Smoking?Quit with Whispers and Acupuncture

Do you want to stop smoking badly enough to try? If you do, start now. Don't wait for what happened to my friend Waleed.

Waleed brimmed with funny stories, but our last meeting was a sad one. He was still telling his stories and he was surrounded, as usual, by a gathering of laughing girls. Ominously, however, a wire ran out of his shirt-front to what looked like a 1940s radio.

He caught my glance. "Heart monitor," he said. Then he pointed to a cylinder next to his chair. "I need oxygen too. Cigarettes, you know. They've finally got me."

At the time, I was smoking 80 a day - four packets - and had an unrelenting cough. My home leave was over. Next day I was off again to my job in the Persian Gulf.

After visiting Waleed I found it harder to breathe. Call it 'funk' and I'll agree with you.

I chewed gum, which I hate, on the flight. At the other end, I stumbled into the heavy Gulf heat, exhausted. Thoughts of self-hypnotism--about which I knew nothing--ran through my head.

Then I remembered how, as a child, I would wake myself ahead of some holiday trip that required early rising. I would bang my head on the pillow six times before sleeping and whisper: "Wake at six!" It always worked.

I didn't know how many bangs I needed for a "Quit smoking" order, so I used the six o'clock formula and whispered: "Don't smoke."

My cigarette consumption fell, but I was still smoking three months later when I heard Waleed had died. A darkness, like that of a sudden sandstorm at mid-day, seemed to fall on me.

Then, at a New Year's Eve dinner, I overheard a woman across the table tell her neighbour: "He stopped my fiancé smoking?" I soon had the story from her and the address of the person - a Chinese doctor - who had worked this miracle.

"I can't help you unless you really want to quit smoking," Dr Yeah said when we met.

I assured him I did and he twiddled an acupuncture needle in the lobe of my left ear and stuck a tiny tablet into the top of my right ear with a piece of sticking-plaster. "Keep that there and come tomorrow," he said.

He repeated the treatment over the next five days, alternating needle and tablet between ears. I was still smoking on the fifth day, when he said: "This is our last session."

At home again, disgruntled and sorry for myself, I sat in the garden smoking. Then, suddenly, I realised I was mindlessly smoking one cigarette over and over, taking a couple of puffs, stubbing it out, putting it in my pocket, taking it out and lighting up again.

"Disgusting!" I said aloud and ground it out.

That was 12 years ago. I haven't smoked since. I don't know why the treatment, which seemed laughable at the time, worked. But I don't understand why antibiotics kill germs, or why the sky is blue. I believe self-suggestion helped. I could at least tell Dr Yeah I truly wanted to stop smoking. I had, after all, been trying to stop and I had got some results.

Today, I am not tempted when others around me smoke. I move away. But I don't want to analyse my born-again non-smoking too piercingly in case I'm tempted to start smoking again.

Want to quit smoking? Start with pillow-talk whispers and carry on with acupuncture.

© Copyright Yasseen Yasseen

Yasseen Yasseen is the author of a coming-of-age book called Emigrating Home, which was sparked by his being called into both the British and Egyptian armies when the two countries were in conflict. A dual national, how could he serve in either since he loved both? This is the story of his journey from his birthplace, what was then the British colony of Jamaica, to school in Britain, to his father's country, Egypt. Told in fiction form, the tale ends with Yasseen in Cairo trying to get a grip on things that seemed to spin out of control because, while he spoke no Arabic, he looked like a national and nobody took him for a tourist.

Yasseen has spent his working life in radio, TV and newspaper journalism, in the Middle East -- in Egypt, Oman and Dubai.

He is currently working for a newspaper and is trying to find time to write a novel and a sequel to Emigrating Home.

You can visit his website at: http://www.emigratinghome.com/

---

10 Essential Food Safety Tips For AIDS Sufferers

Persons with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are especially susceptible to... Read More

Amazing Artemesias

Artemis - Goddess of the herbalist - gives her name... Read More

Complementary Therapy The Route To Better Back Health

Find Out How to Reduce and Eliminate Chronic Back Pain... Read More

Allergy Control: Reducing Airborne Allergens in Your Home

Those who are plagued by allergies are always struggling to... Read More

An Aspirin A Day Can Give You Cancer

I want to share a health alert with you. So... Read More

Just The Tea FAQs: Health Benefits (Part I)

Hands up all those who can't get through the day... Read More

Using Asian Herbal Combinations for Treating Hemorrhoids

Asian HerbsI have found Chinese herb formulations quite effective in... Read More

How to Clean-up Your Allergies with 2 Easy Home Tips

It's that time of year again when people who have... Read More

Top Ten Reasons Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy Works

Studies and research show natural HRT really works. By using... Read More

Hypnosis

HYPNOSIS is a state of induced but conscious sleep through... Read More

Bring Peace and Serenity to Your Life Through Hypnosis!

Hypnosis: It happens to everyone, young and old, in everyday... Read More

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil is one of the most useful products... Read More

Reiki-Seichem

Seichem - The Elemental Healing RaysSince the emergence of Reiki... Read More

4 Natural Home Remedies to Ease the Pain of Sunburn

At some time or another, we've all experienced the effects... Read More

Parasites: The Missing Diagnosis?

Parasites, commonly thought of as only affecting those in developing... Read More

The Safety of Natural Therapies

Just because something is labeled or deemed "natural' does not... Read More

Natural Smoothie Formula to Stop Constipation and Acne

Here is how to build a natural smoothie that can... Read More

Keeping Well When Monsoon Dwells

First showers of monsoon are heartily welcomed by everyone after... Read More

How To Cure Your Incurable Nasal Allergy

Immunoglobulin E is an antibody, which is secreted from the... Read More

Rose Rouge: Beyond the Healing Powers of Love

"The rose distils a healing balm The beating pulse of... Read More

Being Rubbed Up ? The Right Way! - The Therapeutic Wonders of Massage

PROBABLY one of the most... Read More

5 Ways to Deal With ADHD

With an increasing number of our youths suffering ADHD, stress... Read More

Home Saunas and Kits: Benefits, Pre-Planning, and Purchasing Tips

For quite some time now home saunas have gained massive... Read More

Muget Des Bois: A Healing Victory

Known by its other name as Lily of the Valley... Read More

Natural Remedy for Motion Sickness

Motion sickness is a normal response to real, perceived, or... Read More

Tobacco Hypnosis: Cigarettes Are My Friend

Practicing hypnotherapists hear many peculiar statements from smokers who ask... Read More

Cliff Kuhn M.D.s Fun Commandments Unlock Humors Amazingly Powerful Natural Medicine

My Fun Commandments are more relevant today than ever before... Read More

Will This Years Flu Paralyze The US And Canada?

According to the Associated Press on August 26th, the US... Read More

Mood Stabilizers & Mood Enhancers - A Remedy to Naturally Boost Mood & Alleviate Depression

Depression and mood disorders are very prevalent mental health issues... Read More

Suffering from Osteoarthritis? Acupuncture to the Rescue

Keeping in tune with our commitment to providing the latest,... Read More

At-Home Relief For Ingrown Hairs

#1 Use Antibiotic SoapAntibiotic soap helps to clear up and... Read More

A Grounded Look at the Nature of Healing

In "Evidence for the Sixth Sense", Hazel Courteney interviews an... Read More

Holistic Is Not A Four-Lettered Word

If you're anything like me, then you've got a certain... Read More