Zen of the Quit

Author: Zeno

Don’t Kid Yourself

Seriously. Don’t even try. It isn’t going to work. You may think you can skate on this, but there’s a part of you that knows what you’re up to, and that’s the part of you that you need the most if you’re going to get free and stay that way.

Choose Your Pain

One of the strongest motivations for humans and other conscious beings is the avoidance of pain. In fact, chances are that the avoidance of pain was the primary reason we continued to smoke for as long as we did, in spite of plenty of evidence of the bad consequences of doing so: we didn’t continue […]

Controlling Your Inner Junkie

An important thing to understand about your inner junkie is that it’s very much like a spoiled child: it will do its best to make your life miserable unless you give it what it wants.

What’s the Point?

Really; what’s the point of sitting still, in front of a blank wall, doing nothing, for 20 minutes twice a day? It seems like such a boring waste of time.

Your Inner Junkie

A common theme that comes up with people who are getting ready to quit smoking is they feel like they have a split personality: one part of them wants to quit and one part wants to find reasons to keep smoking.

Zen Joke

Why couldn’t the Zen monk vacuum in the corners of his room or between the cushions of his couch?

Cataloguing Thoughts

In an earlier post about sitting, I tell you that when thoughts arise, you should notice them, catalog them, and then let them go. What do I mean by “cataloguing” thoughts?

Rationalizations, continued

Rationalizations are simply a mechanism we use to try and make the lies we tell ourselves about our smoking behavior seem plausible. When we quit, if we have allowed these rationalizations to go unchallenged, they will come back to haunt us.

Following the Breath

In an earlier post about sitting, I mentioned that one way of bringing your attention back to the present moment is to “follow your breath,” but I didn’t expand on that concept. Now I will.

Are You Really an Addict?

I’ve already as much as said that you’re an addict several times on this blog, and I wonder if you’ve accepted that yet. Well, don’t take my word for it: take this quick 5-question quiz* and then decide for yourself.

Back to top