trust

Yes the smoking thing you say at the start is right, of course it is. It’s a great vent of anger. It’s not supressing the anger, it relaxes you and the anger vanishes. It’s a medicine. I smoke maybe 2-3 cigarettes a month for this reason and maybe another 15 a month for enjoyment when i drink. I like it, i am sure it won’t give me cancer such a few amount. I think the lung cancer more comes from people who smoke heavily and their lungs just can’t take the smoke any more. I mean it’s not rocket science to know that if you keep breathing in smoke and give no chance for your lungs to repair you won’t be able to breath. I love smoking in moderation and wouldn’t want to stop. If i wanted to i would stop. I smoke with awareness and enjoy.
Anyhow… With so much stuff (both true and partially true) regarding smoking in the media i dislike discussions about smoking because it’s pointless to discuss, and an example of a confrontation that gets very few people anywhere.

But thats beside the point. Isn’t it better to avoid an argument than to argue. Some arguments are needed but most aren’t. I think in the west we are taught you need to confront things, make them right. But things are wrong everywhere, you can’t confront everything you’d wear yourself out. Pick your targets, avoid those that don’t require confrontation. It’s not like i quickly run out of the room if the news is on, i’m happy to listen to it and just make no judgment on it, in one ear and out the next as such. But if the news was getting me down like adel said it was, i wouldn’t watch it. If someone punches me i try to to avoid it, not supress it. It’s hard work to suppress, and i’d rather save my energy for something else. Infact i can even use the anger, punch, or arguement and twist it around so it goes in the direction i want. Then i have more energy.

It’s like someone who wants to be rich but can’t do math, and trys to become a mathematician 🙂 They can confront it by learning math step by step from high school level, get fustrated the whole way and never become the great mathematician and become rich like they always dreamed. Or they can think well hey i love the thought of being a mathematician but i don’t mind golf and i’m good at that. I’ll have a go at golf and see how we go with that.

See it’s not supression, it’s avoidance and redirection. In my opinion that is the heart of the tao. Not enlightment, but becoming one with nature. To me this is beyond enlightment, beyond awareness. It is the ACTIVE flow you can achieve while you are in the moment. I don’t begin to say i have achieved this but i have tasted it and it appears to attract me at the moment.

Best to avoid and keep on your desired course, next best to twist it around to the same direction as yourself, failing this i will confront. But confronting doesn’t always work so it’s not the best solution anyhow in my opinion.

At your level of smoking (assuming you don’t increase the level),
your attributed health risks are almost zero.

Small story:
One of the times I quit in the past and consulted with a doctor,
the doctor told me that you don’t start to show any risks at all
until you reach 10 pack-years and then docs start to worry at 20 pack-years.
This means “if you smoke a pack a day for 20 years, you have a
serious risk of lung cancer, heart disease, etc.”.

Doing a quick calculation at the time, this means that an
average of 4 cigarettes a day is about the upper limit on
a smoking habit and still not show any health risks, because
that equates to 50 years for risks to show, and 100 years to
be burgeoning with smoking-related diseases.

So, yes, at your level, you are probably perfectly safe health-wise,
i.e. no additional risks beyond base level are likely

However, that wasn’t the point to the post.
It doesn’t matter to me whether it is good or bad
for your health or whether society “accepts it”, the only issue
that has any real import is how it affects spiritual development.

It is the anger suppression that is the issue,
regardless of quantity.

Despite illusions to the contrary, you don’t just get
anger release, it is indeed anger suppression. You don’t get
something for free. When you put purchases on a credit
card, you have to pay for them eventually. Yes, you get
short-term anger relief, but you’ve only pushed it down
to be dealt with later. If that is OK with you, then fine.
But similar to the credit card, you are saying “I don’t
want to deal with the payment now, charge me more later”.
This is akin to drinking coffee when you are tired, rather
than getting sleep. Short-term symptom relief means
a sudden energy boost, but then you work/drain the adrenals,
and later you feel even more tired. You get $3 but end up
paying $4. This is the same with smoking, except it is
with anger.

That’s why it is worth considering.
Followers of this path are interested in spiritual
cultivation, and getting very clear, clearing away
the layers of emotions, traumas, and other fluff
that gets in the way of being able to live from
the core of your true self, from being able to live
centered in your being . . . The less clutter you
have buried in your infrastructure, the more spiritual
force you have to be able to connect beyond yourself
and develop more of an enlightened spirit.

You have to face it, to erase it.
And that takes a tremendous amount of courage.
Smoking, on the other hand, is by far easier . . .
However, it does not clear away the root issue.
Instead, that is left for later.

But if you instead work on centering yourself in
your being, and creating a neutral space where these
things can dissolve, then over time you will see
real rewards. It is something that you will
experience directly for yourself, and you will
not need to enter into a theoretical discussion
to have someone convince you.

But you do not have to believe me.
I in no way feel that to be a requirement.

Qi,
Steven

Wow, adel!
What a deeply personal and intimate sharing!

As a forum reader, I feel deeply moved by your sharing,
and can appreciate–if only from an outside perspective–
just what such a sharing means.

I am sorry you had to go through such a trauma.
For that, I offer a hug.

Your reaction, in the moment, was a natural one,
and very human. You were being very authentic,
and sometimes that is exactly what is needed to
do . . . to begin to process traumatic events.

Even so, I feel the strength in your words,
and am sure that even through a tragedy, you
have managed to find a silver lining in strength
and growth from the event.

If you ever wish to talk further about it,
and want to discuss one-on-one, feel free to
contact me directly . . .

In any event, I honor and respect your sharing
in this post, and send you a warm smile.

Thanks again, and I am glad you are also
beginning to experience the centered grounding
experience I’ve been posting about.

Best always,
Steven