The Sober October Challenge – Today is day #1 for the October tolerance break

Today marks the beginning of sober October

A few years ago, Joe Rogan and his group of booze-drinking, stoned, and comedic friends started a challenge where they would stop drinking, stop smoking, and exercise every day throughout October.

For many years I really didn’t see the need to do a sober October as I did random tolerance breaks every now and then. Granted, my tolerance breaks have always lasted a week or two and didn’t involve actively burning at least 500 calories a day.

That’s why this year I decided to join Rogan and his gang of happy stoners in a month-long purge. I wanted to have an EXTREMELY sober October and cut out anything I “addicted” to like caffeine, but figured I could cut back on the coffee significantly. The reason I don’t go cold turkey on coffee is because I am HIGHLY ADDICTED to this substance.

It’s the drug I’ve been on the longest.

For this reason I am cutting back to 1 cup per day and instead of focusing so heavily on training I will commit to improving my awareness and mindfulness and of course improving my health.

The rest of the article will talk about the motivations for going sober in October, what exactly my daily routines will look like, and tips on how not to “fall off the wagon,” as they say.

Why sober October this year?

While I don’t necessarily feel like I have a “problem” with smoking weed, I do believe there is an advantage to “not” doing the things you love to do. Denying yourself your favorite substances is seeing how dependent you really are on them.

Because of this, I’m still not 100% ready to go decaffeinated.

I actually don’t think that smoking weed will not be a problem for me. I’ve done T-breaks many times and while the first day might be a little annoying, the truth of the matter is that once you keep yourself busy it’s not too big of a deal.

I don’t drink liquor either – which wouldn’t be a problem at all. I pretty much stopped drinking regularly almost 20 years ago, although I’ve been drinking more in the last few months or so.

Aside from all the substances I won’t be using, there’s another reason I’m doing Sober October this year.

I have to move in mid-November. Not a big deal, but I want to focus all of my attention and efforts on finding the right place that can accommodate my work and growing family.

So I use sober October and any associated fears that may arise as a means of motivating and focusing to achieve an intention that I set on day one!

But let’s take a closer look at what I’m going to do on a daily basis.

Abstinence is one thing…

It’s pretty clear that I won’t be smoking any weed at all this entire month. That’s probably a good thing as I just pruned a plant from balcony buds and it would take about a month to cure. I’m not too hopeful about this last bud as it had some serious issues during growth and suffered from some ‘bud rot’ for the most part.

This forced me to cut out a few weeks early so trichome development is weak.

Nonetheless, this will be a pleasant way to end a sober October by taking a hit of my own weed. In addition, coffee is significantly reduced, as is sugar (although I hardly eat any sugar), I give up my chocolate treats and so on. Of course, alcohol is also avoided.

But what will I do every day?

1. breathwork

2. yoga

3. Exercise (some cardio/strength)

4. magic

5. Semen Retention (aka No Fap)

These 4 pillars will sustain me through sober October and hopefully I can incorporate this new workout and wellness program after October. I’ll talk a little more about each of the following points.

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I love breathwork! When you understand that breath directly affects your nervous system, you understand that mastering it and learning how to breathe properly will make you a “more effective person”!

Luckily, I have 30+ pre-made breathwork routines to choose from, which makes this part pretty easy. All I have to do is block between 30 minutes and 1 hour a day and I can definitely achieve that goal.

As for the type of breathing exercises I plan to do, I think I’ll be focusing on active “tummo” style breathing for most of the week. This is more like your “Wim Hof ​​Method” of breathing.

On the weekends, when I have a little more time, I will engage in “Transpersonal Breathwork” – a rhythmic, almost shamanic style of breathing. When you engage in this style of breathing, crazy things happen! It’s almost like a psychedelic experience.

Using the breath as a way to manage my anxiety will make it a lot easier not to smoke weed. It’s something that requires at least 5 minutes a day and can have amazing benefits in your life!

This is another practice I really enjoy doing, except I’m not as consistent with it as I am with breathwork. I plan to reverse this in October and do some form of yoga, even if it’s 10 minutes a day. Yoga is also a great “pre-breathwork activity” to help you amplify your breathwork experience. This is because yoga is essentially a “mindfulness activity.”

It also helps get rid of stress and tension in the body, resulting in a clearer mind. Again, this will help me with any kind of cravings I might have and allow me to last through the month.

While I walk daily (I have a large dog that needs to stretch his legs) – I’ve been lazy when it comes to actual exercise. As a result, I now have a light stomach. It’s not a “BELLY”, but I’m a skinny guy and that’s why even the smallest belly is noticeable.

I’m supposed to shred that stomach back down to the six pack I used to have when I was 20. I was lucky because I had a six pack without having to exercise. My body also responds very well to exercise and within a few weeks I’m starting to gain muscle and burn fat. So I’m going to do strength training and some cardio.

For cardio, I’ll probably jump rope for 5-10 minutes a day. I’m not a big fan of “running” unless it’s running from the police or deadly wild animals, and while I enjoy bike touring, I don’t have a bike at the moment.

Therefore, a skipping rope seems to be the best choice for this. 10 minutes of skipping rope burns fat, increases circulation and eliminates the need for jogging. As for strength, I don’t like weights that much, so I’ll be using my own bodyweight to do push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.

If push comes to shove, I’ll pick up some kettlebells later because I want to tone my body a little more.

After all, I’m going to deal with Magick every day. I’ve been practicing magic for a few years now and there are times when I’m more “committed” to the work than other times. For the following month, I intend to do magic in one way or another every day.

But how do you make magic?

One of the easiest ways is to just make a list of what you want and write them down in order of priority. Then look at it every day, visualize it, tune into the emotional field of it – and go your way.

However, in my case I will work on invoking my astral temple daily, casting a spell and performing daily gratitude rituals.

Your gratitude ritual can be as simple as waking up, sitting down, and focusing on a few things that make you grateful to be alive. Well, to be clear, this doesn’t mean that you only have to think about the person or activity that makes you grateful — you have to evoke and embody the “feeling of gratitude.”

For example, if a cup of coffee makes you grateful – don’t think of the cup of coffee in the context of the memory, but sense how it makes you feel and sit with that feeling for a few minutes. This is ACTUALLY practicing gratitude.

This is probably one of the harder ones for me. For a long time I didn’t see any value in the “No Fap” movement, mainly because the name “No Fap” is delayed. Hence I use the term “seed retention” which is actually based on some serious esoteric practices.

Nonetheless, this means that I will not be watching porn or masturbating for the entire month of October. I’ve done this in the past and every day you hold back the need to “let go”, you channel energy and when you learn to move that energy and channel it into something productive – you can achieve significant things.

There are many historical figures who practice seed conservation to achieve their goals!

What are my expectations?

Well, to get straight to the point – I’m sure I’m getting healthier overall. Not because I “don’t” use certain substances, but rather because I will take an active approach to improving my physical, emotional, and mental health.

Also, I expect there will be resistance along the way. There will be a few moments when I want to smoke a joint or something to “take the edge off”, but I know it’s just a challenge of will, and by focusing on my daily rituals – should I be in be able to walk it out.

The hardest part for me will probably be semen retention. Although I do this most of the time, there is a sense of difficulty (especially for a man). You see, men create millions of sperm a day and their physiological purpose is to spread the semen as widely as possible.

Modern technology gave us porn at the touch of a button, and so masturbation became incredibly easy and common practice.

However, how many guys reading this can’t go without a wank one day? The thing about masturbation combined with porn is that it rewires your brain differently and you become “addicted” to the action. This loop then refocuses your mind on finding more “loot,” which then triggers more “sticks,” which are then beaten back into submission.

However, if you interrupt this process, you will quickly discover what a monstrous power is within you. You realize that jerking off is draining your power and holding you back.

Does this mean I will not have sex with my partner? Of course not! This means that I practice tantric sex and if I “bust a nut” over sex, that’s fine. I’ll just refrain from pleasing myself.

last words

At the end of the day, all of these activities serve to give my subtle energies a mirror and see where I am dependent on substances or actions and how to focus my mind and body to achieve greater things in my life.

It’s a challenge I want to take on every year now and I encourage others to try it too. You may not have to be as resilient as my challenge, but doing something difficult and denying yourself the things you love and depend on is a great way to expand your personal development and reach your maximum potential!

TOLERANCE BREAKS, READ MORE…

WHAT IF YOU T-BREAK AND STILL CAN’T GET HIGH?