Dictionary definition: Feminine noun, derived from the Latin Luxuria. Lechery, sensuality, lasciviousness. It can also be defined as luxuriance in plants, or exuberance of sap.
According to the Catholic Church: Inordinate desire for sexual pleasure. Desires and acts are inordinate when they do not conform to the divine purpose, which is to propitiate mutual love between spouses and to beget offspring. It goes against the Sixth Commandment (Thou shalt not sin against chastity).
According to Henry Kissinger: There is nothing more aphrodisiacal than power.
In a Buddhist story: Chu and Wu returned home after a week’s meditation in the monastery. They talked about how temptations appear before man.
They reached the banks of a river. There, a beautiful woman was waiting to cross the river. Chu picked her up in his arms, carried to the other side and continued his journey with his friend.
At a certain point, Wu said:
“We talked about temptation and you picked up that woman in your arms. It provided an opportunity for sin to enter your soul”.
Chu answered:
“My dear Wu, I behaved naturally. I took that woman across and left her on the other side of the river. But you continued carrying her in your thoughts – and for that reason you are closer to sin”.
From a prostitute’s diary: I earn 350 Swiss Francs to spend an hour with a man. I am exaggerating. If we don’t count taking off clothes, pretending to be affectionate, chatting about something obvious and getting dressed, we will reduce this time to eleven minutes of actual sex.
Eleven minutes. The world revolves around something that takes only eleven minutes. It is because of these eleven minutes in a 24-hour day (considering that all make love with their wives, every day, which is truly absurd and a complete lie), that they marry, sustain a family, put up with the children crying, overdo themselves in explanations when they arrive home late, look at dozens or hundred of other women with whom they would like to stroll around Lake Geneva, buy expensive clothes for themselves, and even more expensive clothes for their wives, pay prostitutes to make up for what was missing without knowing what it is, sustain a gigantic industry of cosmetics, diets, gymnastics, pornography, power – and when they get together with other men, contrary to what the myth says, never talk about women. They talk about jobs, money and sport. There is something very wrong with civilization.
Lust and numbers (in 2002): William Lyon, of the Free Speech Coalition, estimates that just on the internet the pornography sector makes an annual profit of between 10 and 12 billion dollars (23 to 26 billion Reals), well over Microsoft’s profit. In 1999, the Video and Software Sellers Association found that the sale or rental of pornographic films was around 4.1 billion dollars (8.7 billion Reals), exceeding the majority of the very expensive films made in Hollywood (Source: Caslon Analytics Profiles)
The Tao Te King says: Keep the sensitive soul and the animal body in one compartment so that they cannot be separated.
Control the vital force, so that you will be transformed again into a newborn child.
When you banish mysterious visions from your imagination you may, then, become unblemished.
Purify yourself and don’t look for intellectual answers for the Mystery.
When discernment penetrates the four regions, perhaps you will not recognize what gives life and sustains it.
That which gives life does not claim any possession. It benefits, but does not demand gratitude. It commands, but does not exercise authority. That is what is called “mysterious quality”.
(next: Wrath)
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What is that vital force Tao speaks of, is it sexual fluids. what is meant by its control. Not using at all as recommended by some in pretext of releigion can not be said to be control or is that it.
Is lust for life also bad,
Living in the moment involes lust also sometimes, isn’t it? How else to keep the soul & the animal body in one compartmnet. In that story of monks, suppose that monk would have had sex also as casually as he carried her across, will that change the morale of the story? Is the story telling sex is bad or is it telling us that thoughts of sex are bad. is it possible that actual doing it may not be a sin but doing it in the mind alone ( brooding over it ) that is sin.
Will someone please explain the Tao stuff in a more direct langauge may be by using similies if exact meanings can not be conveyed.
Dear Paulo u may be damn busy enjoying u’r success and creating some more, u r already doing this favour to us, will u please explain the Tao story and the monk story in your own words. This ‘lust’ seems to be very fundamental and may be root of other sins, after desire. I feel.
regards
Aditya
I was sitting in the dark, aching with pain. There was nothing but silence, when suddenly this faint voice began to speak.
From time to time our desire for Love becomes unbalanced.
We seem to forget the potential reward of our individual mission; the value of being able to align our view of destiny with perceived reality.
I remember how people used to fear our virginity, our shamelessness.
Perhaps some of them were jealous, I don’t know.
All the same, they took effective steps and measures.
They told us that much of that behaviour is a sin, even in thought.
There was much cruelty in the name of redemption.
Perhaps out of insecurity and fear, we went silent and began to raise our inner walls. We did our very best to build complicated structures, strong enough to hold those forces securely in place.
For so long now, we have been trying to suppress our need for bringing the opposites into equilibration, the free flowing of force between the various polarities of life.
But no matter how hard we try to fortify those structures, cracks and leakages constantly emerge.
The structures are about to break.
Here’s a thought that struck me. Maybe the buddhist story may better explain the words below.
The Buddhist story…so beautiful…about desires…
Though as of all “sins” - that what makes us a slave to them…and then, if one is free, why tarry…?
Once a man stood upon the banks of a river, watching for too long over his shoulders and thinking about interrupted journeys that spoke of regretful sighs…the reasons no longer existing, yet the untended plant…
And he looked and looked back, hoping for one string to hold him there, maybe retrace the steps…when the reasons were all lost…
Wondering should he pick up a string and let it strain him…
One wistful look behind, at the wonderous orchards that he had planned that might have fed their future… of the very those who filled his voyage with wistful sighs and sorrows…and picks up lust, wondering… about it lying so close to the bank! The boat waits and waits…gently rocking in those infinite waves…knowing that he had been told to be prepared…to pick a string and not be strained…
Yet those orchards…?
A desire? That too may be lust…except all such journeys to those banks are undertaken alone.And the boat is gently rocking…awaiting…the last of the wisps of the string to fall off.
..and the dreary ruins behind still beckon, and even the wry mocking smile of irony would make him stumble… in those last few steps to the boat… those orchards…
And one wonders about even posting anything…
Dear Aditya, Thank you for your compassion: you are a shining star! Compassion is really all that matters, I believe.
I was not offended by you, you have a beautiful soul. I sense differences in cultures, I have much to learn: here in our small country we tend to be very direct and there is also fear because our freedom and open mindedness were shattered to pieces. But I sense we are building up again and hopefully all cultures can shake hands some day!
I’m grateful for your kindness and I have to apologize for me being too warriorminded, I’m sorry.
And, I’m sorry for ‘moaning’ about pain and so on. My last message says I deserve pain and that’s really terrible. Terror. It says we need pain to feel strong. That’s torturing ourselves. That’s using the wrong key. Ooops. Sorry.
By the way, I believe that telling about fears and feelings, being open, has to do with shaking hands, compassion, touching a heart and a soul, understanding each other. In other words: Love. Really the most precious and most important. It’s not about being Bambi or a Lion. It has all to do with learning.
Now, I do not write for a while. I need to study and work and give attention to this household, my husband, cat, family and friends etc.
I do thank you All for your love, showing me that true heroes exist and indeed, Aditya, I’m going to relax for a while! :-)))
Thank you Paulo, for the space and understanding. Let the river flow.
Love,
Mirjam
Dear Paulho,
Once again many thanks for the wonderful article.
I have read something along the same lines in the Gita.
‘ The man dwelling on sense-objects develops attachment for them; from attachment springs up desire and from desire(unfulfilled) ensues anger’
Basically i guess the lesson to learn is do everything that you want, but do it in moderation, neither too much or too little. Have a good balance in your life.
Have a good day to all!
Lust, Lust, Lust
i’m thinking about the third definition the EXUBERANCE OF SAP!LOL
lust is it human nature, (yes) i as a female 28 (hetero)thought at one point in life that males were the only ones that had to deal with this “THIRD DEADLY SIN” as I reflect on my history well, i guess i’m no different than my male counterpart!
peace and light
marie
recenly, i’d been so troubled about Lust becase one man invited me to do it with him but then i told him that despite his “promises” i could’t because i didn’t know him, much less love him, and all he said was “whatever.” it’s so disappointing…
sometimes temptations are strong enough to make you wonder if you are the wrong one, so i borrowed some books on sex. i got in trouble for one of those - the library fined me for it although it wasn’t my fault - i’m still fighting against that (good to know, the librarian was close to tears, hehe) -
but anyway… i think i’m alright. more or less.
I enjoyed the Buddhist story of Chu and Wu and how it applies to so much more than lust.
along my path in life, lust has been a resounding theme. although i would not necessarily completely categorize it as lust, i was repeatedly sexually assaulted, molested, and sexually abused for the first 16 years of my life. at the age of 13, after losing my virginity to rape, i made a pact with myself that i would never love, never be vulnerable to anyone, and i have held true to that pact throughout my lifetime.
during those formative years of my life, i learned one very important lesson, my body was my sole worth, and i learned to use it to my advantage. i learned it was my primary method of seeking and finding a false sense of security, love, and partnership with individuals who could not see past the physical of who i was, for that was all i was capable of presenting myself to be at that time in my life.
as the years progressed, the emptiness of acting out in that manner far surpassed any satisfaction i received, and the feelings of shame, filthiness, dirtiness, and unloveability overwhelmed me immensely. i knew in my soul, as it attempted to speak to me of worth, i was far more than my body. i had a mind, a voice, a vision, and a heart, among other things.
i began a journey a little over a year ago at the age of 39 to finally face the demons which had haunted me and compelled me to act out in ways which caused me great shame and remorse, hurting not only myself, but others. the loss of experiencing the true nature of love for me has been surpassed only by the loss of faith i experienced for two years of my life, which were two years i felt as if i had no soul. the darkest times of my life.
to this day i am still healing. to this day i still cannot have a relationship with a man. to this day i continue to drive people away. to this day i continue to experience the feelings of lust, but i realize now it is a programmed response that was learned during a time of my life when i had no choices but to respond in that manner to please those who had no respect for human life any greater than they would that of an animal. i work very hard to not act on those impulses, but at times i fail, knowing i am only trying to fill a void within my spirit only the Divine can fill.
today i volunteer with convicted sex offenders, working with them in group sessions and giving Victim Impact Statements, when asked. many have challenged my efforts, saying i am but a fool, particularly with my background. they say there is no hope for them, and things should be done to them which i will not repeat here on this page. it is not my place to judge. i follow where i am led.
In the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 The Way of Love vs.17 it is written, ” He is dear to me who runs not after the pleasant or away from the painful, grieves not, lusts not, but lets things come and go as they happen.”
I strive for that knowing, not only in my mind, but in my heart.
I have so far to go.
A.C. Fernandez
HI toni, marie, mirjam, Deepal, AVC, infinity & me too.
I reread all the comments including Paulo’s. our quest makes sence. Infinity, wondre all u want but post your considered views, it helps me, us & u too.
Mirjam, your kindness towards me makes me blush. If at all, if compare we must, we all r shining stars, sharing the same tears of sorrow and ya of joy too.Your words bring tears of joy to my much tarnished soul. May God ( someone ! ) do the same for you. U will be missed, but do come to the site sometimes to check out what we all r upto, just like that & ya u’r views r always welcome. Unless u put it so diretly - what needs ‘correction’ I had not looked from that angle. I too feel, that compassion is all that matters, when we relate to others or even to ourselves our shortcommings. U know there is a story of a saint in Inida, U may have heard about Ramkrishna Paramhansha, he was the master of Swami Vivekananda. names r not that imp. Once Ramkrishna was in a boat and someone was mercilessly whipping a boy on the banks of the river. Ramkrishna was squirming in pain with each blow reveived by the boy, not only that, the whip marks erupted on RK’s back as well as if he was the one who had received the whipping. I don’t know if te story is true, but oh ! what compassion !!!!
Toni will u mind sharing what u read ? at least in brief a short post may be.
AVC - what structure ??!!
regards
aditya
Mmm,
I’m writing a book at the moment. It is a lot of hard work as some of you know. Everything was going fine until last night I rang my girlfriend she told me she had gotten drunk and met a guy Monday night while I was at home trying to work at a better life for both of us.
She said that she only kissed him for a second. ha!
I got a little angry for a moment. She was trying to destroy my writing. I text messaged her back and told her that a year ago I had met a woman in a club and kissed her. The woman wanted me to go home with her and I would have but I went home to my girlfriend instead.
Funny how she blamed me for not being there Monday night to stop he from doing what she did. Unfortunately I’m quiet glad that I was working on my book and not helping her with her collage papers, 68% in a psychology paper I wrote for her. I’m quiet happy to have been at home as she kicked me Saturday night when she was drunk. I am quiet happy to get back to my own study after three years.
I hope my lust will not drive me back into what I was going through.
k
Lust …
what an interesting subject. on the general or broader scale, it the utmost desire which are at times, uncontrollable. Lust is not only for sex per se, its about wanting something and you can do whatever it takes, and acts however you feels on the account of lust.
Lusting of sex, have been converted into the lust for a new pair of stilettos, a new PDA, or maybe a new Mercedez Benz convertible. In the act of lusting, some drools, uncontrollably. Thats when what I’ve stated earlier takes place.
When we lust for something, when the desire takes place, the act of being right or wrong, or doing things ethical or not, is what the case of lust was trialled for.
I lust for love. I’d do anything, and at times, fooled myself that this is person, this is the love, this is what I’ve been lusting for.
When I taste love. I realized. It taste the same. It taste like everything else.
The excitement of the joyride in searching and lusting for love was what I craved for.
it is deadly when it gets uncontrollable and you harm yourself and others.
it is a sin when you lost faith, in everything else, when you fail to obtain it.
one thing we didn’t realize. human are actually made to sin and to die.
[quote comment="1330"]What is that vital force Tao speaks of, is it sexual fluids. what is meant by its control. Not using at all as recommended by some in pretext of releigion can not be said to be control or is that it.
Is lust for life also bad,
Living in the moment involes lust also sometimes, isn’t it? How else to keep the soul & the animal body in one compartmnet. In that story of monks, suppose that monk would have had sex also as casually as he carried her across, will that change the morale of the story? Is the story telling sex is bad or is it telling us that thoughts of sex are bad. is it possible that actual doing it may not be a sin but doing it in the mind alone ( brooding over it ) that is sin.
Will someone please explain the Tao stuff in a more direct langauge may be by using similies if exact meanings can not be conveyed.
Dear Paulo u may be damn busy enjoying u’r success and creating some more, u r already doing this favour to us, will u please explain the Tao story and the monk story in your own words. This ‘lust’ seems to be very fundamental and may be root of other sins, after desire. I feel.
regards
Aditya[/quote]
Dear Aditya,
how would you interpret this story? What compels you to say that ‘lust’ may be the root of all sins?
Love
Paulo
[quote comment="1343"]along my path in life, lust has been a resounding theme. although i would not necessarily completely categorize it as lust, i was repeatedly sexually assaulted, molested, and sexually abused for the first 16 years of my life. at the age of 13, after losing my virginity to rape, i made a pact with myself that i would never love, never be vulnerable to anyone, and i have held true to that pact throughout my lifetime.
during those formative years of my life, i learned one very important lesson, my body was my sole worth, and i learned to use it to my advantage. i learned it was my primary method of seeking and finding a false sense of security, love, and partnership with individuals who could not see past the physical of who i was, for that was all i was capable of presenting myself to be at that time in my life.
as the years progressed, the emptiness of acting out in that manner far surpassed any satisfaction i received, and the feelings of shame, filthiness, dirtiness, and unloveability overwhelmed me immensely. i knew in my soul, as it attempted to speak to me of worth, i was far more than my body. i had a mind, a voice, a vision, and a heart, among other things.
i began a journey a little over a year ago at the age of 39 to finally face the demons which had haunted me and compelled me to act out in ways which caused me great shame and remorse, hurting not only myself, but others. the loss of experiencing the true nature of love for me has been surpassed only by the loss of faith i experienced for two years of my life, which were two years i felt as if i had no soul. the darkest times of my life.
to this day i am still healing. to this day i still cannot have a relationship with a man. to this day i continue to drive people away. to this day i continue to experience the feelings of lust, but i realize now it is a programmed response that was learned during a time of my life when i had no choices but to respond in that manner to please those who had no respect for human life any greater than they would that of an animal. i work very hard to not act on those impulses, but at times i fail, knowing i am only trying to fill a void within my spirit only the Divine can fill.
today i volunteer with convicted sex offenders, working with them in group sessions and giving Victim Impact Statements, when asked. many have challenged my efforts, saying i am but a fool, particularly with my background. they say there is no hope for them, and things should be done to them which i will not repeat here on this page. it is not my place to judge. i follow where i am led.
In the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 The Way of Love vs.17 it is written, ” He is dear to me who runs not after the pleasant or away from the painful, grieves not, lusts not, but lets things come and go as they happen.”
I strive for that knowing, not only in my mind, but in my heart.
I have so far to go.
A.C. Fernandez[/quote]
Dear AC,
your story really moved me. Thank you for sharing this experience.
I admire you very much.
Love
Paulo
How desperate I am. Trying to put a cage around all the things that give me pleasure.
Perhaps, it is because I am constantly reminded that this world is a world of movement and change. I know that nothing can exist for ever and that there will come a day when those things will leave me.
I have seen love conquer death and create new life. That gave me much hope, but it did not kill the fear.
Perhaps salvation lies one step further, in the full acceptance of the cycle of all; where life and death are equally important.
Why it is so difficult to fully embrace the knowledge that Love never abandons anyone? She might wear a million different robes, but she is always there.
A faith built upon that knowledge would be rock solid, I think.
funny- about civilasition…
11 minutes…..
what is time??
any answers from any1?
dear paulo
being 15 makes look at the world from a teens even….
it is different im sure you adults know about it…
why should man count his sins?
i feel it fear.Everything is fear.
i admit even im scared of everything-while waiting to get an exam’s marks to dogs..and what not…
is it that there is a guy who sits on the door to heaven and brands you…i think not you give a story of a purist and others including a prostitute waiting to enter heaven and they were welcomed with love by god…
i feel living in fear it self is a sin….
why should you or i fear paulo?
life needs to be faced…..(and im writing this with fear in my mind)…
as i think more and more questions keep coming…people talk of morals and mannerism but werent all these created by man?
born and brought up in a family with deep philosophical background….i know that freedom of thoughts has been the greatest gift….
i know if i treat the unknown as my friend-it is a friend-i fight like i do with a friend it tries to show me the right way,i am still not convienced,it gives an example and explains but never does it punish me unless i consider it as one….it is there to correct me and guide me….for after all i and it are the same(advaita)……
man grew to put down laws,animals live like they wish yet they are more friendly…
as far as i can see life is a path,it is a experience and you follow it till you reach your destiny…
after all everything is an illusion…
with love,faith and hope
vishesh
Do we not learn from the masters how to live.. If someone wrote a book and said that a person was lusty! would the readers in turn follow that advice? even if there is another moral behind the tale.
we are animals at the end of the day..we get impulses that are hard to cope with..
AC i am a man and can say i know some of your trauma from first hand experiences. It can be hard to get up and go out into the world.
I am having a very bad day 2day..!!
Much love 2 everyone
Hello all,
This is my first outing on the blog and it is quite exciting. The most exciting aspect is being able to experience people’s thoughts and feelings from all around the world. The internet can be such a positive medium!
Lust is so very difficult to define and in a way, like so many other areas of your life, perhaps it can only be judged by oneself. Everyone has their own boundaries and opinions on what is acceptable to them. As they say ‘another man’s meat is another man’s poison’. My own feeling about Lust is that it is when desire takes over your body and mind to such an extent that feelings, especially sexual, become destructive to your own body and to others. They reach a point when they poison your mind and cloud all of the moral guidelines that you usually follow.
I wish everyone peace from any troubles and hope to back agin.
Charlie
When I read about the ‘vital force’ referred to in the Tao Te King, I assumed it meant the life force (Chi, Qi, Prana) energy that gets expelled from the aura and/or physical body upon orgasm.
I have read about how people (yogis, monks, priests) who refrain from allowing this energy to be ‘used up’ in orgasm, have it available to be used for spiritual advancement.
I would suspect that if a person is lusting, then, perhaps that is a form of leaking out the energy.(?) And, this might be one reason why it’s frowned upon - at least from the spiritually celibate community.
The spiritual path I follow suggests refraining from sex for those reasons. Can you say ‘not a faithful follower?’
ha! 
-Deb
The uncelibate one, and spiritually deprived, or is it depraved?
Kealan,
I wish to thank you for the following mention in your post:
“AC i am a man and can say i know some of your trauma from first hand experiences. It can be hard to get up and go out into the world.”
It takes great courage to make that admission as the silence, at least for me, was deadly.
Many experience the same trauma I have experienced, be it male or female, adult or child. I am not exclusive and have learned so more and more as time has progressed.
It CAN be hard to go out into the world after such experiences, especially when they are unhealed and raw. I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and live on disability, but do volunteer work when I can.
Despite my growth over the past year and the strides I have made, I still look in garbage dumpsters for dead bodies whenever I take out my trash. The after effects are disturbing and quite varied depending upon the person.
Interestingly enough, despite the fear, there is a strength within me that has sustained me throughout all of my experiences and will continue to do so as I journey through this process called life.
I imagine that strength is also within you and each and every survivor who thrives despite their life circumstances.
I wish you well as the days ebb and flow, as they will.
It is part of the path.
A.C. Fernandez
Lust,
A story to share.
she was involved with a person. Another girl. Befriended at first, care for the friend and got too attached. Being attracted to the same gender have not been her usual practice. But when you love someone so much, and the person reciprocated, in means of loving you back the way you wanted them to, and even more, made you realize how far you would go, in obtaining and keeping the love given. So, she took in the deadly sins, the furthest to keep the love, to say that it was hers and hers only for no one have ever love her that much. She took in greed. From being a selfless person, she have become possessive and demanding. Scared that she would lose the love. Gluttony, she indulged in liqour for she had never been a drinker before. Sloth, too consumed with love, she have been ignorant in other means, even to the fact that she’d rather stay in bed the whole day text messaging her special beloved and not caring about getting herself clean and whatnot. From someone who doesn’t get angry at all, she gets angry all the time when people meddle and took her time away from the thoughts of her beloved. From someone who would support polygamy, she had become someone who’s filled with jealousy even thought she won’t admit to it. Pride, she was so overwhelmed with the love and affection, she boast around about her special friend, how inspiring and aspiring she is and how there’s no other would compare.
At last, she took in lust. So afraid that the friend would walk away, she bind her with sex. started off with a simple accidental kiss that lead to a few nights of passionate love.
lust have taken the relationship to another level. from a normal great friendship into a dangerous scandal. a scandal that would jeopardise both her and the beloved’s life and career for they know in the society that they live in, homosexuality and lesbianism is still a taboo subject.
as circumstances proven unfavourable, they decided to keep it at a very low key. but as to what she had wished, she had fallen into love and so did the beloved. to the extend of one day, the thought of her had made the beloved shivered, for love had consumed their thoughts. some tears were shed when they looked into each other’s eyes. when they think that the relationship will go nowhere.
then, the beloved went away for a holiday, only to coe back and told her that the beloved had fallen in love with someone else. and as much as it had killed her inside, she smiled and felt the joy, the extra shine in the beloved’s eyes from the new love encounter.
she had love the beloved so much that despite the throbbing pain striking her heart whenever the new lover’s name mentioned, she was there to listen to everything the beloved wanted to tell her, about the encounter and about the new lover.
they’ve become too good of friends for her to destroy it with a stupid love.
then.
love have changed it all.
greed, gluttony, sloth, anger, jealousy, pride, and lust, have turned the table from being a sin, to 7 key factors in having her to go beyond the horizon and limitation of love.
for now she has no greed but to share everything.
for now she has no desire to waste herself into excessive consumption of liqour or food (as for the new lover is hot and gorgeous and she needs to keep herself fit too).
for not she has no desire to be lazy but to work as hard and be aligned with the career minded and aspiring beloved of hers.
for now she has no need to be angry for its useless and just irrational.
for now she had made peace with jealousy and only looking forward for who to love and how much more.
for now she has no pride but only keeping herself humble that no matter how much she would love someone, its all about giving and not demanding anything back.
for now, as much as she’d craved that lust would make them back to who they used to be together, she decided to control herself, to not let the lust destroy the best thing she ever had, and the biggest lesson of love she’d ever learned.
Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
Lust is the final deadly sin that would take you there. For those who’s nature is love itself. Then, at the end, YOU are love itself.
A.C. Fernandez ! Hi !
Accepatnce looks like the first step towards advancement. It’s never too late to begin, so well done ! Now just hold on, There r going to be meonets of failure, deapair,… but as Paulo has said in his book ‘wol’ - u don’t drown by going underwater, u get grawned when u stay there. u kno it’s is very much like meditation, as we sit to meditate, trying to keep the mind in pure awareness, blank of thoughts, soon a chain starts, and after that I get back to that as soon as i see those thoughts. Keep it up, have faith, and infinite pateince. Sorry if this appears sermon like’. In a diffrent context, not so diffrent also, I too am fighting my own battles, and when I say it, I too listen.
regards
aditya
Vishesh U say
“after all everything is an illusion…”
This is no escape clause, as an escape from responsibility, If sin is an illusion then so is the ‘punishment’ dear. U know what is illusion, somethinmg else is and it appears as something, that is illusion. ‘maya’ is not that simple.
” what is time ” - yahoo ! u have stumbled upon a very correct question, just don’t stop asking and share with me whereever the answers lead you. I for one can not answer this question, not yet.
aditya
Paulo has thrown back a very imp question for me, I will take a print ( although I have read the stories here & before also, several times ). Contemplate It ! and then answer. They just don’t let me avoid work !!!!
About Time, VISHESH, a hint comes to my mind.
Zesus has supposedly said about the Kingdom of God, when asked “what will it be like in the Kingdom of God” Christ replied in his own enigmatic way ” Time shall not be there”.
Couple this with the oft asserted fact that road to spirituality, to god is very narrow, one can enter only all alone, can not take his people, pets, even his body with him. So forget about the world, tell me when is there ‘time no more’ for you. For me, in time, i get pleasure & pain, time has meaning for me only till i get affecfted by pleasure & pain. Suppose u become what Krishna calls sthithipragya, beyound pleasure & pain. Not that u will not dance when u have pleasure and not that u wil not cry when u have pain, the body will do both, But you, at least a part of you will remain detached, aloof, OK. So when pleasure & pain ‘loose’ their menaing for me then Time is there for me no more. Just sharing with you my rush of thoughts at the moment. Will love to hear what u say.
regards
Aditya
Dear Deb !
Hi !
OK so we all have an energy feild around us, call it Halo, if we will, or whatever else. How much energy is wasted in various activities. Not doing anything at all, sleeping will consume mimimum energy, so will sleeping all the time we can; will that conserve the energy? In seeing thru our eyes we get tired, a lot of energy is spend there. In copmarision how muuch enerygy gets spend in ‘lustful’ activities ?. Sorry to be burdening you with these questions, but ….
aditya
[quote comment="1343"]along my path in life, lust has been a resounding theme. although i would not necessarily completely categorize it as lust, i was repeatedly sexually assaulted, molested, and sexually abused for the first 16 years of my life. at the age of 13, after losing my virginity to rape, i made a pact with myself that i would never love, never be vulnerable to anyone, and i have held true to that pact throughout my lifetime.
during those formative years of my life, i learned one very important lesson, my body was my sole worth, and i learned to use it to my advantage. i learned it was my primary method of seeking and finding a false sense of security, love, and partnership with individuals who could not see past the physical of who i was, for that was all i was capable of presenting myself to be at that time in my life.
as the years progressed, the emptiness of acting out in that manner far surpassed any satisfaction i received, and the feelings of shame, filthiness, dirtiness, and unloveability overwhelmed me immensely. i knew in my soul, as it attempted to speak to me of worth, i was far more than my body. i had a mind, a voice, a vision, and a heart, among other things.
i began a journey a little over a year ago at the age of 39 to finally face the demons which had haunted me and compelled me to act out in ways which caused me great shame and remorse, hurting not only myself, but others. the loss of experiencing the true nature of love for me has been surpassed only by the loss of faith i experienced for two years of my life, which were two years i felt as if i had no soul. the darkest times of my life.
to this day i am still healing. to this day i still cannot have a relationship with a man. to this day i continue to drive people away. to this day i continue to experience the feelings of lust, but i realize now it is a programmed response that was learned during a time of my life when i had no choices but to respond in that manner to please those who had no respect for human life any greater than they would that of an animal. i work very hard to not act on those impulses, but at times i fail, knowing i am only trying to fill a void within my spirit only the Divine can fill.
today i volunteer with convicted sex offenders, working with them in group sessions and giving Victim Impact Statements, when asked. many have challenged my efforts, saying i am but a fool, particularly with my background. they say there is no hope for them, and things should be done to them which i will not repeat here on this page. it is not my place to judge. i follow where i am led.
In the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 The Way of Love vs.17 it is written, ” He is dear to me who runs not after the pleasant or away from the painful, grieves not, lusts not, but lets things come and go as they happen.”
I strive for that knowing, not only in my mind, but in my heart.
I have so far to go.
A.C. Fernandez[/quote]
Dear A C Fernandez,
Thanks for sharing your story, i really admire ur courage to pen your pain and share it with us…u r a true warrior of light(am sure paulo agrees to that)
My dear, your courage and strength will heal you….completely and love will take the place of all the pain…
i am praying for you…..and i know,your life is going to be full of love….and not lust….
god bless you.
charu sharma
[quote comment="1373"]Dear Deb !
Hi !
OK so we all have an energy feild around us, call it Halo, if we will, or whatever else. How much energy is wasted in various activities. Not doing anything at all, sleeping will consume mimimum energy, so will sleeping all the time we can; will that conserve the energy? In seeing thru our eyes we get tired, a lot of energy is spend there. In copmarision how muuch enerygy gets spend in ‘lustful’ activities ?. Sorry to be burdening you with these questions, but ….
aditya[/quote]
On the subject of energy, perhaps we can see ourselves us batteries. Inside of us all we have a force that we can use, for good or for evil, that has an effect on us and the people around us. Like a battery, the strength of this energy fluctuates. If we spend our days lazing around and not fulfilling our potential, our energy levels will seep away, like a battery that is left unused in a drawer.
Charlie
Debbie,
That life force is a very powerful force indeed. And like every other force it can be directed to a purpose.
To my experience there are not many other forces that cause the same remarkable effects in the manifested universe. When unbalanced or misdirected, there is considerable risk for destruction.
But it is not “evil” or “good” in itself. It can be used for any purpose.
Personally, I don’t see any point in refraining from sex for spiritual reasons. On the contrary, when the mind is pure and the act is regarded as an act of celebration of the highest aspects of the participants (or of God if you prefer), I cannot think of any other more rewarding act spiritually!
Sex in this form allows us to experience the equilibration of the most fundamental polarities of manifested existence. When the Two come together in this way, we enjoy the bliss of the One, symbolically.
Unfortunately, this force is however quite often used with a totally different mindset. I think it is beyond doubt that it is the cause of much suffering…
Hi Aditya,
I honestly cannot answer your question as I’m not an authority on the usage of energy. Nor am I an authority on the subject I wrote about - I had just read about it, myself, not ever having a chance to test it, much.
When I first read in my spiritual lessons about the need to refrain from sex in order to redirect the energy, I spoke with my husband about the possibility of going celibate. That conversation lasted about FIVE minutes! Ha!
So, alas, needless to say, I’m not the most spiritually advanced person on the planet. 
Although, I must admit that I have noticed that my intuition does get stronger when I go longer in between, ahem, encounters.
Now, getting back to the subject of lust. I agree with what has been written already in regards to how anything that takes a person away from their path, is not a good thing. But, then again, ugh….who really knows whether or not something allowed us to stray because that’s really our destiny? We don’t want to go into this loop again…sorry I mentioned it!
But, one thing I’d like to add is that I think that lust (of the sexual variety as well as general passion) is like a salesman soliciting us to go in search of love..the love of God/dess….it’s there reminding us of who we really are in spirit. It wants us to realize that we are connected in spirit…and I find that sometimes I feel that connection to others, manifesting in a feeling of passion.
I think that our hormones are the physical co-creators, along with this force of passion, that work in tandem with each other, that push us in the direction of our dreams and eventual destiny.
I have been made keenly aware, in the past couple of years, how much I (and we all) are so affected by the hormones in our bodies. To me, it’s rather uncomfortable knowing how much we are under their control -it’s the same thing with our genetic makeup. I just want to live from my soul, but in a body, you have all these other things to contend with. It can be so frustrating!
OK…really went off the subject here.
To AC, just wanted to say that I can relate to your story, and have also struggled with post traumatic stress, but I’ve had to realize that it’s all behind me now, and now is a new day. And our lives begin in this moment, even though things trigger us back to the past, at times. And, as soon as you stop identifying yourself not just as a victim, but even as a survivor, then it’s easier to get over it. Thinking of yourself as a survivor, still implies that you are dragging around the idea that something bad happened to you, and it’s like a rock tied around your neck. Until we all stop identifying with what HAS happened to us, we’re not going to be able to move forward.
It’s like the idea of attracting that which you want into your life, instead of what you don’t want. Ya know? The more you focus on ‘I don’t want to be hurting anymore’, you are still bringing that idea of hurting into your consciousness, and will never be free of it.
Instead think, ‘I am healthy’or whatever it is that you wish to affirm. Oh! And a thing about doing affirmations….a friend of mine told me of this really cool idea. First off, when you do affirmations, you always need them to be in the present tense as if they are happening now, right?
Well, if you preface it with the saying, ‘I wonder how I got so lucky to have _____________’ and fill in the blank with your affirmation, then, it tricks your brain in a way. Because, I know that when I’ve done affirmations in the past, I would say what it is that I wanted, and my brain would start in saying, ‘Oh yeah, right! I don’t believe that!’ But, if you say, ‘I wonder how I got so lucky to have such and such’, then it sets your brain up, instead, to start answering that question…’you got so lucky because …you deserve it!’ (Or whatever.) Instead of arguing with you about the validity of the affirmation. Sometimes we have to keep that mind busy and distracted for our own good! Ha!
So, ‘I wonder how I got so lucky to be healthy in body, mind and spirit?” Hmmm…I wonder!
I’ll have to think upon that! 
OK…I really got carried away today again, didn’t I? It’s been a while…I was due for it! Ha!
I didn’t mean any disrespect with what I said to you, AC. I admire you for sharing your story, too.
Just trying to pass along what I’ve learned. 
So, I hope everyone had a wonderful day. Take care until next time.
Love,
Deb
Dear A.V.C.,
We are all one and the same. Lets all forgive ourselves and then we can forgive each other. Blindness is not a sin. Remember ‘the fool’. Your soul is beautiful, it speaks of Love, pure Love.
And absolute courage.
We all can stand together, if we want. With all our madnesses and differences. Nobody is perfect. And yet, we all are.
We are ALL a bunch of cowards and yet, we are ALL heroes. Every person on this planet has to fight his battles, to save him/herself. Please, ALL try to understand and let’s not judge. We are ALL fools and blind. Thank God for that. Now, lets shake hands!!!
Together we are one and we can share the Love. Real Universal Love.
In the end, Peace is possible. Let’s hope now that our message comes through. If we can forgive ourselves and our dear and beautiful parents, who were also blind. Who is wrong, who is not?
When raised between war boots every child falls into abyss. I know. Every human soul has to go there one time or another.
And afterwards we can see the beauty.
But! There is really just one key! JUST ONE.
Real Love for the Love of God.
Now, let’s play some music together. Metal, Silver, Gold, whatever.
LOVE - PEACE *
As the earth rotate around it’s axe
around the immense light from the sun
we rotate around the spiral of life
dancing to the rythm and music
of birth and death.
[quote comment="1353"]Hello all,
This is my first outing on the blog and it is quite exciting. The most exciting aspect is being able to experience people’s thoughts and feelings from all around the world. The internet can be such a positive medium!
Lust is so very difficult to define and in a way, like so many other areas of your life, perhaps it can only be judged by oneself. Everyone has their own boundaries and opinions on what is acceptable to them. As they say ‘another man’s meat is another man’s poison’. My own feeling about Lust is that it is when desire takes over your body and mind to such an extent that feelings, especially sexual, become destructive to your own body and to others. They reach a point when they poison your mind and cloud all of the moral guidelines that you usually follow.
I wish everyone peace from any troubles and hope to back agin.
Charlie[/quote]
charlie,
i was reading what you wrote the statement where you metioned “My own feeling about Lust is that it is when desire takes over your body and mind to such an extent that feelings, especially sexual, become destructive to your own body and to others. They reach a point when they poison your mind and cloud all of the moral guidelines that you usually follow”. well, awhile back i was having all kinds of crazy thoughts sexual, destructive, i couldn’t understand why i was having these thoughts feelings I was thinking was it because i was having sex with someone and not married (fornicating) i was once told that when you give your body to a man and he deposits in you his spirits (good and bad) are also deposited into you too. well, i prayed and i prayed about those sexual thought (a crazy zahir) to go away, i bared the pain i never gave into the thoughts because i knew and i know that they are not me and i would also like to think they are not apart of my partners character either. well, the Lord lifted them from me one day. i woke up one day and it was gone. i still know that they where there at one point. whats crazy is one day recently a very dear friend of mine came to me and told me of a crazy dream she had and it was along the same lines as the thoughts that were haunting me. i give respect her greatly for telling me what she was going through it let me know that i’m not the only one out there. and i will pray for her always.
It worked out for myself and my love, things are better then ever.. a bit of honesty never killed anyone. Leaves me to think how much of a sinner I am!
I don’t know if Christ intended it, but christanity, the Church, has certainly filled all of us with a sence of guilt, deep. Whatever we do, whatever we enjoy doingm falls into sin of one type or another, as per the moralities. AS PER ME THERE IS NO SIN ONLY FOOLISHNESS & ITS CONSEQUNECS. If everthing happens by ‘His’ will then how can he allow Sin, we have made a mistake in uderstanding sin. Just imagine a situation all living people are saints or better still saints don’t exist. Will there be any sinner then, sill there be any sin. However one may preach, somehow i don’t seem convinced with the idea that an activity which gives pleasure to both the involed parties and does not harm anyone else, can be sin. As per me there is only one defination of sin, and this is best expressed in ‘To help others is virtue and to bring pain to others is sin’. include myself in ‘others’ as well and that pretty much sums up this saying. Excessive indulgance results in harm if not to others then at least to oneself. But then again, liken this body to say a Bike, I was not at peace till I drove it at top speed ( I found that the top speed written on speedometre is not really achievable, not at least in the bikes that we have here in India, maybe the ‘test conditions ‘ were not present, when i tried for a few nights on the eastern express highway . Now-a-days, occassionalyy i drive at those speeds, just for the ‘chill’, but normally I enjoy driving artistically; present challenge I am enjoying is to not have to put my foot down for support in stop go traffic in the evenings.)
Our body is also a machine afterall, in fact the most marvellous, most amazing machine we have come across so far, it needs to be treated as such. I don’t know if I am right, but i am looking.
We have to become our own message, there is no other way to convey the message. No one ( or very very few, ) listens to what one writes & says , people listen to what one conveys, by once own being. Like children we r, everyone has heard from once parents that it’s not good to lie yet all of us learnt to lie from our parents only, when we saw then lying. So whoever ( Mirjam !!) wants to convey the message has to become the messaganger, and the language in which it will be listened to will be the langauge of her existance not her speeech alone. so i feel.
Hi there,
Well. I’ve been thinking about the subject.
I think sex is death. So being afraid of sex is being afraid of death. And the stupid thing is: being afraid of death can kill you.
Love. *
Hi everyone,
I love to read what everyone has to say. Thank you God and thank you everyone for making this possible.
I want to lead a life of selflessness. I want to think of others only. I want to see what I can give to life and not what I can take. I want to love selflessly, but…
most of the times I am selfish, I expect things in return, I dwell on thoughts of what I want. This is lust? When I feel like this instead of controlling my physical mind and telling it to stop right at that moment, I still indugle in the thoughts and feel guilty.
Can someone please advise me.
What should one do when they expect things from their loved ones? When they are consumed by thoughts of what they want to get?
I talked to my earthly guardian about similar thoughts and asked how can I improve my relationship with my loved ones. My guardian’s response was “What relationship?” That was a real blow, but it has caused me to think and to act. I have decided to use my soul strenght for others. I will be strong minded and understand that I am happiest when my I can give love. I am most miserable when I am selfish and waste my time and energy thinking about myself. Still I find my mind wandering back to selfish thoughts.
In a way, I can really connect to the earlier mentioned story:
[quote comment="1357"]Lust,
A story to share.
she was involved with a person. Another girl. Befriended at first, care for the friend and got too attached. Being attracted to the same gender have not been her usual practice. But when you love someone so much, and the person reciprocated, in means of loving you back the way you wanted them to, and even more, made you realize how far you would go, in obtaining and keeping the love given. So, she took in the deadly sins, the furthest to keep the love, to say that it was hers and hers only for no one have ever love her that much. She took in greed. From being a selfless person, she have become possessive and demanding. Scared that she would lose the love. Gluttony, she indulged in liqour for she had never been a drinker before. Sloth, too consumed with love, she have been ignorant in other means, even to the fact that she’d rather stay in bed the whole day text messaging her special beloved and not caring about getting herself clean and whatnot. From someone who doesn’t get angry at all, she gets angry all the time when people meddle and took her time away from the thoughts of her beloved. From someone who would support polygamy, she had become someone who’s filled with jealousy even thought she won’t admit to it. Pride, she was so overwhelmed with the love and affection, she boast around about her special friend, how inspiring and aspiring she is and how there’s no other would compare.
At last, she took in lust. So afraid that the friend would walk away, she bind her with sex. started off with a simple accidental kiss that lead to a few nights of passionate love.
lust have taken the relationship to another level. from a normal great friendship into a dangerous scandal. a scandal that would jeopardise both her and the beloved’s life and career for they know in the society that they live in, homosexuality and lesbianism is still a taboo subject.
as circumstances proven unfavourable, they decided to keep it at a very low key. but as to what she had wished, she had fallen into love and so did the beloved. to the extend of one day, the thought of her had made the beloved shivered, for love had consumed their thoughts. some tears were shed when they looked into each other’s eyes. when they think that the relationship will go nowhere.
then, the beloved went away for a holiday, only to coe back and told her that the beloved had fallen in love with someone else. and as much as it had killed her inside, she smiled and felt the joy, the extra shine in the beloved’s eyes from the new love encounter.
she had love the beloved so much that despite the throbbing pain striking her heart whenever the new lover’s name mentioned, she was there to listen to everything the beloved wanted to tell her, about the encounter and about the new lover.
they’ve become too good of friends for her to destroy it with a stupid love.
then.
love have changed it all.
greed, gluttony, sloth, anger, jealousy, pride, and lust, have turned the table from being a sin, to 7 key factors in having her to go beyond the horizon and limitation of love.
for now she has no greed but to share everything.
for now she has no desire to waste herself into excessive consumption of liqour or food (as for the new lover is hot and gorgeous and she needs to keep herself fit too).
for not she has no desire to be lazy but to work as hard and be aligned with the career minded and aspiring beloved of hers.
for now she has no need to be angry for its useless and just irrational.
for now she had made peace with jealousy and only looking forward for who to love and how much more.
for now she has no pride but only keeping herself humble that no matter how much she would love someone, its all about giving and not demanding anything back.
for now, as much as she’d craved that lust would make them back to who they used to be together, she decided to control herself, to not let the lust destroy the best thing she ever had, and the biggest lesson of love she’d ever learned.
Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
Lust is the final deadly sin that would take you there. For those who’s nature is love itself. Then, at the end, YOU are love itself.[/quote]
Please give me guidance.
Love,
a child
In the Bible: thinking about it but never committing it makes it the same as doing it!
Many times, the body is weak and the desire is strong, and the mind is stronger to forbid its action.
As a married person, does this mean that this is still wrong?
Should we give in to pleasure since the thought can be as bad as action?
Dear reader, dear Mr. Coelho!
My first enter about greed was without comments or questions for a “why do i think about like this”, so i imagine, it was clear to all that my opinion about deadly sins is that some of them are not “deadly” sins….by the way, why deadly sins? It means u will be punished with dead by god? Although god loves us? So many absurdities makes me confused…to all Bible-Lovers: please don’t try to explain me religious directions…i believe and love god on my way that i think it is the best and often i get the confirmation that he takes care of me (although i dont ask for it). The theme now is LUST…. what is my view…. i can only say one thing….when u are voluptuous, in 99% you dont think about awful things, in your mind are beautiful fantasies, faces, bodies etc….. i think, it is no need to tell u my definition if it is a “deadly” sin or not… Deadly is only the way until lust, how u get it or how much respect do u invest in this feeling… treat yourself and your loving persons like a temple with full respect and your bible will forgive your “sin”
MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
Hi Marie,
Thanks for making a comment on my 1st entry on the blog. Your honest description of your inner struggle made me think about the negative power of religion. Some religions and societies seem to actively encourage feelings of guilt and low self-worth. I am afraid that I have a real issue with this. Guilt and regret are intensely destructive emotions and can limit positive growth in some individuals. In bad hands, they can also be used to control people.
My feeling is that we must celebrate and wonder at life and realise that we are just as capable as bad thoughts as good ones. At the end of the day, it is up to us to act on those thoughts we feel will enrich our lives and those around us. I don’t want to be made to feel guilty just because my brain ponders on a fantasy, sexual or not, that I know I will never act on.
Charlie
Mirjam pointed to the importance of the Fool. In relation to “lust” I also want to mention his feminine counterpart in that same symbolism, namely “Adjustment” (to some better known as “Justice”).
She brings the potential into the actual and manages to see both sides of all things, balancing her emotions with intellect. She has got that rare ability to put theory into actual practice. She represents the understanding of the laws of nature that, although exact, do not correspond to the human idea of justice.
I believe that this is where we fail so miserably from time to time. I know I do.
All sorts of desires, emotions and preconceived ideas tend to distract us and cloud our vision, especially when it comes to issues of sexuality and relationships. Quite often, we want universe to be something that it is not.
If we want to advance in a certain direction, I believe we need to distinguish between our Love for the Highest and our lower desires as well as fears and adjust our behaviour to the actualities of nature.
I believe that it is beneficial to cultivate the passions that are useful to the idea that one may have regarding one’s purpose or direction, but other desires and instincts have to be consciously controlled or “sacrificed”.
Someone described it in terms of using the sails of passions to push us forward over the Great Sea of understanding. But if we are to travel in any given direction, we must also navigate by the stars of the firmament and steer firmly with our rudder of reason.
Dear Paulo ! wols !!! Hi
The more I contemplate that story of the two monks the more I feel that Sex per se is not bad, anything done out of joy, for joy, and which beings joy for all concerned is not bad. BUt hagning on to the past with a sence that ‘did I do the right thing’, brooding over my past, imeidiate past as well as long past is not good. All the wise men tell us to conserve energy and not to waste it on trivialities, including fighting with ourselves as in fighting against desires. As Buddha precahed, the middle path, avoiding excesses is the right approach I suppose. But that understanding has to germinate from within me, which will happen only when I experiment with limits and see the pain involved.
Would U kindly elaborate on the ‘vital force’.
About what comples me to say that ‘lust’ is the fundamental sin. Here is how i feel on the issue.
My consiousness exist in its innocense, purity and then it gets attached to desires. Till there is desire options of sin & virtue are open, I can satisfy my desire or at least try to by ethical, moral means ( there is a huge problem here, ethics & morality not as taught by others but as ‘found’ out for myself), this leads me to virtue. But when my innocenet awareness which is clouded by desires gets further clouded by another ingredient, Sin is the result, be it greed or wrath or others. Lust is that ingredeinet which tips the scale in favour of ‘Sins’ and a person possed by lust does not mind harming others and hence ultimately suffreing all the collective harm s/he causes others.
I don’t know, u’r kindness has allowed me to share my thoughts aloud ! May peace be upon myself & U too.
love
Aditya
Aditya,
I agree with you on many points. But to me, the advice of “avoiding excesses” provides no useful clue to recommended behaviour (as indeed no other moral standard).
Whether a certain action is deemed to be “in excess” or not can only be determined in the light of the purpose of that particular action.
If we choose to live an active life where we constantly interact with other people, we will have to adapt to circumstances in a way that a meditating hermit never has to.
Sometimes we may find ourselves in situations where we need to apply immediate and fierce action if we are to survive at all. In such situations, it will not do to wait for the “justice of God” and for things to simply resolve themselves. If we imagine a God that created us, he also gave us all of our abilities and the responsibility to use them.
Our path (assuming that you are not a hermit yourself) is in many ways much more difficult than that along the middle pillar. Our path is winding its way from experience to experience and at times we are destined to encounter the extremes.
We have to learn to apply and direct our force to a particular purpose, by continuously studying the consequences of our actions and by adapting our ways accordingly. I think it is wise also to regularly re-evaluate one’s perceived purpose and the various goals that one has set for oneself.
There is no doubt that we have to refrain from certain pleasures from time to time to achieve that which we deem useful. On the other hand, we may freely (without any shame or guilt) indulge in all sorts of pleasures, as long as their consequences are not detrimental to our higher cause.
As long as we are in the right direction, why should we submit to any restriction?
Remember, however, that sexuality is a very powerful force. If you are not able to direct it, or point it in the wrong direction so to speak, you should not be surprised if dire consequences follow.
Dear wionio
U say !
In the Bible: thinking about it but never committing it makes it the same as doing it!
.
.
Should we give in to pleasure since the thought can be as bad as action?
My answwr to myself if I am faced with such a question will be - Yes better do it. If it’s Sin, I will know, by the pain, anguish. B i b l e d o e s n o t ‘command’ t h e ‘rules’, it merely states them. If Bible is right I will know for myself, ain’t it.
One catch though - I need to first develop a third party, detached perspective to my own actions & of course to their consequneces on others and then me too. ( Be careful here Zesus & Socrates caused enough annoyance to some people to induce them to Kill these chaps( whether they could kill or not is a diffrenet issue), yet they were not ’sinning’; in fact they were doing the greatest service by awakening people, yet some people specially those in power saw it as ‘Sin’). Only I can be my own guide, help from ‘masters’ like Paulo ( whether he likes it or not, this way of addressing him that is ) is most welcome.
regards
Aditya
Aditya,
Not to ‘beat a dead horse’, but, having said that, I think I’m going to.
After reading what you said, I thought about it and wondered…’hmmmm, has lust ever led anyone down a path towards goodness?’ And, at first, I thought that perhaps that’s true…that lust only always brings misery.
But, then I think about people that I know who have lusted after another, ended up leaving their spouses for the object of their lusty desire and have really freed up all parties involved to finally live a life of happiness. Sometimes even these so-called ’sinful’ emotions act as signs, which lead us in the direction of our dreams.
I know..I know…I always say the same thing these days about good and bad and how you really can’t distinguish between them, like AVC says, until the end result. I guess you can really use that thinking on anything.
So, I’ll leave the bloody horse alone, until next time. 
I’ve been wanting to comment on so many things here, but I hate to hog the space and haven’t had much time, either.
Like what Marie said…I know that feeling! Ugh! I personally feel as if certain energy forms or entities sometimes invade our space and take us over, but, I hate to admit that to anyone for fear that they will think I’m crazy…oh wait! I just admitted that to like millions of people! Ha!
Please don’t think I’m crazy, please don’t think I’m crazy! 
I believe we always have control over them, though, through our intentions. If we ask them to leave, and believe that they will, then they will - like you did with prayer.
To ‘Child’: You’re only human in wanting to be good, yet, have trouble doing so. Don’t be so hard on yourself! It’s all about embracing your dark side, as well as your light, and forgiving yourself for your imperfections. I always liked what Yogananda said in regards to saints. He said that saints are merely sinners that never gave up. Even though we all hate that word ’sinner’.
I think it’s a nice idea…that it’s all about constantly striving to be a good force…even if we never fully arrive.
To Charlie, just wanted to say ‘hi’ and that I have liked and agreed with everything you’ve said. I usually don’t feel compelled to write anything when I agree with people, but I’m always here enjoying what people write, nonetheless.
I like to play the devil’s advocate, even though I drive everyone around me nuts with it! Including myself! 
I think it’s because of that ‘too much agreement kills a chat’ dynamic.
Take care everyone! Talk to you soon!
Love,
Deb
Without lust, multiplication of the human species would not be possible. God said to Abraham: count the stars, and just as numerous will your posterity be. That is true: we have more than 6 billion people, and we are heading towards 7. But I think there will be a moment when the worldpopulation will deminish. Hopefully, it won’t take too long, or else we will meet great problems. The earth’s sources are not unlimited. So lust, without producing offspring is not always bad…
Kind regards to everyone.
hey child,
glad that someone can relate to my story, at least. its all about sharing, reaching out and connecting through the similarities of feelings that we human share, despite boundaries, religion, and geographical location as we are all connected through souls in this cosmic universe and in reality via the internet. (”,)
As one can only share and connect and assist, for the answers actually lies deep within the seeker.
[quote comment="1421"]Hi Marie,
Thanks for making a comment on my 1st entry on the blog. Your honest description of your inner struggle made me think about the negative power of religion. Some religions and societies seem to actively encourage feelings of guilt and low self-worth. I am afraid that I have a real issue with this. Guilt and regret are intensely destructive emotions and can limit positive growth in some individuals. In bad hands, they can also be used to control people.
My feeling is that we must celebrate and wonder at life and realise that we are just as capable as bad thoughts as good ones. At the end of the day, it is up to us to act on those thoughts we feel will enrich our lives and those around us. I don’t want to be made to feel guilty just because my brain ponders on a fantasy, sexual or not, that I know I will never act on.
Charlie[/quote]
Charlie,
Your comments resonate strongly for me and I also don’t want to feel guilty just because my brain ponders on a sexual thought. Sexuality is a part of who I am and having been brought up in an environment where sexuality was suppressed and equated with sin I found myself feeling constantly guilty for having lustful thoughts. This guilt then had the spiral effect of causing me to dwell on thoughts of a sexual nature which just made everything worse.
Now, as an adult, I refuse to feel guilty and embrace all that I am. I feel a renewed sense of freedom to be myself and I accept myself so much more readily.
Mark H