Let’s take a few minutes on the couch.

Jester, what an honest and insightful post. Seriously.
There is no doubt in my mind that belief in and of itself would make me feel better. For me, it is a fact that i feel better when i have a purpose or a reason (whether the purpose be to mow the lawn or that my existence has meaning). Lack of meaning and purpose is a downer.

Because I have been so consistently harsh in my criticism of organized religion, i will say that I am still looking quite seriously at life, at my spiritual beliefs, etc.

I might even say its the most important thing in my life.

But i simply refuse to believe in something because it makes me happier. I'm too stuborn, i dont know. But I wont do it. Being a devout Jew might have made me feel a better sense of purpose to the world, therefore happier in general.

However, I think there is a longer road to something beyond simplistic happiness. Not the happiness of a little kid getting a pat on the head from god (daddy). But the happiness of someone who has faced the void, faced the emptiness and actually understood something of it.

You can get something from nothing if you are honest about it. And i think it pays greater dividends than being spoonfed spirituality to get sedated into a fat and happy member of the flock.