tsuki

The ones that I described in the first post.

It got a lot easier when I'm clearly seeing what I used to believe. Thanks to this what I say is aligned with how I behave. Paradoxically, when I took ownership of these beliefs and presented them as mine, my wife is much more willing to do the same so we can support each other when one of us gets triggered. It's usually a mess when we're both triggered though, but thankfully it does not happen all that often anymore.

Thank you I think that you misunderstood that question, but I learned to let these things go One way to find out I do, and there is no "but despite your thoughts...". Love has a very different ring to it when you're past the romantic phase. It's about listening and openness. She loves me too and she's well too aware of my struggles. It is difficult for her to not take it personally because she has an opposing fantasy of being so awesome that I will never want another woman ever again. Our inner children used to fight about that a lot. I've yet to meet one person that is conscious of the impact of their childhood on their adult life that says that their parents were enough. That is why we're here - to learn from their mistakes. Intimate relationships are a very effective way to grow each other.

In case you're thinking that speaking about your not-so-favorable past is a no-no, let me present you with a counter-perspective. She will trigger you. You will trigger her. You will fight. She will fight. Without getting to the bottom of why you're incompatible (because all real relationships will inevitably show that), you will not know how to navigate your traumas. Compromises and conscious, loving, attention to the other's brokenness will have to be made. Acceptance of irredeemably irrational and self-destructive coping mechanisms will have to occur. And in the end, you will have to decide to help each other out and turn the blind eye to the other's (hopefully occasional) toxicity. You will BOTH have to commit to do that. Simultaneously. Commit and coordinate that for the rest of your life in ever-changing circumstances, oftentimes out of your control. Having the shield up won't cut it. You need the sword up and pointing outwards, with her doing the same to have your back. Good luck!

I've heard that many times from various people in two different languages. Is it an idiom, or do I communicate this lack of knowledge somehow?

Thanks. I always pretended to know this, showing my concern etc, but this is actually not something that can be done. This happens by itself when I'm free of my delusions and fantasies, coming into the situation with presence. I want more

This is basically the biggest struggle that I'm bringing into my relationship. Before I met my wife, I had sex with just one other woman in a highly unusual situation, so it is by no means normative. When I was young, I used to judge the hell out of myself for being single so it is still a kind of trigger for me when I compare myself with others in this domain. I don't want to end my marriage and I will not resort to cheating, so my only option is to work through this. Working through this entails understanding the reason why I want to have sex with many women. So far I got that I constructed a belief about what a successful man does and that includes sleeping with many women. I also believe that by having sex with various women, I will get better at having sex. Being good at having sex, delivering pleasure to women without getting to know them, is a big part of the fantasy. This belief is something that I compare myself to and in doing that I create suffering. By reacting to this suffering, trying to escape from it, I create the need to sleep with many women. The biggest breakthrough for me so far happened right after a mystical experience when I encountered Love. I understood that I constructed these beliefs when I was a teenager in order to pretend that I knew what sex really is. I understood that I have never truly experienced sex in my entire life, that I was always preoccupied with my beliefs and hiding behind a persona. It was pretty shocking to be honest, I never had sex in my life, even though we're doing it every few days. Lots of stuff dropped off when I realized this. The compulsion to ejaculate after penetration is a start, I can now stop having sex and walk off without taking damage to my pride. Generally speaking, I am much more focused on bringing pleasure to my wife and helping her open up. There is more presence involved and it is not contrary to getting lost in pleasure/sensations. So, my advice to your friend would be to investigate why she really wants to experience sex with many partners. I'm willing to bet that it is really some ancient, forgotten, mental pattern that she mistook for a biological process or curiosity. That, or maybe she's thinking about her relationship differently and it creates these urges for exploration. If that is the case, then she will not be satisfied with another, or 10, partners given that she says and looks like she is enjoying the relationship.

You're waaaaay too hot for that @Leo Gura It's really refreshing to see this more human side of you. Brings out all the stuff we're repressing. No, your insecure tears are too delicious! Sigh, alright, alright. I got all excited. I'll be good now

And if your cousins were unhappy, then why would they come to you to talk about that? Because you are open to the possibility that arranged marriages are not all that hot? And that you would understand their pain? You would get triggered just like you did when @Preety_India told you that you were wrong. And that happened on an online forum, not in person when survival is at stake! Women see right through this kind of falsehood and hide their pain from men in general. No, no, you get this wrong. My condescension is not fake, it's genuine. I despise men with no experience who act all-knowing. Like you, for instance, have no experience of being married. No experience of being married in an arranged marriage. No experience of seeing through biases with regards to other sex. No experience of being an abused woman. And yet, here you are talking about this stuff and shooting others down when they disagree with you. Pathetic.

This song is very special to me. The pacing of lyrics, its content and the buildup of tension is magnificent. It connects deeply with memories of mystical experiences. When I get into meditative state to listen, I am deeply moved, often to the point of crying.

Your post @Akemrelax is a perfect example of what @Preety_India described as "gaslighting". It suggests that you are in an arranged marriage, with a "happy wife".

@electroBeam That is a beautiful answer, exactly the one that I needed to hear and not the one that I wanted. Thank you.

@electroBeam Could you list some aspects of romantic relationships that you consider to be not survival based?

Lol seriously? Because I'm under the impression that it is a list that a man has to pass to be taken seriously by women. I really should leave my cave more often ?

I wonder why is it so difficult for women to admit out to having preferences in men? You girls sound ridiculous when you are defending these spiritual personas. There is nothing sexier than a woman that enjoys sex and knows what makes her feel good! And frankly, the list that Leo has posted is not really all that specific. LOTS of women will fit these criteria! It's just overwhelming to read this all at once so it's much more of a confidence check than anything else.

Alright, I got that part. Have a good day.

You act as though I say you are not a Buddha, and by so doing you are humiliating yourself. The man you spoke of seemed plenty capable of taking care of himself. That was probably why he took off in the first place.

The Buddha was not some random hobo begging for food. He was immensely valuable to people around him, so of course his needs were taken care of. Transcendence of survival is inclusive of survival.

@Jaka Pirs Hanzic Yep, it is the experience itself, not the contents of it.

The true witness is nothingness, it is not a creation. Whatever is experienced is not it.

@Rilles Hahahaha

To understand something is to have a raw unmitigated encounter with it. It is possible to understand understanding. Understanding is primary, it is not expressible in terms of anything else.

@Preety_India Happy for you!

I do not believe that we must consciously seek suffering in order to grow, but we can't turn away from what we're going through right now. Even though suffering is the price, it is also free so it's not like anything is paid.

It is not bad to be nice to others if you can first be nice to yourself. Because niceness is often a charade that masks the inability to take one's own needs seriously. You cannot be in a successful relationship with another person if you are not able to recognize what they want and provide it in sustainable ways. That recognition of needs is first and foremost present with regards to your own self. Generally speaking, lack of consciousness that has a lot of potential causes. There are systemic ways in which we take each other for granted and that may come from childhood trauma, bad parenting and unhelpful thought patterns. There are also temporary ways in which we're toxic and they arise from current circumstances, such as stress, lack of proper sleep, or bad nutrition. Of course, there are also relationships that went past the point of no return where you secretly hate the person, but have to be in relationship with him/her, and you just want to harm them. Generally speaking, this answer is very much related to the previous one. I would advise against this kind of thinking when entering relationships. What you want the most is to be yourself, instead of aping someone else's standards of behavior. Never hesitate to go to couples therapy if you're experiencing prolonged relationship problems that you fail to fix despite genuine efforts on both parts.