2016-07-27
I quit smoking 6 months ago after being a smoker for 23 years (more than half of my life). I am finding it easier to quit smoking than to give up sugar. Any suggestions for smokers or sugar addicts? I know what you are going through. I was a regular smoker for a long time, and with God's help, I kicked the habit. I found it helpful to look underneath the symptom--to explore my desire to smoke. I can’t speak for you, but, I saw what smoking was giving me: it was a way to self-anesthetize. Smoking made me feel euphoric at times; other times it made me sedated. Also, there was something about breathing in and out in a deep way that I loved and needed. So to kick the habit, I found ways to get these feelings that were not so self-destructive. For pain relief and anesthesia, I began meditation. I would get very peaceful and relaxed through prayer, and spiritual practice. Hypnosis was helpful for me. For euphoria and breathing, I tried the ancient practice of pranayam, a concentrated breathing exercise. I teach this on one of my DVD's, 30 Days to Spiritual Well-being. Andrew Weil has an excellent audio CD on breathing. It involves focusing your breathing deeply into one area of your body. There are also books available on the subject. All these techniques satisfy me quite well instead of a cigarette. As for sugar, did you know that most commercial cigarettes, and cigars, have lots of sugar in them? So it may not only be a psychological issue, it could be physiological as well. We simply don't need massive amounts of sugar to survive, but we’ve gotten addicted to it. First, check with your doctor and get some tests to be sure you are not diabetic. Then, slowly eliminate sugar from your daily Food Plan. Consider having fruit 2-3 times a day, interspersed with items from all food groups to keep your blood sugar constant. I eat every 2-3 hours so I don't get ravenous from a lower blood sugar. One more thing: I found that getting off the cigarette, nicotine, and sugar addictions were not so hard with God's help. It only took me two days to break the habit. God gave me a miracle, and you can have one too. Just ask for help, believe that help has come, and be healed.

- Norris Chumley

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