VBT – Week’s Meditation 26
Consider It
Osho asked his friends to practice this technique – He was a constant chain smoker, and he tried and tried, as smokers do, not to smoke. One day, suddenly in the morning, he would decide, “Now I am not going to smoke,” and by the evening he would be smoking again. And he would feel guilty and he would defend it, and then for a few days he would not gather courage again to decide not to smoke. Then he would forget what happened. Then one day, again he would say, “Now I am not going to smoke,” and I would just laugh because this had happened so many times. Then he himself became fed up with the whole thing – with this smoking and then deciding not to smoke, and this constant vicious circle.
He wondered what to do. He asked me what to do, so I told him, “Do not be against smoking – that is the first thing to do. Smoke, and be with it. For seven days do not be against it; do this thing.”
He said, “What are you telling me? I have been against it, and even then I could not leave it, and you are saying not to be against it. Then there is no possibility of leaving it.”
So I told him, “You have tried with the inimical attitude and you have been a failure. Now try the other – the friendly attitude. Do not be against it for seven days.”
Immediately he said, “Then will I be able to leave it?”
So I told him, “Then again… you are still inimical toward it. Do not think about leaving it at all. How can one think about leaving a friend? For seven days just forget it. Remain with it, cooperate with it, smoke as deeply as possible, as lovingly as possible. When you are smoking, just forget everything; become the smoking. Be totally at ease with it, in deep communion with it. For seven days, smoke as much as you like and forget about leaving it.”
These seven days became a consideration. He could look at the fact of smoking. He was not against it, so now he could face it. When you are against something, or someone, you cannot face it. The very being against becomes a barrier. You cannot consider… How can you consider an enemy? You cannot look at him, you cannot look into his eyes; it is difficult to face him. You can look deeply only into the eyes of one you love; then you penetrate deep. Otherwise eyes can never meet.
So he looked into the fact deeply. For seven days he considered it. He was not against it, so the energy was there, the mind was there, and it became a meditation. He had to cooperate with it; he had to become a smoker. After seven days he forgot to tell me. I was waiting for him to say, “Now the seven days have ended, so now how can I leave it?” He forgot completely about the seven days.
Three weeks passed and then I asked him, “Have you forgotten completely?”
He said, “The experience has been so beautiful, I do not want to think about anything else now. It is beautiful, and for the first time I am not struggling with the fact. I am just feeling what is happening to me.”
Then I told him, “Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, simply quit.” He didn’t ask me how to quit it, he had simply considered the whole thing and the whole thing became so childish, and there was no struggle. So I said, “When you feel the urge to smoke again, consider it, look at it, and leave it.
Take the cigarette in your hand, stop for a moment, then leave the cigarette. Let it drop, and as the cigarette drops let the urge also drop inside.”
He didn’t ask me how to do it, because consideration makes one capable – you can do it. And if you cannot do it, remember, you have not considered the fact. Then you were against it, all the time thinking how to leave it. Then you cannot quit it. When suddenly the urge is there and you quit it, the whole energy takes a jump inward. The technique is the same, only the dimensions differ: WHEN SOME DESIRE COMES, CONSIDER IT. THEN, SUDDENLY, QUIT IT.
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