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Hey guys I was just wondering what feeds your soul when your feeling down? What lifts you up when problems are holding you down?

Dancing plays a big part in relasing my tension.

Also writing in my journal and writing poems help nourish my soul.

Hot pockets and slim jims.

corn

i could be all "realjock" and say a run, and i wouldnt be lying, but really, ice cream.

i know i am depressed when i decide to buy 4 lbs of laffy taffy at target and continue to eat it none stop until it's gone.
then i go fuck whats wrong lol

i also enjoy getting lost in a very complicated story of a video game

My art.... all of my best art has stemmed from dark times in my life... also my fighting gym too

Endorphins!

Good god, are you telling me that all the jock boys on here aren't using endorphins as a natural high? What's the world coming to???

selflessness.

*shutter*

Mmmm the music makes me feel so not-clean

Shantideva, Mary Oliver, Rainer Marie Rilke, Rumi, Hafiz.

My friends.

Gosh I think this might be the gayest answer so far but Will & Grace....

1. Involvement in E.G.C. as a member of my spiritual community and working with Ordo Templi Orientis - participating in initiations and fraternal gatherings.

2. Writing & Painting

3. Daily running & going to the Gym.

4. Reading. Currently on my shelf:
The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Hans Dieter Betz
Beloved and God, Boylston Lambert
Strength Training Anatomy, Delavier
The Gnostic Gospels, Marvin Meyer, ed.

RITS067 saidGosh I think this might be the gayest answer so far but Will & Grace....

...I prey to Karen every night before bed.

Listening to Vedic chants

Reading Eckhart Tolle and others

Watching some silly comedy on TV

Sending completely random texts with little or no relevance to anything what-so-ever.

Making others happy.

Playing tennis, even when I loose lol.

Riding my bike.

Playing a violent videogame. (sometimes you just gotta let yourself be angry)

Food (unfortunatly)

Reading

Playing with my dogs.

going for a hike or walking along the beach; spending time alone to meditate heps me center myself. Hitting the gym hard after work helps reduce daily stress.

Music;

Helping others;

Reading.

Big motorcycle biking. Nothing like a freedom of zooming thru highway to some places I never been to. The breeze, the sun , moon and star , the changing scenery and weather. Nothing feed my soul like biking on my motorbike.

BradySF said Rainer Marie Rilke

"Du muss dein Leben andern!"
-- Archaischer Torso Appollos

Thanks for reminding me how rewarding he is - it's been years since I've taken his poems off the shelf.
My usual sustenance for down times is chamber music. I love the way the three or four instruments speak to each other.

crushing the hopes and dreams of children

helping someone else

Daft Punk.

SurrealLife saidMusic;

Helping others;

Reading.

Everything he said. And running.

Meditation of course. Connecting to the source that powers everything will ummm... lift depression..

Get involved with volunteering of some form or the other...allows you to meet a variety of people outside of your normal circles of influence...which in my book is not a bad thing...

The blood of virgins... oh.. wait...

BJJMMAFighter saidMy art.... all of my best art has stemmed from dark times in my life...

To pick up a pencil and pad of paper to illustrate... maybe BJJMMAFighter would like to model for me? Mew... I mean Rawr!

Nakedness, outdoors. If I'm naked on a beach, nothing is really that bad.

Timberoo saidcrushing the hopes and dreams of children

LOL

Music, good times with family and friends, and The Office/30 Rock.


And sometimes, soccer.

Big Mac and large fries and iced tea. My constant cure all

reading, writing, music, reflexology/shiatsu/deep tissue massage/yoga/meditation

Hair of virgin, tongue of lizard, eye of newt. Boil for 5 minutes in cauldron. Chill. Serve with mayonaise. Feeds the soul like no other.

It's weird, but horror movies help me out of a down time. They make me laugh.
Meditaion is another way for me to uplift my spirits. Soothing music helps me release tension as well.

Reading, Music, and the Game Show Network

Taking pictures, going to art museums, going to the park or botanic gardens, and sometimes just getting out of the house and walking around.

Sometimes a good long walk will help me clear my head. Also playing the video game Hulk: Ultimate Destruction will strangely calm down any mood I am in. Nothing like picking up a bus smashing it into a helicopter and then picking up the burning wreckage of that helicopter and smashing it into another one.

I feed on the souls of innocents.

ART, feeds my soul!!!!!
as well as praying..

soul-juice and grapefruit

My journal
Running
Gardening

Most of all, a genuine smile and a warm hello.

i know it sounds corny, but... experiencing beauty

chocolate

Running when I'm listening to good music does it for me. Being able to hit my stride with the perfect song blasting in my ears pretty much makes the world go beautifully blurry for a few, brief minutes.

Cookies.

michae4 saidi know it sounds corny, but... experiencing beauty

That's not corny at all. I have the same feeling - and beauty can be defined in so many different ways.

Smelling flowers.

This is the Key of the Kingdom
In that Kingdom is a city;
In that city is a town;
In that town there is a street;
In that street there winds a lane;
In that lane there is a yard;
In that yard there is a house;
In that house there waits a room;
In that room an empty bed;
And on that bed is a basket--
A Basket of Sweet Flowers:
Of Flowers, of Flowers;
A Basket of Sweet Flowers.

Flowers in a Basket;
Basket on the bed;
Bed in the chamber;
Chamber in the house;
House in the weedy yard;
Yard in the winding lane;
Lane in the broad street;
Street in the high town;
Town in the city;
City in the Kingdom--
This is the Key of the Kingdom.
Of the kingdom this is the Key.

~Anonymous

Beauty !

Music like this:

Watching waves crash, embers flicker, steam waft.

study of the occult,

diesel jeans,

yoga/the gym,

being massaged,

cashmere,

spontaneous road trips with friends,

smoking hookah with friends and philosophizing till 2am,

walking my dog in historic downtown Annapolis around the harbor,

roller-coasters,

nights spent on beaches; sea-breezes and crashing surf,

perfect weather,

cuddling- platonically or otherwise,

escapism from my current stresses in dangerously hedonistic indulgences- bad for the wallet, great for temporary ease of mind

Well, if I'm not down so low that I just can't do anything, I find that helping someone else is my best remedy. Giving can be a powerful rope for pulling one out of the pit!

Acting, and talking and helping other people.
Any one of those things help me when i feel like i'm losing it.
I feel making those connections with others really makes me feel connected with something bigger than i can really imagine *shrug*

chocolate.

my little man!

getting so big!

RITS067 saidGosh I think this might be the gayest answer so far but Will & Grace....

I DARE any depressed gay man to watch Will and Grace - and remain depressed.

comic books and cartoons

Running.

That moment when you cross your plateau and the body just shifts into 'ongoing' gear. There's nothing more uplifting for me.

Prayer.

Music.

Cheesecake.

porn and js bach, not at the same time

RunintheCity saidRunning.

That moment when you cross your plateau and the body just shifts into 'ongoing' gear. There's nothing more uplifting for me.

Yeah, I agree! I is a very uplifting feeling which pushes body to go further.

RunintheCity saidRunning.

That moment when you cross your plateau and the body just shifts into 'ongoing' gear. There's nothing more uplifting for me.

Crossing that plateau . . . it's going from being merely alive to being life itself.

BlkMuscleGent saidPrayer.

Music.

Cheesecake.

. . . at the same time?

running

loud club music

dancing

gym

fried chicken

silence

working out

biking

reading

the sun

silkrock saidHey guys I was just wondering what feeds your soul when your feeling down? What lifts you up when problems are holding you down?

Dancing plays a big part in relasing my tension.

Also writing in my journal and writing poems help nourish my soul.

DANCING is very much an uplifting/spiritual time for me too.
And my art - - - it connects me to the creative forces that made this universe....yeah, yeah I know it sounds corny! hehehe oh well....see for yourself and enjoy!



5" round. Koi Japanese watercolors, Staedtler triplus color pens, and acrylic medium mixed with pigment powders for detailing and absorbent ground on canvas. Description of Mosiac Energy Series: "My vision and memories of Mediterranean mosaics imbue spiritual energy. The inspiration for this series is more about color combination than actual physical form. In essence, I yearn to capture the spiritual emotions derived from prayer or meditation.""



Saharan Phoenix (Limited series #3 of 7) 20" x 24" framed - Acrylic medium mixed with pigment powders on clayboard. Throughout history the rebuilding of civilizations and cities is prominent throughout the Middle East. The Phoenix represents life. A symbol of hope that can spring from the violence of the past."

Reach out to old friends that I have lost touch lately. Start a writing project. Participate in forums. Gardening. Go for a hike and take pictures of wildflowers. Organize old pictures. Read a book I bought some time ago but haven't had time to open. Cook a good meal with fresh ingredients from the market.

MtndudeSF saidReach out to old friends that I have lost touch lately. Start a writing project. Participate in forums. Gardening. Go for a hike and take pictures of wildflowers. Organize old pictures. Read a book I bought some time ago but haven't had time to open. Cook a good meal with fresh ingredients from the market.

Playing with children. Holding a kitten up to my face. Mercilessly tickling a puppy.

Painting anything. Listening to music by artists no one has heard of. Dancing naked in the rain (yes, I've done this, a it's deliciously pagan act of worship).

Having a good cry (then later wondering, "Now what was that about?"). Burning something in the kitchen. Then later wondering, Now what was that about?

Polishing off a good bottle of red wine. Or two. Or an entire cellar. Making out with a complete stranger (oh reader, don't try this at home!). Discovering coffee and book shops so remote that not even their owners know they exist yet.

That sort of thing.

Soul? What, that old thing? I sold mine years ago.

The suffering of the innocent

Charity. Seeing myself in others and understanding the laws of affinity, cause and effect. xx

Ghen saidThe suffering of the innocent

No one deserves it more than the innocent

hector2009 said

RunintheCity saidRunning.

That moment when you cross your plateau and the body just shifts into 'ongoing' gear. There's nothing more uplifting for me.

Yeah, I agree! I is a very uplifting feeling which pushes body to go further.

I also agree. Running it is for me.

Well, if anything comes to mind about soul and spirituality it is the concept of afterlife and Heaven that intrigue me a lot.

I believe "Heaven" will be like Having the ability to manage an area in the blink of an eye like Morpheus does in the training programs shown in "The Matrix"

Hanging out with my climbing buddies.

Cocaine.

Though mostly it's spin class and hockey. Both of those lift my spirits when Im feeling a bit down.

my nieces and nephews!

Sleeping.

Art is my soul. Any form of it; dance, writing, fine art...

Fine art is my field. It is very liberating to transfer a raw emotion onto paper.

Sing, church, friends and family

telling someone about it, and a really killer workout

1.) Naked Gardening, preferably in a warm light sprinkle, with a side of M&M Peanuts. (or, when I'm really in deep dires, chocolate chips, a jar of peanut butter, and a big spoon.)
2.) Catharting in the wraps of a largely muscled hairy chest & arms.
3.) Alternating between #s 1 & 2, repeatedly.

Time spent with good friends
Running
The beach/ocean
Music (especially groups like God Is An Astronaut & Mogwai)

Running on the beach with with my best friend and our dogs while listening to great music followed by good food and having drinks on the roof deck while we watch the sun set is my idea of a perfect day.

And the fact that genius like this exists:

Ice cream and Sci-fi.

butterscotch pudding or any kind of enchiladas

Well, when i am upset or depressed i tent to go shopping.
I know my closet cannot possibly hold any more closes.
Still, a new pair of tight jeans, new watch from Macy's, kul looking
skinny people underwear, or a supper tight shirt...
I really walk out of the mall with several bags of things...

jose'

PRAYER

friends/buddies

working out

music

cleaning house with loud music, doing laundry and a hair cut

weezer

pokemon on my gameboy

a sweet workout

a good friend

Lately what's been feeding my soul has been being creative. Right now I'm getting together another great halloween costume. This one is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Silkrock: I notice a common thread in what raises your spirits - creativity. You do that when you write in your journal, write poetry or create a Halloween costume. Perhaps that's where you should direct your attention when you're down.

Cookies...holding back from laughing in an inappropriate place, the tears welling up...making my guy come...

Art, either making it or experiencing it
Music, and dancing shamelessly in public without warning
at the same beat walking like i just suddenly became a model at a
Dolce & Gabbana show
Shopping! Yeah, it sounds shallow,but that's the fun of it
So is checking out guys
And hanging around with friends who've been with me through thick and thin
But at the end of the day
it's Solitude and reminding my strengths as a person
is what feeds my soul.

riding my bike

Sayrnas said

RITS067 saidGosh I think this might be the gayest answer so far but Will & Grace....

...I prey to Karen every night before bed.

I can live without Will & Grace, but I sure do miss Karen... (and sometimes Jack)...anyone who can say "honey ... vodka isn't JUST a breakfast beverage!" is my kind of girl...

syd_hockey_79 saidCocaine.

Though mostly it's spin class and hockey. Both of those lift my spirits when Im feeling a bit down.

Cocaine?...Syd, what's your address?

Cum!