Epiphenom suggests that positive moods and an inclination towards hallucinatory episodes may be the ingredients that produce the spiritual mindset:
Hallucinations and such like are actually a rather common part of the human experience – probably 70% of people experience some form of ‘unusual experiences’ at some time in their lives. You might think that hallucinations would be distressing, but people often report them to be quite pleasant. What’s more, spiritual people often report being happier than average.
James Schuurmans-Stekhoven, at the Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, Australia, speculated that that the two might be causally related. In other words, he thinks that when basically happy people have ‘unusual experiences’ like auditory hallucinations, it inclines them to a spirtual worldview.
To test this, he surveyed Australians about their spirituality, their unusual experiences, and their positive affectivity (mood). As happiness and unusual experiences increase, so to does spirituality.
But [for] people with the lowest levels of unusual experiences, changing levels of positive affect has basically no effect on their spirituality.
Belief doesn’t have to be superstitious or irrational to give us comfort. 
Via 
Marsha Lucas asks if introducing children to reading at an early age developmentally appropriate.
Via 
Julian Walker wrote this excellent overview of New Age flakiness, and gives some corrective measures.