Hi folks: great conversation. May I suggest reading the section on "The Yoga of Devotion" in Sri Aurobindo's "Synthesis of Yoga" (it's free online on several different sites; just type "Synthesis of Yoga" in quotes and you'll find it)

I've never seen a better desription of why so many modern folks have trouble with the idea that this supreme Mind or Intelligence could be thought of as personal.

put simply, it's very hard for us to conceive of an infinite intelligence as "personal" without coming up with the fundamentalist view of "God" as separate from us.

I ultimately don't think it can be solved rationally; if you accept intuition as a valid means of knowing, you can get there, but "intuition" does not mean unschooled instinct but rather, deeply honed profound understanding beyond analysis developed over decades of rigorous contemplation and deep ethical living .