J. Louis Orton, the noted British authority on hypnotism, states: "Self-hypnosis consists of the deliberate employment of mental pictures to influence oneself."

Writing on visual imagery, Dr. S. J. Van Pelt, president of the British Society of Medical Hypnotists, says: "This writer has found the visual technique to be one of great value. The patient is instructed, while under only light hypnosis, to picture himself acting and looking the way he wants to act and look.

In the normal state, he retains the memory and performs the role."

Dr. Ralph Stolzheise of the University of Washington, with his associates Dr. Arthur W. Fridlinger and Dr. Edward G. Goodrich, have toured the United States conducting symposiums for other physicians on the technique of hypnotism. They report that one of their most successful experiments has been with in- structing overweight persons in the use of self-hypnosis to picture themselves as slender.

The patients are taught the methods of self-hypnosis, and then told to change their attitude toward their eating habits by telling themselves: "I wish to become strong and slender. I am dissatisfied with myself because of my appearance. Because I wish to become strong and slender, I will enjoy eating lean meat and leafy vegetables."

Paint the picture of what you want to look like

It is this type of visual imagery under self-hypnosis that can rid you, permanently and painlessly, of the cigarette habit.

• You will see yourself physically stronger because you do not smoke.
  
• You will see yourself with a keener sense of taste and smell because you do not smoke.
  
• You will see yourself with better vision because you do not smoke.
  
• You will see yourself living longer because you do not smoke.

Place these new images and new attitudes in your subconscious mind through self-hypnosis, and you will experience no difficulty in breaking the cigarette habit.

This is true because hypnosis is the only means of reaching the subconscious with direct suggestions.

Do you remember Freud's theory—"Psychologically, every human being lives on the basis of the pursuit
of happiness?The only pleasure one can derive from displeasure is to subconsciously make that displeasure a pleasure"?
 
That's exactly what you're now doing. You're changing your attitude about what is pleasure and displeasure in smoking, at the source—where attitudes are formed. In the subconscious.

You are not telling yourself lies; you are not deceiving yourself; there is no self-deception here. Experience and experiments show that well-being is almost invariably increased considerably when the cigarette habit is licked. You will feel better physically. Your taste will be keener. Your eyes will not be adversely affected by cigarettes.

Your chances of living longer are bettered, according to almost every shred of medical evidence we can find. Your chances of avoiding cancer are going to be enhanced. Your chances of avoiding coronary artery disease are going to be improved.

Prescott Lecky, writing on the self-image, says: "The subconscious mind acts like an 'electronic brain,” It comes up with the answers from the data that is fed into it. Feed it negative information and you'll get negative answers. Feed it positive information and the answers will be positive."
Give your subconscious mind the positive information that you are finished with the tobacco habit forever.

Post-hypnotic suggestion will take over, and you will discover that all your previous fears, doubts, and uncertainties about the cigarette habit will have vanished.
 
You are ready now to receive instruction in the method of placing powerful "visual images" in your subconscious.

The only thing that can hinder your initial effort is fear. Fear creates a state of anxiety in the conscious mind, and keeps it alerted. With the conscious mind on the alert, the threshold of critical evaluation is raised. There can then be no direct contact with the subconscious mind.
Conversely, expectancy greatly aids the acceptance of a suggestion. Don't be afraid to induce self-hypnosis. Instead, expect to succeed. And you will.

You have every right to help yourself

Sometimes people react to hypnosis by saying, "I may be fooling with something bigger than I am." There's a hesitancy based on the fear of the unknown.

But by now you should be aware that there isn't anything any more abnormal about accepting your own suggestions, for your own good, uncritically, than there is in accepting suggestions from the cigarette advertisers, to keep you on the habit, uncritically.

There is no magic or mysticism in hypnosis. So why be afraid of it? You have every right to study your own behavior, and every right to use every means at your disposal to form your attitudes and motivation along the lines you choose.