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Your Mind Is Your Worst Enemy

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by Fenix Rising, Oct 12, 2019.

  1. Fenix Rising

    Fenix Rising Fapstronaut

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    Just one quick observation, I'd like to share with you today. As you probably all know addict's own mind really does wanna trick him/her into relapsing to get the feel good chemicals fix it's used to. BUT even when PMOing is off the table, the game doesn't end there.

    I realized just how crucial for successful recovery and regaining control over your life in general it is to become a watcher of your thoughts. You can't stop negative or destructive thoughts from entering your mind, but you can observe and analyze them and choose not to act upon them it they're not good for you. That's not an easy thing to do as you need to practice it over and over again, but it really is a must for us former addicts to learn and practice this skill.

    Let me tell you how my mind tried to trick me into destructive behavior today. I have very constructive week behind me. I executed my exercise plan perfectly: went cycling uphill three times, walk/run in the forest three times and done three weight lifting sessions. Needless to say my body needs easy going weekend to fully recover now. Yet my mind said to me this morning: "Look beautiful sunny day, go on the bike and "destroy the hill", you'll enjoy it sooo much!" I nearly acted upon seamlessly positive thought then I stopped and analyze it. Is this really gonna be good for you? Your body is tired, you have muscle fever is cycling uphill really good idea? The answer was: Of course not. Leading me to just dismiss the thought. On the secont thought all the brain really wanted was that feel good chemical fix, nothing else. It didn't care if this meant injuring the body during the process. See how mind plays tricks on you? If you don't control your thoughts you become a slave to your own compulsions without even realizing it.
     
  2. As a disciple of Christ, I practice a Christ-centered mindfulness technique. One of the most helpful tools I have picked up in my recovery journey. I feel like I am in control of my mind for the first time in my life. Amazing stuff!
     
  3. Fenix Rising

    Fenix Rising Fapstronaut

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    I'm catholic by birth and practice it all of my life (though I do like to read Eastern philosophies, I'm especially fond of Tao de Jing). I like Christ views of the world, but I do have problems with Christian mindfulness. I just can't accept the interpretation that we shouldn't worry because God will take care of everything. It won't. Our greed is killing the world we live in and wishful thinking like this: "When Jesus wanted to tell the disciples to not worry, he started by having them pay attention. “Look at the birds of the air,” he said. “Consider the lilies of the field,” he insisted, “if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?… Therefore do not worry” (Matthew 6:25-30). By paying attention to the fact that since the beginning the creatures of the earth have been provided for, Jesus’ disciples could use their minds to extrapolate to their own situation. When we recognize that we are being provided for, peace comes more easily.", won't help us. In my mind mindfulness should be about clearing your mind of all outer distractions, so you can start acting in accordance with your pure inner core after reconnecting with God (or whatever pure form of love you believe in).

    I really like what Pope Francis has written in ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME where he basically says, NO, everything will not be alright. If we continue on the current self centered path we'll go extinct and take all complex life on earth with us. That is the true mindfulness in my eyes. First stop allowing your own cravings, emotions and outer distractions to affect your thinking and then with pure consciousness do/say what is the right thing to do/say. That is very, very hard to achieve, but well worth trying and Pope Francis has nailed it.
     
  4. blotter

    blotter Fapstronaut

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    Your Mind Is Your Worst Enemy

    The mind/thought system is a process of the body like any other. The "your" is the enemy.. some people refer to it as self-cherishing or as you later said, self-centeredness. That is the petri dish on which every addiction or negative behavior or though pattern grows. So how to defeat it?
     
  5. Discouraged

    Discouraged Fapstronaut

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    the best solution is to avoid thinking as much as possible. reading makes you jerk off, because it's stimulating your abstract imagination. find work that involved no abstract thinking. which is 99% of real jobs
     
  6. Discouraged

    Discouraged Fapstronaut

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    the worst thing about porn is, the girls and boys with the biggest imaginations are the most addicted. the most god-souled people, can now learn to fulfill deepest yearnings with their own thoughts.

    the tragedy is incomprehensible and the people who intentionally created this mess are the most evil ghouls ..well..imaginable.

    hope and pray God created them as some kind of sick joke or test or something, and they will all be gone one day.

    cuz otherwise,....there's something seriously wrong with this world
     
  7. Your mind is not your enemy!!! Your stupid decision-making is. I find the titular statement to be erroneous!!!
     
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  8. Fenix Rising

    Fenix Rising Fapstronaut

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    Decision making is a product of your thoughts and thoughts are a product of your mind. I think all of the mentioned people knew that your mind can be your worst foe, so they recommended taking control over it:
    “It’s a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. Rule your mind or it will rule you. ” - Buddha

    "To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him." - Buddha

    "You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." - Marcus Aurelius

    “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.” - F.D. Roosevelt

    “You either control your mind, or it controls you.” – Napoleon Hill

    “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2019
  9. Yes... What I meant with my statement was that people use it as a crutch... Can't change my mind, I am born to be this way and all that. Especially with porn addiction, many say that they are hardwired for this and escape owning responsibilities. Hence my remarks.

    Also our definition of mind is also different.

    In my view mind is that side of you which knows right from wrong, has complete grasp of what you need to progress in life and in what ways you are wasting your potential. (The very word mind as a verb is meant to be careful, to be concerned about, to become aware etc.) So, in your own example, it was your mind which told you to rest and recover instead of going out and making recovery worse on your system. Your mind is the one which tells you to not watch porn and go out and meet ladies, earn more money, to dress better, to have good physical health etc. It's"you" who choose to ignore your mind and do what "you'd like to" irrespective of it's consequences and results down the line.

    Hope it explains things better. I still stand by my view. :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 13, 2019
  10. BillDunlop

    BillDunlop Fapstronaut

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    When you lose all your ability to achieve an erection anymore, and can no longer ejaculate anymore, and you have diabetic neurotic nephropathy, and have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and have led such a sedentary lifestyle sitting for 16 hours in a PC chair, and have leg, hip, knee, and sciatica, and have lost all sense of taste in your taste buds, and all foods have no taste what so ever, having the same texture as bland under cooked white rice, making you gag and throw up when you try to force your food down your throat, and you can no longer eat any regular foods without gagging, and you can no longer sit in a chair due to excruciatingly painful fissures and hemorrhoids, then you will find that sex and porn will completely go away, and masturbation and porn will be pointless, as you can no longer can feel any feeling sensation in your penis anymore, what so ever, and even a person giving you fellatio would give you absolutely no feeling or pleasure what so ever, as your penis is totally numb and dead, and only is a 1/2 inch fire hose for urination purpose's only, and to top that off you get Prostate and Colon cancer ... Masturbation and porn will become pointless ... as your nutritional consumption is limited to Boost® and Ensure® nutritional drinks twice per day ... and you are clinically dying from old age disease's, at age 60 years old ... and you do not have AIDS, nor any other sexually communicable disease's ... Sex and Porn will be completely pointless !

    Cancer is not even funny !

    Sometimes I think "The Creator" is getting me back for all the bad things I have done in life, punishing me in my "Golden Years" of life, striking me with multiple physical disabilities, and disease's.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2019
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  11. Muse1984

    Muse1984 New Fapstronaut

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    What is this technique?
     
  12. BillDunlop

    BillDunlop Fapstronaut

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    YOU may be living under the Christ-like religious mental illusion/delusion, that through Christ, YOU have a gained a higher power, that enables YOU to control YOUR own mind, making YOU the master of YOUR own body ... But when YOUR body, and it's severe health issues, actually takes YOUR actual penis totally away from you, and you find that you can no longer masturbate a totally limp 1/2 inch penis, that can no longer ejaculate, and your penis has absolutely no nerve sensation feeling in it anymore, as your penis is now completely totally nerve dead, and is totally numb, and you can only urinate through it ... Then YOU then come to realize that YOU are completely powerless, helpless, and alone. Then Porn has absolutely no use, if you have no functioning penis, as you can not masturbate any more, for the rest of your life.

    Porn and the internet addiction completely destroyed my entire life, and I sat there and masturbated, and I destroyed myself !
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2019
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  13. Excommunicado

    Excommunicado Fapstronaut

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    Make your worst enemy your best friend
     
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  14. MrGlock

    MrGlock Fapstronaut

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    Fenix Rising likes this.
  15. Ezpz

    Ezpz Fapstronaut

    Unless you're reading P material then this statement is not true. A lot of us replace screen time with reading books.
     
  16. Bob385

    Bob385 Fapstronaut

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    Tao - Could you please share more about this technique?
     
  17. TheForsakeen

    TheForsakeen Fapstronaut

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    "the best solution is to avoid thinking as much as possible" i cannot agree with that.
     
  18. @Hammond Egger
     

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