The Enlightened Smoker's Guide to Quitting by Bear Jack Gebhardt

		The Enlightened Smoker's Guide to Quitting by Bear Jack Gebhardt Benbella Books, 256 pages April 1, 2008 $14.99 ISBN-10: 1933771372 ISBN-13: 978-1933771373

ABOUT THE ENLIGHTENED SMOKERS GUIDE QUITTING CAN YOU REALLY JUST FORGET TO SMOKE? Yes. Bear Jack Gebhardt and his readers and clients have proven that “forgetting to smoke” is not as far-fetched as it sounds. In fact, it’s natural to forget to smoke! In today’s world the traditional approach to quitting smoking is filled with guilt, scare tactics, public exile. Smokers assume that in order to quit they will have to win some horrific battle. To start the battle smokers are told to follow the “tried and true” method: a. decide to do it; b. set a quit date; then c. just quit and stay quit, through force of will if necessary. Although this “tried and true” method of battle has been tried by most smokers, it has also proven, for most smokers, untrue! For most smokers, the old “tried and true” way simply does not work! This revolutionary book is based on the premise that people can quit smoking naturally, easily, almost effortlessly when they take up enjoying the rest of their lives as a beginning discipline, rather than a hoped-for result. When smokers more consciously enjoy their lives, including such mundane chores as doing the laundry or shopping for groceries or setting the dinner table, the habit begins to loosen its hold. This book shows how quitting smoking is a natural by-product of this healthy, joyful inner discipline. Gebhardt shows that enlightenment is our ordinary state of mind (though not necessarily the “common” state of mind.) As we once again take up the simple discipline he outlines in this book, (the discipline that most children practice naturally!) we discover we more and more simply forget to smoke!

Inside:
An innovative seven-step program to quit smoking that independent evaluators have shown to be one of the most successful programs in the country.  Simple ways to experience more happiness in your every day activities so that “smoke triggers” don’t arise when you’re done! How to make quitting smoking a “peer adventure” in the same way that starting smoking was for most folks a “peer adventure.” How your own easy way of living can be your guide for easy quitting.
Lighthearted and straightforward, Gebhardt’s seven-step program has helped thousands “forget” their way into a smoke-free life.

About the Author
Bear Jack Gebhardt is one of the nation’s leading stop smoking coaches. He is the author of two books on quitting smoking, “The Enlightened Smokers’ Guide to Quitting, (Ben Bella Books, 2008) and “Help Your Smoker Quit—a Radically Happy Strategy” (Fairview Press, 1998) along with numerous articles, essays and academic papers. A twenty-year smoker and an ex-drug counselor, he has studied and trained in most of the mainline contemporary treatment models and has investigated and tested most of the alternative models as well. Finding an easy way for smokers to quit has been a lifelong quest.

“I’m convinced that if we could unravel the smoking addiction we could also bring peace to the Middle East,” he says. “Smoking is a metaphor for the whole human condition. Smokers are at war with themselves. What they don’t want to do, they do. What they want to do, they don’t do.”
After studying with the French physician Christian Almayrac (“Dr. Happiness”), and various teachers in both eastern and western traditions, Gebhardt slowly “awakened” to a revolutionary understanding of addiction and smoking. He founded the Smoker’s Freedom School to help smokers, their families and professionals in the field. His success rate with helping smokers quit is significantly higher than the national average. Professionals who have attended his seminars have commented, “He’s taken the mystery out of quitting and made it attainable!...Great ideas, great speaker... A breath of fresh air.” Smokers have commented, “[Your techniques] have changed my life. I am more joyful and clearer than I have ever been.”

Bear lives in Colorado where he is employed with the local Health District as a stop smoking coach and where he manages The Smokers Freedom School to help smokers and professionals around the world. He is married with two grown children.

Author’s website