glad to say i've made it through another day. i made a special point of trying to stay as in control as possible last night at the game and i really felt that it paid off and i felt better about things overall throughout the course of the night. today, i spent 6 hours using the loopstation for my senior project, hours well spent as i need to amass probably 50 hours in the next two weeks. but its kept me occupied and i'm happy with how much progress i've made and especially how much fun it is to experiment musically. other than that, shemiras einayim has gone well and each urge in my mind by my Y"H has been removed quickly so that things have gone well thus far.

day 5: BH working hard to build up some steam

day 1 as always

Fantastic, on so many levels!

Did you read my post about one day at a time?

was it the one in your thread with a quote from morshax about being able to do mitzvos when Moshiach comes? if it is- then i agree, it really is a perspective changing idea. very useful. if its not- i didnt see it  :-[.

Yeah...I think it was briut's post, I may have done the quote thingie wrong...

Gut Voch everyone. shabbos went well and the last few days have gone well too. I feel like shemiras einayim while walking around has been going really well lately, with few second glances and even fewer first glances. the matisyahu concert thursday night went really well and i even got to daven maariv with him and beatbox for him, a true honor. other than that, i have little news. I davened shabbos maariv with the most kavanah that i've ever davened it with and that was really refreshing and i went to bed last night feeling strong.

i also had an interesting thought today. my family wasnt home (sisters graduation) and i was left alone, reading. then a thought came to me that i could go look at stuff on the computer and nobody would know. i then laughed at myself because i knew it was shabbos....and then i was thinking about how the situation compared to a weekday. i would normally try and combat this impure thought by just ignoring it. but now i realized that another way to fight these thoughts if they intensify is to think that doing so would be contrary to Hashem's will. obviously i couldnt use the computer on shabbos and Hashem made commandments concerning shabbos that are inviolable. so now i just need to make it obvious in my mind that Hashem also made commandments concerning sexuality and the likes and that engaging in such activities woul
d be violating my covenant with Him. plain and simple.

i guess easier said than done though . although i guess its a good thought, how much has yiras shamayim done in the past? well hopefully this is something i can work on....

day 8: New week, continue the momentum

day 1 as always

It's definitely something you can add to your toolbox - glad to hear that things are going well, keep on rocking! (or rapping, as the case may be).

the thing about Shabbos is always weird for me too...i would never watch por* on shabbos but on a weekday it is easier for me to do...does not make sence but it is hte minds et needed

Boker Tov Chaverim! Hope all is well. Not much to update. Had a close call yesterday. Now i know that should never just browse the app store on my ipod just to waste time. bad idea. But other than that, had a bas mitzvah party last night and that was nice to go to and a very good exercise for shemiras einayim. Other than that, things have been solid with me.

Day 10: Level 2 and working for level 2 + 1 day

day 1 as always

Always learn from what's happening - that's why it's in your life!

just a late night update  8). i re-read an interesting idea recently. just before i found GUE, i had gone on an online ask-the-rabbi question website and asked about strategies to overcome this challenge and i saved the response. the concept that the Rabbi explained a nice way of visualizing the "One Day at a Time" concept, especially in relation to teshuvah. Personally, i have had trouble finding other areas where i can use this concept other than with this, but there was one that the Rabbi pointed at that we all face: hunger. He said that this aveirah is not all-too-different from eating. He writes:

"Teshuvah is like dinner. Dinner on Monday removes your hunger from Monday. But it doesn't mean you won't be hungry again Tuesday night.  Life is full of temptations. We can't get rid of them once and for all. We need to constantly deal with them, just like we can't get rid of being tired or hungry once for all, but must deal with it on a regular basis."

Just a thought.

I think it's very true...and in every area. Lashon hora. Let's take learning torah. I want to learn as much as possible. But if I try to look and consider how much I have to do, and think of all the effort that I'll need to put into my learnign over the next 20 years (or 40, 60, etc) - it can be a bit overwhelming.

So I need to focus on today, and do the best that I can, today.

Shlomo wrote on 01 Jun 2010 04:12:

What a great picture. Thanks!

good idea! and like SB said being overwhelmed is the worst thing and i find it has been bad for me.

LIKE THE DINNER THING

my rabbo said the yeser hara is like a dog, more its fed stonger it gets,, more dangerous it gets, when its stopped being being, it goes mentl for a while untill it loses its energy, although it may come back in deperate attempts for food and is always barking silently for it, it gets fundamentally weaker...

keep striving mate, image being clean as you eneter yeshiva next year!

(is yours in eretz yisroel?)

WELCOME TO THE WALL OF HONOR THREAD SHLOMO! MAY YOUR SHLEP NOT BE SO SHLEPY!