Do you see how this relates to your smoking ? Even though you now know that the physical withdrawal symptoms from nicotine will be so mild as to be unnoticeable -
if you still believe the old myths that it will be difficult and that you will have to suffer - then your subconscious mind will produce those symptoms for you and that is what you will experience.

It is as if we have all been unconsciously hypnotized by society and we are only now beginning to wake up.

The fault does not lie in the cigarette or in the fact that you are no longer supplying your body with nicotine.

The fault lies in the false brainwashing you have blindly accepted about giving up smoking.

The Myth Of Pleasure

This belief is strong. The belief that you need to smoke to be happy. To survive.

Tobacco companies, for example have spent literally billions of pounds in very clever, subtle subliminal advertising linking pleasurable states of mind to the act of smoking and you too have contributed to this false belief (Step 4).

The initial pleasure came from the relief of satisfying your body's urge for nicotine but you unconsciously accentuated that pleasure and associated it - in fact you made it dependent upon the act of smoking.

KEY IDEA

Even though smoking is not pleasurable the BELIEF that it is KEEPS us smoking.

To enjoy giving up smoking, you must start to question and weaken this belief and then your desire and need to smoke will go.

AN EXERCISE

To reinforce this vital truth in your mind, I want you to repeat an important exercise we did in a previous lesson.

I want you to smoke another cigarette but this time I want you to pay FULL ATTENTION to what you are doing.

Relax your mind now and slowly go through the ritual of smoking - the pure physical act of smoking a cigarette.

Now lit up, take six deep slow puffs from the cigarette -- all the time being FULLY AWARE of what you are doing.

Concentrate FULLY on the smoke going into your lungs.

Don't just do this exercise mentally in your head - actually smoke that cigarette now - IN THE WAY PRESCRIBED. [this exercise does not apply if you have already stopped smoking. Instead use your imagination]

Don't let any emotions or feelings arise - just CONCENTRATE on the ACTUAL MECHANICS  of what you do everyday, when you smoke.

Now describe the marvelous sensations that you are receiving. 

Tell us about the wonderful experience that the rest of us are being deprived of -- RIGHT NOW as you smoke with FULL AWARENESS.

What feelings do you have........... when you smoke while you remain fully AWARE and CONSCIOUS of what you are doing.

Probably none at all!

In fact, you begin to realize that to enjoy smoking, you have to actually forget what you are actually doing!! 

We now know the reason for this.

KEY IDEA

The pleasure does not come from the cigarette but from the pleasurable sensations we ourselves unconsciously transfer to it.  

This is the great puzzle facing smokers. 

We know, at least intellectually that we will not suffer any great physical pain when we stop.

We also know, again intellectually that when we look at it objectively - smoking per se is really not enjoyable or pleasurable. 

But we still find it difficult to give up.

Why is this ? 

Because we have not yet given up the BELIEF that smoking is pleasurable and that if we stop, we will be  missing out or being deprived of something.

We believe we NEED to smoke to be happy. To survive. To just get by.