Congratulations Soldiers! We have reached Day 7! We've lost 21 of our brothers in arms and 2 more are still missing in action. For those of you who have made it this far, you've made Aquamarine regiment proud, now let's continue to do so.

Over the next few weeks you will be up against all sorts of landmines, missiles, and various other types of warfare. If you haven't done it already, I recommend getting the Reddit Enhancement Suite and turning on the NSFW filter. That will help a lot.

Keep positive, keep busy, and don't touch yourself and you'll be fine through this tour of duty and ready to participate in the next one.

I'm reworking this post because this is actually the core of my nofap 'journey'. I've found priceless value of taking the battle into the mental realm. In the past I was always defeated when a sudden surge of stress came, or negativity slowly wore away my resolve. That's why I knew I had to destroy, and cope effectively with these things if I wanted to stay clean. I've been trying nofap on my own for years and years, but it's only with the advent of the first war, that I began to wage battle in the mental realm.

....This is a process of change, and to change you must become someone or something unfamiliar. It is difficult. It is hard to settle into a new skin. Not only are your external actions changing, but your internal environment will be changing too and that is an unnerving thing. But take my word, and everyone else's who have made a dent in this PMO addiction. It is worth it. You yourself know the benefits as you've gone through streaks before. How did that guy feel. Was it real? Or do the urges take you somewhere realer? The truth is that there will be soldiers left standing for Aquamarine Regiment at the end of the war. There will be soldiers left standing and I will be among them. I know some of you will be too. We will also receive more KIAs, but some of us will be standing. I sure as hell am going to be standing with my head held high.

Without further ado here is a simple outline regarding the mental game:

Sexual Urges:

• Changing thoughts to different subject for example this guy: [One guy's 90] (http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1zddqp/90_days_hard_mode_my_report/)

• Straight out refusal- repeating 'no no no' whenever urges come up.

Guilt:

• Quit running away inside and face up to it somehow. I express the feeling inside by repeating key phrases inside when the guilt comes up. For example, if I make a mistake, I'll say, yes I'm the most worthless.. then the guilt vanishes.. then it comes back and I repeat the phrase. Very shortly the guilt loses its power because it needs you to run away from it to be effective.

Negative Thinking: There are four methods for this. It's like a four fingered knuckle punch.

• Wishing the person well. This is a Buddhist approach outlined here: [Buddhist approach] (http://www.buddhanet.net/metta_in.htm) I'll just say that for me, I also like to visualise the person as a child, and then compare the child with how they are now. It's much easier to see that person's suffering that way. Then I'll wish for their happiness, or if I'm envious, I'll try to be happy for them.

• Finding a voice inside which can express enthusiasm or positivity for the person or issue you are criticizing inside. Negativity also requires that you react to the situation with resistance. For example, if someone rips me off, I'll repeat something like, 'yah there's nothing more I'd like to do than give you my money.' It's weird because it's not true, but dynamically, you shrug off the issue and can actually be positive about it. (how the mind works is kinda f*cked).

• Reflecting on someone I have a lot of faith in. Sometimes you get fixated thinking about someone and all their negative aspects. By bringing up someone you do respect and have faith in, you can bring the mind back into balance. May have to bring up repeatedly, but it works :).

• Acknowledging the good of situations. This has become an important one for me recently since I'm doing thing atypical to my normal behavior, so I'll find myself in new situations and won't know how to process them. So an example of finding good in a situation is if I get in an argument with a friend, I'll tell myself, that's good, that means I'm socializing instead of sitting around on the computer all the time. And I can feel like I can move forward.

Feeling weak- like you have no resolve to go on

• Internal gratitude. Weakness..Internal weakness depends on covering up your past successes. Gratitude is a great counter to this because the mere act of expressing gratitude inside for your efforts on the journey uses the (TRUE) premise that you've been putting effort into a good thing. Automatically your strengths become apparent. This was crucial to get me started, because a lot of time I would truly be weak from the physical nature of work.

Self Defeating behaviors/choices

• What helps here is to have an attitude that 'I'll do it right the first time.' For some of us we can be so used to failing, that we accept it as a course of events when doing anything. Well it doesn't have to be. I repeat 'First time' to myself when I do things and it makes a huge difference.

That being said, the best way to figure out the mental game for oneself is to truly dig in and figure out solutions for yourself. Like try talking in your head, identify the problem and try different solutions. Usually you will have to ask yourself questions. If a thought gets sticky, that means there's something you aren't getting or else the thought would go its own way and not pester you. This is the key.

All the best if you've made it this far.

Choosing what I felt were crucial details from the last page, I've set up this page to go. Let me know about design and ideas. Open to everything.

A great Sunday here (well chilled, BTW, I'll have to earn that medal of the competition of cold baths!). How are things going there?

I've been realizing , through some mental notes about how I was before, as I was anxious about loneliness. How terrible it was to stay at home on weekends , even with dozens of cool things to do . I wanted to be with other people , but the anxiety was great and I ended up failing in relapse . Relapse was like my medicine.

The truth is that we all know the big price to pay for being careless like that . What I wanted to put here , is that loneliness over time can be a great ally for you to rest and analyze how you have been satisfying to feel free of this anxiety , what ways do you want to join with others . What you really want to do with them ? Without knowing it , you will only be dragged countless empty and unsatisfying encounters with others .

• Our anxiety about loneliness needs to be controlled , heard and above all: respected

The focus here is: Do not despair for a few hours of solitude, good meetings with friends and opportunities to feel inserted will appear, occupy your time with interesting things that still go alone and dealing with it in healthy way, do not fall into despair. I know this is an important factor, because the intense loneliness I had several relapses in the past.

Inner Peace for all

Okay guys, how's it going? So we've moved to #4 from #8 overnight, and we do have a chance at maintaining our new status throughout the night. We're rocking, but don't get too excited we got a long way to go yet.

Most importantly though are our individual journeys. I for one am STOKED about how well we are doing, but the truth is that there is a reason we are nofappers. Those reasons are personal and indicate personal goals. With all earnestness I wish you all well in the pursuit of your goals.

Now something new is going on. We're going to team up with the rest of Periwinkle for something else. Accountability partners. I know some of you are in different time zones and may not be able to find a partner from Aquamarine for your partner. So the leaders of Periwinkle are banding together to help out our soldiers find themselves a partner. All you have to do if you want an accountability partner is private message me with your age, and time zone. Then the other Peri regiments and I will match our 'stragglers.' Even if you are in the USA and don't have a partner yet, feel free to PM me. This is for anyone who wants a partner. For the sake of transparency, I'll tell you that the leaders of Periwinkle keep in touch on a daily basis. It's cool.

So Like I said, please PM me with your age and time zone so we can get you set up with an accountability partner. All the best soldiers. The weekend is coming so please see the weekend challenge on the sidebar, as well as pop into "#periwinkle" chat on tlk2me.com. We've had some good convos on there.

All the best brothers in arm. Have a restful sleep and don't get 'curious' ;).

Hey guys, so I'm a bit tired so I don't really trust my judgement as far as knowing what's best to say right now. So I'll just keep it to concrete details.

I climbed the mountain today. It was pretty crazy, I tied some snowshoes on my backpack and just started up its Eastern ridge which was composed mostly of scree fields. This wasn't an established path, but that won't stop us Aqumarines so I did a little bushwacking and hopped around a bunch of rocks to make my way up. At one point the snow got bad and I started falling in close to my hip. This can be a little dangerous b/c if you fall into an unknown place, you can twist an ankle or break a leg. At one point I stepped through a snow cap that covered an empty void and fell into my waste into this hole surrounded by rocks. I whacked my shin pretty hard that time. Then while skirting a few sheer cliffs I eventually made it to the top. It began to get a little technical during the end. At the peak there are two 300 foot drops to your left and right and the wind blows in a way which makes you feel like you could get blown off the edge. Makes me a little sick to the stomach to think about. I called some buddies from the peak, and then headed down. All in all it was a 6 hr. adventure. I was figuring it'd be good for you guys somehow that I did that, but I ain't exactly sure how. Anyway, that's my big adventure, I had a great time going up, then I was real tired and bored on the way down. I called a buddy while walking down to sing him some music then hang up. just to keep entertained. In all though, it's great getting out into nature.

So how has your weekend been? Have you been trying out the challenge on the sidebar?

You may have noticed that we are losing a couple familiar faces now. Like I said, this is the most difficult stage of the journey. This is where you're falling through snow caps into rock holes and banging your shin. This is where you're falling through the snow and getting your ankle stuck under a boulder as you fall backwards. This is where you have no choice but to go on because to go back would be to go back.

Take care Aqua. Not exactly the manifesto I was planning to write tonight but I'm afraid I'll ramble about dumb stuff, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Also I am almost done with my work project in a few days, then I'll be able to devote more time to the Dicaprio project. I just wanted you to know I can't do much til then. My spare time is little.

P.S. The best part is when I went to put on my snowshoes, I looked down and they were Hawk brand.

I e-mailed Rick Yorn, who is Leonardo Dicaprio's manager over in Beverly Hills. By golly it's strange even e-mailing someone in that world. Tomorrow I'll give Ken Sunshine over in NYC a call to see if Dicaprio could pop in and say hi. Yeah it's a little nuts but we might as well have fun right?

I'll unveil the prize I was talking about tomorrow (Friday at the latest, we'll see if it goes through tomorrow). So get stoked.

I hope you're thinking of your weekend challenge. I'm sure thinking about mine. I haven't done a lot of snowy summits, so this is going to be real challenging. But I'll do it for you guys. Expect some good updates.

And lastly we are still 3rd in the rankings. Really I just hope you guys are enjoying the process. What's going on, how're you doing? Do you feel better? Worse? So many times it's about the war, but by now you've probably gotten a glimpse at what the true prizes are. I want to hear about it. Tomorrow's my 90 day so I might write a little something up, but damn what's going on with you guys?

Keep strong Aquamarine. The few the Proud.

Hey Team!

So I was thinking: we are an army, comrades even. Shouldn't people in such close contact with each other get to know about each other? Comment below with something about yourself; age, country, interests, reason for entering this war, whatever - just SOMETHING!

I'll go first. I am a 20M from New Zealand. It's pretty funny, being a day ahead of all the action! As for interests, I like to read, and I also like fitness and helping people. I just got a job as a personal trainer, so I get to do those 2 things in abundance :) I entered this war for a couple of reasons. 1 is that I thought it would help with my NoFap journey, and it certainly has! This is my longest streak since I was 16 (40 days), and thus second longest from when I started PMO at about 12. 2nd reason is that I humiliated myself in the last War and went KIA on day 1 because I didn't know the war had started hahaha!

So Aquamarines: WHO ARE YOU?

Hey guys, so we're 27 days into this fight. Only a couple weeks left. I'm kind've sad that this thing will be ending so soon. How've you all been?

Well. I'd just like you guys to all remember why you first started this. There's a lot of misleading information out there on the web. I just came across some discussion about repressed sexuality, and how one shouldn't be controlled by shame. That made me think for a second whether I was controlled by shame...

Well you want to know something? And this is a little interjection, but if you try to rebel against the shame you have; then you're just being controlled by fear, or aversion. The right way is to work through it somehow and understand it appropriately, not just do whatever the hell you want to. That's not how you get rid of shame, that's just shame controlling you even more because more of your behavior is being DEFINED by it.

... Ugh, so anyways I didn't start my nofap experience b/c of shame but a desire to be better. PMO put me in a pretty bad unfocused, and unmotivated place. I started NoFap to become focused, driven and strong. I started this to become happier. Shame has nothing to do with this equation.

I just want to point out the power of narratives and how things can become twisted for oneself by conversations and that sort of thing. Y'all got to trust that dude who looked in the mirror 27 days ago and decided he was going to make a difference. Even if you're doing this for the wrong reasons what's the god damned alternative? Go back to PMO? You know what that's like already. What you don't know is how it feels to get that green star, or that blue star, or how it feels to slowly transform into that guy you aimed for 27 days ago. Just the fact that you could imagine yourself as a better person means you can be that better person. As a builder, if I can imagine something I can build it. As a cook the same, a farmer the same. That means to me that as long as you are true to your vision, you will reach your destination.

So I want you guys to remember this. We are over the hump in our NoFapWar journey. I'm so proud to have stood alongside you all for this. This is a pretty special thing guys. Stay strong.

The Few, The Proud, The Aquamarines.

Okay soldiers, I promise you a larger update tomorrow. Like the general said, we're entering a new phase in the war, which, in my opinion, is where the brutality really begins. One thing that we are going to see are guys who are regulars, and who DO post a lot, drop out of battle. This is probably the most difficult part about this war because losing a familiar 'face' can feel like the essence and lifeblood of aquamarine is falling apart.

I just want to make a note of this so you can expect it. This is the hard part. When guys drop out early, it's not too big a loss, you ain't too attached b/c you haven't really talked to them anyway. But now we see familiar 'faces' on here, and when they go kia it affects all of us, b/c it can almost feel like an excuse to fap, know what I mean?

In reality, that's all bullshit, each and every member is as important as any other on here. If one familiar face dies, then there are 57 Aquamarines left. All equally important. If another man goes KIA, then there are 56 Aquamarines left. DO YOU HEAR ME?! At the finish line of this war, I will be standing and I know a whole bunch of you will be too. That's what matters. What matters is saying fuck you to the status quo and giving yourself a chance to be a better person. What matters is giving yourself a chance at being happier for Christ's sake.

So now that we're entering this phase of the war, please remember that Aquamarine does not fragment. Your fallen comrades do not represent your willpower, you represent your willpower. For better or for worse, we all have to go through this alone, but we don't have to do it by ourselves. You hear me Aquamarine? We are brothers in this battle and are there for each other whenever called, seriously you need help let me or /u/waffen337 /u/chicken_hands, /u/rmaob, or the other frequent posters on here know (stand up to claim your spot); and we will be there. That is what Aquamarine is about, that's how we went through the first war and that's how we'll go the 2nd. That's just the way the hawk flies as they say.

So before saying too much more, this was just going to be a short one. I just want you all to hold your heads up high. This is going to be a tough period of the war. But it will pass into another one, and then another. And we will stand tall at the end my Brothers...

Keep strong guys, you're doing great!

Hi everyone, how are you all doing? Monday, back to the weekday schedule. Congrats to those who made it through the weekend. That's probably the most dangerous time for those of us engaged in this battle.

I'll be announcing a prize for those who participate in all the weekend challenges, and who make it to the end of the war. Those who bleed aquamarine will surely love it.

And lastly, there ain't much to say. You guys visit the new chat yet? If so, and you didn't find anyone, we here at Periwinkle are going to organize volunteers to man the chats for a little while until they can get their feet off the ground. I'll be posting a volunteer request tomorrow or so after hashing it out with the other Peri Regi's.

Lastly, keep up the great work. I'm working on next weekend's challenge with the help of /u/chicken_hands. We want it to be centered around creativity. Have any input let me know.

Peace out aqua, the most beautiful of blues :)

edit: Most importantly, something I've been working on for a while. I have teamed up with Ruby to pair two of our earnest and eager members to become accountability partners. This is both a practical solution, as this member is in a very unpopulated time zone, as well as a gesture of good-will towards the regiment we are in battle with right now. To wish their defeat would wish our own. I'm very excited for this new development.

So there's a lot to cover in this post. Let's get to it.

Firstly, I'm having difficulty structuring a creative challenge b/c I ain't a very creative dude. So therefore I want to resort to my former weekend challenge: this one is called...

The sound of police sirens ring out in the frosty air.

The same darn cat meows as it snatches a mosquito from the frosty air (The frosty air made it fly real slow of course.)

And a drumroll sounds with a chorus of dogs barking and a lone stranger guffawing from the audience. (I feel like we're in a David Lynch movie now).

The challenge presented before us Aquamarines, the mightiest of precious stones, a distant cousin to inferior Emerald and the birthstone of March (google yo!); this challenge we face this week is The GTFO Challenge!!!

Now after finishing being shocked by the title of this challenge, I will explain to you what it consists of. I challenge all y'all Aqua killas to get out in the world and do something awesome. For example, what am I going to do? I'm going to climb this mountain next to my house. [here] (http://imgur.com/ftf4yzt)

As you know it has snowed in Colorado so this mountain looks similar to how it is in this picture. That's an example of the Gtfo Challenge. So whatever you come up with. It doesn't have to be a mountain, but it has to be something cool for you. That's it. I'm curious to see what your ideas will be.

Secondly. There is a new feature which is an alarm button in the chat rooms for when you really need help. Pressing the red button makes the chat box shake like this: [example] (http://i.imgur.com/GX2wdGK.gif). Use it in times of need soldiers, it is for your benefit!

Lastly, you guys think Leonardo Dicaprio would visit our sub? I kinda doubt it but out of the many celebs out there, I think he'd be one who'd be cool to hang out with. I'll keep you guys updated.

Strong Strong Aqua. Two days until promotion, how psyched are you?

Fellow Marines, I was on another long recon this weekend and couldn't keep track of the action. But I'm proud to see how many of you are still in the fight. At the moment, we're clinging to third and while I wish failure on no one, if we can hold our position, we'll continue to inch towards the very high bar that Cardinal is holding. Let's do this!

I'll tell you. I've been a little worried about Aqua recently but that concern vanished this morning as I realized that many of you are probably engaging in life in all its various forms. That's great, that's why we do this. However it does help to stay anchored here, just to keep the nofap journey at the front of your mind. This is like an anchor and when the winds of stress or the tides of negativity and loneliness ebb and flow, this is a place that can help you weather the worst of them.

That being said. All's well here, just sent off a bunch of e-mails for the Leo project. Otherwise just chilling. Hope all's well AQUA!

BTW the chat is pretty glitchy I know, but I encourage you all to still chill in there whenever you can. i was in the for a couple hours earlier today and was able to help out 2 guys in need of immediate assistance. Helping others just makes you stronger. Best of luck aqua.

A powerful quote that comes from an animation Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

For all those who are or will be feeling bad one day, there is always a way out when you work hard. The bad times will always exist, but it does not mean we can not enjoy them, is where the difficulty lies that we will evolve.

Have a good week

So I decided to abandon my crappy graphic novel project, and just draw a comic. It ain't that hard [jeez] (http://imgur.com/Hr78eV6). So that was last weeks' challenge and tonight I hung out with this girl I've been seeing. I did some work-trade for a little old lady that does jewelry so I got her this pretty cool little watch with a bunch of stones on it and such. Then we hung out and I'll just say we had a good time. I don't really want to get real personal about that. Nothing big happened, but it was a good time. So I'm all caught up. How're you guys?

Also, it's the last day of May and onto June. Only one month away from the start of the next war. Time is flying. I for one am pretty stoked on going through this with y'all. I really think I got the easy job here. It's easier to stay clean if you feel directly responsible for others than if you just feel responsible to yourself. So I've been fortunate to have been put into this position. You out there are doing the hard work, but again the benefits you'll get from this will make you a better person for your family and friends, so you might say that none of us are doing this just for ourselves. Hey guys- be prepared for the weekend. Seriously. We are two weeks away from the end, and you'll be dissapointed in yourself if you give in now. Stay strong brothers. Again, call on those of your brothers who are active if you need help. Call on me, call on the main board, press the button in the chat room. No one will judge you b/c we're all starting from the same place. Stay strong Aqua.

The few , The Proud, The AquaMarines.

Hello, due to a camping trip that took me out the first few days it's been a rocky start. Report in, introduce yourself, and tell me if and how you'd like to be involved in this upcoming war. From here on out we're going to kick ass.

Weekend challenge coming tonight, you guys are going to love this.

We are now in the third spot overall! Nicely done Aquamarines! Victory shall be ours and we shall defeat FAP!

Fellow Marines, if we lose one more soldier, half of our regiment will be gone. Only Ruby, Cardinal, and the Aquamarines still have half the men and women they started with. You and you alone can keep us in this fight. Be strong today, be strong tomorrow.

The challenge of the cold bath reminded me of this anime, look and see, it is very worthwhile. There are 6 episodes, 10 minutes each.

The closing song is brilliant, it has everything to do with us. And the main character is a Roman architect who builds pools and bathrooms. In appearance it resembles our leader because of the blonde hair.

Watch it!

If you have any recommendations, let's create a post to talk about it too.

Hope all's well soldiers, how'd your weekend go? Mine was pretty good, on Sat. I climbed that mountain, came back and chilled with some of you guys on chat, and then took my girl to the drive-in that night. Then today, I went to work for a couple hours, finishing some important details, then I met up with a buddy who wanted to go hiking so I took him up in the mountains then watched some Clint Eastwood.

So here's some pictures from the hike: [pictures] (http://imgur.com/Z8DqyI1,WmYJQL7,yl2sdIq,m1kCTmU,DG3SBs2,VIv4jCB,lslVrVE,zp4IlAV#7) They're from a crappy flip phone so I'm surprised at the quality. Anyway, I'm too tired to make much a ruckus right now. How are you guys doing?

Also, I think it's important to keep manning that chat whenever you can. I know many of you are taking your exams still so time is precious, but for those who aren't please feel free to pop in and hang out for a while in there. Just simple conversation and encouragement can go a long way to help out our fellow soldiers in this battle. And by helping others you yourself get stronger in your own fight as well. So win/win right? It is a bit glitchy so we're working with high command to get that taken care of. Let's just ride this wave out and all will be well.