The chizuk emails have been deepening something that I've been using lately to help fight the yetzer hara. Last year while learning Baba Metzia, the Rav gave and incredible explanation of the concept of 'kinyan'. He drew from Rebbe Nachman and other sources and described that there are many levels by which a person can 'acquire' something. a) A person can see something, desire it and become slightly attached to it. b) He can state aloud, 'it's mine'. c) He can pick it up. d) He can sign a document of acquisition. These examples exist along a continuum of 'acquisition', from the most shallow to the most deep and enduring.
Ultimately, our soul is here to acquire our body (and its associated physicality in the world) in order to fulfill the soul's purpose. Our souls all signed a contract when we came into the world. The soul needs the body and its associated physicality in order to fulfill this contract.
And as I walk through the world, I can acquire things cheaply and shallowly, or I can really invest in them and they become part of me. Ultimately, true fulfillment of purpose comes from having real relationships with the things or people in my life, in a way that contributes to the fulfillment of the soul's purpose. The shallow 'acquisitions' that I make, don't contribute to real fulfillment. Quite the opposite. They create a cloud of confusion about my soul's purpose in the world. Clarity and truth are what bring fulfillment. It's only when I'm truly connected to that which is relevant to my soul's purpose that I can accomplish that purpose, and feel fulfilled in this world and Iy"H in the next. The shallow 'acquisitions' that come from looking with my eyes and their desires, are like the cloud that confounds and confuses my consciousness, preventing me from seeing that which is truly relevant - or Shaiyach - to my soul.
So as I walk around the world, I make a practice of reminding myself that real fulfillment comes from attaching myself to that which is Shaiyach. And with the help of G-d, I remind myself when I notice my eyes going after desires, 'Not Shaiyach'. And if it's not shaiyach, there's no real fulfillment, just confusion.
So try it. Keep in mind a phrase that evokes to you something like 'this object of desire is not relevant or connected to my soul, and in fact will just bring confusion'. For me, the phrase is 'Not Shaiyach'.
Thanks for all these great tips and posts. They are Iy"H truly strengthening my avodah in the area of attaching my soul to that which is relevant, and clearing it of the confusing attachments that are not relevant.