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Hopefully this is the correct forum for this.
I want to quit masturbation in a big way. I've been trying for several years now. I am very spiritual, and am aware of the energetic/spiritual implications. I'm most concerned with the way it saps creativity and natural sexual magnetism. The sexual magnetism runs a distant second. After reading up on various, disparate spiritual traditions such as Kaballah, that say that masturbation is the greatest possible sin, and will leave you po' broke, lonely, and consigned to lower layers of Gehenom, my desire to quit was galvanized. To no seeming effect!
Here's the problem... I have a job that necessitates isolation, and that I be on the computer all day. I must do research, so I cannot unplug from the internet. Yes, I've disabled proxies on certain sites, etc... but it comes back to the fact that when (let's call it a dragon per another post I read, but I would call it demon, but I don't want to freak anybody out) the dragon roars, I get amnesia and the desire for sexual release takes over. Computer or no computer. I just broke up with my girlfriend, and live alone, and I feel especially helpless and hopeless right now. However, I am restarting an old Kundalini yoga practice -- included in my meditation is a daily meditation for addiction that "stimulates and balances the radiance of the pituitary gland" I am on day 2. Today, I rode the knife edge, looking at porn for hours, wasting time, before I finally found an image that was so stimulating that I wasted seed. Dammit.
I need help, but I don't know how or where to get it. I have other addictions I'm battling, such as an addiction to weed, tobacco, and the occasional booze bender. I feel like this addictive impulse has mass, like a balloon, and when I squeeze it in one place, it grows larger elsewhere, e.g. manifests in different ways. I want to banish all this behavior - and I do feel however that the addiction to masturbation is the most dastardly. I feel like this is the lowest I've fallen in a long time, and I'm in a stage in my life where I'm on the precipice of some big gifts, that will be bestowed unto me as long as I'm able to beat the dragon who wants nothing more than to steal them away and consign me to sameness. Right now, I feel like I can't win. In a Kabbalistic sense, you could say I'm "steeped in the klipah". I'm willing to try anything -- would cranberry juice help for instance?
again, any and all help would be appreciated.
Breathe!
I'm pretty sure it's not the worst possible sin. Just be easy on yourself and have some compassion for your situation. That might make it easier. Even if you slip up, you should be pleased with yourself whenever you make some progress. I'm sure others will jump in, but a lot have gotten help from support groups or from blogging here. Keep us posted!
Welcome Antares
Great name, by the way. And you can't be too bad off, because you certainly haven't lost your sense of humor or your way with words!
I've enabled you to blog, so you can write about your struggles and we can cheer you on. Here are the insturctions. http://www.reuniting.info/resources/bloggers
Have you checked out the resources on this page? You may find some of the past threads inspiring. http://www.reuniting.info/resources/inspiration_sexual_addiction_recover...
Also, if you get really desperate, you may want to try homeopathy. It helped another long-term porn user. http://www.reuniting.info/naturopathic_physicians_homeopathy Sometimes you just need an excuse to get well.
I think you're right that all addictions are interrelated. (Great image) This makes perfect sense, as it's the same reward circuitry in the brain that is being overstimulated. For an overview: http://www.reuniting.info/science/sex_in_the_brain
The interrelatedness of all addictions is good news, actually, because as you pull your sexual desire back into balance you will likely see improvement across the board. My husband's long term addiction to alcohol disappeared after 4 months of "orgasm sobriety." Of course he had me.
But you may find that as you come back into balance you become a goddess magnet again!
Anyway, just know that "there is life after porn addiction" and it can be surprisingly good. http://www.reuniting.info/node/1282#comment-3002
Finally, although I know it *feels* like you have demons in your pants, I think you may be better off just thinking of this challenge as a brain chemistry challenge. The reason is that thinking of it in terms of sin and cosmic struggle just makes "slips" more "meaningful" and adds dopamine to the experience, since it's more highly charged emotionally for you. You want to make the whole issue as ho-hum (emotionally) as possible while shedding this addiction.
Good luck. As Mitsiky said, keep us posted.
Hang in there, Antares. As
Hang in there, Antares. As trite as it sounds, it IS a process. Half the battle is being aware, and it sounds like your desire to change is heart or spirit centered, which is much better than doing it out of any kind of "should" mentality. Something I find helpful is trying to get quiet and talk to my heart. It hasn't ever, never, not once, given me incorrect feedback.
Just settle down, breathe a bit, and ask your heart, "What would you have me do?" It sounds simple but is surprisingly effective.
Sending you light,
Cariad