Quitting The Easy Way
Using your mind for a change means exactly that. Use your mind to create the change you want, which is to become a non-smoker. Since you want to stop smoking, and whatever your motivation is you should understand this. Smoking is a psychological addiction more than a physical one. Psychological addiction is just a fancy way to say a “habitual behavior”, and when all is said and done, nothing works better than hypnosis to change behaviors and break habits.
If you’re using any audio program (tapes CDs downloads etc.) following the sequence in order, exactly as presented, (Re: audio #1, audio #2, audio #3 etc.) along with the suggestions outlined below will make the process of becoming a nonsmoker significantly easier, regardless of the method you choose to stop smoking.
Using audio downloads along with this article (you can print the article and use it as a workbook) will enable even the most stubborn behaviors to be put to rest, and put an end to tobacco dependency easily.
First:
Stop Trying
The first thing to stop is to “stop trying”. I can assure you that if you are “trying to stop smoking”, you’re still smoking. In case you didn’t know it, the word try means failure. Your mind is like a computer; computers are either on or off. They either do a task or they do nothing. It is impossible for a computer to try to do any job. Your human bio-computer works the same way; you either do something or you don’t when you ask it to try something it simply gets confused and does nothing. (try doesn’t have an “absolute” meaning, it could mean succeed or it could mean fail. In fact, try doesn’t really mean anything specific at all) If you wish to be a non-smoker, stop trying and make the conscious decision to be a non-smoker. This decision is the first step in creating the “resources” (direction) that your unconscious mind is looking for.
Second:
“Think About What it is That You Want, Not What You Don’t Want”
Drop words like don’t, won’t, can’t, or shouldn’t from your vocabulary. Your mind is a bio-computer and only acts on the thoughts YOU present to it. Your biological computer is incapable of processing a negative won’t. If I told you right now “you can’t have a cigarette,” guess what you would want, immediately? A cigarette, of course. If you tell yourself “”won’t smoke”, what are you thinking of? Smoking! What if I said, “You shouldn’t smoke while sitting at your computer.” What do you want to do? It isn’t to sit at your computer. What is it? That’s right, you want to smoke.
So anytime you told yourself “I can’t have a cigarette” or “I’m not going to smoke” or “The doctor told me I shouldn’t smoke” you were setting yourself up for failure. Remember, your inner computer is unable to process a negative, and won’t without producing a picture in your mind AND, it is the very picture of the thing that you do not want! The picture or thought you generate by using those negative words causes you to think more about smoking. Finally you just give in and light up.
Check this out, have some fun with it. I want you to gather up all your “will power” and try as hard as you can “not” to do something. Ready, I want you to try not to think of a BRIGHT RED FIRE TRUCK. So, how did you do? If you’re like most of us you found that you made an image of a fire truck in your mind. Because your brain has to make a positive representation of a word or a thought in order to “make sense” of language you actually have to image a “positive representation” of what you say inside your head.
Your brain is a service-oriented mechanism (servo-mechanism) and because it thinks that the things you image in your head are the things that you want (why else would you be consistently focusing on them) it tries to give more of those things. If you’re always focusing on what you “don’t” want (stop smoking, don’t smoke, quitting smoking, etc.) you’ll keep getting images of what you don’t want and you’ll never stop thinking about cigarettes. You will soon see that focusing on what you want will make a big difference in every part of your life.
The secret to success in life is to focus your attention on what you want instead of what you don’t want.
In this case, what do you want? You want to be a nonsmoker! If your thoughts of being a non-smoker predominate, you will be a nonsmoker because that is the picture your mental computer is driving you towards.
An easy way to make this distinction is to break it down into three catagories. Look at these three catagories in the same way you would look at a map. When you look at a map, the first thing you look at is your starting point, (where you are) then you look at your destination, (where you are going) then you look at your route. (how to get from here to there)
Your starting point is where you are right now, a smoker. This is where all the representations of “what you don’t want” are coming from. (I don’t want to smoke, I don’t want to be out of breath all the time, I don’t want my clothes to stink, I don’t want to hide from my kids, or have to go outside and be alone to smoke, etc.) Your first step is to recognise “where you are”, what exactly is taking place in your life right now as a smoker? This is what you’re moving away from.
Your destination is where you’re going, becoming a non-smoker. This is what it is that you want. If you were going to Disnyland you would have an idea of what to expect there. (sunshine, rides fun, excitement, food, family bonding, etc.) Now is the time to explore what being a non-smoker has to offer you, what will you expect to find in this new world? What level of health is waiting for you? How will the sense of pride in this accomplishment feel to you? What will you be seeing, hearing, feeling, and experiencing as a non smoker? This is how to make the distinction between what you want, and what you don’t want.
The rest of the map, the route between where you are, and where you’re going is what the hypnosis session fills in. Today, I’m your personal map maker. All you need to do for now is to use these principles as you fill in the last two pages in this workbook. This is the internal direction that your subconscoius mind is looking for.
Third:
Relax and Rehearse New Behaviors
Take many deep breaths during the course of your day, especially at those times when you might normally have smoked. Deep breathing helps purge your system of the stress of the moment and in fact, deep breathing is practiced on every continent of the face of the earth as an advanced method of relaxation. It is the way you breathe when you smoke that you have associated to the concept that “smoking relaxes me”.
Use a power statement such as “Forget it!” “I won’t smoke!” or “I don’t smoke”, or (my favorite) I am now a non-smoker and I will remain a non-smoker for the rest of my life” whenever the thought of smoking arises. You will be amazed at how quickly the urge goes away and you feel in control.
No one can make you stop smoking, it is a choice you will have to make for yourself today. Hypnosis will re-program your sub-conscious mind so that you can begin to think, act, and respond to your every day to day reality in the world around you as if you already were a non smoker. and it will be easier that you have ever imagined.
Facts About Existing Stop-Smoking Methods
There are many ways to stop smoking. Possibly, the most difficult is cold turkey. Cold turkey is difficult because it’s like taking a toy away from a child and not giving them anything else to provide them with similar benefits. Chances are they will be throwing a temper tantrum. Your mind, (at this sub-conscious level) behaves very much like a child. You will get some help by using the patch or gum, but the results are less than spectacular. (less than 12% actually stop smoking using a nicotine replacement because nothing is done for the psychological addiction) Current national averages relate that between 12% to 20% actually stop smoking with nicotine replacement systems, and the relapse rate is roughly 86% within the first 90 days. (that’s an actual success rate of about 4%)
Acupuncture seems to be helpful in cutting the craving but here again, if nothing is done to help you to stop thinking about smoking it is not likely to have long-term success.
Stopping The Smoking Habit With Hypnosis
Historically, hypnosis has been exceptionally successful to help people stop smoking because it caters to the psychological reasons for smoking by providing healthy alternatives. For thousands of people, hypnosis has been the method of choice for changing unwanted behaviors such as smoking. Hypnosis typically makes it easier and more comfortable to stop smoking without replacing the habit with food. In most cases, hypnosis can cut through the mental, physical and emotional difficulties surrounding cigarette addiction, making it easier to simply “forget about smoking.”
The largest clinical study on smoking cessation methods in the world determined that, “The people who used hypnosis to stop smoking were more successful than all the other methods combined”. Right now, if you’ plan to stop smoking for any reason, you’re putting your best foot forward by using the techniques presented here.
You Have Hypnotized Yourself into Being a Smoker
After all isn’t being smoke-free your most natural state? You weren’t born a smoker? To be smoke-free is your body’s most natural way of being.
If you believe that you have only been smoke-free for the amount of time your last attempt lasted, think again! Remember how old you were when you began smoking? Were you 10-12-14-16-18 years old? Well this means you have actually gone that long without smoking. How does that make you feel? Let’s assume you were sixteen years old when you started smoking. This means you went sixteen years without having one cigarette, and it means that your unconscious mind has sixteen years worth of resources, memories, feelings, behaviors, etc, at it’s disposal. You only need to activate these powerful resources to begin a new way of being, and behaving right now.
After smoking for so many years “you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t function without cigarettes” and, you can’t imagine your life without cigarettes. In other words, you have hypnotized yourself into believing that you need cigarettes to be yourself and deal with the world. The truth is, you have done such a good job of developing this belief (beliefs are what we believe to be true not the truth in itself) that the hypnotist now needs to de-hypnotize you from that belief. You weren’t born a smoker How is that for a shocker?
Hypnosis trains the mind to focus on the benefits of being a non-smoker, the memories of being a non-smoker, and the inner resources and feelings that you already have because of all the years that you’ve already spent as a non-smoker, instead of focusing on what one is losing by not smoking.
The Two Controlling Forces In Your Life are *PAIN* and *PLEASURE*
Whenever you make a decision about anything, you consciously or unconsciously evaluate the situation and make a decision on the basis of whether the results will bring you more pleasure or more pain. Unless you are a masochist, you will choose an outcome where you will experience more pleasure. Someone that wants to stop smoking usually perceives more pain in not smoking than in smoking. They focus on the immediate loss instead of the long-term benefits of not smoking.
With hypnosis, we can switch that focus to the long-term benefits of not smoking and focus on the immediate benefits. In other words, the client, through hypnotic rehearsal, will perceive the action of smoking as more painful than pleasurable; therefore, hypnosis makes it easy to say no to cigarettes.
Through hypnosis the client begins, for the first time, to look at cigarettes for what they are. When you think of it, cigarettes are like a loaded gun. When someone decides to smoke, it is like playing Russian Roulette. The longer you play, the more chance you have to get hurt. Let’s suppose for a moment that a trusted doctor gave you the following alternative: if you continue to smoke, the very next cigarette you smoke will kill you. Or, you could stop now and be guarantee to live a long happy and healthy life. You could enjoy each and every moment with more energy and vitality than you ever dreamed possible. What would you choose? Under these circumstances, if you choose to smoke, you might as well give up on the idea of kicking the smoking habit, because you’re a prisoner to your own beliefs!
If you have no intention of following through with it, why waste the time?
But if you choose being a non-smoker instead of smoking, then you’re on the right track. You’ve made an important decision. You’ve decided that, at this moment, being healthy and not being controlled by that stick of a cigarette, is more important than smoking. Hypnosis can assist you in maintaining that decision as time passes, and it can provide you with the stress management techniques that will help curb any urges you may have during a future stressful event that may have you reaching for that cigarette.
Your “Thinking” Has Kept You a Smoker!
I know that I will not have total agreement on the next statement, but I would like to add that every action and everything that happens to you is preceded by a thought. Either consciously or unconsciously either by you or someone else.
The idea of the light bulb was first a thought in Thomas Edison mind’s before it came into existence, into reality. Simply stated “What You Think About Expands Into Your Reality”. Ever heard the old saying, “Be careful for what you think about, because you might just get it.” Why do you suppose that is?
Let’s explain; thought is energy in motion. The word emotion can be looked at as E-motion. E-stands for energy; thus, energy in motion. Referring to what we previously mentioned: “When interviewing clients who wish to stop smoking, most will tell me that they have quit smoking before but they could not get smoking out of their mind. They finally gave into the persistent mental badgering and lit up, once again. Once they lit that first cigarette, they were caught in the psychological trap of smoking all over again “.
How To Stop The Mental Badgering
It is the resulting emotion created by ‘What You Think About’ (see fig.2) when you are thinking about smoking, or what you are missing, or what you would be gaining by smoking that is keeping you a smoker. Smoking becomes the resulting behavior of your thinking.
It seems that all people would need to do to change their behavior (smoking), is to change their “State” of mind. From the diagram we see that “What We Think About” determines how we feel “our state”(all learning is state dependant). How we feel, to a large extent, dictates how we behave or how we will respond to a particular thought.
Think about it! If I tell you “You have just won a multi-million dollar state lottery” or “Someone just ran into and completely wrecked your new car.” I have just created two opposite thoughts in your mind. But there is no doubt about which one creates a good feeling (state) and which one creates a negative feeling. Of course the resulting behavior (what you would do) in each case would be much different from one another.
With hypnosis you learn to create the kind of internal representation (thinking) that will lead you toward your success. Then you will learn to practice the kind of thinking that will make you a winner in your quest to become a non-smoker.
How About Willpower? Do I Need to Have Willpower?
The answer may surprise you. To succeed at becoming a non-smoker, no willpower is required. Einstein once said, “When willpower is in conflict with the imagination, imagination always wins.” Finding that hard to believe?
Let’s go ahead and put it to the test. I want you to gather all your willpower and strength right at this moment because in the next sentence I am going to ask you to not do something.
Are you ready? Now I want you to do your best to not think of a Pink Elephant. How good did you do? If you are like most people your imagination won over your willpower.
That is what a good hypnosis stop-smoking program will teach you, to develop your imagination so that it can begin to serve you, to work for you instead of working against you.
Your Imagination is truly the key that unlocks the amazing power of your subconscious mind. With hypnosis, you will acquire the wisdom to put yourself in a position where you won’t need willpower.
Mindset of Past Successful Clients
Here are a few tips from our most successful clients who are now smoke-free if you follow these guidelines you should be experiencing similar, positive, hassle-free results.
First and foremost, it is the ‘Mindset” of our clients that carries them though their transition They have told us that they make it a top priority in their life to stop smoking; their health stands above all else.
And second is their determination to stop. On a scale of one to ten (ten being the highest), determination is generally eight or better they are serous about their decision, they realize this is not about trying, this is about doing! In life there is no such thing as trying—you either do it or you don’t Secondly, they are determined and willing to do whatever it will take to be and remain smoke free!
Really, when you think about it, that’s all you need. In time any withdrawal or discomfort will simply dissipate just like a bad headache does; before you know it, it will be a thing of the past. If your commitment level is eight or better and you are willing to do whatever is required to stay smoke-free, then this program may be the easiest thing you have ever done.
Review Of The Keys To Remaining Smoke Free!
1) The most important and significant thing you can do is to keep your mind focused on what you want to do, be and feel. For example, a healthy, clear, clean air breather. Keep focusing on the many benefits you will soon be experiencing as a smoke-free person If you find yourself thinking or focusing on the old behavior, instantly switch your focus on the benefits of being smoke-free. What we focus on in life has a tendency to expand in our daily experience. So, keep your focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.
2) Keep your self-talk positive. You can do it! You already have. Give yourself love and positive encouragement for your decision, for wanting to be your best.
3) Drink plenty of fresh water every day. Water flushes away body toxins. Our clients claim they carry a bottle of water with them at all times.
4) For the first week, if possible, stay away from environments that would be conducive toward triggering the old behavior. Ask your friends and loved ones if they would be willing to support you by going outside your home to smoke, at least for the first week.
5) If you get stressed or uncomfortable listen to Stop-Smoking Relaxation (Track 2 on your introduction to hypnosis CD). Generally, in almost all cases, the CD review will remedy the situation.
USING FOOD AS AN AID TO STOP SMOKING
SUGGESTIONS: (Do this as often as possible, especially the first week)
Eat 3 meals a day, including breakfast
Have protein and complex carbohydrates (fruits and or vegetables (not cereals or grains) with each meal
Limit sugar intake. Avoid simple carbohydrates like rice and wheat
Drink 8 glasses of non-caloric liquids a day - water with lemon, water, seltzer, herbal tea, etc
Keep a pitcher of water on your desk. You’ll easily drink 8 glasses a day
Between meals, drink fruit juices or eat a piece of fruit
Eat plenty of protein - lean meat, fish, poultry, and low fat cheese
Increase your vitamin and mineral intake, especially calcium, magnesium, chromium and vanadium
Take a B complex supplement, preferably one that contains Vitamin C
Add Niacin-bound Chromium (Dinicotinate, Glycinate or Chelate) to your diet.
(all chromium is not created equal, only “niacin bound” chromium can be easily used by you body
Eat lots of fruits, vegetables and salads
Print the next few pages and fill them out before you begin listening to your audios.
Please take the time to complete the following information. In doing so you are taking the first step to creating a more User Friendly Brain.
Fill in each area as best as you can and remember to give positive examples of what you want. (Not What You Don’t Want)
As in: I want to become healthier, not: I’m worried about my health.
Be as specific as possible as in: I want to breathe easier Not: I can’t walk up a flight of stairs without running out of breath.
And finally, be honest and realistic with yourself.
Hopefully you already know why it’s important to stop smoking at this specific time in your life. Take a few minutes here to better define what each of these reasons actually means to you and you’ll find that the end results will be to create a sort of “inner blueprint” that will enable your hypnosis session to become personalized and in a way unique to you and your individual needs.
HAVE FUN with this. One of the benefits of using hypnosis is that it is a natural stress reliever.
Stress in one form or another has probably contributed to your smoking problem in the past so have fun with this process by adopting an “AS IF MIND-SET” while you do it. To use the as if mind-set, use your imagination or simply pretend. Imagine exactly what you want AS IF it were already true, AS IF you simply couldn’t fail, AS IF it were being given to you as a gift
1. What is it that you would most like to accomplish here?
2. Why is that important?
3. Name the three most important reasons that you want to stop smoking? (stated in positive terms as in what you do want, not what you don’t want)
1:
2:
3:
4. When that happens, how will it affect your life?
5. How will you know that you have succeeded? (In sensory specific terms).
What will you see? (People, places, smiles etc)
What will you hear? What are people around you saying, what do you hear?
”inside” your head. (your own inner voice)
What will it feel like externally?
(How will your body feel to you walking, sitting, moving around)
Internally, how will you feel?
(About yourself, your accomplishments, and your place in the world)
CONGRATULATIONS, by taking the time to answer these questions you have moved one step closer to actualizing your goals and increasing the amount of satisfaction you will receive from this program. You have set yourself apart from the majority of the population who does not take the time to think and write out their goals and to take action to fulfill them. You Have Taken the First Step in Developing a More User Friendly Brain, and you have just taken the most important step in turning any good audio program into a highly personalized (private ) session.
You’ll will find that remaining smoke-free will get easier and easier each and every day. You become a non-smoker by keeping cigarettes out of your mouth one day at a time. Good Luck, and Enjoy the clean air!
Norman LaClair
Totally Unlimited Hypnosis
www.hypnofacts.com
Norman LaClair is certified as a Master Hypnotist by The National Guild of Hypnotists, a Master of Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapy by The International Association of Counselors and Therapists, and a Master Practitioner and Licensed Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming by The Society of NLP.
A sought after therapist, trainer, and hypnosis presenter trained in advanced hypnotic techniques, Norm has presented on behalf of leading Hypnosis organizations throughout the country, as well as presenting programs at educational and medical associations throughout the U.S.
A founding member of The Association of Professional Hypnotherapists, former member of the Board of Directors for The International Hypnosis Hall of Fame.
Developer of The Total Mind Therapy system, specializing in smoking cessation and specifically trained in the most advanced and effective processes in the world to make you a non-smoker.
A full time hypnotsit maintaining a private practice in Media, Pa. along with a stop smoking resource web site http://www.hypnofacts.com
Tags: hypnotherapy for smoking, hypnotist, quit smoking hypnosis, quitting smoking, stop smoking hypnosis