Lust isn’t just about late-night texts and dopamine hits. It is not just thirst traps, swipes, and sneaky links. Lust is misunderstood because we have been taught to either suppress it or act on it without reflection. But there’s a third, wildly powerful option: understand it.
Imagine lust not as a problem to fix, but as a raw form of energy—like electricity. It can shock you, yes. But it can also light up entire cities if directed right.
Let me put it this way. Lust is life force. That flutter in your stomach? That rush when someone looks at you like you’re the only person in the room? That is energy trying to move. We just haven’t been taught how to speak its language.
In spiritual traditions—especially Tantric and Taoist philosophies—this energy is called kundalini or chi. But let’s keep it real: Gen Z doesn’t need Sanskrit to get the vibe. You have felt it. We all have. It’s creativity, attraction, rebellion, curiosity, hunger, fire—all rolled into one.
The thing is, when you bottle that up, it turns into shame. When you release it without intention, it can become obsession. But when you channel it, it becomes art, movement, power, and depth.
Let me ask you something—when was the last time you turned lust into a poem? A dance? A business idea? An honest DM? Yeah, you can do all that.
So, what if we stopped labeling lust as “bad” and started seeing it as fuel? The kind that can take you somewhere…if you’ve got the right direction.
Is lust a sin or a misunderstood force?
Let’s rewind the clock for a sec. Most of us grew up hearing some version of: "Lust is bad. Control it. Hide it. Shame on you." Whether it came from religion, school, or that awkward sex-ed class, the narrative’s been consistent: Desire is dangerous.
But spoiler alert—it is not.
In fact, the whole “lust is sinful” rhetoric? It is rooted in outdated control systems. Patriarchal societies used this narrative to shame natural desires, especially in women and queer folks. The idea was: the more you’re ashamed of your desire, the easier you are to control.
What if lust isn’t evil, but a misunderstood rebellion? What if it’s your body’s way of saying, “I want to feel alive”? Gen Z isn’t buying the whole “sex is dirty” talk. You grew up with memes, OnlyFans, and TikTok therapists—you are ready for truth, not fear-mongering.
Let us look at it differently. Think about hunger. Too much of it? You binge. Too little? You starve. But balanced? You are nourished. Lust works the same way. Balance it. Don’t ban it.
Plus, research backs this up. A 2022 Psychology Today article noted that sexual energy is directly linked to motivation, creativity, and mental well-being. Repressing it? That can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and even depression.
You can’t eliminate lust. You weren’t meant to. You are supposed to understand it, express it, and evolve through it. That’s how it becomes power.
Let us not cancel lust—let us redefine it.
How can we transmute desire into spiritual energy?
Okay, let us get tactical. How do we take this high-voltage energy called lust and flip it into something that actually builds us?
Welcome to the art of transmutation.
Now, I know what you are thinking—“transmute” sounds like something out of Harry Potter. But stay with me. It just means transforming one kind of energy into another. Like turning sexual desire into creativity, motivation, or spiritual insight.
Think of your mind like a computer. Lust is raw data—pure emotion. Transmutation is the software that processes that data and turns it into something meaningful.
Here’s how you can do it :
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Redirection: Next time you feel that rising heat? Don’t rush to distract or numb. Channel it. Go for a run, write something wild, film a TikTok that speaks your truth.
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Physical movement: Dance, lift weights, do yoga—let your body move the energy out.
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Breathwork: Simple. Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 6. Do this for 5 minutes. Watch the craving transform into clarity.
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Cold showers: Not a punishment—an activation. They jolt you back into control, help you use the energy, not waste it.
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Goal-switching: Got a crush you can’t stop thinking about? Use that focus to ace a pitch, write a song, or study for that brutal exam. You are just redirecting focus.
It is all about turning I want them into I want more of me—more power, purpose, and passion.
The result? You stop being reactive and start becoming magnetic. And magnetic people? They don’t chase—they attract.
Can breathwork help in redirecting lust?
Absolutely. Breathwork is the OG controller of energy.
Here is why: breath is the only thing you do both consciously and unconsciously. That makes it a secret hack—like having the cheat code for your own nervous system.
Lust spikes your heart rate. It hijacks your brain chemistry. You get impulsive, urgent, twitchy. But breathing deeply, slowly? It brings you back into your body, into the now.
Try this:
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Inhale for 4 seconds.
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Hold for 4 seconds.
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Exhale for 6 seconds.
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Repeat 10 times.
That is it. Do it while lying in bed with your phone in your hand, just before you open that DM you know you shouldn't. You’ll feel your mind shift.
There is even science behind this. Studies from Stanford University show that controlled breathing regulates the amygdala, the part of your brain responsible for emotional responses—including lust. So yeah, a few slow breaths can literally give you your power back.
And it is free. No app. No monthly fee. Just air and awareness.
Make breathwork your go-to every time lust becomes a distraction instead of a motivator. You’ll still feel the energy—but you’ll finally be in charge of where it goes.
What role does chanting play in managing desire?
Okay, this might feel a bit woo-woo, but hear me out.
Chanting isn’t just for monks in mountain temples. It is actually vocal therapy mixed with ancient science. And it’s powerful AF.
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Om: The universal vibration.
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Shreem: Associated with abundance and creative flow.
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Hreem: Helps purify and energise the heart and mind.
Say it out loud 108 times—or even 11 to start. Feel the vibration in your chest, your jaw, your mind. You’re not just speaking; you’re vibrating at a new frequency.
Why does this work? Neuroscientists at Harvard have found that vocal repetition can calm the default mode network (that’s the part of the brain linked to craving and desire). So chanting? It literally rewires your neediness into stillness.
Chanting’s like spiritual WiFi—it connects you, centres you, upgrades you.
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How does digital consumption affect our desires?
Picture this: it’s 1:23 a.m., and you are five scrolls deep into a thirst trap rabbit hole. Your heart’s racing, your focus is gone, and your brain? Basically one giant blur of dopamine cravings.
Digital consumption inflames lust like nothing else. TikTok algorithms know what you like—bare skin, dreamy aesthetics, emotionally charged edits set to sad girl indie hits. It’s not evil. It is engineered.
Meet Aanya.
She is 22, caramel-skinned, with bold brows, nose ring, and energy that crackles like a neon sign. A visual artist with a painter’s soul and a thing for vintage leather jackets, she spends hours creating—but even more hours watching. Watching him.
Him, being the elegant, older man she has been secretly obsessed with for the last six months—her father’s business partner. Let’s call him Mr. D. In his late 40s, sharply dressed, emotionally intelligent, the kind of man who always listens with intention. The kind of man Aanya can’t stop dreaming about.
She doesn’t want to want him. But her phone won’t let her forget. Instagram reels, Netflix romances, fan edits of forbidden love stories—every swipe whispers, “this is real, this is valid, this is passion.”
But here is what she learns: Lust isn’t the problem. Her lack of digital boundaries is.
With a bit of mentorship, she starts to:
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Curate her feed with purpose (think art, movement, personal growth).
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Set screen time limits.
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Schedule “no scroll” hours before bed.
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Use her phone as a tool—not an emotional drug.
She doesn’t stop wanting. But now, she knows when the craving is real and when it’s just algorithmic illusion. That is clarity. That is power.
Is suppressing lust effective or harmful?
When Aanya first confessed her desire to me, she was shaking. “He is my dad’s friend. I know it is wrong. I try to stop thinking about it but I can’t. Am I sick?”
This is what suppression does. It turns innocent energy into shame.
Let us unpack that.
We are taught to lock away inappropriate feelings, especially sexual ones. Especially if the object of your desire is “off limits.” But when you suppress lust, you don’t kill it—you feed it in the dark. You let it grow teeth.
Aanya started experiencing:
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Intense jealousy when Mr. D mentioned other women.
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Fantasies that derailed her focus for hours.
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Guilt spirals after every interaction.
And here is the truth: Suppressing desire doesn’t make you moral—it makes you miserable.
Instead, she learned to:
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Acknowledge it without acting on it. “Yes, I’m attracted to him. That’s human.”
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Write it out. She created an anonymous erotic blog, pouring the fantasies into fiction.
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Talk about it with someone safe. Once it left her body through conversation, it stopped haunting her.
What she discovered is this: Lust thrives in silence. It heals in the light.
Suppressing it made it taboo. Embracing it made it manageable.
Can creative expression channel sexual energy?
This is where Aanya levelled up.
She didn’t want to feel trapped by desire anymore—she wanted to own it. So she painted. Day and night. Large canvases of chaotic colour, textures that screamed longing, eyes that stared back at you with hunger and grace.
She wasn’t just painting—she was alchemising.
Creative expression is sexual transmutation in its most raw, relatable form. And it’s not just art. It’s:
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Making a song that aches with unspoken lust.
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Writing a journal entry so honest it makes you cry.
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Filming a reel that makes you feel seen.
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Dancing like you’ve got fire in your hips and heartbreak in your chest.
Every drop of desire Aanya felt for Mr. D? She didn’t let it rot. She recycled it into beauty, into boldness, into truth. That is what Gen Z does best—transform pain into aesthetic.
She didn’t need to act on the lust. She needed to express it. And when she did, it lost its grip on her.
What is the connection between lust and life-force?
Let us bring this home.
Lust isn’t some chaotic side-effect of being human. It’s your life-force energy in disguise.
Every time Aanya looked at Mr. D, her body responded. Not just sexually—creatively, spiritually, viscerally. Her skin tingled. Her mind raced. Her senses sharpened. That’s chi, prana, inner fire.
We tend to associate life-force with yoga mats and green juice. But honestly? It’s there every time you get a crush. Every time you dream about someone. Every time your pulse quickens because your soul recognises aliveness.
Aanya didn’t want just him. She wanted what he represented:
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Emotional depth.
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Power.
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Stability.
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Mystery.
That wasn’t about him. That was about her.
She started asking: What am I really craving?
The answer? To feel seen. Desired. Valued. Held. Safe.
And when she gave those things to herself, the intensity faded. Not because the feelings were wrong—but because they’d finally been understood.
How do different cultures view lust?
Aanya’s journey was also about decolonising her beliefs.
Born to Indian parents, raised in London, she was constantly torn between two scripts:
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The conservative Indian view that sees lust as dangerous.
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The Western hypersexualised culture that glorifies it without emotional depth.
She began researching how cultures across the world treat desire. Here’s what she found:
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Ancient Hindus saw sex as sacred, as seen in the Kama Sutra.
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Japanese Shintoism viewed desire as natural, even divine.
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Christian teachings often moralise lust—but mystics like St. Teresa of Avila experienced divine ecstasy that sounds eerily like erotic rapture.
Her takeaway? No one really agrees on lust. And that is okay. Because it’s personal. It is fluid. It is not about tradition—it is about integration.
Aanya now walks in both worlds. She honours her desires with curiosity, not guilt. She creates. She breathes. She lives in tune with her body, not in battle with it.
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Can mindfulness practices aid in energy transmutation?
When Aanya first heard about mindfulness, she rolled her eyes. “Is that just closing my eyes and pretending to be chill?” she asked during our second session. Typical Gen Z sass—but she was onto something. The online world had turned “mindfulness” into yet another buzzword.
But when she really practiced it—everything changed.
Mindfulness isn’t about ignoring your lust. It is about sitting with it without acting on it. Feeling every tingle, every ache, every mental movie reel playing in your head—without judgment, without panic. Just watching.
Aanya started small:
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One mindful minute before picking up her phone.
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Breath check-ins during moments of attraction.
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Pausing before responding to emotionally loaded messages.
This slowed her down. Gave her space between trigger and reaction. She began to notice the difference between craving and connection.
A 2023 study by Mindful org showed that young adults practicing mindfulness had lower levels of impulsivity and shame related to sexual desire. That is not just vibes—that’s science.
Over time, Aanya no longer feared her feelings. She greeted them like familiar guests, offering tea instead of exile.
What are the psychological aspects of desire?
Let us talk psychology.
Desire doesn’t pop out of nowhere. It is shaped by your attachment style, past experiences, validation wounds, and unmet emotional needs.
For Aanya, Mr. D wasn’t just hot. He was emotionally available, articulate, and respected her creativity. Basically everything she had craved from her father but never fully received. Boom. Daddy issues, meet adult projections.
We explored that. Gently. Compassionately.
Understanding lust psychologically doesn’t make it go away—it makes it make sense.
She journaled:
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Why do I want him?
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What part of me feels seen by him?
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What am I trying to prove?
Suddenly, the fantasy didn’t feel uncontrollable. It felt like data. Messages from her own unmet needs. That awareness created emotional distance. The power wasn’t in him. It was in what she thought he could give her.
How can relationships benefit from transmuted energy?
By now, Aanya wasn’t just “not acting” on her desire. She was using it as a mirror—reflecting back parts of herself that needed love, validation, and bold expression.
And something wild happened: her romantic relationships got better. Not because she found someone new—but because she stopped projecting unhealed stuff onto others.
She reconnected with an old friend—someone closer to her age, emotionally safe, and genuinely interested. And for the first time, she wasn’t chasing validation. She was showing up whole. Desire wasn’t driving her—it was flowing through her.
Transmuted energy heals relationship dynamics:
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You stop seeking thrill and start seeking truth.
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You value emotional safety over performative romance.
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You connect from abundance, not lack.
And guess what? Mr. D? Still handsome. Still charming. Still off-limits. But no longer a volcano waiting to erupt. Just a man. And that is what transmutation gives you—your power back.
Are there risks in mismanaging lust?
Let us not sugarcoat this: unchecked desire can burn your life down.
We’ve seen it. From cheating scandals to emotional manipulation to months wasted pining for someone unavailable. Lust, when mismanaged, leads to:
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Loss of clarity.
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Obsessive thoughts.
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Reckless decisions.
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Guilt and emotional burnout.
Aanya came close. One evening, drunk on closeness and late-night whiskey at a family party, she almost kissed Mr. D. She didn’t. But she could have. That near-miss shook her awake.
“I realised I wasn’t the main character. I was spiralling into a subplot I didn’t want to live out,” she told me, with tears in her voice.
That moment became a near-scar that reminded her: Desire is seductive, but it doesn’t get to drive.
Managing lust isn’t about denying yourself pleasure. It is about choosing which stories to live and which fantasies to leave as daydreams.
Where can one seek guidance on this journey?
By now, you are probably wondering—What if I am Aanya? Where do I start?
Start by not doing it alone.
Lust, especially when intense or complicated, needs people who reflect truth back to you. Therapists. Coaches. Trusted friends. Healers. People who don’t shame you, but also don’t let you drown in your own fire.
Aanya booked regular consultations, not just with me but also with a therapist. She created a self-guidance circle—a combo of journaling, emotional check-ins, and creative rituals.
She found herself not by running from desire, but by walking with it—curiously, consciously, courageously.
And so can you.
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So, is lust a curse or a compass?
If you have stuck with Aanya’s story this far, you already know the answer. Lust isn’t evil. It’s misunderstood. It’s not a trap—it’s a trailhead to deeper truths about who we are, what we crave, and where our energy wants to go.
Aanya didn’t banish lust. She befriended it. She stopped outsourcing her power to people and started channelling it into her art, her relationships, and her growth. She transmuted obsession into ownership.
In one of her last sessions, Aanya smiled and said, “I finally realised it wasn’t about him. It was about me wanting to be chosen, held, seen. Once I gave that to myself, the grip loosened.”
So, if you are someone wrestling with lust right now? Know this: It is not shameful. It is sacred. It is the fuel, not the firestorm.
Learn to own it. Redirect it. Express it. Let lust teach you about yourself—what you are really hungry for.
And if you are ready to understand your own energy story, don’t wait.
💬 Book a 1-on-1 paid consultation with Tushar Mangl
🧠 FAQs: Lust, energy & inner clarity
Q1: Is it okay to feel lust for someone who’s off-limits?
Q2: What if I feel ashamed of my desires?
Q3: Can anyone learn to transmute lust?
Q4: How do I know if I’m using lust as a distraction?
Q5: What’s the biggest lesson from Aanya’s story?
✍️ Author
Tushar Mangl is a healer, vastu expert, and author of I Will Do It and Ardika. He writes about food, books, personal finance, Vastu, mental health, and the art of living a balanced life. His mission? To create a greener, kinder, wiser society—one insight at a time.
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