Yeah, don't let the smoke get in yer eyes.

I heard on a YT video recently that Plato recommended a sense of wonder as the basis for anagoge (spiritual growth) while Aristotle argued wonder was the basis to answering questions about life. It made me think of Einstein and his sense of wonder that seemed to embrace both ideas. The poet William Blake argued that the concept of a mechanical universe and the never-ending measurement of the universe was destroying the wonder of life. He understood wonder as the human imagination growing in power to become vision. For him, there was no God other than mankind when it lived with vision. That vision certainly gave meaning to his life and perhaps that is what this is all about whether it remains earthbound or ventures into the supernatural.

I find the mystery and coincidences of life endlessly fascinating. I think that connections can show up anytime and anywhere, and it has nothing to do with magic or higher powers: I consider them based entirely on our life experiences, emotional/mental state, and our deepest wishes and desires, and that we'll experience them only if we're open to them.

Leave it to a cellist to argue for magic within sterility.

(P.S. that's not a put down).

Quantum physics has the key; specifically quantum entanglement. When I followed that train of thought about 24 years ago, I was struck dumb. You really do have to have an understanding of this to see why. There's nothing mystical here, just the universe doin' its thang. QE - even the physicists I've read or watched on documentaries miss the point there.

Your last sentence said it all.

If it helps people to bring meaning to their lives, though, does it matter.

If there is no infringement of your personal space astrology, totems, river worship are another form of personal expression which is far less damaging to society than the exclusivity factors required by some religious ideas.

The old gray and peach primate applauds.