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My Clean Days Log
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Scientific studies show that it takes 90 days to break an addictive pattern in the mind. Start your own Log of your journey to 90 days! Post here to update us on your status and to give each other chizuk to stay strong!
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TOPIC: My Clean Days Log 16202 Views

Re: My Clean Days Log 25 Mar 2022 13:24 #379075

committed_togrowth wrote on 25 Mar 2022 04:28:
Thank you for sharing, your presence on this forum is a huge chizuk to me and I'm sure it is to many others. I wanted to share an idea (I'm sure it is one you know but I'll write it out anyway in case it's helpful). It says in Chovos HaLevovos something like "it is a law of nature that desire will influence the human intellect." We aren't purely intellectual beings because while we are in essence a soul we also have a body and, to put it in Rabbi Bentzion Shafier's words, most of the time we're essentially walking around drunk. For example, we can wake up one day and lack clarity on even the most fundamental thing of all, Hashem's existence. From the body's perspective maybe He does exist maybe He doesn't, but it doesn't really matter either way because right now I want this pleasure that's very real and very in front of me. It's baked into your nature as a hybrid spiritual and physical being that you will experience a lack of clarity and not see why halacha has any bearing on your reality. This is to make room for the possibility of free will, which you just succeeded in exercising in an amazing way! (If this misses the point you were making in your reflection please ignore me )

There is a Gemara that I often think about when it comes to my theological musings. Basically, the Jewish people never really believed in idolatry, but they served it in order to permit public sexual immorality or to publicly permit sexual immorality. In other words, a generalization that any ideology that isn't strict adherence to the Written and Oral Torah is driven by a motive to legitimize some forbidden or frowned upon desire. That seems to be part of your response and I appreciate it and it definitely applies to my situation and post.

Re: My Clean Days Log 25 Mar 2022 13:55 #379076

  • davidt
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Rabbi Efraim Glassman Shlita said an interesting point, that when a person asks himself “Why should I not act out?” He should start off the list with gashmiyus-related reasons and then get to ruchniyus-related reasons. The reason for starting the list with gashmiyus-related reasons for why this behavior will affect his life in Olam Hazeh, follows what the Gemara says: when a person is faced with a strong nisayon, his yetzer tov plays a small role. Therefore, if a person has a simple, gashmiyus-related cheshbon for how he stands to lose in Olam Hazeh by doing it, then it will be more helpful for him than coming up with a ruchniyus-related reason for how this behavior will impact his Olam Haboh. This is particularly true if a person's level of yiras shamayim is not so strong; such a person may, under certain circumstances, try to excuse himself from any ruchniyus-related reason to stop. Therefore, although ruchniyus reasons are very important it is still preferable to start the list with gashmiyus-related reasons.

This idea of using gashmiyus reasons before ruchniyus ones can be seen from the Torah’s account of Yosef and the wife of Potifar. When she confronted him, Yosef’s first response to her was that doing this aveirah would betray her husband’s trust in him. Only afterwards did he continue on to say that by doing this aveirah, he would be sinning against Hashem.
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?"
feel free to reach out @  ahavayirah@gmail.com

Re: My Clean Days Log 01 Apr 2022 01:36 #379453

Day #200.

Re: My Clean Days Log 19 Jun 2022 11:20 #382112

  • realestatemogul
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Hey!

Just want to remind you that you are awesome!

V'kam, V'kam, V'kam!
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