How I quit my 20-year addiction to smoking
There seems to be a thousand different strategies out there to cure cigarette addiction? and I've tried all of them. I started smoking at a very young age and I can't even remember a time when I didn't smoke. Smoking was as necessary in my life as air.
But about five years ago, I decided enough was enough. I was determined to get rid of the crutch, and began trying different methods.
Nicotine gum tasted like pepper to me and only caused me frustration. I remember chomping on it so hard that I thought I was going to chip a tooth just to get a little extra nicotine out of it. Hiccups were also a common occurrence with the gum.
Then there was the time I tried a $150 prescription medication from a doctor. That was a literal nightmare! After experiencing extreme feelings of dark depression, I read through the 300 side effects and found that suicidal thoughts were on the list. Needless to say, I stopped taking it and lost that $150 dollars.
I thought I had hit the jackpot with the eCigarette at first. I was blind. There was a period of about three months that I was able to use only the eCig, but I was still addicted to nicotine. Eventually, I got tired of it and the way it burned my throat, and switched back to real tobacco.
I also tried going cold turkey on multiple occasions. My best attempt was four days and I felt that if I were to go any longer I would either end up in a straight jacket or a jail cell.
One day I ran across an interesting article titled Hallucinogen in Magic Mushrooms helps Longtime Smokers Quit in Hopkins Trial. The success rate in this study, even after six months, was a whopping 80% with administration of psilocybin! That's over double the success rate of any other method available. Having previous successes with entheogens eradicating depression and aiding issues of the spirit, I knew it was worth a shot.
Why don't all smokers quit when they take magic mushrooms?
Here is my take: In most cases, if I were to hand a screwdriver to a toddler, they wouldn't have a clue what to do with it. If one is given a tool with no understanding of its functionality or how to use it, then the tool is useless. In this same way, mushrooms require understanding and respect to be used effectively.
The strategies that I needed to quit smoking using mushrooms became clear in the two months prior to my quit date. These strategies developed like a well-crafted blueprint for success that could be used and emulated.
Good diet is imperative
If someone eats a big greasy hamburger and fries before their trip, it probably isn't going to go well. Mushrooms react poorly with bad food, giving one the sensation of rotting in the gut. I generally tend to avoid most meat for at least three days before a trip, consume predominately healthy vegetables and fruits for those three days, and fast the night before.
Intentions are everything
I have found that if I am ingesting any psychedelic, my original intention for the experience has a lot of bearing on what happens. I imagine many people are apprehensive the first time they try mushrooms. By projecting a positive and clear intention, I was able to influence the path of the experience. If someone is given keys to a car, with no destination in mind or any knowledge of where they are going, they will just drive around aimlessly for hours until they run out of gas. Psychedelics can work in this same way.
I focused in clearly on what it was I wanted to accomplish. For two solid months I meditated on the fact that I was going to quit and allowed this idea to saturate my daily thoughts.
Now, I'm not saying people should meditate for two months and have a clear plan in order to experience benefits from mushrooms. Many people responsibly take trips just to enjoy it and feel connected to the Earth, and I have no quarrel with this. The point I am trying to make is that mushrooms can be an extremely effective tool using the method I'm describing.
Nature is a must
I cant stress this element enough. Mushrooms dissolve the boundaries between the individual and nature in such a way that we feel no separation. One becomes nature. It is here in Mothers womb that my healing took place. Camping near a waterfall was the way to go. I could feel myself being purified during my stay.
I also learned a more precise tactic from Paul Stamets, the worlds leading mycologist (biologist specializing in the study of fungi), through an online video. Paul explained that he was able to cure stuttering by wrapping his arms around a tree during an intense mushroom trip. By doing this, he was able to connect with the root network in the brain and the tree at the same time. This is where one is able to reset addictive behaviors and habitual pathways.
Using this technique, I was able to connect with my mind on a very deep level. This was kind of like plugging into a network? the original network. It was in this place of energy and light that the addiction was obliterated. The feeling I had could be related to pushing a reset button, although it was a lot more profound than merely pushing a button.
I quit with no physical withdrawals!
Not kidding. I had no physical withdrawals whatsoever! I had tried so many times and always experienced withdrawals. There was no voice in my head constantly telling me to smoke either. I just felt happy and free in the days after quitting.
In the following weeks and months occasionally a stressful situation would trigger a craving, but these were easily dismissed. I knew I was no longer a smoker.
After a few months of complete nicotine cessation, I realized I needed to get this story out there. I wrote a short kindle ebook titled How I Quit Smoking With Mushrooms, describing in much greater detail the tactics that I used to quit.
It was definitely a life changing experience for me. I can finally breathe, run, and pursue a career as a dance fitness instructor. For five years Ive wanted to get into fitness, but until I quit I just never had the lung capacity.
We need to change our perspective
Genetically, mushrooms are more like us than plants. It seems to me they are able to bridge the gap between us and nature so that true communication can take place. This communication is far beyond words.
In my opinion we need many more studies like the one that inspired me to quit smoking. Psilocybin is quite possibly the most effective cigarette addiction treatment of all.
http://www.collective-evolution.com/...on-to-smoking/
