This is one of the best articles I've read on Medium. To make your point, which I deeply agree with, you draw on excellent quotes and your own beautifully articulate exigesis. One of the noblest philosophical objectives is to find truly honest glory in our existential condition ("honest" as opposed to cheaply bought, as described in your piece).

To perhaps play devil's advocate, may I push back on one thing? Roughly put, you seem at times to argue the transcendent part of consciousness must come from something transcendental "outside" us or "more" than us. Why is this a necessary conclusion?

Our consciousness is certainly outside our comprehension. I'd argue it's just a natural feature of humanity, like our other natural features. We do not diminish its wonder if we don't put it on a pedestal, if we don't elevate it above the mundane aspects of ourselves, as truly incredibly transcendent (to us) as it is.