I noticed something about religion when I was about 12. I was by then a confirmed atheist, but had little remnants of christianity still clinging to me. Whenever I would lose one of my contact lenses, for example, I would get enormously upset and begin to cry... and then I would pray to Jesus to help me find it. I usually found it within 10 seconds of uttering the prayer. I thought long and hard about why this was, and I realized that the prayer helped me calm down and slow down... and that these effects - and not any supernatural force - were what helped me to find the lost lens. Fairly soon, I began skipping the prayer altogether and merely took a few deep breaths and focused. The same effects continued.
So prayer does work, and god does help those who help themselves... because in both cases, fundamentally it is the person who is helping him or herself, and not god. What religion is selling is focus, a reliance on oneself, and a sense that the universe is benevolent. At least... those are my thoughts before listening to these podcasts.
I can't wait, Stef. Thanks! 
We have reached the open sea, with some charts, and the firmament.
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