An Eye-opening Experiment!

So back to our question! 

Why is it so difficult to stop smoking and why are we so convinced it is enjoyable?

Break up a cigarette............

The Experiment

Right now, can you take out a cigarette and gently tear it apart.

Then.... place the cigarette on the table in front of you. 

What you will be left with..... are little brown pieces of material (tobacco), a filter and strips of white paper.

Dead, inanimate material.

For the next few minutes, just spend a little while studying this raw material. 

Maybe, get a pen and ruffle through it. 

Really study it. 

Now ask yourself:

'Do you really believe that by setting that material alit and by inhaling it's smoke that it WILL give you those magical qualities of confidence and courage?' 
 

Would you find the ACTUAL physical act of INHALING that smoke ENJOYABLE? 

Would you stick your head in a fireplace to inhale it's smoke?

Try to be honest with yourself as you do this exercise. 

I know it is difficult, but it is well worth the effort to face the truth.

I want you to do another exercise now. 

I want you to smoke a cigarette. ( Please note if you have already stopped smoking and are just using this course as a refresher to help you remain an non-smoker, this exercise does not apply to you. Do the exercise in your mind ).

Now I  want you to smoke the cigarette...... in a special way.

With COMPLETE AWARENESS of what you are DOING.  

I want you to start now and with full attention, take six deep pulls and as you do this, just be aware of what you are doing and..... of the smoke going into your lungs.

Do not think about anything else. Just focus, concentrate  totally on the actual mechanics of smoking MOMENT-BY-MOMENT.  

Now I want you to tell me.......WHAT GREAT SENSATIONS OR ENJOYMENT are you now experiencing as you do this?

Try to describe to me the wonderful experience that we ex-smokers are being deprived of.

Strange isn't !

When we do this exercise, we realize that most  of the time when we smoke, we are totally UNAWARE of what we are doing.

We have to be - because if we smoke and remain FULLY AWARE of the ACTUAL ACT of smoking, we would lose all the enjoyment. 

We would see through the illusion of enjoyment.

For the next few days, just watch people smoking.

After they lit up and take the first pull, 99% of smokers forget they are smoking. 

They are unaware of what they are doing. 

They continue smoking blindly......,automatically........ In fact they might as well be not smoking at all..............!!

KEY IDEA

99% of people who smoke everyday are unconscious of what they are doing - after their first puff.

This is a very important point, because it reveals an extraordinary truth. 

The pleasure, those 'warm, relaxing pleasurable' feelings that we experience when we smoke do NOT come from the cigarette.

I know that it will take time to convince you of this truth because the two seem so intertwined - so connected.

We will explore this more fully in subsequent lessons, but to start to get a glimpse of this truth -- look again at the torn-up cigarette lying on the table.

Isn't it? 

Can it jump up and down and attack you? 

Can it jump up and sing and dance and entertain you ? 

Can it relax and soothe you later on to-day if you become nervous or tense ?   

No. Of course not!

The truth is......