Radical Openmindedness about Self-Acceptance

[assx95]

There's a whole lot which could go wrong, the mind can be twisted to any degree. To get to the point, what if tomorrow, you, I or anyone accepts that they like the idea of murdering people for some reason or for the sake of it,  and think it's completely okay, completely accept the urge as their own, as part of their self expression, and start doing what they urge to do. What if, a man wants to have sex with a particular woman so bad, that they set out to achieve that goal, by any means possible, if you don't get it, the last resort being rape? 

The idea being that there is very little gap between owning one's urges and accepting that they're okay and acting on them. The transition wouldn't take long. 
And so we're conditioned since birth to control our urges. That all these temptations are sins. That we are supposed to be good boys and girls. My question is- Isn't going down the spiritual path of accepting and owning and acting on one's urges, opening a can of worms? Worms that could consume you to the last bit!

[Aaron p]

Accepting evil parts of yourself doesn't mean you should act on them. Accepting those parts of yourself is the first step in process of healing. 

[Nahm]

@assx95

(I don’t mean this facetiously, but contemplatively)...Why don’t you go ahead and do those things?

What comes to mind in that regard? 

[assx95]

9 hours ago, Nahm said:

(I don’t mean this facetiously, but contemplatively)...Why don’t you go ahead and do those things?

What comes to mind in that regard? 

What comes to mind is, if I could imagine doing it in my head, I am capable of doing it in real life. And had if been a 13th century mongol invader or part of the spanish inquisition, then I guess, I'd be perfectly capable of doing what everyone else was doing. In this day and age, my mind has adapted to the cultural values of today's society which have taught me from the beginning how murdering and rape and torture is morally wrong and how it is culturally inappropriate. Had I been brought up in a gang in South America, which does all kinds of things, I would have been a different person. 
 

To answer the question squarely, I don't do it, cause I don't desire to do so. Also, there's fear.

[Bittu]

There are a lot of people in the world who do activities like this. Being radically self honest and aware is actually the key to not being a horrible person.

Sure it is good that law controls your behavior, but laws and moral teachings in the end can't teach you everything there is to know. Not even close.

12 hours ago, assx95 said:

My question is- Isn't going down the spiritual path of accepting and owning and acting on one's urges, opening a can of worms? Worms that could consume you to the last bit!

That which you resist persist, thus if you accept your urges makes you less likely to act on them. Just look at what kind of porn they like to watch in Saudi-Arabia. Because they are not accepting these parts of human nature, they are controlled by them.

Merely accepting an urge does not make you act on it.

I'll use an example from my own life. I started to eat a vegetarian diet 1-2 years ago. First, I had to accept the part in me that eats meat. And kinda likes the taste of cheeseburgers, etc. Only then I started being conscious when I wanted to eat shit. You can only change that which you are aware of.

 

And yeah, answering your question about the spiritual path. Is it like opening a can of worms?

Yes it is.   It's the ultimate rabbit hole.

[Leo Gura]

But what you don't appreciate is that by suppressing genuine urges they don't stay suppressed, they bubble up in neurotic ways.

I would suggest that if you had a genuine urge to kill or rape people, you would already be a murder or rapist. You already have to be damaged to have those kind of urges seriously.

Spirituality also doesn't mean acting out all your passing urges. Sometimes I get the urge to eat a pizza, but I walk by the pizzaria and tell myself, "No, I will regret it." It is possible to resist an urge in a healthy way.

[Nahm]

19 hours ago, assx95 said:

Isn't going down the spiritual path of accepting and owning and acting on one's urges, opening a can of worms? Worms that could consume you to the last bit!

What Leo said is where I was headed. Sit and all urges come and go...

7 hours ago, assx95 said:

To answer the question squarely, I don't do it, cause I don't desire to do so. Also, there's fear.

And the true nature of desire is known, and that there is not fear is known.