Happy to be here with you all!

[Ameissen]

Hey everyone -- my name is Andrew and I'm here to continue my commitment to quit playing video games. I've noticed how much damage I've experienced with them in my hands. Suffering in life found me in that channel. But I'm so glad to have noticed that! Now I am living more freely.

I am really grateful for Cam's work here and for his message -- that the resistance, the challenge, even aspects of the withdrawal, are all illusions, illusions which dissipate when you realize the answer is just No! No to gaming, every time those feelings or thoughts or cravings to use or escape come up, anytime gaming is presented in life, anytime there's a thought or idea about gaming. The decision's just no. What a relief!

What's been guiding me is the realization that, after many years of meditation and various healing therapies, I love my life, and I want to live, not damage myself slowly through a self-destructive behavior. I'm happy for all the people who game a little and find enjoyment in it -- I'm glad for the times I got to enjoy games too. But I'm happier still to be moving on to new things. Life is full of bounty, and the more I do not game, the more I experience the great joy of being alive.

What a gift. Thank god.

As another note -- it's been helpful for me to commit to recovering my dopamine overall. Since April 26 I decided to focus my efforts on building good habits throughout a 2-month dopamine detox period. No games, no porn, no sex, no artificial sugar, no compulsive news checking, no mindless YouTube watching or similar Internet activities (I can tell when it's similar), and limited tech use for the first 4 hours of the day. It's been 10 days and it's been going so well.

What made me realize this actually works is that I went to a Zen monastery for 34 days (highly recommend) and used no technology the whole time. I saw what it was like to let my dopamine recover for real. Whoa. Pleasure in normal things. And satisfaction even without pleasure! A much happier, calmer life where I feel more of it, including the purpose to live and be happy.

May that purpose to live, to be happy, and to connect with all other people in your joy, find you. If you're reading this, this is all so worth it. This effort is essentially a big fat 'Yes!' to our lives.

Andrew Meissen

[allanjchiang]

Wow, sounds like you had an amazing experience. I've never visited a retreat before. I think I would like to do so.

[Ameissen]

I did! If you're ever interested, I went to Zen Mountain Monastery. They have a one-month residency program; you can stay as long as you like, and pay whatever you can. (They just hope it's more than $30, but if that's all you got, that's okay.) 

They're known for being one of the most disciplined monasteries with the strongest training programs. It was good for me. There are other monasteries too, depending on where you live, such as in California. This one is in New York.

If you decide to go, they vary their schedules each season, with the spring and fall being more intense (you wake up earlier, like as early as 3:55am) than the summer and winter. If I were to do it again I would go in the summer or winter when you can sleep a little more. I went in March. But at the same time, I did really benefit, even from the more intense spring season. I just like my sleep haha. But either way, you manage. It's fun and interesting, as well as life-changing.

What's most important is you go when you're ready, and when you want to get help from very kind people who will assist you in changing your life for the better.

Here is more information:

https://zmm.org/zmm/about-zmm-residency/