[Ilya]

Originally Posted by moonlite

I want to add something to my previous post.

What really differs man experience of sex from animal one?
For me the most essential difference is that man can assign a meaning to it, an animal never does it.

That is true. But it is not always an advantage of human intelligence. Most of the time we are attaching false meanings to things.

Even assuming that sex has no deeper meaning at all and is purely physiological phenomenon useful in releasing some tension is also based on some (very selectively chosen) scientific knowledge and has nothing to do with the pure, so called 'natural' worldview.

Err. I'm sorry, where did this come from? The so called "natural" worldview states that sex has not deeper meaning other then making babies. This is called proliferation instinct. Are you going to argue with this? You can attach any meaning to it, if you want it, but this one is given.

Humans indeed are abstraction machines. Take hunger. It has no meaning other then to make us get food. But humans abstracted the pleasure associated with eating and created a whole culinary art out of it.
Is it good? Can't say. This is a whole avenue of personal growth to pursue the good taste. But when it comes to a situation when people wouldn't eat something if is does not have a pleasant taste, this is an illusion of growth, it is actually a form of degradation.

Coming back to sex. It's purpose is to breed. The rest is attached meanings.
Some of them are benefitial, some of them harmful. And our strength should be in being free from these attachments and being able to choose what meanings we attach to sex or any other activity.
Currently the huge layer of meaning attached to sex is the layer of social conditioning. Debates on monogamy-polygamy, homosexuality, masturbation, age of consent are part of it. And we've started tackling these issues mere hundred years ago at most. Speak about turning the time back.

Nowadays this kind of thinking gains status of common sense and becomes a part of social conditioning as well.

In a version that I wrote above it is freeing from social conditioning.

Through advertisments, movies, tv we receive the message that sex is essential to our happiness, our well-being and not having sex for some time means that you are a kind of outcast, dork or oaf. Which is of course completely untrue.

Here I completely agree with you. But then you take step further and say:

For me if you prefer lower quality pleasures like masturbation, casual sex and so on

This is the same kind of social conditioning. You are implying that only sex inside long relationship is essential to our happiness and masturbating and having casual sex means that you are a kind of outcast, dork or oaf, at least in a personal development area, which is of course completely untrue.

I should note that these days most long relationships are starting with casual sex.

you simply miss the oportunity of experiencing something more exciting and demanding like building healthy, strong relationship.

Why do you make solo practices and casual sex mutually exclusive with building a relationship?! Why do you substitute word sex with word relationship? Sex is not just about relationships, and relationships are not just about sex, although sex and relationships do contribute to each other.
And talking just about the quality of sex I have a strong feeling that both male masturbation and having multiple partners before entering long relationship helps. Not necessary, but helps.

The choice is always yours. Maybe for many people it's too difficult, they are too strongly conditioned to not fear that if they will not masturbate the sperm stored will eventually blow up their brains.

Oh, come on! Nobody masturbates because they fear that sperm will blow up their brain. As nobody eats because they are afraid to die from hunger.
People do it when they feel the need to do it. This need can be controlled, of course, but there is a point when controlling it becomes the waste of time and willpower and the returns diminish below any reasonable levels.