I love this topic and how you’ve expressed it.
Self-reflection in terms of not just understanding how our actions and reactions affects others and ourselves, but also how to develop an awareness that can actively intercede before we react to ‘so-called’ external stimulus is such an important practice to maintain a happy disposition.
A lot of this starts with coming to understand the difference between observation (which is an objective way to assess things so we can develop a process of self-correction, for want of a clearer term) and judgment (which is a subjective way of viewing things and intransigently compartmentalising them, often imbibed with some level of emotional investment).

Regarding Buddhism: whilst the principles that Siddarhta/Gautama espoused were amazingly helpful, clear and astute, many of the sects that follow and adhere to the term ‘Buddhist’ are indeed very religious. My mother is a ‘Tibetan Buddhist’ nun and much of what I have studied of Tibetan Buddhism is very dogmatic and whilst they claim to worship no God and call themselves atheists, they do actually worship many supernatural deities, have stringent rules about how many lifetimes it’ll take to become enlightened if one does a certain number of quotidian prostrations and mantras, whilst fearing going to hell realms after death in what could be considered to be akin to a catholic level of belief.

Anyway, mindfulness is the key and to live in a consistent mindful state so that we aren’t governed by our reactive emotional state takes a heck of a lot of training for most of us.

I Love your posts!!!!