Shannon's DMSI V2.3 Journal

[Shannon]

Shannon, you're making a lot of sense. I'm definitely a nicotine addict. Pausing is not the same as quitting. However, I'm not making statements without first hand experience here.

I started smoking cigarettes when I was 13. From there I paused several times for several different reasons. But addiction is addiction. Even if I pause for a couple of months, it's like the Devil sneaks up on me and whispers seductive words into my ears.

However, if a person has never smoked a cigarette and suddenly starts smoking 10+ cigarettes per day vs. chewing nicotine gums or using those patches, they likelyhood of developing an addiction is far greater when smoking. I know this from experience. And as science proves, the other chemicals they put in cigarettes increases addiction. Nicotine in pure form is not that addictive. Again, I know this from experience.

Smokers remain smokers because they misunderstand what is what. Let me make it clear that nicotine is extraordinarily addictive. It's just not, by itself, a very strong addiction to break. It's about as hard to deal with - by itself, and for most physiologies - as skipping a meal. The added chemistry is designed to enhance this addictive quality, as much as possible, BECAUSE nicotine by itself isn't very hard to overcome - again, by itself and for most physiologies.

The real reason people have a hard time quitting is neither the nicotine nor the enhancing chemistry. It's the social hypnosis that programs your subconscious from pretty much day one to respond as you do to cigarettes and the effort to stop. I know this is true because Versions 3, 4 and 5 of the stop smoking subliminal were very, and increasingly, effective at getting smokers to quit through doing nothing more than erasing this social hypnosis programming. When I did that, people would literally forget to smoke. The current version is not getting good reviews and that is very likely because I attempted to make it an "all in one stage" program, when the more successful versions would gently step people through it one stage at a time over 6 months. I think the next version of stop smoking is going to have to be at least 3 stages just to prevent subconscious boredom, but it almost certainly cannot be just one stage and remain effective.

After smoking for so long, I've got a pretty good grip on how this works.

Again, smokers are where they are because they misunderstand what is what and they are running on subconscious programming that is pretty much universally fear based and entirely irrational. So thinking you know what is what based on being an experienced smoker isn't necessarily accurate. In fact most smokers remain smokers when they really don't have to or want to, for exactly that reason.

I have yet to meet a smoker whose reason(s) for starting did not originate in some sort of fear, and whose reason(s) for successfully quitting (without using my sub) did not also originate in some sort of fear. I estimate that about 90% of smokers started because they wanted to fit in socially, and that boils down to insecurity and social anxiety, which are both fears. Not being "good enough" or "fitting in" in the eyes of others, basically. Fear, of course, is an emotional response, and emotional responses are always irrational. It makes no rational sense to think that ingesting poisonous smoke is going to make you socially acceptable, or anything else but sick.

Rayhon, weed is not the same. There is little evidence to support that weed is addictive. Some people might experience mental addiction. I'm not one of them I can smoke everyday for 2 months, then completely quit for a year. And unlike you, weed does not have a negative impact on my life what so ever. In fact, it has enhanced it. I might sleep for an extended hour, but that's not really a downside.

People become convinced that they need weed to achieve the state in which they find themselves by smoking it, which they "need" because for them it's a form of self medication against pain, insecurity, stress, etc. Like any addiction, at it's root level, it's just hiding from some pain or fear. So while it is not physically addictive, it has plenty of potential to be psychologically addictive for the right sort of person.

Furthermore, my main philosophy in life is living life. Pretty simple. I'd much rather share a joint with a beautiful girl, get stupid with her and then share a cigarette afterwards as opposed to being the guy who says "Sorry my lady, I don't do that". But that's just me.

You're welcome to do whatever you like. I disagree, and that's my point of view. I choose not to smoke because of my point of view. I'm just pointing out to you what my years and years of research, experiments and interviewing hundreds of smokers has shown me. No, I am not and never have been a smoker. But I cannot say you have the point of view you would have if you'd done the interviews I have had, and the experiments and research. And you cannot say I don't know what I am talking about because I know more than most so-called "experts" on this subject as a result of my research, experiments and interviews, and as a result of having created a successful way to quit smoking effortlessly. (Which I am dying to rebuild in 6G, by the way.)

It's not my business to tell you what to do. I'm just trying to point out to you what is my best understanding of what the truth is, and I'm doing that because until a smoker really understands the truth, they're likely to remain a smoker forever, regardless of how much they want to or try to quit. Once you have and understand the truth, you have the knowledge to decide if you really want to quit forever or not, and to succeed when and if you do decide you are ready to quit.