Thoughts in response to Khanada's Being Buddhalicious

Khanada recently posted in her article "Being Buddahlicious", about her and her sister Annette's frustrations with the rat race of this industrialized hyper world, and her desire to "get away" from the chaos, but instead, finding the inner peace and awareness to cope with it, and just "BE" wherever she is, after reading "The Bhagavad Gita" and some of "The Buddha's" teachings.
So, reading that of course triggered a whole slew of thoughts from me, and I thought I'd post them here. Click the "Read More" link to read those thoughts. ;-)

As someone who has been studying martial arts on and off since 1974, and is currently in the process of planning to teach Kungfu soon, I have over the years been exposed to many different philosophies and cultures.
After the parents' divorce, when I was about 7, I lived with my mother until I was 18. She tried to raise me as Irish Roman Catholic, but it was never something that "felt right" for me.
I found I kept migrating to "Eastern" and Native American philosophies and cultures and people. One of the most spiritual experiences I had was with the "Eldars" of a Navajo reservation. Another was through an incredible meditative process where a friend wrote a song inspired by my change "Buddha for a Day", and another from the more recent Shamanic Drumming of the past year. All of which I should try to get around to detailing some day. Much of the Eastern influence was probably because of my Aikido and Kungfu background over the years. Strongly enforced initially by my father on my visits to him until I was 13, but after that, by my own efforts.
I've studied Japanese, and a little Mandarin and Cantonese, but never made it out of the USA except for Mexico and Canada for very brief visits. I hope some day to rectify that. I plan to start taking Mandarin Chinese within the next year through the university, in addition to American Sign Language. There's a strong East Asian culture here in Spokane, and the greater North West.
Last year I took a course in East Asian History, to "fill in the gaps" of the bits and pieces I had learned from my Sensei's (Japanese for teacher/master) and Sifu's (chinese for teacher/master) teachings over the years.
At this point, I don't really fit into any religious pattern.
I'm sort of a quasi-neo-taoist-zen-spiritualist at best.
I have hung out and meditated (outside of the hours and hours through martial arts) with various Bhuddhist and Zen groups of different denominations, including the "fellows in the saffron robes" from Tibet, and elsewhere. And still I could not find any "answers" or satisfaction to what just felt like something was wrong.
I found the Matrix series of films very inspiring in some (many) quotes they borrowed from many others.
"What you know you can't be sure of..." " but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad". "It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, blinding you to the truth." -Morpheus

Recently I've spent time "being drummed on" by an African & Native American style Shamanic Healing Drummer http://www.healingdrummer.com.
And had some remarkable experiences from that I need to post some day.

I've read the Tao/Dao, Kungfuzi's (Confucious) writings, Han Fei Tzu's Legalist writings, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, The I'Ching, and many other eastern books, as well as books from India Philosophies (The Only Dance There Is), and many others.
I still can't find the satisfaction for "answers", because all of them basically state to "be ok with BEING". But I struggle with get this (this is funny):
"I don't know how to DO Being". LOL!
When I've managed, during counting breathes, and contemplating different Koan's, etc. I have brief moments of respite from this seemingly never quieting mind. And those moments extend throughout the day, making it easier to cope.
I don't know if I can be as "accepting" as Khanada and others in believing there actually is more to life than our limited time here. I HOPE there is, but am not able to ACCEPT that.
Despite this inner struggle, I do find many moments of peace.
Where I live has a GORGEOUS view to the north of miles and miles of evergreens year round, and I'm surrounded by life and beauty. We have racoons, and coyotes, and squirrels, and scores of different birds, and deer, and moose, in our yard all the time.
I sit on the deck and play my guitar, or native american wood flute, or djembe drum, and stare at the beauty of it all.
I meditate, and teach meditation, and help others find many moments of peace, to help them transcend the stresses of daily life, and it all HELPS. But though it all brings AWARENESS, and ACCEPTANCE of many things, especially in the moment of life, it still, at least for me, fails to bring any actual ANSWERS. And so my quest continues...
I am able to not let anger, and other stressors too frequently get the better of me, because of the perspective such philosophies and awareness have given (which drives others mad when they are stressing and I'm seemingly so calm (usually, not always - this darn being human/mortal things makes one flawed :-P )), but even what the Bhuddha, and his ancestors, and followers, and the other belief systems teach. To accept that "life is anguish" and that it's the denying and/or holding onto that anguish that keeps us from awareness and one-ness with the Universe, still seems to fall short of a solution/answer/truth.
I know, with those systems, it is anethema to keep up 'the anguish' of such attempt at understanding more than accepting, and maybe someday I can transcend enough to just accept, but alas, I'm not there at this point. :-(
I envy those in any belief system who seem to be able to "Be at peace" with their beliefs, and acceptance of the world, the universe, "god", etc.
It seems far beyond my grasp, so for now, I just do what I can to have those moments of peace, and have them make it easier to cope in life.
Whew, anyhow, that's just one train of several thoughts that have fled in many directions triggered from that posting.
Whereever you may be, BE well. ;-)