I can see you had to dig real deep for this post. I wanted to respond to a few interesting points you made.

I had a fairly extensive affair with cannabis in my 20s, so I can relate very much to your experiences.

"All the motivational personal development doesn't grant a person total mastery of the flesh-and-bones humanity."

The motivational stuff may not bring you to any place of inner peace, but from my own direct experience, the eastern yogic disciplines will bring you much closer to physical and spiritual mastery and wholeness. That road is very, very long, but the results are lasting.

"At this point, all my informal training in writing copy and indoctrination in self-help and "spiritual" mumbo-jumbo would have me flip the script to paint out solve glorious solution to these "problems" of human fate."

There are great truths and insights hidden behind the "spiritual mumbo-jumbo," but they can only be gotten to through certain practices, not intellectual & philosophical discourse.

Reading, thinking and talking about the universe and the human condition will only get you so far.

Anyways, I hope my post doesn't come off as too preachy.