Hello all.
I've been lurking for some time now, I figured I'll give a shout out. The name of my game is shpiegel- I'll just tell you all what I've been telling myself, to better affect myself. Introductions later, I really have to run to seder soon.

R' Leib Kelemen says over (B'Sheim Omro, don't forget!) that R' Chaim Vital writes: He was have a conversation with his Rebbe, the Arizal, and he asked him why the Arizal keeps saying that he (R' Chaim Vital) has a special neshoma. "We, who do not reach the toenails of the previous generation, can't possibly be considered special compared to those that have come before us."
The Arizal answered, because in every generation it is far more difficult to do the right thing, because of the forces arrayed against us, we cannot judge ourselves by our accomplishments. Rather, if we are anywhere near the previous generations in our activities, it means far more than it appears to mean, because the fight is tougher. On that scale, concluded the Arizal, you have a special neshoma.

Concludes R' Leib- in our generation the fight has become nigh on impossible. But if we realize how much we accomplish by simply considering ourselves part of the fight, and a kal v'chomer if we are succeeding to any extent at all- well then, Moshiach should be here any day!!

We are the generation to bring Moshiach, there's no doubt about it. And the proof is what we are up against.

Chazak V'Ematz, all! I'll be back after seder.

Wow ET, you seem to be a shtarke guy. Can't wait to get to know you better.

Welcome aboard and join the fun (and the serious avoda).

MT

Welcome E-Tek

Why do you call it shpiegel? and why do you call it game? couldnt get it.

hi ET!
welcome to the microphone podium

you are just another proof for me that people here are of such good level, BH. real warriors with good weapons.

BTW, your beautiful idea is also mentioned by the chofetz chaim. in today's craze, any mitzavh or struggle goes very far.
hope you had a good seder!

Kevin

M"T- That's why I'm here, to get to know everyone.
Benzi- the reference to a mirror, or shpiegel, was to indicate that I was really talking to myself. It won't mean much unless other people "hear" it, so I posted here.
Kevin- Thanks. I decided that one of my plans would be to talk to the forum whenever I have an urge- and tell them why I should overcome it. Because I haven't been lurking too long, it will probably be chazara, but hey, I can't see any bad in that !

behatzlacha, E Tek.
I think that going into GYE whenever you have an urge is a gr8 idea. We are here for you!

Welcome, brother!
No harm in repeating useful and encouraging ideas. I'm sure you'll come up with your own chiddushim soon enough!
Tell us more about your struggles and what you're doing towards a long-term solution.
Have you read the handbook? It's a goldmine of great ideas.
You can find more things to do here.
Hatzlocho,
Mottel.

E-Tek wrote on 15 May 2012 22:40:

You have no idea how right you are in that regard- welcome aboard!

Okay, and now to introduce myself.
I'm twenty(mumble) years old, and I've had this addiction since I was 14. When I was 16 or so, I learned it was bad (although if I had been honest, I knew from the start it wasn't quite right). I made several conscious efforts throughout my teens to stop, without very much success. Emotionally, I went from determined to depressed to ambivalent. About two years ago I started making more efforts on a very basic level- More of the "what" in Yiddishkeit than the "why". This path seemed to work for me- I took my intellectual knowledge I had gained and used it to make a long-term decision to physically remove myself from, well, everything. And all of a sudden, I found I was able to think straight. (I know, this phenomenon is common here.) I made an absolute ton of small steps to keep myself headed in the right direction, and the sum-total of all those has made me a different person. The most fundamental of those changes is a day-to-day, personal, emotional relationship with the Rebono Shel Olam.

I found out about the website a little less than three years ago, and kept it in my inbox until I was ready to work on myself. (It takes a certain emotional maturity to make a commitment, no? I was still a kid.) Started working with some success before I got a chance to start lurking here, but this site seems to be turbocharging my efforts.
I have not finished the handbook- I'm reading it slowly and deliberately. During the zman I spend less time working on this and more time keeping too busy with good things. Use the Yetzer Hora's ANTI-THINK device against him, and all that.

Hatzlocha to all! Thanks for listening.

Welcome aboard!
Here's a great vort that I heard bshem Rav Kook זצ"ל
on the tfilah אלקי עד שלא נוצרתי איני כדאי ועכשיו שנוצרתי כאילו לא נוצרתי
Before I was born, in previous generations
if i would have been born then it wouldnt have been kedai
because my kochos are relevant for now, for this generation.
and now that Im here with my kochos in the right time to do something with them
Im acting as if I was never born
and Im not using my kochos properly
and thats our viduy to HKBH
please help us reach our potential
we have tremendous kochos and we can do so much
the YH knows how great our neshomos are and tries to distract us from what we can accomplish
i know its not the same idea that you were expressing
but its related and your topic brought this vort out of my memory bank
so i thought I would share it
thanks

Definitely related! Thanks!

Anyways, I was motivated to start posting after a bad fail.
Now I'm feeling it again, so I put myself on the 90 day chart. My shpiegel posts will remain here.

2. גר"א, אבן שלמה פרק ב' אות י'
Summary- You get places faster on the right road.
"מה שמשיג בעל-התאוה אחר רוב השתדלות בענין רע, נעשה לתמימי דרך בענין-טוב בלא עמל"

I'm going to leave this as is, without trying to elaborate. והמבין יבין.

Thoughts brought on by OberMottel's thread and his back-and-forth with Reb Dov:
I'm still working up to admitting to myself exactly what is going on in my head. But it is a goal of mine.
Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz says that a prerequisite to Yiraas Shomayim is Dover Emes Bl'vovo. You can't be a real Yiraas Shomayim without being completely and totally honest with yourself. This is because Yiraas Shomayim is partly a really deep, deep understanding of reality- that's Emunah- and a deep, deep understanding of what Hashem wants from you. How can you do what you need to do without studying the problem, and making plans to solve them?
Everyone knows this story, but I'm writing it for myself. Rav Elya Lopian ZTZ"L was approached by a bochur who wanted permission to attend a chasuna in a certain city. Rav Elya told him no, because the people of that place dressed immodestly. The bochur protested that he worked on himself, and he was certain he had conquered that urge. Rav Elya withdrew a large sum of money from his pocket, handed it to the boy, and said, "I'm nearly 90 years old, and blind in one eye, yet I still feel the cravings from the Yetzer. If you do not, you had best go see a doctor!"

The opposite is also true. I must not deny how strong my desires are, and if they are THAT strong, I must see a doctor.

hi gesher tzar,
thanks for an amazing vort. it is so true & mechazek

E-Tek I dont know if ur a chussid or not, but u might enjoy this vort. The kotzker once asked some1 what does it mean to b a chossid? he answered doing lifnim mishuras hadin. So the rebbi said that's what I mean, the torah says 'al toni ish es reieihu' you shouldn't deceive a friend, a chussid doing lifnim mishuras hadin doesn't deceive himself...lol