This section provides tools, videos, tasks and exercises for you to become free as you encounter the waves of resistance within and around you.
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Guided Meditaion is a very effective primary recovery tool which you can utilize easily.
Adopt a relaxed posture, loosen shoes, ties, and other constricting clothing. Lower the room lighting. Put on some new age music, quiet, wordless for background. Begin in a soft voice.
Close your eyes and take this moment to truly relax. This is your time to be free from all worry and cares. Let go into the healing journey. Feel safe, stress free and totally secure.
Self-Forgiveness Meditation
To be read slowly to a friend or silently to oneself.
Reflect for a moment on that quality we call forgiveness. Bring into your mind, actually into your heart, the image of someone for whom you have much resentment.
Take a moment to feel that person right there at the center of your chest, in your heart center.
And in your heart say to that person, “I forgive you for anything you may have done in the past, either intentionally, through your thoughts, words, or actions that caused me pain. I forgive you.”
Slowly allow that person to settle into your heart.
Don’t judge yourself for how difficult it is.
No force, just opening slowly to them at your own pace. Say to them, “I forgive you. I forgive you for the pain you caused me in the past, intentionally or unintentionally, by your thoughts, your deeds, your words. I forgive you.”
Gently, gently open to them. If it hurts, let it hurt. Gradually open to that person. That resentment, that incredible anger, even if it burns, ever so
gently though. Forgiveness.
“I forgive you.”
Let your heart open to them. It is so painful to hold someone out of your heart.
“I forgive you.”
Let your heart open just a bit more to them. Just a moment of opening, of forgiveness, letting go of resentment.
Allow them to be forgiven.
Now opening more to forgiveness, bring into your heart the image of someone from whom you wish to ask forgiveness.
Speak to them from your heart. “I ask your forgiveness for anything I may have done in the past that caused you pain, either by my thoughts
or my actions or my words. Even for those things I didn’t intend to cause you pain, I ask your forgiveness.”
“For all those words that were said out of forgetfulness or fear, out of my shame, out of my confusion. I ask your forgiveness.”
Don’t allow any resentment you hold toward yourself to block your reception of that forgiveness. Let your heart soften to it. Allow yourself to
be forgiven.
Let yourself be freed.
Let that unworthiness come up, that anger at yourself . Now, let it all fall away. Let it all go.
Open to the possibility of forgiveness.
“I ask myself for forgiveness for whatever I may have done in the past that caused myself pain. By the way I acted or spoke or thought, I ask myself for forgiveness.”
It is so painful to hold myself out of my heart.
Bring yourself into your heart. Say, “I forgive you.” Open to that.
Let it be. Make room in your heart for yourself.
“I forgive myself.”
All those resentments, let them fall away.
Open to the self-forgiveness. Let yourself have some space.
Let go of that bitterness, that hardness, that judgment of yourself.
Say, “I forgive myself”
Let some glimmer of loving kindness be directed toward yourself. Allow your heart to open to yourself. Let that light, that care for yourself, grow.
Self-forgiveness.
Watch how thoughts of unworthiness and fears of being self-indulgent try to block the possibility of once and for all letting go of self-judgment.
See the freedom in self-forgiveness.
Feel that place of love and enter into it.
Allow yourself compassion, the care, of self-forgiveness. Let yourself float gently in the open heart of understanding, of forgiveness, and peace.
Feel how hard it is for us to love ourselves. Feel the pain in the hearts of all those caught in confusion. Forgive them. Forgive yourself. Let go gently of the pain that hides the immensity of your love. I bask in the warmth of love, which is always with me.
— Adapted from Stephen Levine with permission.
Do not be afraid, be careful!
Many of us who smoke tobacco have other conditions, which need attention when we build our recovery plan. Some of us face mental health challenges which are themselves hard enough to deal with, let alone dropping our number one survival tool, cigarettes. So we must be prepared.
We need to keep our counseling network fully informed about our intentions and our progress. Some of us experience bouts of depression, severe anxiety, phobias, sleeplessness, anorexia, bulimia, isolation, deep loneliness and many other conditions from which we humans suffer. The point is to recognize that these conditions or states represent a potential hurdle for you and to make sure you have a recovery plan, which keeps these situations at the center of your journey.
If you are receiving or in need of some professional help, we urge you to stay grounded and connected with these supports as you learn to live in your world without tobacco.
Alcoholics, for instance, have a serious, life threatening addiction and must be very aware that as they become tobacco free they must always be careful to keep their alcohol recovery program in full operation: ‘working their program’, going to meetings, reading their ‘Big Book’ and daily meditations.
This will not only protect their sobriety but enhance their tobacco recovery efforts as well. So do not be afraid, be careful and plan your tobacco recovery with all your needs in mind. You can
recover.
These cautions are not meant to frighten you, but rather help you raise your awareness to the level required as you encounter the powerful tobacco addiction within you.
Knowing what you are dealing with is the first step in recovery. Getting the help you need then naturally flows from this understanding.
- know what you need.
- get the help you require
- keep everyone informed
- don’t be afraid, be careful
Keeping a journal is an extremely effective recovery tool which provides an external access point to our unconscious drivers. It it you can record all your essential experiences including your dreams, your setbacks, and stumbles, lessons learned and your own internal sabotage patterns. To safely express ourselves emotionally is a key recovery skill and this tool provides that option.
Your journal is for you and you only. Give it a try. You don’t have to be a good writer. Keep it simple.
Your journal is composed of two parts.
- A place to record and collect, at one source, all the insights and information you think are important to you. A place to design, develop and implement your action-plan strategies.
- A place to record your story, your experiences, including your progress through withdrawal and on into the survival and maintenance phases.
Simple Routines For A Daily Practice
“Routine as a recovery tool can be used by the individual or collective to deepen the connection to oneself and others, by providing a unified expression of experience, often reflected in language, symbol and ceremony.”
Examples:
- light a candle.
- write or draw in your journal.
- rise 5 minutes early.
- breath deeply 3 x a day.
- walk every noon-hour.
- recite your affirmations.
- do your daily meditation.
- pray in your own way.
- treat yourself once a day.
- keep a dream journal.
- volunteer to help someone.
- express your gratitude.
- build some sacred time into each day
Routine as a survival tool for your recovery
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)
NRT is the most commonly used family of quit smoking medications. NRT reduces withdrawal feelings by giving you a small, controlled amount of nicotine but none of the other dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes. This small amount of nicotine helps satisfy your craving for nicotine and reduces the urge to smoke.
Doctors and other medical experts think NRT is the one of the most helpful tools smokers can use to quit. Some smokers have mild to moderate side effects. However, research shows that NRT is safe and effective. NRT can be an important part of almost every smoker’s quit smoking strategy.
NRT comes in a variety of forms that are used in different ways. You can choose which forms you like best. Some NRT products work better than others for some people. Some people might prefer certain NRT products instead of others.
NRT can’t do all the work. It can help with withdrawal and cravings, but it won’t completely take away the urge to smoke. Even if you use NRT to help you stop smoking, quitting can still be hard.
Combining NRT with the Tobacco Club strategy can improve your chances of quitting and staying quit. Your personalized quit plan can help you find tools and strategies that work together to help you quit and stay quit. It can also help you to stay focused, confident, and motivated to quit.
Are you a Canadian Resident?
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) programs are available to Canadian residents and vary depending on the province where you reside.
NRT is the most commonly used family of quit smoking medications. NRT reduces withdrawal feelings by giving you a small, controlled amount of nicotine but none of the other dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes. This small amount of nicotine helps satisfy your craving for nicotine and reduces the urge to smoke.
