Todays Hayom Yom is extremely powerful and applicable so I'll post it here.

The early sages, who were like angels (may their merit protect us) have already determined that the healing of the soul is like the healing of the body:The crucial first step is to identify the location of the illness, whether it is caused by the crassness, grossness and corruption of his physical body or by a failing in his soul-powers, the person being inclined to undesirable traits like arrogance or falsehood and the like. Or, the source of the malady may be habit - inadequate rearing or unwholesome environment having brought on bad habits.Without ascertaining the specific site of the illness and the cause of infection, it is impossible to embark on a cure. One can only prescribe an orderly proper conduct in all matters, what to do and what to avoid. To "do good" in terms of observing mitzvot, designating times for Torah-study and acquiring good character traits - and also to "turn away from evil."Most urgent of all, however, is that the patient make himself aware of two things: a) to know that he is ill, and desire most fervently to be cured of his malady; b) to know that he can be cured, with hope and absolute trust that, with G‑d's help, he will indeed be cured of his sickness.

I found קונטרס ומעין מבית ה׳ to be very helpful
it teaches about the yh tricks and why they are utterly foolishness
And it was written specifically for bochurim (although if you haven’t learned it yet it’s great for all ages) 

I learned it in shiur beis Mesivta and I remember enjoying but I can’t say I remember much of it at this point

I learnt it in shiur alef but recently I learnt it again with a amazing chassid
and now I’m learning a second time with him
I definitely recommend learning it again

עי' בספר מאור עינים פר' ואתחנן "ובודאי כל זה שמתאוה האדם לאיזה תענוג להתעורר בטבעו מידת האהבה לאותו התענוג וכו' ידע נאמנה שזה הוא סיוע העליון מן הבורא ב"ה בכדי שיקל לו לאחוז אז באהבתו יתברך"

staypure wrote on 05 Aug 2025 22:32:

תניא פרק כח:

וַאֲפִלּוּ אִם נוֹפְלִים לוֹ הִרְהוּרֵי תַּאֲווֹת וּשְׁאָר מַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת בִּשְׁעַת הָעֲבוֹדָה בַּתּוֹרָה אוֹ בִּתְפִלָּה בְּכַוָּנָה, אַל יָשִׁית לֵב אֲלֵיהֶן, אֶלָּא יַסִּיחַ דַּעְתּוֹ מֵהֶן כְּרֶגַע. וְגַם אַל יְהִי שׁוֹטֶה לַעֲסֹק בְּהַעֲלָאַת הַמִּדּוֹת שֶׁל הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה זָרָה כַּנּוֹדָע. כִּי לֹא נֶאֶמְרוּ דְּבָרִים הָהֵם אֶלָּא לַצַּדִּיקִים, שֶׁאֵין נוֹפְלִים לָהֶם מַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶם, כִּי אִם מִשֶּׁל אֲחֵרִים. אֲבָל מִי שֶׁנּוֹפֵל לוֹ מִשֶּׁלּוֹ, מִבְּחִינַת הָרַע שֶׁבְּלִבּוֹ בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי, אֵיךְ יַעֲלֵהוּ לְמַעְלָה, וְהוּא עַצְמוֹ מְקֻשָּׁר לְמַטָּה?

yitzchokm wrote on 05 Aug 2025 23:58:

I don’t know if you’re posting as a contradiction or as a warning,
the way I understood the quote from the Meor einaim was that its there to help in the future with having a ahavah towards hashem not to play with at the moment.

The Moir Eineiyim is referring to a different point, he is referring to the מדה which was התעורר in the person, like when a person is having an Ahavah (love) to something (the same is like with all other midos like Yirah Huskashros..) Hoshem is sending it to him it should be easier from him to use it for Avoidas Hoshem, instead of a person who doas not have at the moment an Ahavah to anything it's harder to to bring your self to it.
Versus the Tenyah is referring if a person has מחשבות זרות he shouldn't be stupid do do something which is not in his מדרגה.

I hope I explain a little I have attached what he writes before and a little after.

What you wrote in the name of the מאור עינים is what the Tanya is calling העלאת המדות, meaning when you have love for זנות you should think about the source of love which is to love Hashem and to elevate your love of זנות to love of Hashem. The Tanya writes that this Avodah only applies to צדיקים whose desire for זנות isn't coming from their own level and not to people like us. We should use distraction instead. The idea of העלאת המדות is quoted extensively in ספרי חסידות but the Tanya writes that it doesn't apply to us.

yitzchokm wrote on 06 Aug 2025 02:04:

The תניא פרק לא  writes
 אַךְ שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר, שֶׁהִיא שָׁעָה הַמְיוּחֶדֶת וּרְאוּיָה לְכָךְ לְרוֹב בְּנֵי אָדָם, הִיא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא עָצֵב בְּלָאו הָכֵי מִמִּילֵּי דְעָלְמָא, אוֹ כָּךְ בְּלִי שׁוּם סִבָּה, אֲזַי הִיא שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר לְהַפֵּךְ הָעֶצֶב לִהְיוֹת מִ״מָּרֵי דְחוּשְׁבָּנָא״ הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וּלְקַיֵּים מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה ״לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז וְכוּ׳״, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וּבָזֶה יִפָּטֵר מֵהָעַצְבוּת שֶׁמִּמִּילֵּי דְעָלְמָא. 

In פרק כח he is referring to a person who has הרהורי תאוות which usually means that the person is not in a מצב of אהבה it the opposite it's usually coming from depression loneliness etc. and that's what he is writing in פרק לא that when you are in that מצב of depression (מרא שחורה) you should use it for עבודת השם, and the same applies when a person is in a מצב of אהבה.
Sometimes הרהורי תאווה could also come to a person from excitement, in that situation the נפש הבהמי is in a mode of אהבה in that situation it's easier to be עובד השם באהבה then when you are just in regular routine mood.

זנות נקרא אהבה שנפלה לקליפות בספרי הקבלה, וכמו שכתב המאור עינים, ובזה מיירי בתניא כשכתב הרהורי תאוות, ר"ל הרהורי זנות, וכמו שמוכח מהא שכתב ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, ואמרו חז"ל זו זנות.

צריך לשאול משפיע בחב"ד מדוע בפרק ל"א כתב התניא להשתמש במדת העצבות לקדושה, ומדוע אין זה סתירה לדבריו בפרק כח, אבל דבר אחד ברור שבנוגע למה שכתב המאור עינים, כתב התניא שאין זה עבודת הבינונים. זה דבר ידוע שמה שכתב המאור עינים נקרא בספרי חסידות העלאת המדות לשורשם.

in my experience using feelings of love for sin to serve Hashem cause a person to be more engrossed in love for sin even if he is going to daven with more hislahavus and the Tanya writes the reason  for that as quoted above that he can't elevate his love for sin since it is part of his own level.

The מאור עינים in this paragraph I quoted (I specially quoted this one and not from before where he is writing about אהבה לעבירה) is writing about תאווה להתענג which if you are not using right away for עבודת השם it can lead to אהבה של שנות like he is writing "אזי נמשך אחר אותו התענוג ומפיל עוד המדה למטה ח״ו"

That is true that if you feel love for Hashem and you don't use it properly it can lead to sin. in addition, one of the Seforim writes to learn immediately after davening so that the hislahavus you had during davening doesn't go to the wrong place. But the Tanya holds that we shouldn't fight an urge by redirecting it to loving Hashem.