Desire and pleasure

[Brian2]

Maybe a bit of moderation is best? Not fully giving into mindless indulgence but not overly disciplining yourself like a demanding boss?

For a Christian the disciplining is supposed to be with every aspect of life.

How do you tell the difference between suppressing and resisting?

Suppressing would be trying to get rid of a desire, pushing it down to try not to feel it.
Resisting for me is to feel whatever it is and to not encourage it or go along with what it is telling me to do, but to turn to the Lord who promises to give a way out of every temptation.

 

[Aupmanyav]

The good news is that such desire can be controlled.

I generally suggest sit-ups and push-ups for those who have this problem, basically diversion.
I also suggest to Xavier Graham not to be so serious about spirituality at his age. All things come in time.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Trailblazer Quoted: "It behoveth the people of .. these are in palpable error!"
If Bahaollah were to post this in a forum today, it would be termed as a 'rant'.

 

[an anarchist]

I also suggest to Xavier Graham not to be so serious about spirituality at his age. All things come in time.

No time to waste

 

[Hermit Philosopher]

Desire and pleasure are major obstacles in my spiritual path.

A life where one seeks to satisfy their fleshly desires is a destructive one. However, it is tempting and feels good at the moment.

A haiku

Sex activity
The happiness is fleeting
then it is over

Are you above desire, at this stage of your life? Is pleasure a detriment to you? My need for pleasure is.

Ultimate satisfaction comes from morality and spirituality, yes? I know this from personal experience.

Bless you @Xavier Graham,

Speaking only for myself, this issue really does improve with age. One is less lustful for most worldly things as one gets old.

I’m sure this is an unneeded remark, but still; the most important bit regarding your predicament is that you always ensure that whomever you engage with is as lustful of you as you are of them. Respecting another’s wishes is of fundamental value, always.

Humbly,
Hermit

 

[PureX]

So what is the cost?

Ever meet a person that despises and experiences no pleasure in life? Not a positive spirit, let me tell you.

 

[mangalavara]

No time to waste

Swami Vivekananda was always young, and he took spirituality seriously after he met Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Also, in my tradition, there are Self-realized or God-realized individuals who would commend you for taking spirituality seriously. At the same time, you don’t want to be too ‘serious.’ What I mean is don’t beat yourself up, don’t try to do everything perfectly, and don’t try to become a sadhu. If you take up any spiritual practices, do so with sensibility, faith, moderation, and commitment. That’s how I do my spiritual disciplines.

 

[Trailblazer]

Ever meet a person that despises and experiences no pleasure in life? Not a positive spirit, let me tell you.

I never suggested that people should despise pleasure and experience no pleasure in life.
Pleasure is a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment. Pleasure can be experienced in many different ways. It does not have to be sexual.

 

[FredVB]

I think there is purpose that God gives us that can be pleasurable for us to do, and we should be doing that. It is not better doing all pleasurable things, some would be hurting those doing them later on.

 

[syo]

Modern abrahamics are destructive. Stay away.

 

[PureX]

Modern abrahamics are destructive. Stay away.

This made my chuckle ... "modern Abrahamics".

I do think that trying to make the modern world conform to some ancient ideology based on an ancient world-view is "destructive". It's at least foolish and illogical, and I also think it's counter-productive in terms of the positive progress of the human condition. We need to let go of the moral imperatives of the past to uncover new and better moral imperatives for the future. Faith is the positive action of hope, not the stagnation of blind obedience.