Stage 5, Day 19 in progress
It seems like holidays in the latter half of the year represent a time when barriers are thin. For Halloween, tradition holds it is a thinning of the veil between life and the afterlife. Christmas seems to be a time when internal barriers wear thin. I see this evidenced by the "holiday blues"* which affects many. For me, I feel a lot is changing, and the barriers between feelings and logic have been very thin. I notice a great deal of what I feel is lacking in my life; while feelings are treacherous indicators, my Christmas pattern is jolting. I get to spend Christmas Eve with my family: my children, my parents, and whichever relatives are in town. Christmas Day is typically spent with my partner, and this year I have none. I don't like it.
I had planned to go to my parents' place for Christmas Day, but I ate a lot of foods with gluten in them, and I've been abstaining from those for several months. This gave me a tremendous headache, and my stomach has been uncomfortable. I spent the day in my room, eating little and drinking water to allow my system to clear. I also spent a lot of time sleeping, which is why I'm up at 2:30am.
I know better than to eat like that, and I've never broken my eating pattern to this extent before. I'm paying for it. I chose to indulge a momentary pleasure which I knew was not in my best long-term interests, which isn't how I want to live. I believe an alpha consistently makes good choices for his own health.
This is where it gets tough, and I think that Shannon's suggestion of OF is going to help during Stage 6. I feel like I've backslid on my progress, and I have a fear that I haven't "made it", so I worry about starting WM2 in February. I'm filled with doubts, which have shown themselves in the posts I've made here in the past few weeks. Shannon's guidance on the matter has been not been substantial enough for me to feel like I know the criteria for making the right decision, which seems to be a clue in and of itself: an alpha would know, right? He'd be certain. I'm not: not right now. That's why I tell myself I'll make the decision in February.
tl;dr version:
And as I type this out, I had a minor epiphany: this is exactly the kind of self-doubt instilled by the Ego in Revolver. I have my very own Iago, and he's in my head. This lends credence to Shannon's suggestion to use OF during Stage 6. I want to start sooner, because I want to banish fear from my life.
Shannon: during what stages of AM5 is it OK to use OF or OGSF?
What should my daily exposure be to each product maximize efficiency?
I tried searching for this information, and found a secondary source which said it was OK to use OF during stages 4, 5, & 6, but finding AM-specific timing yielded nothing to my search skills. I plan to take the answer you provide and make it a FAQ-worthy post in the Men's Product Questions area, and if the information applies equally to the AF product, I can make a duplicate post in the Women's product area as well.
It seems like holidays in the latter half of the year represent a time when barriers are thin. For Halloween, tradition holds it is a thinning of the veil between life and the afterlife. Christmas seems to be a time when internal barriers wear thin. I see this evidenced by the "holiday blues"* which affects many. For me, I feel a lot is changing, and the barriers between feelings and logic have been very thin. I notice a great deal of what I feel is lacking in my life; while feelings are treacherous indicators, my Christmas pattern is jolting. I get to spend Christmas Eve with my family: my children, my parents, and whichever relatives are in town. Christmas Day is typically spent with my partner, and this year I have none. I don't like it.
I had planned to go to my parents' place for Christmas Day, but I ate a lot of foods with gluten in them, and I've been abstaining from those for several months. This gave me a tremendous headache, and my stomach has been uncomfortable. I spent the day in my room, eating little and drinking water to allow my system to clear. I also spent a lot of time sleeping, which is why I'm up at 2:30am.
I know better than to eat like that, and I've never broken my eating pattern to this extent before. I'm paying for it. I chose to indulge a momentary pleasure which I knew was not in my best long-term interests, which isn't how I want to live. I believe an alpha consistently makes good choices for his own health.
This is where it gets tough, and I think that Shannon's suggestion of OF is going to help during Stage 6. I feel like I've backslid on my progress, and I have a fear that I haven't "made it", so I worry about starting WM2 in February. I'm filled with doubts, which have shown themselves in the posts I've made here in the past few weeks. Shannon's guidance on the matter has been not been substantial enough for me to feel like I know the criteria for making the right decision, which seems to be a clue in and of itself: an alpha would know, right? He'd be certain. I'm not: not right now. That's why I tell myself I'll make the decision in February.
tl;dr version:
And as I type this out, I had a minor epiphany: this is exactly the kind of self-doubt instilled by the Ego in Revolver. I have my very own Iago, and he's in my head. This lends credence to Shannon's suggestion to use OF during Stage 6. I want to start sooner, because I want to banish fear from my life.
Shannon: during what stages of AM5 is it OK to use OF or OGSF?
What should my daily exposure be to each product maximize efficiency?
I tried searching for this information, and found a secondary source which said it was OK to use OF during stages 4, 5, & 6, but finding AM-specific timing yielded nothing to my search skills. I plan to take the answer you provide and make it a FAQ-worthy post in the Men's Product Questions area, and if the information applies equally to the AF product, I can make a duplicate post in the Women's product area as well.
Fear is a liar.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -- Ernest Hemingway
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -- Ernest Hemingway
