Now is the time. Shvi'i shel Pesach. Klal Yisrael is standing on the edge of the Yam Suf. Mitzrayim is pursuing us. We are surrounded on all sides by the Yetzer Hara, but the Ge'ulah is on hand. Yidden! We are a step away from Az Yashir (Lashon Asid - which is NOW), the true Shira of the Geulah Shleimah.
BUT WE NEED NACHSHONIM!
Are you willing to completely trust Hashem and enter the Yam Suf till your nose - even if your body tells you you'll drown? Don't listen to your body for once. He is not in control - Hashem is. Trust completely in Him and take the jump.
* Put in that filter and give the password away.
* Tell someone close to you about your struggle, and promise to keep in touch with them about it every few days.
* Call the Hotline or join the Free weekly Phone conference.
Do something you always were afraid to do: Just trust in Hashem and jump.
And if you are willing to take the "risk", as we discussed yesterday, and just trust in Hashem, Hashem will surely split the Yam Suf for you and for all of Klal Yisrael. What you do, will effect us all. Hashem will fight for us, and we shall be silent. Miracles you never believed could happen WILL happen!
Kriyas Yam Suf is waiting to happen again. Be a part of it!
Here are some steps that work for me:
When online, I consider my motivation for every site I visit. If it's a news site, I again consider why I want to read certain articles. If it's because the site or article discusses inappropriate topics (fashion or "news items" relating to immoral behavior), or even if it might discuss them and the Y"H wants me to find out for sure, then I don't click. In general, I limit the sites I visit to a small list and I question anytime I feel the need to visit a site that is not on the list.
When in the street I have a number of different methods depending on the situation, but 3 of the most common thoughts that I've been working on making "second nature" are:
1) Remember that what you see is the outermost layer only. Just a bit deeper is a bunch of gory blood and bones that you'd run from in horror.
2) I try to link the pleasurable sensation of inappropriate thoughts and fantasies to the devastating emotional pain I experienced when I revealed my addiction to my wife. Since I must tell her if I fall and she has reminded me nicely many times that she understands me but would be very hurt if I had something to report, there is an immediate link between the fall and the painful consequence, even more immediate than the inevitable depressing feelings that used to follow a fall. Although it's still a 2 step process (pleasure followed by memory of pain), I'd like to get to the point where the only sensation is the memory of pain.
3) An oldie but goody...Just get through today. I can do it, just for today.
One trick that seems to work for me is, if I catch myself looking where I'm not supposed to, I put my eyes in Time Out mode: Six seconds with the eyes closed.
I had a bit of a slip... Thanks to this site though, I have not let it pull me down, Hashem is still part of my life (in the past this would have led to a downward spiral), and I think I may even have learned from it.
One of the things that helps me is the acknowledgement that this is an addiction. This enables me realize that the buzz / rush / excitement that I feel when engaging in these things are simply chemicals that are secreted in the brain and I am addicted to them, and this helps put things in perspective.
This morning, I already put this realization to practice I postponed my response to a trigger by waiting a few minutes and seeing it for what it really is. And low and behold - the buzz was gone.