I imagine when you proactively stated there is one and only one way, you expected some blowback.

On your brief solution list, 1 & 2 are true, but vague. What does it mean to think, look, or observe from square 1? How would anyone evaluate whether or not they were doing this correctly? I assume you got this from the Buddhist 8-fold path, which I try to follow, but it also suffers from a simplicity that is too vague to follow without a lot of teaching on the subject.

#3, to put all your ideas and doctrines aside is nearly impossible. Our minds conceptualize everything. Even a rock has no intrinsic existence and only becomes a "rock" when we apply the concept of rock from our minds. There is unquestionably something there in the outside world we identify as a rock, but "rock" is a concept, not an object.

#4, well, yes, it takes a long time.

#5, I would posit that if you are feeling yourself unravel you are close to understanding the emptiness of self and you should push through that feeling rather than avoid it. Buddhists consider that a huge step toward enlightenment.

#6, I've spent about 1,000 hours in sensory deprivation tanks. I've hallucinated. I've been so lost in meditation that I lost all track of time, space, anything other than pure observation. I believe there are some Mahamudra meditations that are profound. I also like the meditation where you try to observe the observer, supposedly a higher level of consciousness. These are all interesting experiences, but to your point, they really don't lead you to liberation.

To your broader point on the uselessness of New Age, I agree with you. New Age is full of charlatans and those looking for shortcuts to liberation. In truth, any spiritual practice is a mental discipline that takes months and years to cultivate. Apply mental opponents to common emotional problems requires work, something most people would rather avoid by chasing a "get enlightened quick" scheme offered by some New Age Guru.