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Thread: Why does pornography work?

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    United States Avalon Member thepainterdoug's Avatar
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    Default Why does pornography work?

    Can logic and thinking override instinct? why does who's doing who, matter to so many people ?
    Go to a party , an art opening, and want to get someones attention, say, did you know he's sleeping with her! oh really? wow? what does she have that ba ba ba ....

    who the efff cares????
    well obviously everyone.

    why are we so fascinated and fixated on the act of sex? its not rocket science. this goes in there and this then happens! lol
    its 2020 and it works just as well as 1620 NO EVELOUTION at all

    I see this dance over and over again and realize its all an act of diminishing returns no different than cats doing it and then fur flying in a second .
    LOVE AND HATE CONFUSED WITH DESIRE AND DETACHMENT

    Yes I get it, we procreate. But you would then think, ok situation solved. but no!

    Why does watching this act , PORN, watching different people doing this captivate us ?, Stops businessmen in their tracks , and brings down Princes and Kings?

    ok, i not from planet earth


    d

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Your title focuses on pornography which is a whole vast topic in itself, one supposes, mostly related to addiction issues. But your post, a fascinating one indeed, is really about sex. S-E-X.

    I think what it comes down to is, it's the closest thing (maybe heroin runs a close second?) to being back in the womb. A moment of release from the demands of the world, an ecstatic rejoining with Mama, a place of pure comfort. A feeling of wholeness, everything gone--depression, money, self-deprecation, and ultimately sense of separate self.

    Sex is about losing yourself. Literally, a brief vacation from who we are, who we think we are. Floating in the womb ocean again, for a few moments.

    You more than hint above that it doesn't work, really. That there you are again, looking for the next hook-up. It's like everything else, really--a temporary fix. But it's still pretty nice, especially when you're in love.

    Add in edit: Sex on this planet has been distorted and abused like everything else. It's become in many cases about power -- who's doing whom, etc. It's hard to talk about Sex because it's the only game in town really. Sex and Death. But either of those without Love is just more sad games...
    Last edited by Caliban; 8th October 2019 at 04:37.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    To understand the power of attraction that sex holds over us it is necessary to understand the reason stems from the fact that we (as Spirit) are properly androgynous, having both male and female within us. We became separated (from our Higher Self) and the void left by that separation produces the shadowy longing that drives us to seek fulfilment in the finding of an 'earthly' mate, when in fact the emptiness we experience inside can only be remedied by reuniting with our true 'other-halves', it is our Spiritual mates that we really desire.

    The intense. overwhelming and at times insane drive that the sex function produces in humans is misplaced, it has erroneously become associated with or overlaid on the deep Spiritual longing for reunification that we have inside, this mires and degrades both sex (which is just another biological function) and the idea of Spiritual Love, not allowing either to be what it should rightly be.

    It makes people search here within the great illusion for a partner to fill that gaping hole inside when only unity with the Higher Self can do this. As well as sending people on a wild spiritual goose chase it also manages to ruin sex by associating it with this abstract, unrealistic and mostly unattainable ideal of 'romantic love'.

    Because of all this we have pornography which is just an attempt to break the bondage (no pun intended) of sex with romantic love. If we all practised Tantric Yoga, pornography would not be needed

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    caliban, yes your correct porn woks but then actually doesn't work. its a bottomless well. a moving target that can't be hit and held .

    pueblo said / It makes people search here within the great illusion for a partner to fill that gaping hole inside when only unity with the Higher Self can do this. As well as sending people on a wild spiritual goose chase it also manages to ruin sex by associating it with this abstract, unrealistic and mostly unattainable ideal of 'romantic love'.

    /very well said! t y

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Hi Doug.

    It's like asking why do people like to watch sports. It's more fun to play but watching can get you going just the same.
    Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water...Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. Bruce Lee

    Free will can only be as free as the mind that conceives it.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    As cynical as this is, I still think I am more cynical in regard to porn!

    Remember how George Carlin used to joke about maybe the Earth LIKES plastic, and that's why people were created - for plastic. Well sorry George, but I think "the Earth" likes porn a lot more than it likes plastic.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    thanks all, I think I endlessly marvel at the human . such a curious creature. a creator , a God, a deceiver a victim an agent of evil and on and on.
    the most curious of a version of porn to me is the ,slasher sex movies , heads being cut off while hot naked sexy bodies , boobs and what not are jiggling about .

    quentin tarrintino puts his thumb on some interesting impulses in a grind house film with kurt russel.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    I think the answer is fairly simple. Certain things have been built into our DNA. First and foremost is the survival of the human species. Sex ensures that survival and porn appeal to our sex drive.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Quote Posted by Caliban (here)
    Sex and Death. But either of those without Love is just more sad games...

    In simple terms, I see it this same way.

    Death forces include competition for resources, psychological superiority complexes, and so forth, that are always prowling, ready to strike. Nothing much good can be produced by it.

    Sex can be just as bad, but, it has a chance to be used differently, more for healing and peace, to produce a peaceful civilization.

    That was the purpose of Babylonian temple prostitutes. Men, especially after a battle, were considered to be under a curse of violence, and making sex easily available was considered the best way to get rid of it.

    These prostitutes were unlike other women, because they were highly educated, skilled in herbal medicine, and astrology and time keeping. The terms houri and whore come from here, along with horology, and hour. If we try to ignore them, and continue a mode of timekeeping using hours, well, the reminder is always there. Marriage is a contract for selling a person as a piece of property.

    I would agree that sex reflects the fact that soul is androgynous and the whole sexual attraction is just a tiny mirror suggesting the union of the male and female halves on a mental, moral, and spiritual plane. If there is a group of us who understand this, we do not get the privilege of suddenly being lifted from those who use it for mundane purposes, or the worse, as a manipulation, form of abuse, or trap, etc.

    I am not sure the broad application of sex as a healer is tantric, because tantra would be a specific practice done with a qualified partner, which, in many cases, consists of no type of romantic bond or relationship in the conventional sense. However, a lot of general outer practices could be considered groundwork for tantra. So there is a kind of middle ground. And, similarly to pornography, tantric practice also includes visualizing a desirable partner. Even with the lack of an image, the mind will turn to this rather naturally. Because images are now easier to make and use, people tend to go the easy way. From what I can tell, naked bodies and sex occupied a great deal of painstakingly-made sculptures in several societies. It's really never not been done, starting with the oldest black and white photography, up to, I guess, now, robots.

    Images can be about as powerful as the real thing, just like a dream.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    rgray222

    why do you think violence or fetishes often enter the picture ?

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Quote Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
    rgray222
    why do you think violence or fetishes often enter the picture?
    Sexual violence is really the culprit so I am not going to address fetishes.

    While the causes of sexual violence have not been fully understood.  It is my belief that religion and cultural norms play significant roles. Somehow we have been taught to think of sex as something that is not wholesome and healthy for society. When young men and women, men with men or women with women start having sex many think they are doing something that society frowns on or in some cases commiting a criminal act.  Many of those starting out on their sexual journey believe that they have done something wrong so it is not much of a step to graduate to pornography or even eventually to violence. Of course, many of those that had a violent sexual prepuberty experience are predestined to repeat that behaviour because they associate violence with sex.

    I completely understand why religion and certain cultures advance the thinking that sex is not a good thing, but mankind would be served much better if people just had a very honest and healthy view of sex long before they became sexually active.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    In order to qualify as an exercise in evolutionary progress the sex act should probably involve multiple partners who have to choreograph their movements in perfect synchrony. (I think that's a word)

    Only the most gifted would be able to pull it off. Their offspring would have from 4 to 8 parents, so more genetic diversity. The possible downside might be a baby that was almost too amiable and sensitive. In order to produce a little bit of the warrior, fearlessness would have to be part of the sex act as well.

    In that case, the possibility of your head blowing off your shoulders in orgasmic delight would have to be incorporated too.

    Porn operates on object A into slot B, which is grossly simple and I find it offensive for that reason alone. Now, if the actors were reciting Shakespeare at the same time.
    it would be a little less repulsive.

    Yes, porn entrenches us in the business as usual sexual model, which I hope we get beyond.
    Last edited by AutumnW; 8th October 2019 at 22:08.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Quote Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
    rgray222

    why do you think violence or fetishes often enter the picture ?
    There’s a further, uncomfortable element to the sex and violence neurons in the animals Anderson has studied: In the long term, each behavior reinforces the other. In other words, “animals with sexual experience are more aggressive than those without sexual experience,” says Anderson. He suggests that this tension could relate to maladaptive aggression in humans.

    https://qz.com/678186/theres-a-neuro...-and-violence/

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Here is some incredible slug porn. Very beautiful, though what exactly is going on there I am not quite sure! Its not violent though.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWwCMivDO2Q

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    should animals and or primitive man need to capture their sexual target, then violence would be an outgrowth of that. and we carry that over into a modern day where violence is not called for or needed. so we have remnants and instincts of violence that we need to keep in check. mixed signals that we even play with.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    The thread title made me chuckle a little: why does pornography work? beautiful women, naked, having sex in every way imaginable...right at your fingertips....only a click away...how could it possibly not work??? its irresistible. I watch it. I'm just as pervy as the next guy...and unapologetically so (and women are just as fascinated with it, don't kid yourself)

    Whether it's "good" or "bad" is an intellectually lazy debate. It's nuanced. Addiction to anything is detrimental, but not everyone who has a beer or gambles on a football game or watches porn is addicted. Sometimes It's merely a symptom of boredom...a way of passing time.

    It works because it's convenient. What it may be doing to my soul is another matter lol (and the souls of the performers). I'm too tired to unpack all that. But it's the equivalent of fast food...not necessarily good for you maybe, but wonderful in the moment ..with minimal prep and clean up required. No pregnancy or STD paranoia, no awkward post sex chatter, no worrying over whether the lighting makes you look fat, so forth. (I'm trying to avoid using the word "masturbation" for some reason, but I think everyone gets the point)

    Oh, and it's free.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    “Because we are psycho-neurologically excitable 😀 I think the live pulsing current running through our neural connections is technically the same thing ancients called Prana and so on.
    It isn’t simple since there’s an information transfer through the circuit we are barely aware off since it’s happening faster than mental process.

    In healthy brain, again this implies that brain has its own independent neural circuit where control mechanisms can be set and decided for itself and for the larger body mechanism can perfectly choose its own preferences.

    According to Yoga sciences even Mind and Energy - can meet -which we would probably better describe as frequency resonance in several points,
    such as heart , the crown and the “third eye” of immediate understanding as examples.

    We can get emotionally or intellectually excited by watching certain movie or listening to a discourse,
    we may feel empowered etc

    Of this all, we as human beings seem to need excitement not only for our better attenuation and hormonal release but in order to attenuate our frequency to the bigger whole.

    Speaking of life activity that involves our vital potential and seeds of future Life,
    it should be treated with utmost respect and awareness worth humane opinion.

    It’s a sacred activity of rebirthing ...it is violent in nature, here on Earth anyway which is why you really did not want to watch it at all, first and last.


    But if you did it’s really better to see it as special, sacred experience
    of some ...poor dear lost in space species ...


    As ancient yogic science would probably also agree following the moment of “great bliss” manifests the moment of ultimate clarity also called “clear light”

    so also all who were forgotten were found
    and those who slept long awakened

    🛎

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    I hear ya Mike. I think its an amusing title as well ! so why don't the same pictures work over and over ? why do we tire of it. what does that tell us about it? does it correlate to our real human mates? if we tire of the same beautiful man or woman in pictures and most of the time they are more beautiful than real life. , then we must tire of the same bodies we are with in real life . yes? no?

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Isn't that why they call it the honeymoon period? After that it becomes rote. There is nothing in life like a new love...

    But like a drug, the novelty wears off. Then it is only about satisfying an addiction. The thing to break the cycle is to remember the down side. You have to go through an addiction to break it.

    Same with couples. If it is merely an addiction, an infatuation, it will run its course and be over. If it is true love the novelty will wear off and love will shine through! Once you are in love, that never ends.

    It is not that a transgression cannot end true love, of course. Sometimes love means to let go...but often the depth of love cannot be breached regardless of the alleged offense. All can be forgiven if you are truly in love.
    Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water...Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. Bruce Lee

    Free will can only be as free as the mind that conceives it.

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    Default Re: Why does pornography work?

    Quote Posted by thepainterdoug (here)
    I hear ya Mike. I think its an amusing title as well ! so why don't the same pictures work over and over ? why do we tire of it. what does that tell us about it? does it correlate to our real human mates? if we tire of the same beautiful man or woman in pictures and most of the time they are more beautiful than real life. , then we must tire of the same bodies we are with in real life . yes? no?

    hi doug, thanks for the question. you always start interesting, thought provoking threads.

    porn does get tiresome and redundant. all pleasure chasing does. pleasure chasing only begets more pleasure chasing. a current baseline for pleasure will only last so long before one gets good and sick of it. then it's on to the next bigger and better thing. the problem is, it never ends. that's how addiction develops.

    i'm not anti-pleasure. but in a pure world, pleasure has to be earned. balance is required. you have to work for it. so when it arrives, you cherish and appreciate it. you're not so quick to move on to the next. you appreciate it. we get corrupted and rotten when things are handed to us without us having earned it in some way. we continually expect more. we feel entitled. we lack appreciation. we get spoiled.

    one of the best bits of wisdom i ever heard is this: do what is meaningful, not what is expedient. another way of saying that is: do your future self a favor. the meaningful act usually benefits the you in the future, while the expedient act is generally a now thing. the thing is, we all exist across time, and it's prudent to consider that when making any decision.

    sex used to come with responsibility. it might result in pregnancy, for example. now we have condoms and birth control. for the first time in history, we can have endless sex without the responsibility. we're still navigating these new waters, and haven't sorted out all the ramifications yet. porn is yet another dynamic. it's practically virtual sex. we've found yet another way to separate it from responsibility and consequences. it's great for the now, but we don't know exactly how it will affect our future selves yet.

    there's a spectrum, like with anything. in arab countries, porn might just be a godsend. there's so much sexual repression and distortion there. everyone is sexually frustrated. that's how they get young guys to blow themselves up - all those virgins in heaven, right? no pussy while on earth, but if you blow yourself up....

    those guys would greatly benefit from a daily jerk off or 2.

    here in the states, it's different. women are exposed everywhere, even in churches. i worked at one not too long ago, and the women arrived looking as though they were auditioning for Baywatch. everything is sexualized here, even spirituality. we might do well to dial it back a little.

    a real life relationship requires effort, and nurturing. you're much less likely to take it for granted. your spouse is likely nuanced and unpredictable and not always accessible. porn is the opposite. it's always there, and asks nothing from you. easy to take for granted. human beings are meant to push and pull against things; meaning is found in responsibility. a real flesh and blood relationship requires responsibility. and once invested, one is much less likely to toss it all to the side in favor of pleasure seeking. pleasure seeking folks are often responsibility-phobic. sure, you can get good and sick of your romantic partner, but it's only if that partner isn't challenging you in some way, or asking for all of you, asking you to be responsible. porn never asks those things of you. it's appealing in a sense, but also very predictable and boring..and much easier to tire from
    Last edited by Mike; 10th October 2019 at 05:04.

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