DAY 4

MENTAL CONDITIONING

In a way, cigarettes are an extraordinary drug or .........maybe it is just the way that the huge tobacco companies have marketed the whole concept to us.   When we are kids, we see all the adults around us smoking ( in fact that is the reason 90% of us start smoking in the first place ) .......but when we ask for one, we are refused and told that it is a terrible, horrible habit; that it tastes awful and that it will kill us! And when the adults have told us this - in a strong, convincing manner ( or so they believe ) - off they go, congratulating themselves on their parental powers  -- to have a cigarette! And, of course the little  kid is puzzled and doesn't know what to believe: "What he said can't be true? If it does all those terrible things, why is he still smoking  and why are hundreds of other people doing the same ? They don't seem mad." And so the kid, unconsciously comes to the only logical conclusion:  'If it can do all these horrible things but people still want to do it - in fact feel terrible if they have to stop - surely there must be something really pleasurable in smoking. Why else would people do it?' (Of course as kids, we don't realize that the smokers are addicted to nicotine. They have also been literally brainwashed into believing that if they should attempt to give up, they will face terrible withdrawal symptoms. As kids, we don't realize what a powerful effect these unconscious beliefs can have on us.)   A SUBCONSCIOUS BELIEF And so, subconsciously the belief grows in us that, at the very least, cigarette must contain some magical hidden attraction: there must be some great hidden pleasure or enjoyment in them - why else would people continue to do something that is killing them? The killing sticks. And then so as we get older - and actually smoke our first cigarette, we are further puzzled. We get nothing at all from the experience - in fact it tastes awful - but yet the next day, we will continue on with this experiment.  Why ?   Because we are convinced  (brainwashed?) that it is an inherently pleasurable act.     We reason: "Maybe I just haven't found it yet?  And so we continue...... and of course, unknown to ourselves we become hooked - addicted. We don't realize it at first - but if we attempt to stop for any reason, we are suddenly surprised to find that it is not as easy as we had imagined. And then as we attempt to find out why this is so, we fall prone to even more  of society's brainwashing ( deeply ingrained beliefs ) about smoking. We are told by everybody - even people who have NEVER smoked (how would they know!!) about how difficult it will be to stop and that you will have to suffer, if you want to give up for good. In fact, most of us have no idea of the extent and the extraordinary power this mental conditioning has on us. KEY IDEA Most of us have no idea of the extent and the extraordinary power this subtle mental conditioning has over us.    In fact, if in giving up smoking, all we had to deal with was the chemical addiction the process would, indeed, be easy. We would only have to pick a day and stop. We would not fear any physical withdrawal symptoms  because we have already discovered their true nature - merely empty, restless feelings which would soon pass. But we know that it is not like that......  .........other forces and energies arise that make us WANT to smoke. Our desire for nicotine goes to work.  He knows he is too weak to keep people smoking, so he enlists the help and co-operation of a bigger force, 'our conditioning' or past beliefs - to set up a series of desires and images to make us want to smoke. The big 'Monster' is the mental conditioning we have all unconsciously accepted about smoking. Please do not regard this as somehow "unreal" or not very important. Even though the mental conditioning is only a series of thoughts held in your mind about smoking, these thoughts and beliefs are the Key factor that will determine your success in giving up smoking and actually ENJOYING the process.