're net savvy enough, I'm sure you'll manage.

These contextual elements not only benefit looking backward, but forward as well. By seeing the future Moon phases and signs, you can prepare yourself accordingly. This is especially helpful with scheduled personal events. You can see in which phase or sign things sit such as business meetings, doctor visits, and social gatherings. It may even influence when you schedule these events.

Other things to try

Since you can create multiple banners, and color code them, I thought about color coding things as positive, negative, or neutral. Or, you can create a calendar for each of the elements, color them accordingly, and tag them to the bullets where you think they had the most correspondence. Such as, blue/water for personal interactions, yellow/air for creative or intellectual pursuits, green/earth for communion with nature or actions toward sustainability, and fire/red for passionate or bold events.

Things to look for

Once you have all your events and all your context, look for the following:

• What do you see happening during waxing and waning times. Are you more meditative during waning? Are you more productive during waxing?
• Do your bullets align with the Moon signs.
• Did your DTRs pan out for that day?
• Are there clues to why you had times where you were depressed or spiritually dry?
• Are there clues to why you had times where you were happy or spiritually ecstatic?
• How did your spirituality correspond to the current season?

If you like this concept and have other ideas of what to post as well as other tweaks such as color-coding, please leave comments.

Why I Think Describing Myself as Pagan is Perfect for a Spiritual Eclectic Like Me

I had been thinking a lot about Spirituality lately, and specifically what it means to me to be Pagan. And I had an incident last night (which I will describe shortly) that gave me a better understanding.

I had my first opportunity today to express this new understanding today during my lunch break. I had found and joined a Pagan Community on Google+ and introduced myself. I first recounted my history with many religions, and listed current group of chosen deities that I commune with, which included Jesus, Hanuman, Brighid and Krishna.

The rest of the intro went like this...

I don't how to describe myself in religious terms. In shorthand, I just call myself a spiritual eclectic. But, since I am a polytheist, and have a strong tie to the earth and seasons, I sometimes consider myself as just Pagan. And I know some would only consider people that worship deities outside the mainstream religions Pagan. But, in my personal conception, I see Paganism as just an umbrella term for anyone who not only accepts all religions, but prays to many of the deities within those religions.

Then, a little bit later, I read a post by John Becket titled "Tension in the Big Tent of Paganism." In it, he writes...

First, I’m in favor of “Big Tent” Paganism. When someone says “Pagan” I want that to include hard polytheists, humanistic Pagans, Nature worshipers, hedge witches, shamans, ancestor worshipers and anyone else with similar beliefs and practices. That doesn’t mean I want us all doing the same Wicca-lite ritual at the Solstice. It means I want us talking to each other, cooperating with each other, and learning from each other.

If that makes it impossible to draw clear lines around what is and isn’t “Pagan” so be it. The idea that if a term can’t be precisely defined then it doesn’t mean anything simply isn’t true. “Pagan” means something – we’re arguing about what that something is. I’m advocating for as loose a definition as possible.

It was refreshing. Here was one Pagan, at least, who seemed to be as comfortable with a liberal idea of "Pagan" as I was. I immediately wanted to share that description of myself I had posted with him. But I didn't have time at that moment.

But when I finally sat down to share my thoughts in a comment on his Blog, it was obvious that I had a lot more to say. And this post was a result.

Last night, before I went to bed, I paused at the shelf of spiritual books sitting atop my dresser. I wanted to take one of my prayer books to my bedside table so I could recite a prayer before I went to sleep. And I had a few choices, which included Hindu prayer books and Catholic ones.

Well, the past week, I've been making my way through Rev Mark Townsend's "Jesus Through Pagan Eyes." Reading it has brought me a lot of blessings, including a new appreciation of the Spirit-Person that I had grown up with. And I had been reading minutes before pausing in front of my books. I was feeling more and more comfortable with the possibility of a devotion to Jesus fitting within a Pagan spirituality.

So did I choose one of my Catholic prayer books?

No. I chose was A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith.

And why did I choose it?

First of all, let me say that it is a wonderful prayer book. I bought it three years ago during my first dip into Paganism.It has a great variety of specific and unspecific prayer. It is nicely organized, with prayers to times of the day, sabbaths, seasons, situations, etc.  It's a beautifully constructed and designed book as well. I carried it everywhere. In the morning, I would read some prayers on the train to work. I would read some outside, under a tree at work.

But that's not why I chose it last night.

I have been searching for God most of my life. Especially from my college years on. I was looking for the true truth. I looked for the one true religion. I looked for spiritual figures that seemed to have really figured out the universe or had achieved a direct line to God. I looked for a sacred scripture that didn't have any mistakes or contradictions.

And every once in awhile, I would chance upon something and think I had found what I was looking for. It happened with many religions, figures, texts. Including Paganism. And I would say, "Aha! Here it is. I've found what I'm looking for. All my problems are solved." And I found comfort in that certainty.

But, as some of you searchers like myself can attest, eventually the flame of the convert dies out. The certainty disappears. I think, "How could I have thought that person, religion, text was 100% perfect and accurate?" Soon, thereafter, the days of doubt would creep in. And it felt like God disappeared. And I slipped into months of existential depression.

Fortunately, I eventually came to the realization that all religions, figures and texts are flawed. God isn't that easy to understand and figure out. But there are people that seemed to have gotten closer than others, and I can learn from all of them. And I can also learn from all the world's sacred texts and religions and commune with all the world's deities.

I also learned to embrace uncertainty. I learned to accept that mystery is a HUGE part of God, the Universe, and Life. And I'm comfortable with that. It's a relief to know that I will never understand it all and I don't have to kick myself for not figuring it out.

And that's where Paganism, or more accurately, Neopaganism, comes in for me. Many (thought not all) Pagans accept that their religion is largely a constructed, modern religion. They don't claim it came down from the sky from God. There is no founding figure that sat in a mountain and dictated God's words.

And I, specifically, see a huge benefit in being polytheist, no matter who or what these "gods" and "goddesses" truly are. That's not important to me now. I just want love and communion with them. And through them, love and commune with the Great Mystery that lies behind them.

And there are other qualities to Paganism that fits with me. Pagans (again, not all) don't believe their's is the one true way. They don't follow a doctrine, creed, or recognized authority. They include nature in their devotions and rituals. And so on.

And all of this adds up to a spirituality that fits me RIGHT NOW. I've looked for the perfect and ultimate truth and failed. Thus, Paganism is great because it isn't looking for or claims to have found that truth. Spreading my devotion across several Gods and Goddesses also prevents me from clinging to and focusing on one. It prevents me to falling into fanaticism or fundamentalism.

You see, I'm the type of person that needs variety. I guess, in some aspects of my life, I am "afraid of commitment." I don't like to buy a box of tea that has one flavor. What if I get tired of it. I'd much rather buy a variety pack. I also don't like candles or potpourri that are one single sent. I'd rather have a blend.

So when I saw that Pagan prayer book, with it's variety of prayers to a variety of deities, I thought, AT THAT TIME, that's what I want. This accurately symbolizes my "Bit Tent" spirituality. It includes all. Jesus, Brighid, Krishna, and anybody else I find drawn to. And I also decided that more and more, I like the concept of describing myself as Pagan. Not Christopagan, or Hindupagan, or Eclectic Pagan.

Just Pagan.

St. Francis' "Canticle of the Sun" Makes a Great Pagan Prayer

I first read St. Francis's song "Canticle of the Sun" many, many years ago. And hadn't thought much of it since. But then I saw a portion of it reproduced in Rev Mark Townsend's book "Jesus Through Pagan Eyes: Bridging Neopagan Perspectives with a Progressive Vision of Christ." 

Here is the full Canticle. But pay special attention to the stanzas in bold.

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.
Happy those who endure in peace,
for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,
and serve him with great humility.

You see it? That section is directed, in order, to the Sun, the Moon and Stars, Wind and Air, Water, Fire and Earth. Very similar to God, Goddess, Air, Water, Fire and Earth right? Very Pagan. Very Wiccan. AND very much in line with my personal affinity to the Four Elements.

Of course, I can do without stuff like the line"woe to those who die in mortal sin!" and the masculine language. But much of this is very tenable as a prayer or ritual for a Pagan (be they Druid, Wiccan, etc.), but especially for those that either have mixed Christianity and Paganism into their spiritual path or Pagans that have a positive relationship to Christianity. 

So those of you who dig this, shape it, cut and paste it, or use it as is.    

Removing Fear, Obligation and Expectation from Worship and Prayer

As I'm sure most bloggers can attest, some of their best blog posts have come from a response to something they read on somebody else's. And more often than not, these posts may have started with a comment to an article that just got out of hand.

This is the case with this poster. I read another great article by John Becket called Worship the Gods. And this post itself was in response to Brendon Myers article The worship of the gods is not what matters. Both articles talk about the nature of worship, and both quite good. And I started a quick response to John's post in Google Plus, which got pretty long. So I'm putting it as a post of my own below.

I do not equate "worship" with bowing or obeying. I equate it with "love" and "respect". And even when I do, I try not to do it to get something or out of fear or obligation. Partially, it really is just out of love. But it is also as a means to become one with them and the Divine Reality/Mystery behind them.

As a practicing Hindu (and sometimes Catholic) I often engage in "darshan," which can interpreted as "looking." When I go to the Hindu temple, I just sit in front of the Deity (or statue) and soak in the Divine. And I do the same thing with the Blessed Sacrament in a Catholic Church. Or the images on my altar at home. Or the Sun, stars, a river or a beautiful expanse of woods. And, as I have learned lately, with people, no matter how "good" or "bad" that person is.

I also liken these moments to visiting a loved one, like a grandmother or grandfather. Just taking the time to spend some time with them is what counts. That you're giving your undivided attention. Which in itself is a wonderful gift. Then, if you want to go a step further and chat a bit or offer them a bit to eat or drink, that's up to you.

Interestingly, I'd been thinking about this this morning. I stepped into my home office, and glanced at my shrine/altar. I didn't bow or anything, and for a second, felt guilty. But then I thought, "I really need to get out of this guilt or obligation thing with God." He/she doesn't demand it, won't do anything if you don't, and probably won't do anything if you do. The love is unconditional and constant, no matter what you do.

And saying he/she "probably won't do anything if you do" is significant. There have been, and are many spiritual people that do think of God as an ATM machine. This goes back thousands of years and in almost all religions. And it is so prevalent today. So many pray, if not intentionally for something, at least try to be good so that things go their way. I'm not sure that's how it works. Things go as they do. And your prayer and worship should not be so tied to making things go right. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Just don't dwell on it, depend on it, and revolve your whole spirituality around it.

So that's one of my ongoing goals. Love, attention, prayer and worship without fear, obligation, or expectation. Just love. And be.

Wildwood Tarot Unboxing

Found this wonderful Tarot deck at Barne's & Noble this evening. It's the Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrations by Will Worthington.

I watch a lot of videogame and Magic The Gathering unboxing videos. And I always wanted to do one. When I found this deck, I first figured I was going to rip it open in the car. But then I thought, "Hey, why not do an unboxing?" So here it is.

Let Me Guess. Another Spiritual Blog.

The problem with someone like me creating a blog, is that every so often it feels like I need to create a new one with a new title. When I journeyed into Judaism, I created a new blog. It was a Hebrew translation of "My Journey" (המסע שלי). Later, when I got into Druidry and Paganism, I created two. One called "The Four Realms" and another called "Post Your Altar." The past few years, I've been really involved with the Ramakrishna movement in Hinduism. So I created a blog with the name taking from a saying of his, "Eat the Mangoes." There were others, but I forgot their names.

Now that I'm am reintroducing my Pagan side back into my spirituality, I thought about resuming "The Four Realms." Or starting a new one. Some titles that I came up with were taken. But then I came up with one that wasn't. "Whispers and Wondering." But I got tired of that.

Tonight, I tried to think of something basic and big. Came up with "The Sacred Universe." But it seemed a little cold. Then I thought of the phrase "All Is Brahman." It's nice that it comes from my Hindu side. But I think it's general enough to encompass all my beliefs. And hopefully all my future ones.

What instigated my reaching back to my Pagan side? Well, as usual, it started near the beginning of February. Just like my other forays, spiritual or otherwise. In truth, I think it started earlier. On January 15, at the end of a bad flu spell, I wrote about these wonderful January/February times of change in my journal. And I think this sentiment was brought about by a preview of Spring via a few days of unseasonably warm weather and great Spring smells.

Then, a week or so, I started on a new novel (again.) In it, there is character who is a young woman who had been raised by a Italian witch, and just happens to be good at battling minor demons. And, she eventually teaches a new Pope how to reclaim his buried power in order to prepare the world for a worldwide demonic invasion. And I also knew I wanted to introduce other holy people and magic-users from other cultures. So I Googled "shaman evil spirits."

And, as many times before, this online search lead to a crazy time of discovery. I read some stuff about Shamanism. Watched a great video about some guy's experience with a shamanistic and psychedelic drug. Started to look into other metaphysical stuff. Subscribed to listened to some metaphysical podcasts. Then re-entered the whole Druidry, Pagain, Wicca world. And I started reconstructing my own version of the Solar Cross / Medicine Wheel, with the meanings, colors, elements in the paces I see fit. I'm also reading this great book about the escstatic and spiritual experiences that many people have had. And relished a new Krishna Das CD!

Why is this happening? A bit of nostalgia, of course. But some other things else as well. I discovered that the earth and natural side of my spirituality had been being neglected. I also decided there is a lot of stuff that I've always ignored that I should now pay attention to. Sure, some of these people may be a little (or a lot) crazy and delusional. But there's something there to learn. Also, I decided to be a bit more proactive in my mystical search. Not just sit back and wait for things to happen. Get a bit active. Get a bit adventurous. And get a bit magical. Reach out to a spirit guide. But at the same time, don't expect anything. Just look, search, listen, look and search. Seek ye first, you know.

And the best thing, is it's brought me some peace. Especially after a bit of depression during the holidays. The usual stuff, getting older, worried there isn't a God or afterlife, afraid some harm may come to my loved ones or me. But hopefully, doing some more open-minded searching is going to give me some necessary revelations.

I mean, come on. So many people believe in some kind of spiritual dimension. And many claim to have had contact with it. Are they ALL crazy? And what materialistic purpose does things like sentience, love, wonder   and a search for the divine serve? If humans are just complex systems of matter, why do they worry so much about their purpose and mortality?

Well, we'll see where this goes, won't we.