Yoga: the Yoga of NoFap with or without a lover

@J Scott I agree with you. Very very admirable and inspiring.

@YogiBlues You're so down to earth about it bro! That makes it accessible to us, Fapstronauts and all. Typically it is shrouded in such mystery that it is hard to access, or seems so far removed from one's reality that it feels impossible at times. What a story! You have really brought this reality closer to me, and I have gained much strength, courage and will from your post above. Thank you!

Your post above brother, has condensed, in a very current and contemporary fashion, years of reading and seeking of my own.Your last two points
1) Wisdom gained is the point of the experience
2) Self-purification is pramount

These are points that speak directly to where I am in my spiritual journey, and it is as if you knew they needed addressing without me asking. Don't get me wrong, I am complimenting you because you did it despite Fapping, despite the fact that you have a day job etc. You are a Fapstronaut like all of us, but the path remains the same - self-purification and harnessing of the powerful spiritual vibrations available to us through spiritual practice. Thanks a mil man...

@J Scott Do you do spiritual any practice? I do sexual transmutation as prescribed Master Samael in the Yellow Book - Christic Egyptian Style.

 

@J Scott

Dear J Scott,
Thank you for your kind words brother. Here's a quick summary of my experiences with Pranayama practice.

1. The single most important thing that changed my pranayama practice is learning proper diaphragmatic breathing.
http://www.swamij.com/diaphragmatic-breathing.htm

It completely transformed my success with pranayama.

2. The long spinal breath (http://swamij.com/breath.htm#spinal) and ujjayI (Ocean breath) are the best ones to start with. They can be done anywhere and at any time and will eventually lead to the goal.

The more energetic breathing techniques are also good but they should be used carefully depending on your body type. High strung and nervous temperaments should not excite their prana too much or it can cause problems. The ones I used are:
3. Agni Prasana (Breath of fire): Anmol Mehta has (had?) a good website with links to a video on this breathing technique that I learned and benefited from.
http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2007/11/25/free-online-yoga-video-breath-of-fire-yoga-breathing-exercise/

4. Kapalabhati (emphasizes expulsion of the breath; inhale is on the rebound so to speak).
http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2007/12/27/kapalbhati-yoga-pranayama-free-online-yoga-video/

5. I never tried Bhastrika very much (Bellows breath), I felt it was too strong for me.

6. After awakening when I needed to calm down the prana I used shItali and sItkari pranayama - you can find details in BKS Iyengar's Light on Yoga.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: If you practice pranayama very vigorously, especially the energetic ones, you do place yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. Prana should be tamed more carefully than a lion or a tiger according to BKS Iyengar. Traditionally it is recommended to seek the guidance of a guru. But here is the problem that I faced. In today's world it is hard to find an authentic guru, so I just took the cowboy approach and went at it. Having said that, everyone's path may not lead to as favorable an outcome as I was blessed with. Yet, without risk nothing is gained. Great gains might take great risks. But it is important to be aware of this point- be warned, and beware. If you do go at it on your own, proceed GENTLY. Be gentle with your self but be determined and be relentless in your pursuit. Try to purify (reduce anger, lust, greed, jealousy) as you practice. These are the more important ones to take care of.

One should also keep in mind that the overall movement of Shakti, the Power of Consciousness, is for everyone's betterment. Sometimes pain is necessary to instill devotion in a greater power. And for me, even after all this experience, I can't say that my devotion is perfect or that I have completely shed my ignorance. It is a work in progress. May your path be safe and blissful!
YB

 

Thanks @Alpinist for your kind words of appreciation. I can say that all the effort and pain endured are worth it to be of use in this manner to you and others. Probably one minor clarification that might be useful. During the intense period of 6 months prior to the awakening I was actually not fapping at all, nor was I for about a year after the awakening. I was in a completely different frame of mind. Slowly as the mind returned from the intensity of that experience to ground state, the intense focus of the mind on these practices also shifted. I felt that it is not possible to maintain that intensity for long and be in the body at the same time at least for me, although obviously there are examples of others who have done just that! The sacred texts and narratives of saints say that if a yogi stays in nirvikalpa samadhi (the highest state) for 21 days he cannot return to his body. Note though that I had only attained what is called savikalpa samadhi (a lower state) and the departure was for only some fraction of an hour at most. But even so the highest state and embodiment are at odds with each other in all but the incarnations of the Lord. For the rest, it is after descending from the height of experience that the remaining impurities have to be cleansed. And it was then that a certain ignorance played its part in bringing back the fapping habit. Since I was divorced and single when I embarked on this journey, there was no stabilizing female influence (yin principle) at home to help me return to ground state in a wholesome manner. It is also probably true that it would have taken an extraordinarily saintly woman to accompany me on this path. So I had rationalized to myself that in this Kali Yuga (the Iron Age where such women are not to be found easily) there was no point in even imagining that I might ever find a woman who would understand all this. But simultaneously the desire to have sex had not been burned without seed in my mind. So PMO became an outlet, a justification that it was an expedient approach to satisfy the sexual need independently of any woman, and avoiding the messiness of having to interact with them or to go to prostitutes. I actually thought it was the perfect solution. No one is hurt and no laws are broken! Until a woman walked into my life and shook things up completely by expressing her feelings for me. I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that any woman would care for the hermit that I had become. That slowly broke open a dam of restrained emotions and ignorant preconceptions within me and it was a period of tremendous self-growth and internal cleansing- and it was extremely painful because she withdrew quite soon after and I was left bereft of both my convenient justification for PMO and the prospect of enjoying real sex with her also. That's when I found NoFap and decided to take on this last addiction and be rid of it forever. I am glad to be where I am at now. And I hope for the best for the future wherever it leads... YB.

 

@YogiBlues Thanks for that clarification buddy. You have come to the perfect place to help you with the remnants of PMO that impede your ultimate potential. This place allows you to be authentic and free of judgement. We are all in the same boat here, regardless of background and demographics. And in so far as we are all here, together we shall conquer - no matter how long it takes!

Our discussion in this thread so far is condensed in the words of James Allen. He has played a pivotal role in my life on my path. In one of his many books The Way of Peace, he concludes by saying the following:

"This is peace,
To conquer love of self and lust of life,
To tear deep-rooted passion from the heart
To still the inward strife."

If, O reader! you would realize the Light that never fades, the Joy that never ends, and the tranquillity that cannot be disturbed; if you would leave behind for ever your sins, your sorrows, your anxieties and perplexities; if, I say, you would partake of this salvation, this supremely glorious Life, then conquer yourself. Bring every thought, every impulse, every desire into perfect obedience to the divine power resident within you. There is no other way to peace but this, and if you refuse to walk it, your much praying and your strict adherence to ritual will be fruitless and unavailing, and neither gods nor angels can help you. Only to him that overcometh is given the white stone of the regenerate life, on which is written the New and Ineffable Name.

Come away, for awhile, from external things, from the pleasures of the senses, from the arguments of the intellect, from the noise and the excitements of the world, and withdraw yourself into the inmost chamber of your heart, and there, free from the sacrilegious intrusion of all selfish desires, you will find a deep silence, a holy calm, a blissful repose, and if you will rest awhile in that holy place, and will meditate there, the faultless eye of Truth will open within you, and you will see things as they really are. This holy place within you is your real and eternal self; it is the divine within you; and only when you identify yourself with it can you be said to be "clothed and in your right mind." It is the abode of peace, the temple of wisdom, the dwelling-place of immortality. Apart from this inward resting-place, this Mount of Vision, there can be no true peace, no knowledge of the Divine, and if you can remain there for one minute, one hour, or one day, it is possible for you to remain there always. All your sins and sorrows, your fears and anxieties are your own, and you can cling to them or you can give them up. Of your own accord you cling to your unrest; of your own accord you can come to abiding peace. No one else can give up sin for you; you must give it up yourself. The greatest teacher can do no more than walk the way of Truth for himself, and point it out to you; you yourself must walk it for yourself. You can obtain freedom and peace alone by your own efforts, by yielding up that which binds the soul, and which is destructive of peace.

You are what you will to be, what you wish to be, what you prefer to be. You can commence to purify yourself, and by so doing can arrive at peace, or you can refuse to purify yourself, and so remain with suffering.

Step aside, then; come out of the fret and the fever of life; away from the scorching heat of self, and enter the inward resting-place where the cooling airs of peace will calm, renew, and restore you. Come out of the storms of sin and anguish. Why be troubled and tempest-tossed when the haven of Peace of God is yours!

Give up all self-seeking; give up self, and lo! the Peace of God is yours!

Subdue the animal within you; conquer every selfish uprising, every discordant voice; transmute the base metals of your selfish nature into the unalloyed gold of Love, and you shall realize the Life of Perfect Peace. Thus subduing, thus conquering, thus transmuting, you will, O reader! while living in the flesh, cross the dark waters of mortality, and will reach that Shore upon which the storms of sorrow never beat, and where sin and suffering and dark uncertainty cannot come. Standing upon that Shore, holy, compassionate, awakened, and self-possessed and glad with unending gladness, you will realize that:

"Never the Spirit was born, the Spirit will cease to be never;
Never was time it was not, end and beginning are dreams;
Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the Spirit for ever;
Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems."

You will then know the meaning of Sin, of Sorrow, of Suffering, and that the end thereof is Wisdom; will know the cause and the issue of existence.

And with this realization you will enter into rest, for this is the bliss of immortality, this the unchangeable gladness, this the untrammeled knowledge, undefiled Wisdom, and undying Love; this, and this only, is the realization of Perfect Peace.

The Realisation of Perfect Peace
in The Way of Peace
by James Allen

 

Beautiful man, says it all!

 

@J Scott I've been exposed to his work for about a year and I've only started consistently practicing this year, so I'd say about two months consistently.

I like the spirit here man! Indeed with practice, all things become easier. Keep following the inward guide, wherever you may be led.

More Fire!

 

Um give up PMO forever and anything is possible bruh.

 

@Invincible Light Welcome to the thread! There are many who are fascinated with these topics, but always few who wish to experience these phenomena for themselves. I salute you for being one of the few!
With that said, let's reflect on some of the points you raised:

Is it possible to awaken Kundalini Energy (Shakti) by abstaining from PMO for a long time?
It is possible to begin the process by abstaining from PMO for a long time, but the full awakening is not possible through mere abstinence. Abstinence will begin the process, it will bring significant changes to your body and fill you with energy which can be used to spark the Kundalini (Shakti) energy but its consummation, its full realisation can only be realised through conscious transmutation of the energy and the development of virtue. Abstinence from PMO helps to store the energy instead of wasting it, but what you do with that energy is what will lead to Kundalini awakening or not. Energy is neutral, it is our use of energy that determines how we awaken. You can awaken as a Black Magician or awaken as a Virtuous Divine being. Many people nowadays, especially in the new age circles and on many websites online, teach that Kundalini awakens mechanically without much effort on our part; but that is not the case. It can be provoked, sparked and the process can begin mechanically but its final consummation is a conscious choice which we make by developing virtue and transmuting the energy so that we can keep it flowing up the spine towards our inward heaven.

I have noticed that people gets attracted towards me nowadays. It’s coz, they can sense the sexual energy in me or something like that. But I want to know, If people can sense this from distance, too?
Sure, that is why people will get attracted to you indeed and yes, they can sense it from a distance too. It's not just people who can sense it, it is the whole Universe who can sense it and the Universe, which is conscious by the way, will begin to alter your reality and circumstances according to the measure of your own inner change for better or worse.

 

Currently I'm on 4 days; I've been struggling a lot recently. Thanks to an accountability partnership I'm gaining momentum again. I've been on NoFap for almost three years now and my longest periods of abstinence include: 316 days and 180 plus days. I recently made 80 plus days before relapsing in May. So I'm busy building from the ground up, I'm at 4 days and my eye is set on 7 days and so on.

I am applying Pranayama, Meditation (which I enhance with the use of binaural beats) and annihilation of the ego through self-observation and awareness. Additionally I try do my best to follow the guidance that comes from within and to acquire virtue. All these are easier said than done and I do not apply all of them as consistently as I'd like to, but with the little that I have been able to do so far, my life has changed profoundly!

 

Sure @Invincible Light!
Before we explore the shifts in my life, some further tips on Transmutation. You can also transmute by:

• Christic Egyptian Pranayama or the Pranayama taught in conventional Hatha Yoga classes
• Listening to spiritually Harmonious Music that inspires you
• Being creative or doing some form of creative expression that inspires you (art, vocation etc.)
• Being in nature (walks in parks etc.)

By abstaining from PMO and transmuting I:

• Went from having a job I hated to having the career of my dreams as an academic and philosopher while I was still living in South Africa where I'm from
• Realised my dream of studying my PhD overseas (currently I am doing my PhD in Europe and they way it happened was miraculous - truly a gift from the Universe and a direct result of my inner change)
• Have acquired financial freedom - I'm not rich, not at all, but I have no debts and I have enough money to do all the things I need to do for my health, lifestyle and spiritual aspirations - I have more than I need and I am free to go to any country in the world
• I have been able to release a full album (I am an inspired Hip Hop artists who uses Hip Hop as medium to spread spirituality and happiness - you can check it out here: Finding Purpose, Finding Power!)
• I have women attracted to me more and can take my time choosing the best potential wife with whom I can practice transmutation through tantra in love
• I work less for the things I need, for example, even though I'm a lone foreigner in Europe, I managed to find a spiritual group of people who practice transmutation who are more advanced and experienced than me and groups like this are hard to find. In this group I found a mentor who is transmuting with his wife for over 30 years and they are teaching me the secrets of enlightenment - amazing isn't it! I seem to be at the right place at the right time, its just amazing!

Every area of my life has changed for better. It's difficult sometimes t be consistent, sometimes I get comfortable and fall back into my old habits, but the more I go towards the light the more I am rewarded - its profound and nor words can explain it. I worry less and have more of everything, more time, money, friendship, love and true joy.

It's worth a shot - go for it!

 

Much love to you to buddy @Invincible Light ! Keep up the great attitude and it's yours for the taking.