Use imagination to Quit Smoking

I used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day and I did it perpetually for 12 years but now I have left smoking completely. When I thought of quitting smoking, I started to seek advice from doctors and friends on how to quit smoking. Most of them advised me to leave it gradually by reducing the number of cigarettes consumed every day. I also tried some of the sprays and anti smoking chewing gums but without result. Surprisingly I left smoking suddenly one fine day.

Photo Credit : Nicoletta Ciunci

I used imagination to quit smoking instantly. I tried to find out and understand how my brain functions during pre and post smoking scenarios. The urge to smoke was more or less time specific and it lasted till I had a cigarette. Suddenly increasing or reducing the number of cigarettes caused discomfort, when I analyzed the reason for it I found that it was basically because my brain was sending an instruction to my body but the body was not complying with it. I tried to identify the same discomfort with some other activities I do. I read for about half an hour before sleeping, when I stopped reading, it caused discomfort and it took me more time to fall asleep. I shifted my time to have breakfast by an hour, I felt discomfort in the beginning but after a few days my body adjusted to the new timing. these analogies helped me in understanding the pattern my brain follows.

For sleeping and breakfast the body had an alternate time to adjust with but for smoking the body has to live without it. So, I concluded that I have to tame my mind or rather fool my brain. I collected pictures of people smoking and pasted it in my room and washroom. I looked at details of the pictures and imagined how happy and satisfied the person in the picture would be feeling while smoking. I did it several times in the day so that the picture pops up in my mind without even without looking at it. It is also necessary to remember the feelings we associate with smoking.

Whenever I felt like smoking I closed my eyes and remembered the pictures and the feelings. My brain could immediately identify the feelings and my urge to smoke was gone in five minutes. I kept doing it repeatedly to keep away from smoking. I left smoking three years back but my brain still believes that I smoke.

The Future of Future

We spend inordinate amount of time every day to catch up with the future. We do this by learning things which aligns us with “tomorrow”, synchronising our capabilities with the needs of the “future”. Once we transform into more intelligent species, we push our imagination and the frontiers of science to define a new future. The dynamic future is like the fast expanding universe with millions of thoughts and ideas spewing into its enormity every moment.  So, what is the future of future? Let us look at the past and then it will be easier for you to understand my thoughts about the future of future.

Post the invention of steam engine and the industrial revolution, mankind have never looked back. Then came the age of computers, which surprised our imagination with unthinkable levels of speed, accuracy and automation. Our technological advancements are accelerating at a much higher speed, than it was before the dawn of internet. The speed of information flow has been phenomenal. So, with every major breakthrough, the speed at which we advance have only increased. In other words we are shortening the life of future. Even the smartest mobile phone becomes obsolete within a year. Our grandfather would have dreamt of faster and sophisticated cars to evolve in hundred years but we can imagine piercing through the twilight sky in our flying cars in just a few decades.

Photo Credit: Sam Howzit

I believe there are two elements which are integral to this inexorable march of technology – Imagination and Speed. I am not aware if the speed of imagination can be measured, but in future, humans should be able to imagine at a speed at which the universe is expanding. To reach that speed, humans would have transformed into Transhumans (a much advanced human-like species also referred as “posthuman” supported by gadgets embedded in their bodies).

As the speed of our imagination merges with the galactic speed and as technology catches up with imagination, we might start measuring “future” technological advancements in terms of a weeks or even days.

Creativity and Thinking Game - Detailing

This game is designed using maim as a technique and would be useful for a group of 20 participants.

Objective: To encourage participants to use imagination and creativity to think of details related to a given situation

Preparation: Make paper slips, each carrying 2 topics written on it like....

Paper Slip 1 - Riding a bicycle & Riding a bicycle uphill

Paper Slip 2 - Taking photographs & Taking war photographs

Steps:

1. Divide the group into smaller groups of 4.
2. Then one by one ask two members from each group to come and pick a slip, they have to maim both the topics given on the slip, one topic by each volunteer.
3. The other members of their group are supposed to watch them and identify the topics.
4. The same thing can be repeated for any number of rounds.

Expected outcome of the game: The participants are forced to imagine and include more details while they are maiming. The difference between a normal maim act and this is that it gives more room for the mind to evaluate options to create multiple perceptions while including more details into the act.

Creativity and Thinking Game - Respond to Random Stimuli

This game uses random pictures as stimulus and would be useful for a group of 20 participants.

Objective: To encourage faster thinking and creativity through dynamic stimulus received from 2 different sources.

Preparation: Choose pictures which have a theme, it should not be pictures of individuals. Allocate at least 5 random pictures per group.

Trainer’s narration to the audience: A picture will appear on the screen and one of your team members has to come and start a story with the picture as stimuli. He will speak to the audience with his back to the screen. After a minute I will change the picture on the screen without informing the speaker. The speaker is not allowed to look back to see the new picture. The other members of his group have to link the story to the new random picture. As soon as someone from the team volunteers to continue he can stop the present speaker and replace him. This will continue with 5 different pictures for the same group. The next group will see a different set of pictures.

Steps:

1. Divide the group into smaller groups of 4.
2. Show one picture on the screen.
3. Call one member from a group and make him stand facing the audience, and then ask him to start a story with the picture as stimuli.
4. After a minute change the picture on the screen without informing the speaker.
5. Then let the game take its course

Expected outcome of the game: The participants face enormous challenge of quick idea generation, receiving stimulus from the speaker’s story and the picture, and then linking both of them to create a new story line. This is in harmony with basic objective of creative thinking – To explore and think out of the box quickly.