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Spiritual Reset Day / Dopamine Detox Day

HPS Lydia

High Priestess
Joined
Sep 20, 2017
Messages
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[email protected]
It’s very common these days to get caught up in busy lives, cell phone notifications, emails, and so on; and to neglect or procrastinate spirituality. This forms the habit of not paying attention to priorities.

Cell phone notifications, youtube videos, scrolling through social media, playing video/phone games, and the like, all create dopamine rushes leading to the need for more quick actions that give more dopamine rushes. This can cause a form of addiction for many people, and causes people to neglect other priorities.

This also causes mild depression for people when they are away from their phones, internet, or games for long, as their brain is accustomed to quick dopamine rushes.

These quick dopamine rushes prevent people from the ability to sit down for extended periods of time for spiritual practices, and makes it difficult for people to enjoy normal things in life. Exercise is a healthy way to get a healthy dopamine rush, but as it requires more time and effort than scrolling through phones, a lot of people are unwilling to do this. Most people want the quick and easy, anything instant.

It isn’t just dopamine. Endless scrolling activates the part of the brain that enjoys learning new information, and endless scrolling keeps us hooked to see “just one more… just 5 more….” Humans enjoy learning new information, so it is easy to trick ourselves into thinking it’s good to “be caught up”, not realizing that there are more important and satisfying things that can be done instead.

A lot of people upon waking check their cell phones for notifications, which can then lead to the distraction of scrolling through social media, which then leads to rushing to get ready to go to work. Time wasted, on things that are actually not even important. And if the first thing you see or hear about is bad news, or something that annoys you in any way, it sets a bad tone to start your day with.

Humans are creatures of habit, as the saying goes; it can be very difficult to begin to prioritize spiritual practices. A lot of people want to add more spirituality into their day, but get overwhelmed thinking about how to start doing it on a daily basis.

One thing that will help, for when you are caught up in notifications and neglecting your spiritual practices, is to do a full-on “spiritual reset day”. Take a day (or just a section of a day), any day that works for you, and focus purely on spiritual practices. By telling yourself that it’s only for one day, you will be more likely to succeed for that day.

-No scrolling or checking notifications. Log out of social media, turn off notifications. Even better if you do this the night before, so when you wake up, you won't have a bunch of notifications calling for your attention. If you’re a parent you might need your phone for your children to contact you, but ignore unrelated texts. All unnecessary texts and other notifications can wait. Tell yourself that you will make replies tomorrow instead.

Something to consider is that many things are urgent, but not actually important. Texts and emails have a sense of urgency to reply, but the vast majority are not actually important. Think about that for a moment.

-No internet or video games. If you go online, you will be tempted to check your usual internet stuff, and then you’ll be sucked down the rabbit hole and have a difficult time escaping.

-Optional, you can combine this with doing a caffeine-free day to help your body recover from dependency on caffeine. The previous points will help you recover from overloading your brain with dopamine rushes, so you can combine this day with no caffeine too.

-If you start to feel in a slump from the lack of dopamine rush and caffeine, you can do those Tibetan Breaths you’ve heard about but have not yet made the time to do. These will give you a rush of energy that you can then program for healing or whatever goal you are working towards.

-For a healthy dopamine boost, exercise! Even just 10 minutes will give a boost for those of you who are more sedentary. Get your heart rate up and work your muscles. Taking care of the physical body helps the mind and spiritual body, too.

-Now is the day to sit for a longer period of time to get guidance from your GD or contact any Demon you’ve been meaning to. You have saved extra time from not going online, so do the summoning, and sit and wait without rushing off to do something else. Meditate on the Demon’s sigil for longer, this will also help your mind and improve your visualization skills.

-You can combine the above with practicing trance, or trancing for longer than you normally do. And then, you can add a new meditation you have been meaning to do, or practice with different Color energy, as an example.

-Since you have more time in the day, do extra-long hatha yoga. Do those asanas you’ve been meaning to try, do the ones you’ve been neglecting or forgot about because they’re not in your habitual routine. Focus more fully while in each pose, don’t let yourself daydream or think about work or friends. Make sure your phone is set to silent (only if this is a reasonable option).

-This is also a good day to read books you have heard mentioned here but have not made the time for yet. Nietzsche or Marcus Aurelius, for example. Feel your mind improve and strengthen, in ways that watching tv and youtube never will.

-At the end of the day, review your day with High Priest HoodedCobra’s Introspective Meditation: Increasing Conscious Awareness meditation. See how your mind feels from the effects of changing your usual day to one focused more on spirituality.

Now that you have done this, you can do a spiritual reset day / dopamine detox day on a weekly/monthly basis, or whenever you feel the need to do it. And, you will be more able to incorporate one or more additional spiritual practices on a daily basis now. You’ve had the success of doing one day, that feeling can be carried forward :)


Further reading, for effects on the brain from infinite scrolling, “doomscrolling”, etc:
https://www.bustle.com/wellness/what-happens-to-your-brain-when-you-scroll-through-social-media-for-hours
https://freedom.to/blog/infinite-scroll/
 
You are working really hard. And we all appreciate it very much.

Great article! I will read it again in a spare moment.

Thank you again, dear High Priestess Lydia.
 
[HPS said:
Lydia" post_id=473316 time=1700402173 user_id=57]
It’s very common these days to get caught up in busy lives, cell phone notifications, emails, and so on; and to neglect or procrastinate spirituality. This forms the habit of not paying attention to priorities.

Cell phone notifications, youtube videos, scrolling through social media, playing video/phone games, and the like, all create dopamine rushes leading to the need for more quick actions that give more dopamine rushes. This can cause a form of addiction for many people, and causes people to neglect other priorities.

This also causes mild depression for people when they are away from their phones, internet, or games for long, as their brain is accustomed to quick dopamine rushes.

These quick dopamine rushes prevent people from the ability to sit down for extended periods of time for spiritual practices, and makes it difficult for people to enjoy normal things in life. Exercise is a healthy way to get a healthy dopamine rush, but as it requires more time and effort than scrolling through phones, a lot of people are unwilling to do this. Most people want the quick and easy, anything instant.

It isn’t just dopamine. Endless scrolling activates the part of the brain that enjoys learning new information, and endless scrolling keeps us hooked to see “just one more… just 5 more….” Humans enjoy learning new information, so it is easy to trick ourselves into thinking it’s good to “be caught up”, not realizing that there are more important and satisfying things that can be done instead.

A lot of people upon waking check their cell phones for notifications, which can then lead to the distraction of scrolling through social media, which then leads to rushing to get ready to go to work. Time wasted, on things that are actually not even important. And if the first thing you see or hear about is bad news, or something that annoys you in any way, it sets a bad tone to start your day with.

Humans are creatures of habit, as the saying goes; it can be very difficult to begin to prioritize spiritual practices. A lot of people want to add more spirituality into their day, but get overwhelmed thinking about how to start doing it on a daily basis.

One thing that will help, for when you are caught up in notifications and neglecting your spiritual practices, is to do a full-on “spiritual reset day”. Take a day (or just a section of a day), any day that works for you, and focus purely on spiritual practices. By telling yourself that it’s only for one day, you will be more likely to succeed for that day.

-No scrolling or checking notifications. Log out of social media, turn off notifications. Even better if you do this the night before, so when you wake up, you won't have a bunch of notifications calling for your attention. If you’re a parent you might need your phone for your children to contact you, but ignore unrelated texts. All unnecessary texts and other notifications can wait. Tell yourself that you will make replies tomorrow instead.

Something to consider is that many things are urgent, but not actually important. Texts and emails have a sense of urgency to reply, but the vast majority are not actually important. Think about that for a moment.

-No internet or video games. If you go online, you will be tempted to check your usual internet stuff, and then you’ll be sucked down the rabbit hole and have a difficult time escaping.

-Optional, you can combine this with doing a caffeine-free day to help your body recover from dependency on caffeine. The previous points will help you recover from overloading your brain with dopamine rushes, so you can combine this day with no caffeine too.

-If you start to feel in a slump from the lack of dopamine rush and caffeine, you can do those Tibetan Breaths you’ve heard about but have not yet made the time to do. These will give you a rush of energy that you can then program for healing or whatever goal you are working towards.

-For a healthy dopamine boost, exercise! Even just 10 minutes will give a boost for those of you who are more sedentary. Get your heart rate up and work your muscles. Taking care of the physical body helps the mind and spiritual body, too.

-Now is the day to sit for a longer period of time to get guidance from your GD or contact any Demon you’ve been meaning to. You have saved extra time from not going online, so do the summoning, and sit and wait without rushing off to do something else. Meditate on the Demon’s sigil for longer, this will also help your mind and improve your visualization skills.

-You can combine the above with practicing trance, or trancing for longer than you normally do. And then, you can add a new meditation you have been meaning to do, or practice with different Color energy, as an example.

-Since you have more time in the day, do extra-long hatha yoga. Do those asanas you’ve been meaning to try, do the ones you’ve been neglecting or forgot about because they’re not in your habitual routine. Focus more fully while in each pose, don’t let yourself daydream or think about work or friends. Make sure your phone is set to silent (only if this is a reasonable option).

-This is also a good day to read books you have heard mentioned here but have not made the time for yet. Nietzsche or Marcus Aurelius, for example. Feel your mind improve and strengthen, in ways that watching tv and youtube never will.

-At the end of the day, review your day with High Priest HoodedCobra’s Introspective Meditation: Increasing Conscious Awareness meditation. See how your mind feels from the effects of changing your usual day to one focused more on spirituality.

Now that you have done this, you can do a spiritual reset day / dopamine detox day on a weekly/monthly basis, or whenever you feel the need to do it. And, you will be more able to incorporate one or more additional spiritual practices on a daily basis now. You’ve had the success of doing one day, that feeling can be carried forward :)


Further reading, for effects on the brain from infinite scrolling, “doomscrolling”, etc:
https://www.bustle.com/wellness/what-happens-to-your-brain-when-you-scroll-through-social-media-for-hours
https://freedom.to/blog/infinite-scroll/

Lydia, thank you! A very good post!

Young people now have problems with computer addiction (online games, for example Fortnite) and with social networks.

I don 't use social networks in principle .networks, because one of the reasons is that you just can't get out of them, to put it briefly.

In my opinion, the most important thing is to be able to focus on the priorities of spiritual and material development, and to be able to forget about all the garbage that prevents development.
 
Funny how last night I decided that today I wanted to stay off my phone/laptop.. only to get online today for marking the stupid 'I have worked this week box' and then decided on checking something else.

I am off now though. Have a good day everyone!
 
Great Sermon!

I have been meaning to try to fix my dopamine, and this is a nice way, *but not complete -->*.

An average man will have their dopamine level 90% from scrolling, notifications, etc, and 10% from their work and other, mostly important things.

That's the problem, people get dopamine from unimportant things, and so they enjoy wasting their time.

As a beginner, meditation itself won't give much dopamine, and a lot fails because of this. Dopamine is the thing that drives us, and if something gives little or no dopamine, than we would not like to do that thing especially not every day.

Actual work, for example contributing for the JoS will also give you little dopamine compared to "notifications, scrolling.." but neither your work, for example office work would give you much dopamine, and since you are forced to go to work, a lot of people hate it.

We must learn to enjoy important things. If we enjoy it, it gives more dopamine and we will have the will to do it again.

*-->*

To complete it, we must try to enjoy things that are important, as I said already. Things like decorating/customizing, getting comfortable, having a routine are ways to get to like things.

We must try meditations, and do meditations that we enjoy, and not only meditations that are necessary to do.
We must build an altar that we actually like. This is probably the only practical functionality of an altar.

The good thing is, once you done something every day, for longer periods, you will do it regardless.
It goes the same way with meditation. You might have a hard time meditate every day as a beginner, and I also had a hard time with this, but once I had like a 4 month streak of meditations, I just couldn't stop now. I feel like it's a part of my life and I couldn't not meditate. I would meditate regardless of the situation because I feel like that I can't skip, and I also like, and enjoy meditation.

So even if you don't try to like mediation, and you take the harder way, you will eventually like it, but it is much easier to try to like it, and do meditations that gives more dopamine than the others.

So what you need to do:

-Don't do things that are not important but gives dopamine
-Try to have more dopamine from important things.
 
Thank you for this HPS Lydia! In today's world it is absolutely necessary to be aware of how dopamine works and how damaging it is to not have an healthy dopamine system. We are surrounded with things that release excessive amounts of dopamine in the brain, causing addiction and many other problems. This kind of excessive stimulation also makes it very hard to focus and relax, affecting our meditations negatively.

Also when we flood our brain with excessive amounts of dopamine, some of our dopamine receptors get "shut down" and everything feels way less pleasurable. Motivation and mood are affected as well since these are both regulated by the dopamine system as well.

The way I do it is that I put a limit each day to the amount of time I can use my phone for enteirtainment, and I work the rest of the day. I try to be as disciplined as possible and it works.

Lastly I'd advice everyone to do a lot of research on this dopamine topic, it's very important, don't underestimate it.
 
AristocraticDragon666 said:
Brother, with all due respect, but if you quote the whole post and you also have a gigantic signature it takes about one full minute to scroll your post.
 
Thank you Lydia, a most helpful post. I was sick and I fell off from my spiritual activities, Yoga and RTRs. Now that I am healthier I am starting to get into it again on a regular and sufficient level.

However, this day off is certainly what I need to do. Every time I will feel somehow falling off my routine, I will do this to reset the rewarding feeling of doing what is necessary, doing what is right.

The spiritual advancement is number one thing in life and must be prioritized. Every other concern, material, emotional etc. should only serve to maximize the spiritual development. If you are spiritually advanced, everything else comes on its own.

Hail Satan!
 
Wow, exactly what I was needed, Thank you High Priestess! Long time since I read such motivational text.

If anyone search for other books(Nietzsche is the best, but not easy to understand), I can suggest the next books:
- Thucydides: The peloponisian war
Nietzsche mentioned that he is a 'cure for Plato', and truly a remarkable book from a more honest, more 'human-like' age, free from all morality. 'The strong do as they will, yet the weak suffer, what they must'.
- Odyssey by Homer
Long, but worth to read, Homer speaks of the world and life with such joy, its increadible. Also, our Gods have an Important role in the story, and also full of strong characters(Odysseus is strong, wise and merciless, when it needs to be). You can also read Iliad, but I didnt have time for it yet.
- Papyrus of Ani
A book full of methaphores, but great spiritual messages when you understand it, like measuring the hearts of the dead.
 
Great article, Thank you High Priestess Lydia.
 
I so have to do this. Thanks HPS Lydia!
 
Thank you very much HPS!

This came at the right time when I was pondering on "digital addiction", so it means a lot!
 
What you mention here High Priestess Lydia is so incredibly important.

This transition into a digital society has been a great thing for humanity. But much of this still needs to be adapted to how humans are, and we need to adapt properly to this. It hasn't been a smooth transition as much of humanity gets so immersed in this that disconnecting is very difficult, even for SS.

We are so surrounded by this constant stream of digital content and information, humanity still hasn't had time to adapt.

I am a big computer nerd and have a large interest into this kind of technology, emulation of computer systems, operating systems, specific gaming consoles and processor chipsets, and I realise the need of disconnecting.. it can be very overwhelming.

Recently this past year ended up in a factory manufacturing electronics, and so this has become a big part of my life currently, for better or for worse.

Digital technology and electronics strike me as a very mind numbing field.

It's very easy to be consumed by all this.

It takes a certain type of mind as the work to build these things is so monotonous and robotic it would make most people run out of these factories in search of better work. I've literally had coworkers and people do this, just get so wrapped up by it they had to leave they hated every minute and it burdened them mentally.. just can break the mind.

It's truthfully that intense mentally in my opinion based on my experiences.

There absolutely has to be a balance. We cannot be completely consumed by this or it comes with alot of issues and consequences.
 
[HPS said:
Lydia" post_id=473316 time=1700402173 user_id=57]
-If you start to feel in a slump from the lack of dopamine rush and caffeine, you can do those Tibetan Breaths you’ve heard about but have not yet made the time to do. These will give you a rush of energy that you can then program for healing or whatever goal you are working towards.
Tummo breathing?

I found instructions online. Are these accurate in your opinion?
Sit in a comfortable position with the eyes closed and the hands on the stomach.

Try to relax the mind as much as possible.

Visualize a fire inside the stomach near the navel by imagining being a hollow balloon with a ball of fire inside. This visualization should continue throughout the meditation.

Inhale deeply through the nose, leaning backward slightly and expanding the torso and chest. Imagine the oxygen in the breath fueling the fire inside, causing it to become bigger and hotter.

Exhale forcefully through the mouth while pursing the lips, as though blowing through a straw. Curl the spine forward and imagine the flame spreading its heat through the body.

Repeat this pattern five times, imagining the heat building. After the fifth inhalation, swallow gently and focus on how that holds the breath below the diaphragm. Contract the pelvic floor muscles, holding the breath between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor.

Hold this breath for as long as possible, then exhale and relax the muscles.

Repeat this pattern a few times.
 
Staying on guard in regards to the digital world is very important, especially as I believe the enemy has corrupted it in order to intentionally destroy our attention span.

Even with all the studies showing how bad it is for us, many companies resist employing preventative solutions. Why does the scrolling need to be infinite, for example, with no way to turn it off? This is a direct encouragement to binge.
 
Blitzkreig [JG said:
" post_id=473444 time=1700434762 user_id=21286]
Staying on guard in regards to the digital world is very important, especially as I believe the enemy has corrupted it in order to intentionally destroy our attention span.

Even with all the studies showing how bad it is for us, many companies resist employing preventative solutions. Why does the scrolling need to be infinite, for example, with no way to turn it off? This is a direct encouragement to binge.

Hi brother ..I have mailed you asking some important doubt .please do reply when you are free
 
Ok Lydia, what do you think is good void meditation or conciouse living as taught in the east (India ) for daydreams and those who can't control the mind.
 
No, the 10 Tibetan Breaths. I can't find a youtube video, there is a free pdf on scribd if you type in the full name I bolded. It used to be on the JoS in the yahoo groups pdf files.
 
Thank you for the tips High Priestess Lydia. Personally, meditating with the Silva Method, and the jos meditations has helped me a lot.
 
This was a very interesting read Lydia.
I would love to leave a book for those who are interested in fixing their dopamine level or learn more about dopamine detox.

The book explains more on how Dopamine works, with simple steps to implement a successful detox, practical exercises to eliminate distractions and boost focus with some simple tools and techniques to avoid overstimulation and help one stay focused, and much more.

For those interested here is the book: Dopamine Detox by Thibaut Meurisse. Its a small book
https://mega.nz/folder/BpxyHDrC#fTqaiHnypVxd7kYXwtMuhg
 
It's helpful to first do your meditations for a day, then do games or similar things as kind of a reward.
 
Thank you so much High Priestess Lydia for such an eye opening sermon. Its true, that a lot of our time is being wasted on useless things. That’s a great reminder, thanks a lot.Very helpful.
 
ah ;) ,It would have been funny if nobody actually responded to this thread , in order to minimize dopamine, which you would have gotten by replying and receiving responses ^
(just joking, of course ^ )

obviously the experience and knowledge you can get from places like this forum and jos sites is unique and definitely not something i would deem as negative or damaging even if it's online, but rather, quite the opposite, very enlightening and mind-opening, potentially leading to advancement of one's future ^

different story for social medias indeed, albeit they are still useful for spreading the message, which is something i'm trying to focus on, albeit it's slowing down my process of spiritual advancement and acquiring of knowledge... i'll definitely have to change things up and act in a more balanced way , soon ^
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone, especially WiseDragon and Afodo for giving more advice :)


ANPUemsaf-666 said:
ah ;) ,It would have been funny if nobody actually responded to this thread , in order to minimize dopamine, which you would have gotten by replying and receiving responses ^
(just joking, of course ^ )
:lol:
 
I have been done daily it for a long time, I don't have social networks, my mobile phone has no Internet connection and the only time I turn on the PC is to visit the forums, make the rituals and check the email.

Then people look at you strange when you tell them that you have no social networks or you not like to waste time chatting with the mobile phone :roll:
 
I have been experiencing everything you stated in your sermon as of lately bc I was sick for a week and becoming lazy slacking feeling depressed etc. I needed this thanks for the idea of a spiritual reset day!
Hail Satan
 
Thank you for your words, Lídia! I'm looking to get rid of these small habits that consume a lot of my time. First, I deleted my social media profiles and noticed a big difference in terms of focus on work and studies here at JOS. Excellent work, thanks for the guidance!
 
[HPS said:
Lydia" post_id=473503 time=1700477391 user_id=57]
No, the 10 Tibetan Breaths. I can't find a youtube video, there is a free pdf on scribd if you type in the full name I bolded. It used to be on the JoS in the yahoo groups pdf files.
Yeah, I just found out what you meant. Interestingly enough, in these ten breaths, there are some similarities to one version of tummo breathing exercises. By the way, I tried the method I asked about and found it rather stimulating, and as such I would think that it could achieve the same purpose that you refer to in your original post. Also, adding to your original post, I would suppose that five Tibetan rites would work well in tandem with the breathwork you mentioned.
 
Thank you HPS Lydia.

This is really good for new SS members, i don't have any of this Except for the caffeine issue، everyday I meditate about 4 hours and I am trying to make it 8.
 
A lot of people upon waking check their cell phones for notifications, which can then lead to the distraction of scrolling through social media, which then leads to rushing to get ready to go to work. Time wasted, on things that are actually not even important.

I don't know how many times I've conversed with people who say there are too few hours in a day, yet they spend hours on the phone scrolling wasting their time.

Exceptionally important post/sermon! People need to be more aware of this and get rid of their unproductive procrastination habit.

If I notice I start to do other things than I should, I immediately tell my mind that I AM GOING to do it, and I find myself doing what needs to be done or what is important shortly after. There is nothing greater dopamin rush than from when you start to control and improve your spiritual practices with quality sessions and not rushed ones, it is extremely blissful!
 
What about listening to music for so many hours? I try to listen only to music that is against xtianity but somehow I feel is distracting me from important things. Maybe can be an addiction too?

Hail Satan!
 
[HPS said:
Lydia" post_id=473316 time=1700402173 user_id=57]

Hello Lydia! Firstly I'd like to congratulate you. I've been meaning to do that for some time but every time I log in and write a reply to any post the thoughts of I'd be wasting people's time, ''it's not even that important'', and what I write will not help anybody flood my mind until I give up.

So, congrats. You have my respect.

Secondly, what would you say about filling aura with Nauthiz? On the JoS page it says ''A rune of banishings and cleansing by fire.'' I'm wondering if it would be suffice to use Nauthiz for daily cleansing or protection along with the purpose of being more disciplined. It is horrible to see my attention span and focus is being rendered into nothing.

Another thing is I'm not sure if the energy of Nauthiz is barren and dry, or suitable to program attracting prosperity. I'm just curious about that, adding another purpose would be too much to focus on. It is like... fiery and earthy at the same time? The description looks like it is related with needs and being self-sufficient but I can't say it's like Fehu and Odhal or sun related words of power in the sense of attracting wealth.
 

Al Jilwah: Chapter IV

"It is my desire that all my followers unite in a bond of unity, lest those who are without prevail against them." - Satan

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