|
Post by Ann on Oct 28, 2005 7:48:52 GMT -5
E S C A P E S M O K I N G Smoker's Rap
Listen up people and listen to me good I got important news so I think that you should I know you was told it before but it wasn't told right Listen to me now don't put up a fight
You know smoking is bad smoking ain't good But you gotta look cool out there in the hood You gotta look cool when you're young and unsure I understand that but I understand more
You think to yourself oh hey I'm so smart I'll only do it for a while ?fore it gets to my heart I ain't so stupid as those choking old fools Why can't they just stop and follow the rules
You smoke when it's cool then you stop after that It ain't rocket science it's like cat in the hat They don't even taste nice only doin' it for the look I can stop easy won't get caught on no hook
What's the problem here why can't they just stop What's happened to their minds they always going to the shop To buy more cigarettes they always need more At least they'll have to stop when they give their final snore
It's too late to tell them then so listen to me now I can tell you what happens but I can't tell you how Lots of folk get addicted, we're talking millions here People same as you and me, year after year after year
It ain't pretty and it's not very nice So before you take that first puff please think about it twice
Alessandra Liverani Sydney, Australia Copyright © 2003 Alessandra Liverani
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 28, 2005 7:45:25 GMT -5
Turning Inside Out CelticCrone "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers This is not my first attempt at quitting, but it is my last. In my previous attempts, I HOPED that would be the case, but I could never say unequivocally that I would never smoke again. Before this, smoking cessation was something I imposed upon myself from the outside. It was an external test of willpower, a challenge to be disciplined in my life. I would read the cessation materials that spoke of recognizing your triggers or developing strategies to cope with cravings and think, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough of the baby steps, let's get on with it." People who analyzed their smoking addiction seemed overwrought or self-absorbed. In fact, calling it an addiction instead of a habit sounded a bit dramatic. To me, it all came down to stamina: quit, maintain, move on. Don't whine about it, don't analyze it, just do it. For 26 years, through countless failed attempts, I never wavered in my devotion to that approach. In June of this year, I was diagnosed with anemia: very sudden, very severe anemia. One cause of such anemia is cancer and, since I smoked, the first diagnostic step was a chest x-ray. I was handed a slip of paper that read "chronic tobacco abuser" and directed to radiology. I know that phrase isn't really different from the term smoker, but it felt different. It felt dirty, it felt irresponsible, it felt pathetic. And, of course, I had the humbling return trip from radiology: holding my x-rays up to the light in the elevator, promising God I'd quit smoking if He'd please, please, please not let me find a spot on my lungs. I sweated out the days until my follow-up appointment making nervous jokes with my boyfriend about his inheritance, searching the internet for the symptoms of every cancer associated with anemia, and praying none of them sounded familiar. When the chest x-ray came back negative, I began to work on keeping the promise I made in the elevator. Maybe it was that promise, or the shame of the junkie label on my x-ray slip, or finally having some awareness of my own mortality, but whatever the reason, something deep inside of me shifted. Suddenly, every attempt before this seemed shallow, half-hearted and lazy. I knew one thing: the change that needed to be made was on the inside, not the outside. Nonsmoker is an outside label. Releasing the desire for nicotine is an inside change. I did ordinary things: I got a prescription for Zyban, I read everything I could find on smoking cessation -- no matter how redundant, I wrote down my reasons for quitting and various incentives and put them on a key ring to read when a craving hit. I still couldn't bring myself to list my triggers or coping strategies, but I read about them enough to absorb it by osmosis. I did some not-so-ordinary things. I decided to approach it from a spiritual level. I gave myself four guidelines: 1. I would pay attention. This meant noticing my mood swings, cravings, homicidal thoughts, the experiences of others, coincidences that spoke of guidance -- but not judging them, just watching them. 2. I would hang out with the holy. Many spiritual disciplines suggest that those setting out on spiritual path surround themselves with others of similar bent, for support and guidance. I picked the Quitnet for my congregation. 3. I would be gentle with myself and those around me. I would consciously be soft in my approach - release, not deprivation. I would strive not to take myself too seriously or lose my sense of humor. 4. I would look for, and bow to, the divinity in those around me -- aware that the journey is not what is ahead or behind, but what is in the now. Shortly into my quit, I developed a very strange symptom: waves of guilt would suddenly wash over me. Again and again, I would have this sensation, a very physical sensation, of guilt flowing through me. Sometimes I would recognize the source of the guilt, usually some fairly minor offense. But more often, it was just guilt, with no act attached to it. It was a very strange sensation, but not an uncomfortable one. It felt like a cleansing, like it was being released from somewhere within me. Today, I found the place where it was hiding. Today, I met the junkie within me. That's why it bothered me -- calling it an addiction, labeling me a "tobacco abuser"! It was classic junkie denial! AND YOU CANNOT BE A JUNKIE WITHOUT BEING SELFISH. Feeding an addiction means putting it ahead of everything and everyone in your life. You must be disrespectful of your body and the bodies of those closest to you. You must be thoughtless about imposing your stinking, harmful habit on others. You must be neglectful of other responsibilities, deceitful about your reasons, to sneak off to indulge in it. You cannot truly honor the divine around you while you are so d**n busy answering the call of your siren. Just as I could not smell the stink of cigarettes on the outside, I could not see the sewer of addiction on the inside. The guilt rising out of my gut is 26 years of selfishness. It is thousands of self-absorbed acts, lies, and shameful deeds. Today, my eyes are open. Today, I can smell the fresh air beyond my prison window and trust that I truly will be free. homepage.mac.com/bigquit/irishstew.html
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 27, 2005 7:41:40 GMT -5
A GOOD LESSON IN LIFE
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff." "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked." As he poured the coffee into the jar, he said, "It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 26, 2005 13:30:07 GMT -5
Breaking Free
"Getting rid of cigarettes..., is about dignity and self worth, is about health and improving the quality of life, is about being clean, energised and able to do.
Having gotten rid of cigarettes is... To live anew without the penalty of 'having' to smoke. No longer bound by an addiction. Free to discover that they did nothing and were never ever needed.."
adapted from "the Smokers' Home Companion"
ATTITUDE
This is the beginning of the 'Titanic Struggle', all the previous work was but preparation to arrive at this point.... The following exercise is designed to be facing and spark the incentive and 'ATTITUDE' that will initiate this mission impossible to get rid of cigarettes. The way to proceed is to put yourself in the picture of a sequence of five probable scenarios, presented here a series of rooms.
Room the First.....Imagine you are back in hospital, alone and frightened. (Last year your left leg was amputated because of gangrene due to your smoking). This time you have terminal lung cancer. You are are in great pain, hooked up to all manner of medical machines and have two weeks to live, cigarette smoking got you here. Nurse Bungee Cord comes into your room and instead of disappearing almost immediately as she usually does, turns into an angel. You are offered two wishes, what will they be? The first amongst many possibilities could be "To have your health completely restored". The second would then have to be "To be able to successfully get rid of cigarettes" or you will be back in the hospital in no time at all. You then wake up and find it was all a dream. From this room there is no way out.....
Room the Second.....This could look like a prison cell or a trap, it carries with the sense of being cornered or having no other option. Here you are sitting alone on a stool, musing, perhaps feeling a little folorn, smoking cigarettes and coughing, wistfully bemoaning your fate to be stuck in this place. You are moaning about how smokers are treated nowadays and cannot imagine living without your smokes. You believe that the situation is real and refuse to leave. There are two ways out from here, the way back out is faint and keeps disappearing, the way to the hospital (the first room ) keeps getting stronger.
Room the Third.....There is a party going on in the midst of a thick cloud of tobacco smoke, the room is full of people smoking like its going out of style, you are arguing with each other about cigarette brands, you along with everyone else are proudly proclaiming to the other that you can 'QUIT' any time you like. Inwardly you know this is a lie since you have all tried several times and failed. This is the room called "The Chamber of Increasing Self-Deception". You fail to notice the people leaving through the door to room two, since more keep coming in. There are two ways out from here, and many ways in.
Room the Fourth.....This a vast arena of comings and goings, seething with the confusion of a market place. Everywhere there are advertisements, booths and recruiters urging you to smoke, a few ineffectual warnings telling you not to. There are innumerable doors of all colors shapes and sizes, each with a different name. A continuous stream of people, mostly young, are entering through a one way door marked "Over 18", as they enter packs of cigarettes are thrust into their hands by the recruiters. Ignoring much of the scene they head straight for the party in room three. Every now and again there is a commotion as a door bursts open and a wild eyed man or lady, busily lighting up a cigarette, comes rushing in, proclaiming loudly to all that they have had enough of quitting! Scattered here and there are individuals and small groups trying to make up their minds to leave. In a cloud of smoke, they are researching methods and discussing strategies. Every now and again some of them begin to head towards the many ways out but are intercepted by friends or someone from the army of recruiters. A few make it all the way and leave, but most of these exits are connected to a cruel maze that sooner or later leads them back into this chamber.
The Exit... You have found an exit marked "Self-Determined Effort". It opens into a barren desert with a road running through it, this is the wilderness of your coming struggles. You have just stubbed out your last cigarette and are making for the door, you are prepared, you know it will be tough, but you also know that there is no other way to go. You feel the tug from the arena and can hear the haunting echo of voices from the third room urging you to come back in and join them. Urgently, you must leave now, without delay and keep to the yellow brick road of your hopes and lasting intentions.....
Room the Fifth..... This is not a room, it is a panorama new possibilities. Months and more likely years from now you will arrive here, it is the place of your final liberation from cigarettes, yours to discover. What will you find in it...?
Let it Pass.com
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 26, 2005 13:25:44 GMT -5
How Nicotine Works by Ann Meeker-O'Connell
Nicotine comes from the leaves of the tobacco plant. For thousands of years, people have smoked or chewed the leaves of the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum. Tobacco was first found and cultivated in the Americas, perhaps as early as 6000 B.C. Following the discovery and colonization of North and South America, the tobacco plant was exported widely, to continental Europe and the rest of the civilized world. Even in its early days, tobacco use was controversial. Some hailed its medicinal properties. For example, tobacco was supposed to be protective against the ravages of the Plague! As early as the 1600s, people speculated that there might be a link between diseases, like cancer, and tobacco use. Since then, modern research methods have provided evidence of this link, and public service announcements that warn of tobacco's health risks and addictive nature are seen regularly on TV.
What is it about tobacco that makes people so compelled to use it despite all of the admonitions? Smoking or chewing tobacco makes people feel good, even mildly euphoric. While there are thousands of chemicals in the tobacco plant (not to mention those added by cigarette manufacturers), one, nicotine, produces all the good feelings that draw people back for another cigarette or plug of tobacco. In this article, we'll examine nicotine and how it affects the human body.
What is Nicotine?
Structure of nicotine Nicotine (C10H14N2) is a naturally occurring liquid alkaloid. An alkaloid is an organic compound made out of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sometimes oxygen. These chemicals have potent effects on the human body. For example, many people regularly enjoy the stimulating effects of another alkaloid, caffeine, as they quaff a cup or two of coffee in the morning.
Nicotine normally makes up about 5 percent of a tobacco plant, by weight. Cigarettes contain 8 to 20 milligrams (mg) of nicotine (depending on the brand), but only approximately 1 mg is actually absorbed by your body when you smoke a cigarette.
Nicotine in the Body As with most addictive substances, humans have devised a number of ways of delivering nicotine to their bodies. Nicotine readily diffuses through:
Skin Lungs Mucous membranes (such as the lining of your nose or your gums) Nicotine moves right into the small blood vessels that line the tissues listed above. From there, nicotine travels through your bloodstream to the brain, and then is delivered to the rest of your body.
The most common (and the most expedient way) to get nicotine and other drugs into your bloodstream is through inhalation -- by smoking it. Your lungs are lined by millions of alveoli, the tiny air sacs where gas exchange occurs. These alveoli provide an enormous surface area -- 90 times greater than that of your skin -- and thus provide ample access for nicotine and other compounds. Once in your bloodstream, nicotine flows almost immediately to your brain. Although nicotine takes a lot of different actions throughout your body, what it does in the brain is responsible for both the good feelings you get from smoking, as well as the irritability you feel if you try to quit (see the section on addiction and withdrawal for details). Within 10 to 15 seconds of inhaling, most smokers are in the throes of nicotine's effects.
Nicotine doesn't stick around your body for too long. It has a half-life of about 60 minutes, meaning that six hours after a cigarette, only about 0.031 mg of the 1 mg of nicotine you inhaled remains in your body.
How does your body get rid of nicotine? Here's the process:
About 80 percent of nicotine is broken down to cotinine by enzymes in your liver.
Nicotine is also metabolized in your lungs to cotinine and nicotine oxide.
Cotinine and other metabolites are excreted in your urine. Cotinine has a 24-hour half-life, so you can test whether or not someone has been smoking in the past day or two by screening his or her urine for cotinine.
The remaining nicotine is filtered from the blood by your kidneys and excreted in the urine. Different people metabolize nicotine at different rates. Some people even have a genetic defect in the enzymes in their liver that break down nicotine, whereby the mutant enzyme is much less effective at metabolizing nicotine than the normal variant. If a person has this gene, their blood and brain nicotine levels stay higher for longer after smoking a cigarette. Normally, people keep smoking cigarettes throughout the day to maintain a steady level of nicotine in their bodies. Smokers with this gene usually end up smoking many fewer cigarettes, because they don't constantly need more nicotine.
Effects of Nicotine Nicotine changes how your brain and your body function. The net results are somewhat of a paradox: Nicotine can both invigorate and relax a smoker, depending on how much and how often they smoke. This biphasic effect is not uncommon. Although the actions of nicotine and ethanol in the body are quite different, you also see dose-dependent effects when you drink alcoholic beverages. Your first drink may loosen your inhibitions and fire you up, but after several drinks, you're usually pretty sedate.
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 25, 2005 8:07:36 GMT -5
Excerpt: It is also crucial not to take responsibility for the occurrence of the urge, but only your response to it. It is normal for any addict to experience urges, and just because on Sunday you decide to stop does not mean that on Monday you will not have urges. The fact that urges occur does not indicate that your motivation is weak, but that your addiction is strong. Because all habits have unconscious components, of which the urge is one, it will take time for these to die away. What is within your control, however, is how you respond to the urge. An analogy could be made to someone knocking at your front door. All sorts of individuals might knock at your door, but it is up to you to decide with whom you will talk. Their knocking is not your responsibility, but to what extent you choose to speak with them is. full article: www.habitsmart.com/coping.html
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 25, 2005 8:04:30 GMT -5
To achieve, stop using your own words and thoughts to put yourself down. To achieve, start expecting the best of yourself, and know that you're indeed fully capable of it.
To achieve, stop pretending that you are someone else. To achieve, get connected to the authentic, unique person you are.
To achieve, develop a vision so positive, meaningful and compelling that you simply cannot sit still. Then get up, go out and delight in creating your own special greatness for the world.
Originator - unknown
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 24, 2005 8:53:33 GMT -5
from msnbc.com
• August 8, 2005 | 9:41 p.m. ET
Flush the butts (Keith Olbermann)
SECAUCUS — I wrote here yesterday of Peter Jennings’ death from lung cancer. The entry yesterday — as nearly all the talk - was, suitably and appropriately, about the man.
Now, about the disease — and you.
The statistics are staggering. By the time this day is over, just in this country, 447 people will have died of lung cancer — 1,562 from all forms of cancer. Nobody did a better job of remembering the part of this sadness that we are trying to forget than Tom Brokaw, yesterday morning, on the Today show: "To go through this difficult time seemed particularly cruel to me. But I know Peter would want us to say, this happens to families every day, and we can't forget about them either."
To that point, the story now of somebody who quite probably should've been in Peter Jennings' shoes, except for dumb, undeserved luck.
Me.
‘So,’ I thought, as I was hunched over, spitting blood into the garbage can in my office, half an hour before the newscast, ‘this is it — this is cancer.’ It gets uglier, I understood that — so ugly that those who've survived can't even describe how much uglier it gets.
Still, that imagery that I want to have stick in your mind, is pretty good: They've just had to
• Lung cancer & you Aug. 8: With the death of Peter Jennings, Countdown has already talked about him. Now, the show needs to talk about you. And cancer. MSNBC
cut something out, from inside your body because they think it's cancer. And because it doesn't heal up right away, every couple of hours the coagulation breaks and your mouth fills up with blood — and all of a sudden, hunching over a garbage can, spitting it out, is the best available option.
I'm not doing some sort of bad taste ‘what-if’ on the passing of Peter Jennings — I have had a tumor removed from the roof of my mouth.
It was benign — that makes all the difference in the world, of course.
Except for the part — where it doesn't make any difference. Because, I was in that position — spitting globs of myself into a garbage can in Secaucus, New Jersey, entirely through my own doing, my own fault.
And maybe there's the chance that if the loss of Peter Jennings hasn't impacted you, that maybe if you listen to my story you might get smart enough in a hurry — or scared enough in a hurry — so that you don't wind up spitting blood into the garbage can, and spending five days like me, thinking you had cancer — or actually having it.
There are some things in life you don't have much control over — terrorism, lightning, and even cancer when it runs in your family or when you just get it.
But that's not what this tumor was — the one that for five very long days had me convinced I had cancer. This is from me smoking pipes and cigars for 27 years. And if you work for a company that produces or sells pipes and cigars and you are recoiling defensively and saying ‘you don't know that’... well, let me quote Robert Novak — "bull" — I do too know that.
Courtesy Of Dr. Andrei Mark Keith Olbermann, up close and very personal. The place where this thing grew on the roof of my mouth, is precisely above the spot where the end of the cigar, or the tip of the pipe, would sit, nearly every time I've smoked. I've been smoking — with the first place the smoke connects with my tissue, right in this one spot in my mouth — since Jimmy Carter was President.
So, yes, biologically speaking, smoking caused that tumor. Behaviorally speaking, I caused that tumor — period.
It's not like this thing that they cut out of me a week ago last Friday just appeared overnight, either. It was there no later than 1991, and a dentist told me then: either quit smoking or keep an eye on this — or both — because that could be pre-cancerous.
But no — until my current dentist Bob Schwartz said "this has changed, go see an oral surgeon" — I knew better. Both my grandfathers, I liked to say, lived into their 80s and in the last weeks of their lives, both of them walked into town to get a haircut and some cigars — and that would be good enough for me.
Well, maybe that would have been good for me. Except, the point is this: they cut something out of your mouth; it's a benign fibrous tumor; they have to cauterize it with a laser; you wind up spitting blood like Rocky Balboa in front of Burgess Meredith; you spend five days thinking about the radiation and the chemo to come; and — by the way — ten days later, your mouth still hurts and it'll probably be all healed in six weeks.
And that's if you're lucky — so lucky that you start jumping up and down and singing "Happy Days Are Here Again."
Imagine… if it were bad news.
My oral surgeon, Andrei Mark, admits now he feared the worst. And worse still, the last guy in to see him, before me, the last smoker with a tumor in his mouth — his was Lymphoma "B" — Cancer. No unexpected good luck for him.
Maybe, if you're sitting there smoking right now, it'll make you think.
And even if you sense there's already something wrong, don't wait. Oral cancers are survivable at a rate of 80 to 90 percent — get your dentist to give you a simple screening. Even lung cancer, you can do something about — if you do something about it.
Since that lovely evening I spent hunched over my garbage can, I have changed in a couple of ways, but most notably this way: when I see somebody smoking, I want to smack the cigarette or the cigar or the pipe out of their mouth. And then I want to smack them. I understand about the addiction and how they hook you and all of that. I'm a smoker — remember?
But consider something - I had to consider this, last week. It would be terrible enough to have cancer. But on top of it, you'd have cancer and you'd have to stop smoking. Guess what? It's easier to stop smoking while you don't have cancer. Ever thought of that before?
Anyway. We're all sad about Peter Jennings. Me, I feel sad and guilty. But if his death has saddened you, and you smoke, and you want to do something about it, something for him — stop smoking. Or get somebody else to stop.
Break the pipe or throw away the chaw, or flush the butts, or leave the cigar in the cigar store. Buy the gum, buy the patch, get them to tie your arms behind your back until you stop smoking. Do whatever you have to do to stop smoking — now. While it's easier.
So you don't have to stop smoking while you have cancer. Or while you're sitting there, spitting into a garbage can, praying that you don't.
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 24, 2005 8:49:56 GMT -5
For those just starting their smoke free journey . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Get your army boots on, this is a war!
So great to know that you are taking this journey to be smoke-free for the rest of your life! We`re so happy that you have found us here at this support site. We have all come here by various channels. Some of us stumbled in here and others were guided in here. Either way there are thousands of us that have been helped by being in this community and most importantly, being a part of this community. You`re decision to join will benefit not only you but all of us as well. So take your seat and stay awhile; your smoke free journey begins.
Your decision to quit smoking is really a decision to go to war. You are going to fight an enemy that has been seeking to destroy you, both your body and mind! You came to realize, for whatever your personal reasons, that now is the time to put a stop to this slow death sentence.
In any combat you must come prepared if you wish to succeed. Of course you need the burning desire to come out a winner. You must never doubt the outcome. You must never wish for an outcome. You must never rely on others for the outcome. You must be sure of the outcome! You must go in with the attitude that failure is not an option! You will win this battle as a personal success story!
Another component necessary for a successful combat is planning! You must know your enemy. You must know about all the weapons your enemy has at his disposal. You must know all the possible strategies your enemy may use to see you defeated. You must never underestimate the capabilities of your enemy. And here is the great part . . . there is a lot of information available about your enemy. You can read all about him. You can ask others about him. Just ask about Nicko at any local library, the web, or right here. Once you know your enemy and all that he has, a big part of your battle has become so much easier.
Of course every battle goes smoother with the aid of advisors and supporters. You will find hundreds of advisors here on this support site. You will have so many supporters here that you will never realize the actual numbers. In order to succeed you must be willing to share your battle plans, successes, failures and doubts will all these advisors and supporters. That is the only way to get the feedback you require to ensure a well maintained and successful battle.
And finally, going into battle needs a good leader. You will be that leader. It is your fight, your battle and your victory at the end of the battle. A good leader has a good attitude . . . the `I will not fail` attitude. A good leader can be both strong and humble at the same time. A good leader will realize mistakes made and take full responsibility. A good leader will not get too thingyy when things go so well that his guard goes down. A good leader is patient. A good leader listens. After a successful battle, a good leader will help others who are about to enter a similar battle. A good leader is what you can be.
So pull on your combat boots. Put fear in the heart of your enemy. Put determination in your burning desire to win. Have a humble spirit ready when you need help. Put kindness in your hand so that you can help others.
What a great day to smoke free!
Peter found on Quitnet
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 24, 2005 8:40:29 GMT -5
It's cold and raining around here but I've been quit since:
Jan 20, 2000
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 21, 2005 8:19:38 GMT -5
I got this in my morning mail from a good friend. Wait for it to load and use some of the boxes on the side. Enjoy! www.alighthouse.com/skel.htm
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 21, 2005 8:15:58 GMT -5
There comes a time... From healing2
when you just can't rationalize existing in a state of perpetual guilt and disatisfaction with being a smoker. For a while you're unaware of the discomfort that smoking causes to your spiritual growth. You might even be able to convince yourself that smoking actually enhances your ability to think, feel comfortable, produce, relax, motivate, and enjoy a given situation.
But after a time, perhaps a REALLY long time, all these rationalizations become less plausible. Smoking becomes undressed of it's vails of deception and it becomes more clear how it really effects your daily behavior. Perhaps you become aware of it making you more tired, using it as a crutch to postpone the next task, feeling its effects upon your state of mind, recognize it hindering your desire to do and try new things, accepting that it curtails your physical strength, becoming aware of how deeply it lets you burry your feelings and emotions.
This realization is a bit like preparing an onion. At first you peel off the thinest sheath of skin. The smell hits your nose and it is offended. A bit sweet and pungent you begin to slice away through the sphere. There is now an urgency to work through the task of preparation. This stage is followed by tears as you hack away at the layers of complex growth that have developed over time. When you're through dicing the many layers that once built you're habit, you're left with a pile of raw nerve and existance that you have endless choices of how to use. NOW you're ready to cook.
The beauty of tearing down all the falshoods of our shealths of smoking skins is how sweet and delicious our lives might become. Never before were we able to recognize the naked beauty of our inner selves. We really believed that we were, lazy, productive, angry, sad, happy because of our relationship with cigarettes. When we stop smoking we are free to turn ourselves around in our own hands. We can finally look at ourselves more clearly and mold what we will become with a sense of purpose and strength previously hidden by the falisies of smokers thought.
If you're afraid of finding out what lies beneath the years of habit you've built to fortress yourself from your true being know that you are absolutely not alone. I'll wager that everyone at this site has felt afraid to begin the first tear in their habit's rather sturdy outer skin. I'll also bet that most of us who find themselves somewhere in the tears of chopping up the layers of existance that we once clearly thought was who we were, are still frightened. And that those who feel confident that they have desided upon throwing away their habit's skin and cooking themselves up a whole new habit are tasting life as if they've never eaten a perfectly sauteed onion before.
An onion can be planted again. From it new bulbs grow. You can decide to replant your old bulbs and allow yourself to remain burried in the falisies and dark of smoking. Or you can at last dig yourself out of the darkness and begin to tear away at the layers of your former smoking self. I believe that you'll be pleasently suprised at what intricate layers lie beneath that outer armor. I hope you'll choose to taste the sweet delicacies that are you.
Found on Quitnet
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 20, 2005 18:05:19 GMT -5
No, it's not taboo. We do need to address this sadness instead of skirting around it all the time. "I miss my friend", that comes to mind first so grieve for the loss. It was your constant companion through good times and bad, happy, sad, fighting with the spouse, yelling at the kids, working in the yard, making dinner, reading a book, watching TV, driving, talking on the phone, at the computer. It was with us at every turn in our lives and we need to say good-bye properly.
If this is not just a good bye then it may be something more and you may need to speak with your doctor. I remember at the old Just4U board that someone took a poll, there were at least half of us on anti-depressants so it is nothing to be ashamed of. Nicotine plays tricks on our brains and actually masks a mild depression so when you quit it plays havoc with our systems.
Like Judyb said "Quitting is a #itch!"
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 20, 2005 8:01:13 GMT -5
Besides Batman who else is in the path of Wilma? Jimpops is it headed your way, Dot, anyone? ? Check in with us guys to let us know you are okay.
|
|
|
Post by Ann on Oct 20, 2005 7:55:47 GMT -5
Nico Demon Taught I Was His HA HA HA!!!!!!
I had no idea what life would hold when I was born, little did we know you was already getting prepared for me. My folks bring me home so full of joy and love for there new baby girl. Both wanting to keep me safe from harm. They love me and teach me right from wrong. While they are smoking all around me, not even aware of the harm they have caused.. As I grew up I watched them smoke, then one day I saw my sister lite up. She I wanted to be just like, so if smoking was alright for her then I too well lite up. That was the second way you would win me over, for seven years you waited for me to take my first puff. Now you snickered I have you hooked, little did I know what he meant. As I grew older I tired of all this smoke, and told ole Nic I was leaving him. Oh he just laughed and said try your best, for you are mine and well be back.
My battle began I went in ready to win, I did not know of all his tools he does use to keep you hooked. I battle hard for my freedom only to be defeated . Only this time I was smoking more then ever before. As time passes by I try two more times only again not to win. I ask this nico what makes it so hard to leave? He gets this evil grin an says: My child I have owned you for years, why way back when mom and dad smoked around you I planted my seed. Why your sister was just the right tool, all I needed to get you to take that first puff. Now you are mine till death us do part. As he laughs this horrible laugh.
I sit down and cry, I can not breath as well as I would like, why it is even hard to take a hike, or ride my bike. I just want my life back, so much as wasted away I can never revive. But I still have a life ahead if I beat you dead nico. So I well try again only this time I well win, oh I know you well be near. Asking no begging me to come back here, but now it is my turn to laugh in your face. I am free
BY: Sandi found o n Quitnet
|
|