I cant wait for more Momo

Wow!

This post really hit home with me. Please keep them coming.

Good day everyone. Here's Momo's thought of the day.  

The main focus of this site seems to be counting clean days. That's great for those that it helps, and it works for a lot of people. However, for some (like me), while it helps in the short run, it doesn't help in the long run. It just adds pressure on me, and makes me focus on the battle itself. For me, the battle get tiring after a while.

As an alternative, why not forget about battling the Y"H, and instead focus on building a relationship with HaShem by asking yourself each day the following questions:

• Today, will I walk with HaShem, or will I walk alone?


• Today, will I see HaShem who hides behind every physical object, or will I only see the physical objects?


• Today will I serve HaShem, or will I serve myself?

Just food for thought.

Your friend,
Momo

Dear SuperMomo,

I dont know where your SuperMomo logo went, but it really aught to be back and in shiny neon lights!

Where and why have you been hiding?! You are overflowing with such amazing insights and depth. You have given me focus for not only the day, but for long term life in general.

Please please keep it coming dear Momo. You have what to share, and an audience begging to hear

Dear super7Up,

Thanks for your very kind words. My inspiration comes from Duvid Chaim, working the 12-steps, and of course HaShem.

I wrote once before that when I'm high, I'm HIGH, and when I'm low I'm LOW. Thank HaShem now I'm coming off a 'high' I had last week and the well is still flowing. I pray the "high" keeps on, and the inspirations keep flowing. But as you wrote on your thread, the "high" usually ends sometime, and we return to "real" life. The question is what kind of "real" life are we returning to and how are we going to live it. I heard once that Yom Kippur is the easiest day of the year to get close to HaShem, the real test is the day after Yom Kippur. This is analogous to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai and then the day after Matan Torah. They "fell" too when they build the Egel. But they did teshuva, and HaShem forgave them, and they trudged in the desert for 40 years. During these 40 years, they still walked with HaShem, although not at the same level as Matan Torah. I hope this idea complements what you wrote today on your thread.

Regarding the "super" logo, the program talks about how the source of our addiction is our stroking our ego, and the solution is to be 'mevatel' ourselves to a higher Power (HaShem) by building a connection with Him and acting selflessly during the day.

For a while, my self-confidence was very low, so I needed a ego boost and called everyone here super, including myself. Of course, I think everyone posting on the GYE forum is super! However, now I am working on a solution where instead of boosting my ego, I'm trying to lower the importance of my ego.

Your friend,
Momo

I see that you are on a high Momo :D  Baruch Hashem!

Those of us who roller coast emotionally; extreme highs and lows, have a much harder time in life than those who are even keyed. On the other hand, we feel Hashem so much clearer when we open oureyes.

As I wrote on my post, I think the way to retain the 'high' is to keep giving. By going beyond our own personal needs and feelings, we gain much more than we give. I hope you find this to be true as you keep sharing Duvid Chaims sessions with us.

bs"d
Momo wrote on 27 Jul 2009 09:36:


Hi super Momo!

Just an hour or so ago, I heard this piece from the Kedushas Levi haKadosh:

"Ata seser li, mitzar titsreini" (Tehillim 32, 7)

"says R'Levi Ytzchak: if you hide the 'li', then mitsar titsreini. If you make your ego small, then HaSHem will save you from tsar."

We should be zoche to make our egos small while at the same time remembering "ein haolam nivra ela bishvili"!

Great to hear from you!
I, for one, think that you hit the nail on the head with this post. What you are discussing here is the essence of recovery, rather than a motivation to prevent acting out.
in my mind, recovery is far more important. When you write about highs and lows, I recognize my own Avodas Hashem in your description.The key, I believe, is to change internally so that even if we never become truly even-keyed (Iwonder how many people really are), we will be operating on a different plane. The past day or so has been a rough time for me, and your post has started me back on the proper mental track. Please keep posting your insights as they arevery helpful to me (and I assume many others)

Here is Momo's Thought Of The Day:

An analogy: We are playing tug-of-war with our addiction. He's always pulling. When we fight it, we pull back. When we have clean days, that means we've pulled stronger than the addiction. However, in a game of tug-of-war, what happens when you start to win a little bit? Usually, the other guy starts to pull back very hard. If he pulls very hard, you will slip. Once he sees he's got you slipping, he'll pull harder, and then you might even fall.

Playing tug-of-war gets tiring after a while. Imagine how tiring it can be after "playing" it for weeks, or even months!

I think it's time to stop fighting the addiction. Let's "surrender" ourselves to HaShem" by letting go of the rope! When you let go of your end of the rope, the addiction will let go of his end of the rope and the battle will end.

Instead of fighting the addiction, let's focus today on opening our eyes to see HaShem everywhere, in every physical object we see. Let's try to feel HaShem. Let's talk to Him. Let's serve Him today, just today, instead of serving ourselves.

I wish everyone a great day.

Your friend,
Momo

bs"d

Momo,

thank you so much, you just breathed life in to my soul!

CHAVLAZ!

TIGIACEM

Who can figure out what that stands for?

You got the first one right. And now that you've seen today's Chizuk e-mail, can you figure out the second one?

Momo,

YOur thought for the day is wonderful! This is another one Im going to really need to internalize.


You are so funny!

Hi. This is my thought of the day:

As I mentioned at the end of my last post, summarizing yesterday's Duvid Chaim call, we ended with the realization that we usually come up with some lame excuse explaining why we should take our first "lust hit". We rationalize why we should act out.

When I first read this, (when I wasn't feeling lustful but rather will full mental capacity) I actually made a list of excuses that little voice in my head says to me to justify why I should start acting out. I suggested yesterday in the call that everyone makes for themselves their own list. After we make this list, we should review it once in a while, before we feel lustful. This way, if we ever hear one of these excuses, we'll recognize them and think "Oh yah, that sounds familiar. Oh my G-d! That's on my list of excuses to act out! I'd better not listen since I know what will happen if I follow this advice."

You can call this list your "list of rationalizations to act out" or your "lust excuse list". I call this list my "last stop before falling" list. If I hear any of these excuses, I have the CHOICE to get off the bus, or I can choose to ignore the warning signal, stay on the bus, and enter my disaster zone of lusting, slipping, and acting out.

Here's my list. Perhaps some of these sound familiar? In order to make this more educational, I don't want to leave you with good reasons to act out, so I'll add what I think are the correct responses to answer the Y"H's excuses.

Excuse #1. (If I've been clean for a long time) "You've been good for so long, you deserve a break! You've earned it!"
Answer: "What you are suggesting is for me to kill my clean streak. Remember how I'll feel after having to start counting back to day 1. It felt really lousy last time!"

Excuse #2: "It's not so bad!"
Answer: "Funny how before we act out it's not so bad, but immediately after you'll tell me it's the greatest sin imaginable! You'll tell me I'm a bum and might as well give up trying to be frum since I'm the lowest of the low! Well, it is pretty bad and you are a liar!"

Excuse #3: "I'll stop after the first picture (or after 5 minutes)."
Answer: "Hah! I know myself. I know I have no control, that I am powerless over the addiction. I can't stop after the first photo or after 5 minutes. Five minutes always turns into hours. After a spree I wonder, How could I have spent 3 hours wasting my day looking at p*rn?"

Excuse #4: "I'm feeling restless, irritable and discontent. I need some pleasure."
Answer: "The pleasure you are suggesting is counterfeit. It will make me feel good for a couple of minutes, then I'll feel horrible and let down after. I'd rather giving up your fake pleasure and take real joy instead."

Excuse #5: "I'm physically wound up. I need to release the physical and emotional pressure the best way I know how."
Answer: "That's the wrong way to deal with the pressure. Acting out, while giving me temporary release, will make me feel low and guilty afterward. The correct response to release the physical pressure is to exercise, like taking a 5 minute walk. The correct response to emotional pressure is to breath deeply, think about HaShem, see HaShem around you, feel his presence, and talk (or pray) to Him."

I'd be pleased of you could share your lists, or some items on your lists, as well as your responses to the excuses. I think we can learn from each others rationalizations.

bs"d


wow, i absolutely love the list! it's a gevalt!!! Thanks super momo!