gymislife
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Dear friends, this post is my attempt to clarify the topic of semen retention, clear misconceptions and debunk the myths around it.
Semen retention is not directly relevant to TRE but for the past several months I've been flooded with questions and requests for explanations on the topic, especially from people from r/Semenretention and r/NoFap.
Introduction
What is semen retention? Semen retention, as the name implies, is the practice of abstaining from ejaculation for different reasons, but mostly to gain spiritual fuel, meaning accelerating one's spiritual practice and increasing one's meditative capacity. That was the original purpose as documented in many ancient texts, in Taoism, Buddhism, yogic traditions and even the Bible in a more cryptic way.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika States the following about semen retention:
In the Baghavad Gita we find in chapter 6, verse 13-14:
There are thousands of verses referring either directly or indirectly to semen retention in different religious and spiritual traditions all over the world. The one's presented here are just a few examples. The idea of semen retention or celibacy or the hostility towards masturbation because of ancient texts and ideas have shaped a lot of our culture over time. So why is ejaculation (especially during masturbation) so often depicted as sinful? Most men know how draining an ejaculation can be. The cliché of men falling asleep right after sex comes to mind. Especially people on the spiritual path, meaning those who are into meditation, yoga, prayer or similar forms of seeking a kind of spiritual satisfaction and fulfilment, experience a loss from the "divine" connection when ejaculating. It's a feeling of having lost all progress and being back on square one. Retaining gives many seekers a calm mind and high vitality, so there is clearly a physiological mechanism at work here that can have perceived spiritual consequences for many people. Now we add in a sense of shame and embarrassment around the whole topic and we get puritanism, which leads to even more confusion and neuroticism.
The practice of semen retention for spiritual seekers has stuck around up to this day and its benefits are well known in yogic communities, old and new, at least for those who experience the benefits. However, during the last decade, SR has gained a lot of attention among people of all walks looking for self-improvement or other benefits.
The Benefits of Semen Retention
In subs like r/Semenretention and r/NoFap you will find countless people (mostly beginners) reporting on the unbelievable benefits they experience during their abstinence, such as increased energy/vitality, personal magnetism, increased attraction from other people, especially women, and generally, increased happiness and joy.
The benefits seem magical, almost too good to be true. How can it be that such a simple practice can take someone from depression and anxiety to a confident, charismatic man who is always the life of the party wherever he goes? Little do they know this is only a tiny fraction of the full benefits of SR (more on that later).
Flatline
Most people experience the benefits after one week of SR, after which they often sharply decline. For some the benefits stay for a period of time after that initial week, but eventually that high also fizzles out. Others find it to be a bit of a rollercoaster with benefits waxing and waning but eventually disappearing for good. Now the disillusioned retainer tries to get that initial high back, like a junkie chasing the dragon only to be disappointed. This is called flatline, a state of low libido and mild depression, where all benefits are gone.
According to the r/Semenretention and r/NoFap doctrine, flatline is the result of addiction to masturbation and porn and the "damage" that has been done by those vices must be reversed through abstinence and "transmuting" the energy through creative outlets and hard work, such as working out.
The Truth about Semen Retention
Unfortunately, the dynamics of semen retention are not as easy as depicted in those dedicated subs. Being creative, working out etc., do little to get back the benefits that were once experienced by the now confused practitioners, although there are still valid reasons to engage in those worldly activities. The truth is that SR brings up trauma to the surface from the unconscious where it manifests as muscular and mental tension. This kind of tension acts as energetic blockages in the nervous system. You can imagine SR like opening a spring inside your pelvic floor. A spring of sexual energy that starts welling up, since there is no longer a physical outlet for that energy. But due to all the blockages in the body there will soon be no place for the energy to go and the pressure (tension) starts to rise. Soon you will be like a walking pressure cooker ready to burst at any time. If there is still no release the body starts to shut down energetically to protect itself and tries to release the energy through wet dreams.
There is no point in retaining if you're only making your life miserable. Self-torture has never benefited anyone. Rather we should be looking for the root cause of the issue. Whenever I've tried to explain these things in the subs mentioned above, I was met with hostility and people defending a system that clearly doesn't work. The blind following the blind. However, there were some individuals who heard the wake up call and realized their endeavor was a fool's errand.
How Everyone can get the Benefits of Semen Retention
So in order to get the full benefits of SR we need to get the energy flowing and clear out the clogged, rusty old piping in our body (nervous system) from our trauma. This will lead the energy higher up, out of the pelvic floor where the true benefits of SR start to come forth.
To do this we will have to release the majority our trauma and by releasing I mean getting it truly out of the system. There is only one legitimate way to do this, which is through the body's inherent tremor mechanism. TRE allows us to easily access this tremor mechanism and let the body take over and do all the work, while we lie down and surrender.
This trauma release process will take some time, usually several years of dedicated practice. During that time SR should not be practiced as it can bring up too much tension for the nervous system to handle. It can even hinder the process. In any case you should listen to your body, as it tells you what to do if you truly choose to listen and take a step around your conditioning and dogma you've learned.
What about yoga and meditation? Have you ever wondered why some people experience so many benefits with meditation and blissful states while it doesn't work at all for others? The difference between those groups of people is the amount of trauma they carry. If you have sufficiently little trauma in your system, these practices will work to release the remaining trauma and experience the benefits. Unsurprisingly, you might experience involuntary movements during those practices just as with TRE.
The True Benefits of SR
The benefits of SR go far beyond the ones already mentioned above. SR coupled with true spiritual practice such as meditation and pranayama will lead to unending, full body ecstatic bliss. A never ending orgasm 24/7, peace and happiness beyond comprehension. Things like magnetism and charisma will still be there and even stronger than before, although you probably won't care about them anymore.
There will be no conflict of interests when it comes to relationships, because you can now effortlessly orgasm without ejaculating and experience no loss of energy. On the contrary, you will gain even more energy through sex.
If you're in flatline and feel hopeless right now, don't worry. I've been in this exact same position. Then I discovered TRE and kept at it for many years until most of my trauma was gone. It's a lot of work for sure and much dedication is needed, but nothing in life will ever be more rewarding than the work of getting rid of your trauma. Your reward will be a life free of anxiety and depression. Presence, joy and peace will come naturally and effortlessly. But most importantly it's the ticket to true spiritual practice that will lead us to eternal freedom.
Credit: u/Nadayogi
Tag: @nofap @semenretainer3 @Never Get Up @sportsmogger @NoReedemingFeature @nathan @edgewalker2181 @wsada @autistic_tendencies @ey88 @finn899 @galvin8101 @thereallegend @SorryIamBack @incliner @imdamon @Rawprimalooks
Semen retention is not directly relevant to TRE but for the past several months I've been flooded with questions and requests for explanations on the topic, especially from people from r/Semenretention and r/NoFap.
Introduction
What is semen retention? Semen retention, as the name implies, is the practice of abstaining from ejaculation for different reasons, but mostly to gain spiritual fuel, meaning accelerating one's spiritual practice and increasing one's meditative capacity. That was the original purpose as documented in many ancient texts, in Taoism, Buddhism, yogic traditions and even the Bible in a more cryptic way.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika States the following about semen retention:
This or a similar statement is repeated in many other hatha or Nath texts onwards from the 10th century AD on.
In the Baghavad Gita we find in chapter 6, verse 13-14:
In the Taoist text The Secret of the Golden Flower we find:
While the eastern descriptions are mostly clear and direct, the bible is a bit more cryptic and needs some explanation. Let's have a look at the story of Samson and Delilah. Here's a summary generated by ChatGPT:
The above is a codified story about semen retention. Samson's true strength does not come from his hair of course but from his abstinence and when he indulges in the pleasure of ejaculation with Delilah he loses his strength. As he starts retaining again (growing back his hair) he gets his strength back.
There are thousands of verses referring either directly or indirectly to semen retention in different religious and spiritual traditions all over the world. The one's presented here are just a few examples. The idea of semen retention or celibacy or the hostility towards masturbation because of ancient texts and ideas have shaped a lot of our culture over time. So why is ejaculation (especially during masturbation) so often depicted as sinful? Most men know how draining an ejaculation can be. The cliché of men falling asleep right after sex comes to mind. Especially people on the spiritual path, meaning those who are into meditation, yoga, prayer or similar forms of seeking a kind of spiritual satisfaction and fulfilment, experience a loss from the "divine" connection when ejaculating. It's a feeling of having lost all progress and being back on square one. Retaining gives many seekers a calm mind and high vitality, so there is clearly a physiological mechanism at work here that can have perceived spiritual consequences for many people. Now we add in a sense of shame and embarrassment around the whole topic and we get puritanism, which leads to even more confusion and neuroticism.
The practice of semen retention for spiritual seekers has stuck around up to this day and its benefits are well known in yogic communities, old and new, at least for those who experience the benefits. However, during the last decade, SR has gained a lot of attention among people of all walks looking for self-improvement or other benefits.
The Benefits of Semen Retention
In subs like r/Semenretention and r/NoFap you will find countless people (mostly beginners) reporting on the unbelievable benefits they experience during their abstinence, such as increased energy/vitality, personal magnetism, increased attraction from other people, especially women, and generally, increased happiness and joy.
The benefits seem magical, almost too good to be true. How can it be that such a simple practice can take someone from depression and anxiety to a confident, charismatic man who is always the life of the party wherever he goes? Little do they know this is only a tiny fraction of the full benefits of SR (more on that later).
Flatline
Most people experience the benefits after one week of SR, after which they often sharply decline. For some the benefits stay for a period of time after that initial week, but eventually that high also fizzles out. Others find it to be a bit of a rollercoaster with benefits waxing and waning but eventually disappearing for good. Now the disillusioned retainer tries to get that initial high back, like a junkie chasing the dragon only to be disappointed. This is called flatline, a state of low libido and mild depression, where all benefits are gone.
According to the r/Semenretention and r/NoFap doctrine, flatline is the result of addiction to masturbation and porn and the "damage" that has been done by those vices must be reversed through abstinence and "transmuting" the energy through creative outlets and hard work, such as working out.
The Truth about Semen Retention
Unfortunately, the dynamics of semen retention are not as easy as depicted in those dedicated subs. Being creative, working out etc., do little to get back the benefits that were once experienced by the now confused practitioners, although there are still valid reasons to engage in those worldly activities. The truth is that SR brings up trauma to the surface from the unconscious where it manifests as muscular and mental tension. This kind of tension acts as energetic blockages in the nervous system. You can imagine SR like opening a spring inside your pelvic floor. A spring of sexual energy that starts welling up, since there is no longer a physical outlet for that energy. But due to all the blockages in the body there will soon be no place for the energy to go and the pressure (tension) starts to rise. Soon you will be like a walking pressure cooker ready to burst at any time. If there is still no release the body starts to shut down energetically to protect itself and tries to release the energy through wet dreams.
There is no point in retaining if you're only making your life miserable. Self-torture has never benefited anyone. Rather we should be looking for the root cause of the issue. Whenever I've tried to explain these things in the subs mentioned above, I was met with hostility and people defending a system that clearly doesn't work. The blind following the blind. However, there were some individuals who heard the wake up call and realized their endeavor was a fool's errand.
How Everyone can get the Benefits of Semen Retention
So in order to get the full benefits of SR we need to get the energy flowing and clear out the clogged, rusty old piping in our body (nervous system) from our trauma. This will lead the energy higher up, out of the pelvic floor where the true benefits of SR start to come forth.
To do this we will have to release the majority our trauma and by releasing I mean getting it truly out of the system. There is only one legitimate way to do this, which is through the body's inherent tremor mechanism. TRE allows us to easily access this tremor mechanism and let the body take over and do all the work, while we lie down and surrender.
This trauma release process will take some time, usually several years of dedicated practice. During that time SR should not be practiced as it can bring up too much tension for the nervous system to handle. It can even hinder the process. In any case you should listen to your body, as it tells you what to do if you truly choose to listen and take a step around your conditioning and dogma you've learned.
What about yoga and meditation? Have you ever wondered why some people experience so many benefits with meditation and blissful states while it doesn't work at all for others? The difference between those groups of people is the amount of trauma they carry. If you have sufficiently little trauma in your system, these practices will work to release the remaining trauma and experience the benefits. Unsurprisingly, you might experience involuntary movements during those practices just as with TRE.
The True Benefits of SR
The benefits of SR go far beyond the ones already mentioned above. SR coupled with true spiritual practice such as meditation and pranayama will lead to unending, full body ecstatic bliss. A never ending orgasm 24/7, peace and happiness beyond comprehension. Things like magnetism and charisma will still be there and even stronger than before, although you probably won't care about them anymore.
There will be no conflict of interests when it comes to relationships, because you can now effortlessly orgasm without ejaculating and experience no loss of energy. On the contrary, you will gain even more energy through sex.
If you're in flatline and feel hopeless right now, don't worry. I've been in this exact same position. Then I discovered TRE and kept at it for many years until most of my trauma was gone. It's a lot of work for sure and much dedication is needed, but nothing in life will ever be more rewarding than the work of getting rid of your trauma. Your reward will be a life free of anxiety and depression. Presence, joy and peace will come naturally and effortlessly. But most importantly it's the ticket to true spiritual practice that will lead us to eternal freedom.
Credit: u/Nadayogi
Tag: @nofap @semenretainer3 @Never Get Up @sportsmogger @NoReedemingFeature @nathan @edgewalker2181 @wsada @autistic_tendencies @ey88 @finn899 @galvin8101 @thereallegend @SorryIamBack @incliner @imdamon @Rawprimalooks
