Do you ever get plagued by "improper" thoughts (of whatever nature), which, try as you may, you cannot banish?

I was having improper thoughts over a period of time some years ago it bothered me that I could act out.
I went to Sexaholics Anonymous group for a few months; that was a help for me.

I do not.

I don't think I could attend any such meeting; I'd surreptitiously use it as a hunting ground.

~ 

You go through a bit of an interrogation process to make sure you are serious about attending and not looking for a hook up.
One young lady I chatted with said should was so 'addicted' that if a guy just touched her she could not stop herself until having sexual intercourse with him.
I was tempted...

But many people there were ones that had done time for their crimes and had done some pretty awful things.

(Not any more.)

~

I know; I was just joking.

~

Ok. I was just being informative.

Someday I would like to be a writer, and the fiction would be pretty boring without the improper thoughts.

Maybe, one of these days I'll blog something. 

No.  My thoughts do not plague me no matter what form they take. 

Yes, Ignatius of Loyola and Martin Luther.

Though I am not plagued by blasphemous thoughts as they were.

So how do you cope with them? Do you just live with them and accept them as something you have no control over, and let them enter or exit your mind at (their) will?

There's something for me to learn here, I think.

The "devil" in you is awake and active, Randy. :)

The human mind is a perpetual battleground between the forces of "good" and "evil".

Well, as they say, to each his own.

You are very right, TammyAngel. All goody-goody stuff makes for very boring reading.

You must be having a very strong and focussed mind, Sharonna.

I do live with them, but as far as having control over them, or resigning myself to lack of control over them, it's none of the above.  I usually don't struggle to keep them at bay any longer.  Perhaps the intensity of my "improper thoughts" has diminished as I age, or maybe it's my willingness to acknowledge them that has diminished, who knows?

Here's an example: years ago I would find myself admiring attractive women at church.  Sometimes it would go beyond "Hmmm, she's pretty" or "What a nice-looking outfit" to more lusty thoughts.  I would immediately chastise myself with the admonishment, "That's NOT what you're here for, it's disrespectful, stop doing it!" It was truly tormenting, because had it not been in the church, I would have thought that way in any other setting(s).  Tormenting to the point of a lot of guilt-ridden moments.  I had to actively focus on worship and shun selfishness, and it wasn't easy (remember, God not only gave us free will to think on our own, He also gave us each the psyche that drives our mental processes).  That's how I handled it then.

~

I sleep; he never does.

:)

Profane thoughts are my biggest problem; and the more I try to suppress them the more they come in to disturb me. I often pray to God to keep them away, but they keep coming. I've confided to both my parents about them. My father dismissed my agony non-chalantly saying "It happens." My mother, on the other hand gets very worked up and worried about my peace of mind.