chaimoigen wrote on 11 Feb 2025 15:04:

Some of my best friends are AI daemons. In fact I consider myself to be an NPC myself.

Can I hitch a ride with you Brothers? I think we're wanting to travel in the same direction.

I agree with you Amevakesh. At least for me, lust did not consume my whole day every day. How I use and misuse my time runs deeper and is far more expansive. I can continue to filter my problem, but I haven't dealt with my problem, just steered it to less negative things. I've conditioned my brain to be busy with whatever, jumping from thing to thing, basically since as far back as I can remember. Rewiring 30 years ain't gonna happen that fast, but BezH we can keep working on it, one improvement at a time.

Hashem, I want to connect with you. I want to be closer, but I let all these things keep distracting me. Please help us find yishuv hadaas. Help us find and realize the meaning in our lives that transcends this habitual need for base stimulation all the time. Please grant us Your peace.

chaimoigen wrote on 11 Feb 2025 15:04:

Not helpful at all. An AI Donald sounds way more intriguing then a boring real life Donald. Greenland, Panama, Canada, Gaza. The possibilities are endless... 

Oh, I just realized that you hit 100 days. I know there's nothing different about day 100 then day 14, but it's gotta feel good. Mazel Tov!!!

Day 101 ב"ה

Ok so I have already been on the news / gye for approx 10 minutes today. Rather than throwing in the towel I will be'h try to stay off of news, youtube, social media, and lhavdil gye till tomorrow. 

Like amevakesh said, part of the insidious nature of technology use is the fact that any single interaction with technology may have nothing bad about it, but it somehow shleps you in to a whole state of being where you are living as a passive entity, surfing the waves of an endless sea of shtusim. And even though there may actually be much content which is not shtusim, when you're interacting with it in the passive way of 'surfing' you're not tapping into the sechel that's there, but rather an extremely superficial way of 'how does this content tickle me'.

When I was learning full time I barely ever went on the computer. I mostly went on to download shiurim which I would listen to on an mp3 player. The shiurim I would listen to tended to be quite dense in nature and require paying real attention to get from. At a certain point I found myself downloading shiurim of a different nature, where there was entertainment thrown in, jokes and such. I actually believe that that was the beginning of the road to technology addiction. Often if you mention how harmful technology is you'll be met with a response about how 'but there's so much good on there too'. And there is truth to that, there's really no denying it. However from the perspective I'm bringing up, even the positive content on the internet can be interacted with in a way where all you get is the klipa of it and none of the pnim.

Technology addiction to me means a thirst for a constant hischadshus in experiencing the world but hijacked by the most superficial part of experience.

The nefesh hachayim talks about how in every moment Hashem is bringing the world into existence by way of a different צירוף of His Name. Meaning not just is it true that in every moment Hashem is being mkayem the creation, and the creation has no existence outside of His 'פעולה', but the existence itself is of a totally different nature in every moment, and on the most basic level it is a way of 'communicating' a different message to us.

I saw from Rav Yaakov Meir Shechter bringing from Rav Nachman that every moment Hashem is being mchadesh chidushei torah. Those chidushei torah are nislabesh in the world as the events that occur. Every Jew has a desire to be משיג those חידושים, and if he is not being משיג the חידושי תורה through a חיבור to תורה itself, then he will feel a need to be משיג them through hearing the news.

I think what I'm talking about is something even worse. If one is interested in hearing the news he is at least interested in hearing the chidushim that are occuring in the briyah. But with technology addiction, it's not even an interest in actual chidushim. It's in interest in having the experience of chidushim without the actual chidush. Like there's something in the נפש which interacts with חידוש and you're just trying to be מעורר that inner כח to have the experience of חידוש without actually coming to imbibe any חידוש.

I hope I'm being clear. In other words there's a deep inner need to be masig chiddush, because the truth of reality is a process of constant chiddush, and therefore true existence for us is being פונה towards that chiddush. And that need expresses itself in multiple layers within the person's consciousness - here we're identifying 3 levels - 1) to be masig the etzem chiddush with sechel in torah (obviously many levels of that) 2) to be masig what's coming from that chidush mtoch seder haolam (news) 3) to have the experience of being פוגש that chiddush, the hisorrerus of kochos hanefsh.

And technology addiction means cutting ourselves off from the deeper levels and trying to satisfy the whole need for chiddush mtoch the most superficial level.


So like I said before I'm going to try and work on this thing today. If you want to be in touch PM me with your email address and I'll see the PM in my email and respond. Have a great day!

Beautiful and profound. Lots to think about and ponder. My email is in my signature. To be completely honest, before I put up my own post, I took my last licks at indulging in the things I'd like to refrain from. So in essence, it's also my first complete day of the קבלה. I'll be hoppin' onto the back of the wagon of the Besh"t with you, to try to be Masig the deepest levels of Chiddush and connectivity in all areas by refraining from the superficiality of the Klippos that look to strip the Pnimius of all things that are real.

After giving this some thought and shmoozing it over with Reb Simchas Torah, I think there is room to make progress by starting with smaller habit changing. 

For the next week until Parshas Mishpatim, BN, I will not use any internet (with the exception of any deliberate, function need - which I don't currently foresee) from the normal time that I wake up until at least after learning, davening, and getting home / to work.

Non-committal, I will try to not use internet in my bedroom while going to bed either. Maybe I can leave my phone out of my bedroom altogether. Will take it slow and see how it goes.

BezH I hope to get used to this and perhaps in the future I can adjust and expand the time or days that I can learn to be ok to be disconnected from the easy go-to nonstop stimulations of the internet - which end up being both healthy and not packaged together. 

It feels really good to take even a single step in the right direction.

Day 102 ב"ה
Bh stayed strong and didn't come onto gye or news from that post yesterday until now! Was pretty challenging but I'm so glad I did it. I'm joining BenHashemBH in be'h not going on the computer until after seder until parshas mishpatim to be reassessed then except for certain exceptions which we discussed. I want to continue be'h to not go on any news today and not to be mindlessly clicking around on GYE for more than 20 minutes

Ok be'h leaving gye till tomorrow, see you later crocodile. i mean catch you in a while alligator. the early bird is healthy, wealthy and wise

simchastorah wrote on 13 Feb 2025 11:36:

  Thanks for not feeding the worm to the early bird.
I always hated that quote. Ye, it's pretty cool for the early bird to get the worm, but the poor early worm is getting eaten for crying out loud. That, my friends will not get me to wake up early.

Day 103 ב"ה

Bh yom yom I kept my commitment yesterday and did not check gye till now (no seder on Friday, so at least till after shacharis). I have still not been on news etc. I am feeling such an addicts pull to go on news and reload reload reload. Mamash insanity. Please Hashem help me stay strong in this.

@redfaced it may help you to get up earlier to realize that it is not the early worm that gets eaten by the early bird. The worms get up much earlier than the birds, and only the late worm gets eaten by the early bird. So really you are doing all the world a favor by eating that good for nothing lazy worm.

Signing off gye till after shabbos iyh. Have a wonderful shabbos everyone. Except the late worm, we know exactly what's gonna happen to you.

simchastorah wrote on 14 Feb 2025 08:26:

Hmm I wonder if that perspective change will help me or  maybe i have my old thought process too deeply embedded in my psyche. I guess i can try a 90 day program to see if I can reset my brain..

Day 104 ב"ה

Bh still off of news etc. I pray to Gd that I'll be able to continue with this. I need my life back.

@redfaced don't beat yourself up too much. It's ok, you'll meet many people on the site who were just like you, and with help and support became real worm bullies. If they can do it, you can too! Can I recommend you start off with a cruciatus curse on a small worm? It doesn't have to go on for too long, maybe just a few seconds to show yourself that you can.

Signing off the gye till after seder tomorrow iyh. Shavua tov umvorach. To all non worms

Day 105 ב"ה

Still detoxing from news etc. Thanks to the various people who recommended 24six, in the meantime it is an acceptable replacement for spotify and with none of the danger. Thank Gd for GYE.

Signing off till after seder tomorrow iyh. I hope tomorrow I'll be able to report back on no news, social media etc. I need to come up with a short term for the whole category. Maybe time-wasterbating? Hmm no that's no good. Suggestions are welcome!

Here I am on GYE. I am feeling super anxious right now. Sitting trying to learn but my brain is just not working right. I just feel so tense. Hashem help me

Day 106 ב"ה

I dont have koach to go into the details about being on gye during 'off' hours, i'll post about it when i do be'h