ajasatya

yoga teaches us to use our sexual energy properly. there's too much energy stuck on the lower part of your body and it makes you feel anxious to release it. that's why porn and masturbation are so appealing. if your sexual energy is channeled properly, you'll be free from sexual restlessness. you'll be able to develop healthy relationships with women, including genuine friendships. your sexual energy will be used for healing, willpower, compassion, creativity/expression, intuition and transcendence. you won't lose the sexual drive during moments of intimacy. it's just that the sexual drive will come in the right moments, preventing your from being taken away by useless sexual fantasies when your focus should be somewhere else.

beautiful. this is wonderful. fly, golden bird! fly and purify yourself! to prevent backfiring, spend some time working on yourself, like 2~3 years. change radically. there's no need for fear. if you act from a place of compassion for existence and alignment with your heart, i doubt anything will ever go wrong.

@Sheeba very good. i remember sadhguru saying that his world of possibilities exploded when he noticed that he didn't know shit. it happened to me as well. and it still happens until this very day. what's wrong with "being a newbie"? humility is probably highest virtue. shunryo suzuki wrote a book called zen mind, beginner's mind, which is one of the best zen books out there. can you understand this? a zen master with decades of practice wrote a book about the practice of the humble mind. you know nothing? that's brilliant. get used to it.

@Fuse congratulations for your sincerity. it's quite rare for someone at your age. you have to replace that habit with another habit. from my personal experience, i was able to overcome porn by replacing it with assiduous practices and studies of yoga. i highly recommend yoga. it can change you in very deep ways. search for free yoga events in your town, yoga classes on youtube, yoga books (look for bks iyengar). it's a whole new universe for you to immerse and get out of porn. it takes a while, but if you practice assiduously, your sexual urges will become more and more sparse. for me, it took 6 months.

here comes the Hearth of God, looking for the Fire. where to start? you sit down and do nothing.

@Vercingetorix i haven't played it, but check undertale out.

@How to be wise do you call decades of intense suffering by "instantly"?

@kieranperez search for people who overcame ocd. i can't help you with this but one thing i know for sure: it won't be easy.

@sleeperstakes no it's not essential. i've always sucked at pickup and i'm living a wonderful intimate relationship.

drop it. you ain't going nowhere. you're not becoming more special. we're just random dudes. take this with you: enlightenment is a 24/7 mindfulness training. you're not becoming better than anyone else. you're simply becoming healthier than you've ever been. if you ask thich nhat hanh, he'll say that he's still training, even though he's like 90 years old and probably about to die. dogen zenji also said that practice and realization are the same. i recommend that you spend the next 6 months practicing with these teachings and see how it feels. if you want enlightenment, just practice day after day, minute after minute, instant after instant. it's a lifetime commitment to mindfulness practice.

no "enlightenment" will ever occur. train your mind to be present. join a zen sangha if you need help with practice consistency.

there's no need for forceful masculinity. let your heart bloom.

why would YOU do selfless acts? studying the behavior of others is helpless.

don't get caught by the follower mindset. not being responsible for yourself is a dangerous trap. if you feel that you should do something, do it. experience is extremely important. it's not like you're completely clueless about spirituality. you're not diving too deep in the ocean of ignorance anymore.

it depends on how deep you've gone. @harisankartj is having a hard time to function due to his existential anguish so the only option is to face it for once. if you can touch the fear slowly and get gradually accustomed to it as you are able to function and feed the body and pay the bills normally, that'd be the best approach for you.

@MiracleMan it does feel physical. it feels like you have to let go of EVERYTHING. not as a meditative practice, but for real.

@Max_V i don't know about your likes, but in moments like this i'd go to some indian restaurant to eat some marvelously healthy vegan food.

@Ilya sit down. watch the question arising, gently bring your attention back to your breathing and watch the question go away. that's not confusion. you're just sitting. what could go wrong from there? why do you bug yourself so much?

@harisankartj i love you too

@Lord Bwyra that was some motherfucking awesome reply. we all need to feel completely hopeless at least once.

@Voyager do you want a candy for that? either overcoming self imposed challenges or failing at them just strengthens the egoic illusion.

follow your intuition. if what leo (or anybody else) says doesn't ring a bell for you, then let go of it.

after? there's no after. just live with it. get used to it. you call it darkness but it's just a relative judgment. darkness or lightness, it doesn't matter. it feels uncomfortable because it's unusual.

@harisankartj then go meditate and try to stop existence. get it over with already. you don't have to label yourself as a "monk" for that. you can just sit down and do it right now. if you try to escape this task, anxiety will grow stronger. you've reached a point of no return.

@Ilya self inquiry gets you to an uncomfortable state of uncertainty in which there's no words left to be said. get used to that state. stay with it until you become comfortable with silence.