Challenge - A week of austerity

[martin_malin]

Hi, I’m Martin and I’m addicted to stimulation/technology. During the next week, I’ll be facing the pain I’ve been avoiding. This challenge is inspired by a chapter from The Way of The Superior Man by David Deida:

''Austerity means to eliminate the comforts and cushions in your life that you have learned to snuggle into and lose wakefulness.  Take away anything that dulls your edge...By eliminating the safety net of comforts in your life, you have the opportunity to free fall in this moment between birth and death, right through the hole of your fear, into the unthreatenable openness which is the source of your gifts.''

My rules for the challenge

Wake up at 6 am
Check emails/texts once a day at noon  (strict minimum each time)
No social media, Internet surfing, TV, podcasts or video games
No masturbation or sex
No alcohol or drugs  (Except 1 cup of coffee in the morning)
Eat perfectly clean
Meditate 60 min everyday
Cold showers
Read no more than an hour/day
Work no more than 4 hours/day 

I can’t promise I won’t tell a lie or gossip. But if I do (or should I say, when I'll do...), I’ll write everything down and paste it here once the challenge is over.

If I fail or cheat in any way, I’ll send 100$ to the first three persons who leave a comment in the thread. The challenge starts tonight at 10 PM ET and will end on the 17th at the same time. My goal is to see what’s hiding behind the boredom and increase my self-awareness. 

If anyone wants to join me in this challenge, you are more than welcome to do so! Just write your own rules.

Edited July 10, 2018 by martin_malin
spelling

[Capital]

Good luck bro 

[Xin]

I feel like you're eliminating too many things at once but hey give it a try 

[Waves]

Jokes aside I wish you good luck! I think it's a great idea and it will prepare you for a possible future retreat  

[Rebec]

Question. What are you going to do with the rest of the day? Are you allowed to do creative activities (making music, arts and crafts)?

I did do it two months ago for four days myself, really insightfull, but I didn't integrate why I was addicted to tv and youtube. So I fell back... I'm planning to do one, next month, and this time I am really going to focus on the root causes of these additions. 

Wishing you all the best!! ?

[SpyAquamarine]

1 hour ago, martin_malin said:

I can’t promise I won’t tell a lie or gossip. 
 

Maybe bump this to the top of your list?

Edited July 10, 2018 by SpyAquamarine

[martin_malin]

@SpyAquamarine I can't imagine I'll be able to live a week without catching myself telling a little lie or saying a stupid/low consciousness remark. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself. That said, I'm going to be monitoring my speech very closely.  I'll keep this video of Leo in mind.
 

 

[martin_malin]

25 minutes ago, Rebec said:

Question. What are you going to do with the rest of the day? Are you allowed to do creative activities (making music, arts and crafts)?

I did do it two months ago for four days myself, really insightfull, but I didn't integrate why I was addicted to tv and youtube. So I fell back... I'm planning to do one, next month, and this time I am really going to focus on the root causes of these additions. 

Wishing you all the best!! ?

The 4 hours dedicated to work will be used for writing a play. Aside from that, I don't have much planned. I'll probably go take a walk or two in nature and lift some weights at the gym. I basically want to go with the flow and spend a lot of time just being.

Like you, YouTube is my biggest addiction!

[SpyAquamarine]

@martin_malin 

Thank you for the link, I will watch that video again. It has become a lot easier for me but I am probably (most definitely) not 100% impeccable yet!

Good luck! You can do this!

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by SpyAquamarine