Don't try to stop smoking crack...

In a particular form of hypnosis called Neuro Linguistic Programing (N.L.P.) there is a tenent that can be illustrated like this:

Let's say you have a child, a todler, and you spot this child walking clumsily with a china plate in his/ her hand.

You're afraid he/she might drop the plate...

Most of us would probably say to the kid:

"Don't Drop that Plate!"

What are you doing with that command?

You're telling the kid to NOT do something.

How does a human brain process a command?

First the brain has to identify what's being asked of it.

Then it has to make an internal representation of the request.

Then it has to look over all the times in it's past (memory) to see if this has happened before.

Then it has to remember how that previous experience worked out back then

Sounds pretty exhausting doesn't it?

What's not so obvious is that in order for the little tyke's brain to represent what is being asked it has to think of that situation!

He/She could very easily respond to you with:

"Don't Drop that Plate!"
Kid says:
"You mean... like this?"

You made a negative command

What would be more efficient is for you to say:

"BE CAREFUL"

The child would have to make an internal representation of what "Be Careful" means.

You get my drift... so what's this got to do with the fact that you just got paid, cashed your check, you told yourself you weren't going to spend the rent money this time...

and... you run into one of your crack dealers????

What's this post got to do with that?


Don't waste your time trying to STOP doing sh**

Invest your time wisely investigating what a crack free life would be like!!!

What kinds of crap would you do if you were free of crack?

What would that look like, FEEL like?

What would it look like to not have to face your children and have them say to you:

"...did you spend ALL your money again Dad?"


At this point you're not even at the place where you examine what it would take to get to the point where you were crack free...

You're an addict, you've already got your hands full.

FOR NOW, the best thing you can do is OBSERVE

I'm serious, observing means.. don't criticize, you're already a world champion at the fine art of internal criticism

To observe means don't 'DO' anything, don't change anything... not yet.

First thing you've got to do is see what you've not been willing to see.

It didn't even occur to you that the possibility of imaginging a world where you were free of crack even existed.

You're not at that point yet.

Observing is a POWERFULL VERB, it's not simply doing nothing... how can you change what you can't even see yet?

Let's say you were in the military, you're in artillery, you run a howitzer... how in the hell can you hit a target you can't even see?

more coming
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These articles are for informational purposes only. Contact a licenced counselor if you're in crisis.