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 Swami
Eggshell Walker
Registered: 01/18/00
Posts: 15,413
Loc: In the hen house
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 Quitting Smoking 
#2313546 - 02/08/04 01:43 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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From the book "Swami's Guide to NLP"
Quitting smoking or any undesirable habit does not require "willpower" as much as it does awareness.
For the record, I never smoked tobacco, but did feel that I once had a problem with maryjane.  Once I approached the problem systematically, it was not difficult to control.
Now this method may seem simplistic, but it is quite effective.
1. Admit that you are addicted.
2. Truly decide that you want to take control.
3. Note each cigarette smoked in a logbook as to time, place and event when smoked. This will make you aware of your patterns.
4. Before lighting up, tell yourself, albeit not in a mechanical or even a guilty way, that you are consciously deciding to harm your beautiful body. That you will fully accept the repercussions and that you are stealing life from a future you. In other words, start smoking as a fully conscious being rather than as an automoton.
5. Refer back to your logbook after a week. If you ALWAYS smoke first thing in the morning when you wake up and have a coffee, then wait 30 minutes before ligthing up. This will help to break behavorial signals that trigger the urge.
6. Don't "attempt" to quit as this will create a backlash. Just occasionally say, "Yes, I really desire a cigarette now, but will have wait and have one later." This will give you back some control.
7. Remove the words "need" and "my" from your smoking lexicon. Change "I need a cigarette to relax," to "I need nothing to relax, but am choosing to have a cigarette." "Honey, where are MY cigarettes?" Notice that most addicts refer to their addictive substance in the possessive. Don't mechanically substitute one word for another. Become aware of the different feelings that different words bring about.
9. Smoke consciously as a separate activity instead of smoking and watching TV, smoking and reading the newspaper; etc. Focus fully on what you are doing (Zen in action).
8. Choose a somewhat strenous physical activity that requires some lung effort. This will again help you top realize the damage that you are doing. (Once again - no guilt, merely awareness!)
In summation, change your behavior, change your thinking and become as aware as possible. Once YOU are in control, you can continue or let it drop away with no struggle.
I hope this helps some that desire it. Of course, merely reading this will get you nowhere without action. Good "luck"!
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The proof is in the pudding.
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Zero7a1
Leaving YourWasteland
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 Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313553 - 02/08/04 01:46 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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heh heh, the cool thing about this is, is that i know my own thoughts about this issue.
I dont know why i havent, i havent really had a drive to quit. But, my drive to quit smoking tobacco is always present.
So their is the self controlled side of me saying, QUIT, break your damn cycles, dont do it, do it then, then this and this to stop it out. But the other cycle of me not giving a shit says, damnit, okay, here we go, its cool, and then im in denial. Nah, i dont have a problem, self controled self says it can happen.
So you see it becomes a battle of voices... and then, then you realize that maybe you just need to get your priorities straight.
O, but that takes time, in the mean time, i could, smoke a cig? Repeat cycle. Then think about breaking it.
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What?
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Anonymous
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313577 - 02/08/04 01:57 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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- Post History Deleted Upon User's Request -
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Swami
Eggshell Walker
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Posts: 15,413
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: ]
#2313591 - 02/08/04 02:08 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Seriously, that is like SmokeEnders? Just kind of made it up form various borrowed ideas...
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The proof is in the pudding.
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Anonymous
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313596 - 02/08/04 02:17 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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- Post History Deleted Upon User's Request -
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 fireworks_god
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313718 - 02/08/04 05:06 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Swami said:
Just kind of made it up form various borrowed ideas...
I really liked it. A lot of people wouldn't really understand what is going on if they actually followed it, but as long as someone actually took an active approach to doing it and integrated what you said over time, I would be pretty positive that is should work...
If I smoked, then I know that what you suggested would work for me... I've even smoked before, quite a few times, just to fuck with various people. I've never really felt an urge to continue doing so. There has to be some initial drive to smoke, and it usually results from thinking that smoking will fufill some desire... to be cool, to have something to do, *shrugs*.
One time at a friend's, I started asking this one kid there why he smoked. He'd try to shrug it off with something funny or to insult me "you sound like an ad on television", or some stupid shit.. the kid was the kind that changes who he is to belong.. definitely some need to fit in. I continued questioning him, and he continued avoiding it... finally he settled on yelling "it is because I'm a fucking retard, okay?! Because I'm fucking retarded".
Hehe, I wouldn't take that answer, so I continued on.. of course, I'm pretty sure it was to "be cool". Then my best friend walked in the door, and I say "Hey John, why do YOU smoke?". John is a true individual who tends to have people hang around him, not having to go hang out with others.. he's just like "I dunno, it was probably to be cool or something". Everyone in the room started laughing. 
Anyways, I really like your method of quitting smoking because it doesn't just trick your mind into not smoking; it actually allows one to realize what is actually going on in their mind, why they smoke.. like you said, it is about awareness. One would get insight into how their mind works and how they can change boundaries in their mind. If it can be done to quit smoking, the same principle could be used towards any end, from facing fears of being in front of a lot of people to developing a desire to carry out dreams....
Your post was like a mini- Handbook To Higher Consciousness. Becoming aware of how your mind works and how you program it, taking where you are at right now and working on changing your boundaries and ways of thinking...
Our mind is a computer. A computer with an extremely personal user interface that we program as we go. What you tell yourself ends up resonating in your thoughts and ends up creating who you are and your outlook on the world. The more aware one becomes of the workings of their mind, the more aware they become aware of who they are and how they can become who they want to be...
On a side note, I do believe (well, everything I've experienced supports this) that someone that really becomes aware of their mind and their surroundings, they will be able to develop a truer understanding of the people around them. What is motivating them and everything... the only peple that can't really be understood are the other ones who are also operating from this higher perspective and play the game too... actors are good at doing this. 
So, why do YOU smoke? *points at those smokers out there* 
Peace.
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If I should die this very moment
I wouldn't fear
For I've never known completeness
Like being here
Wrapped in the warmth of you
Loving every breath of you
  
 
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313731 - 02/08/04 05:28 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I smoked for four years, and quit all in one day. Just like that. Cold turkey. This was about 2 or 3 years ago, that I quit...
3 major things helped me quit, succesfully:
1)The realization that I didn't really like it anymore...the realization of how stupid and what a waste of money it is...and the fact that everybody in general tries to quit sooner or later.
2)Curbing the physical-routine addiction, that is, the oral fixation that you gradually become attached and accustomed to from smoking cigs for years. The whole ritual you do with your hands, mouth, etc. It's all part of the addiction. So, what I did to curb that, was I had these natural flavor-sticks I sucked on everytime I felt a craving for a cig. It helps take your mind off of it. Plenty of things you can use for this purpose.
3)Last but most definitely not least, was the fact that I was excercising. I was doing situps and pushups routinely, and thus my body AND mind was healthier, and stronger. If you have a weak body, your mind won't be very strong as well. You must have a strong healthy mind and body, so you will have a much stronger ability to resist and say "no".
Smoking IS a sign of weakness, after all. 
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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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JacquesCousteau
Being.
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Before a bowl: "I think this could be a very feasible way to quit smoking."
After a bowl: "Ah, fuck it."
Edit: Whoops, didn't mean to respond directly to you, once again, Scorp. :P
Edited by JacquesCousteau (02/08/04 07:18 AM)
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Bastard, go back to the ocean! lolol jk
I used to read alotta books by that guy as a kid btw.
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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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JacquesCousteau
Being.
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Posts: 7,825
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Last seen: 1 year, 11 months
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Heh.. I didn't..  Once upon a time, when I was setting up mIRC, I needed something to write in the "name" field, and it was the first thing that popped into my mind. I was also kind of proud, at the time, that I could spell it without looking it up..
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trendal
Jâ™
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Posts: 20,815
Loc: Ontario, Canada 
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313839 - 02/08/04 08:03 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I did smoke tobacco for several years...so I'll share with you my method of quitting:
I threw out my last 3/4 of a pack. Just chucked the whole thing in the garbage.
Now many people I have told this to have said "that won't work!" but at the same time none of them have even tried it. If you are a smoker who has tried to quit, I'm sure you've done the "oh...after this pack I'll quit" game plenty of times. I think that by throwing out almost a full pack of smokes (oh my god NO!) it was symbolic to me of my will and desire to truely quit. By saying "just one more pack" you are putting off your quitting and saying to yourself that you do not have the power to quit now.
Try it. Stand over the garbage pail and say to yourself "I'm quitting now". Then toss that pack of smokes in the garbage. Crumple the pack up in your hand, first, if you'd like. It all helps 
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Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free.
But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.
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Anonymous
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: trendal]
#2313891 - 02/08/04 09:09 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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MAIA
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2313991 - 02/08/04 10:32 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I never really thought about quitting as it doesn't affect me that much and it gives me a relative pleasure. I'm a smoker for over 10 years, i only some like 10 cigars everyday because i made some rules about when to smoke.
Anyway, when it comes to weekends, the whole things changes. Hanging out with my buddies at night and drinking alcohol makes me smoke much more.
But, yeah i agree smoking is a bad habit and i should have never started doing it in the first place.
MAIA
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Spiritual being, living a human experience ... The Shroomery Mandala
 
Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.
Voltaire
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Grav
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2314031 - 02/08/04 10:50 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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My herb smoking habits fluctuate constantly
I'll smoke every day for a week, then stop for a whole week, then smoke once or twice a week, then occasionally Ill abstain for a whole month...
I tend to weigh my working goals and hopes for the future, against the notion of having a 'good time' in the present.
While I haven't stopped getting high, I have successfully dropped it below many other priorities.
#1 Schoolwork Schoolwork Schoolwork (extremely important to my future)
#2 maintaining relationships with family and friends
#3 keeping my apartment fairly clean and organized
#4 being sober for the sake of being sober
I have more priorities to hopefully add in the future, too.
I've decided, at this point in my life, I don't NEED to quit, because I'm doing what I need to do, and having some fun, and relaxation at the same time.
To me, herb represents NOW, while sobriety represents FUTURE
I don't think one is better than the other, though I sincerely believe I can choose to stop toking if it's conflicting with something more important.
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Strumpling
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2314201 - 02/08/04 11:46 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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this is all very excellent advice
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Insert an "I think" mentally in front of eveything I say that seems sketchy, because I certainly don't KNOW much. Also; feel free to yell at me.
In addition: SHPONGLE
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Deiymiyan
I AM
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 Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2314310 - 02/08/04 12:20 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Fantastic Swami ! Great post !
Setting up another pattern is litterally a method of reprogramming your mind. It takes time. [ ..Always remember that; for when you suffer, you begin to 'not care'.. That is when you allow weakness to seep in.. In essence, you've stopped "flexing" your mental muscle.. ].
Once the new code [using computer imagery] has taken hold, that is, your habit pattern has changed, always remember one thing: Viruses will always be present to remind you of your past.
What I mean by that is, with the exception of perhaps a very small minority, do not assume that one day you will be completely as a non smoker... You WILL remember your old ways.
I have spoken to many rehabilitated smokers, and even after many years: they still occasionnaly crave.
Now, this was not mentionned here in order to discourage. I brought it up so that it wouldn't catch anyone by surprise. The worst thing is, being told that its simple to quit, and then frustrated down the road because you still crave.
But.. It's not so bad. Its kinda like... Well.. Say, you had a wonderful meal a month ago. It was special. You "remember" how good it was.. But, you won't die if you don't have it again.
I spoke to a specialist one day, because the concept of addiction is very interesting.. It really is like an example of a 'counter force' towards your free will.
The specialist added: "Once an addict, always an addict."
He speaks from personnal experience, being a reformed smoker AND alcoholic for two decades.
I have another friend, who told me something interesting. It's kind of like a psychological thing..
Ever notice how, when the strict restriction method is employed, one tends to still want it?
Here's a guilt free alternative which, when combined with the points Swami outlined, can help alot.
Consider this.. Tell youself that you are "in between smokes".. Do not use the restrictive language "quit". The scariest thing is letting go of something you like to do [ In this case, it is a warped sense of like, which one programs themselves... It is an illusion of 'like' ]. So by telling yourself that you are in between smokes calms your mind a little; it won't think... "OH no! That's it! No more smoking !!! AAAAHHHHHHHH!! ", rather, it may consider it more like a game and play along.
I have heard, and read a few times, that C10 H14 N2 [ nicotine ] is one of the toughest DRUGS to eliminate from one's pattern.
The positive thing of winning such a battle? That you will have learned a very important lesson: Mind Control.
Take a frim grip on your own reigns, and your mighty steeds will take your chariot to a wonderful place.
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Dei Gratia de integro,
Veni Vidi Vici:
In Nomine Domini..
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Sole_Worthy
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2314723 - 02/08/04 02:27 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Ive been trying to quit recrntly, but I keep crashing fags off of mates when i go see them. I also sinned by purchasing a pack of 10 royals last week at 4am.
I think a better understanding of "why I smoke" is needed.
Freuds nephew Edward Burnes(?) was employed by a ciggerete company in the US in the earlier part of the 20th century. The company was concerned that they were loosing 50% of the market, as at that time only men smoked. Anyway, Mr Burnes(?) got one of his psychoanalyst buddies onto the case and he reported that the ciggerette was a symbol of the male penis. Makes ya think dosnt it? Id have to agree there is something sexual about smoking.
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get it all together get like birds of a feather
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Frog
Warrior
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Swami]
#2314822 - 02/08/04 03:15 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I studied something about habits when I was in college, and I suppose that groups like "smoke enders" base their philosophy about quitting on the same basic rules.
First, be aware of the habit. Then be conscious of it every time you engage in it. Third, do something different instead of engaging in the habit.
But you added some good stuff to it. Breaking habits is no fun. How do you make it fun???
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The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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Strumpling
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Frog]
#2314859 - 02/08/04 03:30 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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by having sex instead of smoking cigarettes
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Insert an "I think" mentally in front of eveything I say that seems sketchy, because I certainly don't KNOW much. Also; feel free to yell at me.
In addition: SHPONGLE
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Frog
Warrior
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Re: Quitting Smoking [Re: Strumpling]
#2314866 - 02/08/04 03:32 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I thought you were supposed to have sex and then smoke cigerettes. 
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The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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