Leo D.M.J. Aurini - How to Stop Loving the Poison： Removing Addiction from your Life [Requested Video]

00:00:00.000 How to Stop Loving the Poison. This is a requested video, and it comes from Nick. Thank you for your support, brother.

00:00:09.500 Now, the battle between corn syrup and cane sugar, between what's good for us and what only pretends to be good for us.

00:00:19.120 This is something we deal with every day, isn't it?

00:00:21.560 You know, every single day, there are people trying to sell us on things that only seem to be good.

00:00:28.920 You've got corn syrup, which really doesn't taste that good, and they've put it into just about everything, to the point where you don't even notice it.

00:00:36.240 You get the McDonald's burger, and you don't realize there's a ton of corn syrup in the bun itself, but you're addicted to it.

00:00:43.220 Where something like cane sugar, cane sugar might not be healthy for you in large doses, but you don't need it in large doses.

00:00:49.800 You don't want it in large doses. It's honest about what it is.

00:00:53.860 You finish off a meal with a bit of ice cream or a chocolate, but the meal itself is wholesome.

00:01:00.120 And the problem we have in the modern day is that there are so many snares. 0.99

00:01:04.820 There is so much corn syrup. There is so much stuff we don't even realize it's bad for us.

00:01:10.440 And it's very, very addictive.

00:01:13.560 So what are we supposed to do about this?

00:01:15.320 Well, this is what we talk about all the time on this channel.

00:01:17.960 And philosophy gets us part of the way there.

00:01:22.220 Philosophy, it allows us to determine what's fair and what's foul.

00:01:27.540 For instance, philosophy can help us figure out when we need to be brave, when we need to be courageous and violent,

00:01:36.080 and when we should be discreet, when we should restrain our anger even though our temper is being tried.

00:01:42.760 Philosophy can tell us when to do these things, but simply knowing when is not enough, is it?

00:01:50.200 You need practice. You need to practice virtue to become better at it.

00:01:55.500 Down below, there is an excellent, excellent article by John C. Wright.

00:02:00.040 It's a very long one, so, you know, pour yourself a cup of coffee before you sit down to read it.

00:02:04.020 All about when and how the sexual instinct ought to be used.

00:02:10.120 And it's very inspiring. I think it's very reasonable.

00:02:13.500 It will help us, help you, help me, see what's supposed to be done.

00:02:20.400 But then practicing that, that's a whole other question, isn't it?

00:02:24.940 That requires, you know, effort.

00:02:27.540 You need to develop virtue.

00:02:29.300 You need to know what virtue is in the first place, and then you need to practice it.

00:02:33.060 But, you know, this video, this video specifically isn't about merely practicing what we intellectually understand to be virtuous.

00:02:43.320 And that's hard enough.

00:02:44.660 This video is about something worse.

00:02:47.060 This video is about the, the tanatos urge.

00:02:51.200 The will to self-destruction.

00:02:53.940 And that's in all of us.

00:02:55.160 If you haven't found it yet in yourself, you're, you're probably going to find it soon.

00:02:59.420 It's one thing, and to some extent, we're all a little bit addicted to something that's bad for us.

00:03:04.620 Okay, we're addicted to McDonald's burgers, or we're addicted to Facebook, the cheap ego gratification of Facebook.

00:03:11.920 We're addicted to a teacher giving us an A+, and telling us that we're intelligent.

00:03:17.120 We're addicted to whatever.

00:03:18.420 These, these cheap corn syrup substitutes of what we should be consuming.

00:03:22.680 But, that's not the topic of this video.

00:03:25.760 This video is about addiction.

00:03:29.300 This video is where you understand that something's bad for you already.

00:03:34.380 You know that it's bad for you.

00:03:36.660 That it's killing you.

00:03:38.140 That it's destroying your, your prosperity.

00:03:41.780 It's destroying your future.

00:03:43.640 And you still want it.

00:03:46.140 Part, you partly even want it, because it's destroying yourself.

00:03:53.520 How do we stop it?

00:03:54.900 How do we stop loving the poison?

00:03:57.600 How do we stop loving our own self-destruction?

00:04:01.800 And I'm going to do the best I can with this video, folks.

00:04:04.220 But this is something I still struggle with.

00:04:06.860 Anybody that says they're not struggling with it, it's because they're fully in the grips of it.

00:04:10.740 They've managed to mitigate it so nobody else can tell that they're, they're committing slow suicide.

00:04:16.300 But don't, don't for one second doubt that they are.

00:04:20.000 We've all got this thing in, in us.

00:04:22.680 And so I'm going to lay out the four steps, four steps that you can follow to try and kick this poison.

00:04:30.500 Whatever it might be to kick this poison out of your life.

00:04:35.100 First, develop the eyes to see.

00:04:38.360 This is something I pray for regularly.

00:04:39.940 I pray for the eyes to see things as they actually are.

00:04:46.880 And don't underestimate this.

00:04:47.980 Actually being able to see things, to know a thing for what it is, it's very rare.

00:04:54.740 So pray for the eyes to see.

00:04:56.780 So regardless of what your addiction is, let's say it's pornography.

00:05:01.480 When you click the screen on, what do you have there?

00:05:03.660 You've got a beautiful young lady in all her glory. 0.96

00:05:08.100 Is that what you have?

00:05:11.100 Look deeper.

00:05:12.460 Look at it four dimensionally.

00:05:13.840 Look at it a long time.

00:05:15.760 Look at, look outside of the camera angle.

00:05:19.980 Look beyond what the camera is focused on.

00:05:22.300 Look around the set.

00:05:24.260 With the boom mics, the people filming it.

00:05:27.660 Look at all of that.

00:05:28.760 Look at her past. 0.98

00:05:29.700 Look at her future.

00:05:30.400 You know, read between the lines.

00:05:33.620 Look at it.

00:05:34.380 What is going on?

00:05:35.880 And you've got a young lady barely out of high school. 0.95

00:05:39.940 Maybe she had some abuse in her background. 1.00

00:05:42.320 Maybe she's addicted to some sort of, she's addicted to the easy money. 0.88

00:05:47.240 She's addicted to whatever it is.

00:05:48.540 And she is destroying her future, videotaping all of this for a few minutes of your vicarious 0.95

00:05:55.820 enjoyment.

00:05:57.100 She has cheapened her life so that you can have a bit of corn syrup, which isn't even 1.00

00:06:02.120 good for you.

00:06:03.500 Maybe it's not pornography.

00:06:05.100 Maybe it's the desire to be wealthy, to have money.

00:06:09.400 You know, maybe you see people driving down the street in a brand new car and you say,

00:06:13.120 yeah, I want that.

00:06:14.480 I want to drive the new car.

00:06:16.180 Or maybe you are driving the new car and you're buying new clothing all the time.

00:06:20.000 You're spending money on this apartment, you know, on this condo.

00:06:24.700 Again, eyes to see.

00:06:26.280 Look at it.

00:06:27.660 Look at what you're doing to achieve all of this.

00:06:31.060 Are you doing good work?

00:06:32.500 Are you doing fulfilling work?

00:06:34.340 Are you using credit card debt to pay for all of this?

00:06:37.640 When you see that guy driving by in the brand new car, don't look at merely the surface.

00:06:42.620 Have the eyes to see what's actually going on there.

00:06:46.440 See the bigger picture.

00:06:47.660 See the credit card debt.

00:06:49.180 See what he is sacrificing for that lifestyle.

00:06:52.800 See, is this lifestyle, is it rooted in the past?

00:06:56.300 Is it rooted in the future?

00:06:58.900 Does it come from anywhere?

00:07:00.360 Is it going anywhere?

00:07:02.000 Or is this just dust on the wind?

00:07:05.120 If it's the more traditional form of addiction, drug addiction.

00:07:10.880 You know, and you see that you want those drugs.

00:07:14.580 You want that feeling.

00:07:16.160 You want to party.

00:07:17.300 You want to hang out all night.

00:07:19.820 Look at that.

00:07:21.000 Look at that through sober eyes.

00:07:24.120 Think about all those people in the nightclub.

00:07:26.440 You know, all those people.

00:07:27.960 They're high on booze.

00:07:29.140 They're high on cocaine.

00:07:30.200 They're high on heroin.

00:07:31.060 They're high on whatever.

00:07:31.740 And look at how much fun they're having that night.

00:07:34.380 I just want to be there.

00:07:35.900 Don't you?

00:07:36.540 Don't you want to be partying right now?

00:07:38.020 Look at them the next morning.

00:07:41.380 Look at them five years down the road when they've been doing this every single night.

00:07:45.320 Just wasting their life.

00:07:46.640 And look at the night itself.

00:07:48.180 What are they doing?

00:07:49.620 What are they celebrating?

00:07:51.620 Are they celebrating a wedding?

00:07:54.300 Are they celebrating a business deal?

00:07:57.320 An expansion of the business?

00:07:58.560 Is it a home, a housewarming party?

00:08:03.540 You know, that a married couple, they're building their lives?

00:08:06.000 What are they celebrating?

00:08:08.020 And what are they saying to one another?

00:08:10.420 See it for all the ugliness that it actually is.

00:08:15.680 See not just the event itself, but see what led up to it and where it's going.

00:08:21.140 So that's step one.

00:08:21.880 Develop eyes to see.

00:08:22.940 Any time, whatever it is that you're addicted to, whatever poison it is that you love so much,

00:08:29.400 don't just look at the high.

00:08:30.760 Don't just look at the pleasure.

00:08:31.820 Every time it crops up, look at the ugly.

00:08:35.260 Not just intellectually.

00:08:36.200 Don't just recognize that, yes, this goes to an ugly place.

00:08:39.160 But see the ugliness of where it's going.

00:08:43.280 Step number two is develop new habits.

00:08:45.980 Part of the problem with addiction is that you've developed habits.

00:08:51.120 You are locked into this cycle, into this repetitive cycle where you always go back and do the same thing,

00:08:56.380 even though you know it's bad for you.

00:08:58.000 And whenever you do, you reaffirm those pathways in your mind.

00:09:02.320 What you need is new habits.

00:09:04.280 If you're having trouble, like if you drink too much, or if you're addicted to some other substance of it,

00:09:11.040 look at how and when you do those things.

00:09:14.040 When are you most tempted?

00:09:16.280 Maybe it's a group of people that you need to stop hanging out with.

00:09:19.820 You know, if it's something else, maybe there's something you're doing that leads up to it.

00:09:24.480 Figure out the context where all of this happens.

00:09:27.940 It could be something as simple as negative self-talk.

00:09:31.200 You know, it could be something as simple as you beating yourself up all the time,

00:09:35.600 and hating yourself, and creating an excuse for failure in your life.

00:09:39.660 Figure out where and when this happens, and figure out where and when it doesn't,

00:09:43.040 and find new things to replace this.

00:09:46.060 You know, if you are destroying your life once a week on Friday night,

00:09:50.700 you know, spending money you don't have,

00:09:52.720 risking getting an STD by sleeping with women you don't know, 0.51

00:09:56.560 whatever, find something else to do.

00:09:59.440 If you're staying up all night playing World of Warcraft,

00:10:03.280 find something else to do.

00:10:05.040 Start reading a book.

00:10:06.540 Go for a jog.

00:10:07.340 Tire yourself out.

00:10:09.300 Figure out where and when the addiction occurs,

00:10:12.220 and avoid those circumstances as much as possible.

00:10:17.940 So first, get the eyes to see what it actually is,

00:10:21.340 and two, avoid it.

00:10:23.860 New habits.

00:10:24.620 Step three.

00:10:26.900 Because right now, right now you're, like, step one and step two,

00:10:30.920 you know, you're an Alcoholics Anonymous.

00:10:33.080 You know, you're not getting drunk anymore,

00:10:34.940 you're not ruining everything,

00:10:36.500 but you still want to get drunk,

00:10:38.060 even though you know it's bad.

00:10:39.480 And the only reason you're not getting drunk

00:10:40.960 is because you're at a meeting with a bunch of other guys

00:10:43.100 that all want to be getting drunk as well.

00:10:45.720 Step number three is lift up your sight.

00:10:49.980 You've been looking at,

00:10:50.880 you've looked at this addiction,

00:10:52.620 and you've seen it for what it is.

00:10:54.900 Now that you've done that, look up.

00:10:57.320 Look around you.

00:10:58.540 Look at the life you are living.

00:11:00.920 The life where this addiction is so tempting.

00:11:04.780 This isn't the life you want.

00:11:06.780 So what is the life you want?

00:11:09.520 What is it that you hope for?

00:11:12.280 What is it that you want to achieve?

00:11:15.160 What, what should you be doing right now?

00:11:18.600 Look up, look around, and look for that solution.

00:11:23.220 The addiction is always the anti-solution.

00:11:26.300 The addiction is,

00:11:27.860 here I am today,

00:11:29.820 and I'm not happy with my life.

00:11:32.080 I'm not happy because

00:11:33.600 I'm living in the wrong place.

00:11:36.780 I'm not happy because

00:11:38.240 I don't like the people I associate with.

00:11:40.560 I don't like the work I'm doing.

00:11:42.580 I, et cetera, et cetera.

00:11:43.720 You don't like where you are.

00:11:45.960 And you're using the addiction

00:11:47.400 to kill that pain

00:11:49.520 through self-destruction. 0.99

00:11:51.640 It's no different than cutting.

00:11:53.700 Okay, I think just about every

00:11:55.100 Trent Reznor song was about this.

00:11:57.100 You don't like where you are,

00:11:58.660 and so you hurt yourself

00:11:59.820 to distract yourself from the fact

00:12:01.480 that you hate your environment.

00:12:03.020 So where do you want to be?

00:12:04.420 What sort of lifestyle do you want to live?

00:12:06.360 What work do you want to be doing?

00:12:07.980 Who do you want to be spending your time with?

00:12:11.560 Look up.

00:12:12.600 Look around.

00:12:13.500 Look at the world.

00:12:14.480 Look at the possibilities

00:12:15.340 and figure out

00:12:16.440 which one of those possibilities

00:12:18.220 you actually want.

00:12:20.700 You know, a guy will look at pornography

00:12:22.280 because he's lonely

00:12:23.840 instead of actually going out

00:12:25.540 and finding a woman

00:12:26.840 that he can have a healthy

00:12:28.200 and fulfilling relationship with.

00:12:31.180 Look up.

00:12:32.260 Look for that.

00:12:34.260 And then finally,

00:12:35.420 once you've done that,

00:12:36.600 once you've seen it for what it is,

00:12:39.060 you've started breaking in new habits

00:12:41.840 to change your life,

00:12:43.820 and then third,

00:12:44.460 you've looked up

00:12:45.140 and seen the life

00:12:46.020 that you want to be living.

00:12:47.100 And once you start moving in that direction,

00:12:50.340 find the right place

00:12:52.320 for this addiction in your life.

00:12:54.640 Not the addiction,

00:12:55.980 but the good that comes out of it.

00:12:59.180 Figure out how it fits in appropriately.

00:13:01.820 You shouldn't be eating things

00:13:04.600 that have nothing but corn syrup in them

00:13:06.840 every day,

00:13:07.840 all day,

00:13:08.380 all the time.

00:13:09.040 But there is nothing wrong

00:13:11.720 with having a sweet tooth

00:13:13.220 and enjoying a piece

00:13:14.820 of good quality chocolate

00:13:16.460 or a bowl of ice cream

00:13:17.960 after a meal. 0.77

00:13:19.640 If you're addicted to sex, 1.00

00:13:22.000 find a wife 1.00

00:13:23.340 and have the best sex 1.00

00:13:25.060 on the planet with her. 0.99

00:13:26.880 If you're addicted to the partying,

00:13:28.940 to the high,

00:13:30.240 go do something

00:13:31.360 worthy of celebration

00:13:33.200 and find people worth celebrating with.

00:13:36.160 If you're addicted

00:13:38.320 to that material wealth,

00:13:41.260 go actually start building

00:13:43.100 something worthwhile.

00:13:45.620 The core to all of this is hope.

00:13:47.900 Okay?

00:13:48.140 Addictions are what happen

00:13:49.560 when you have no hope

00:13:51.280 in your life.

00:13:52.700 When you're not hoping

00:13:53.900 for what you should be.

00:13:54.820 You don't want to admit

00:13:56.020 the way things could be. 0.99

00:13:57.940 It's easier to be a loser 0.98

00:13:59.860 because then you don't have 0.99

00:14:01.200 to risk anything.

00:14:02.220 You never have to risk

00:14:03.260 potentially being happy.

00:14:05.500 Hope.

00:14:06.160 It's really at the core

00:14:07.860 of all of this.

00:14:10.080 If you're going to kick addiction,

00:14:11.780 you need to start hoping.

00:14:14.120 And one final kind of observation

00:14:16.840 on what I've been saying

00:14:17.600 all of this time.

00:14:18.820 I was using the visual metaphor.

00:14:21.740 You know?

00:14:22.080 Look and see.

00:14:23.060 Have eyes to see.

00:14:24.300 Raise your eyes up

00:14:25.540 and look at the world.

00:14:27.340 And that's no accident.

00:14:29.440 Because the faculty of sight,

00:14:33.080 the faculty of sight,

00:14:34.280 it is the least personal

00:14:36.940 of our senses.

00:14:39.480 Scent and taste

00:14:40.580 are very internal things.

00:14:43.600 Even hearing.

00:14:45.020 You know?

00:14:45.500 We don't close our ears

00:14:46.680 at night, do we?

00:14:48.240 You know?

00:14:48.620 We only actually hear

00:14:50.220 what is related to us.

00:14:52.820 Where it is.

00:14:53.240 When you open your eyes.

00:14:54.400 When you just look

00:14:55.220 at the world around you.

00:14:56.440 And try that right now.

00:14:57.900 Listen to this video.

00:14:58.960 Stop just listening to my words

00:15:00.780 and just for a second

00:15:01.560 look around you

00:15:02.800 and be aware of that environment.

00:15:05.520 Sight is the universe

00:15:07.280 imposing itself upon you.

00:15:08.740 It is truth

00:15:09.500 imposing itself upon you.

00:15:11.840 You don't get to choose

00:15:12.600 what you see.

00:15:14.220 Sight always

00:15:15.480 assaults you with the truth.

00:15:18.040 And see,

00:15:18.400 when it comes to addiction,

00:15:19.620 addictions,

00:15:20.080 when you get down to it,

00:15:20.700 they're very,

00:15:21.000 they're obsessive.

00:15:22.440 They're you looking

00:15:23.940 inside yourself.

00:15:26.540 You pursuing yourself

00:15:27.800 for yourself's own sake.

00:15:31.300 And ignoring the truth,

00:15:32.860 the reality out there.

00:15:34.360 Ignoring the hope

00:15:35.320 of the life you could be living

00:15:36.900 and instead

00:15:37.620 obsessing and navel-gazing.

00:15:41.000 Having a rich internal life

00:15:42.280 is good.

00:15:43.520 The unexamined life

00:15:44.460 is not worth living after all.

00:15:46.300 But that doesn't mean

00:15:47.640 that you should allow yourself

00:15:49.020 to become internally obsessed

00:15:51.780 and to never,

00:15:53.220 never branch out,

00:15:54.940 but never engage.

00:15:56.900 So open your eyes

00:15:58.140 to the universe.

00:15:59.480 The harsh and brutal truth

00:16:01.320 of the universe.

00:16:03.020 But also,

00:16:04.160 the infinite possibilities

00:16:05.900 that are out there.

00:16:07.760 If you'll just

00:16:08.660 let go of that thing,

00:16:10.680 that poison,

00:16:11.920 that when you get right down to it,

00:16:13.700 you don't even really want.

00:16:15.880 Thanks for listening, folks.

00:16:17.560 If you've got a requested video,

00:16:19.340 there's a link down below.

00:16:20.640 Just fill out the form,

00:16:21.800 send me a message.

00:16:23.120 I charge you a few Benjamins,

00:16:24.300 but not that many.

00:16:25.680 And as well,

00:16:26.520 if you want to support me on Patreon,

00:16:28.140 if you like the work I'm doing

00:16:29.060 but don't have a question,

00:16:30.360 link's down there.

00:16:31.520 Please,

00:16:32.300 like, comment,

00:16:32.960 and subscribe.

00:16:33.720 All that great stuff.

00:16:35.420 Take care of yourselves.

00:16:36.900 Always keep moving forward.

00:16:38.800 Deus volt.

00:16:40.000 Irini out.

00:16:40.680 Yuk.

00:16:42.280 Is.

00:16:42.560 I.

00:16:45.300 I.

00:16:46.340 I.

00:16:46.580 I.

00:16:47.800 I.

00:16:48.040 I.

00:16:48.480 I.

00:16:52.600 I.

Leo D.M.J. Aurini - October 25, 2016

How to Stop Loving the Poison： Removing Addiction from your Life [Requested Video]

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