The mind has two parts: conscious and subconscious.

And so when you tried using willpower method, you were in two minds whether to stop smoking or not - literally in 'two minds'.

For example, here is a typical dichotomy; you might want to stop smoking because it's bad for your health (conscious reason), but you're still aware that smoking makes you feel good about yourself (subconscious reason).

Do You Have Subconscious Reasons? When you try to stop smoking but get bad withdrawal symptoms, that's a sure sign that your subconscious mind is resisting change.

Here's an example of how it feels when your subconscious mind makes you do something.

When you were young, did you ever try and hold your breath for as long as possible? Do you remember feeling that your lungs were going to burst?

Well, that feeling was generated by your subconscious mind.

Your subconscious mind is capable of exerting incredibly powerful pressure on your conscious mind if it feels that its needs are not being met.

This where all extreme examples of withdrawal effects when people stop smoking come from.

"Climbing walls", "Tearing my hair out" and "Getting shakes" are all typical examples of withdrawal effects of someone with strong subconscious needs to carry on smoking.

Perhaps your subconscious wants to carry on smoking because it reminds you of a time of happiness or a time you felt powerful in your life; we all have fond memories of time we spent growing up, and emotions from our youth are vivid ones, and they stay with us all our lives.

Or perhaps your subconscious may feel that smoking represents your desire to thumb your nose at authority; everyone is saying you should stop smoking, and maybe you feel unwilling to let them have their way. Maybe your subconscious feels that smoking represents freedom, or it might be simply that your subconscious fears withdrawal of nicotine.

Whatever reason, point is if you want to stop smoking, both your conscious and your subconscious need to be convinced that they will benefit from you becoming a permanent non-smoker.

Does Your Subconscious Need Convincing? However, your subconscious mind doesn't work same way as your conscious mind, so usual line of reasonable argument isn't going to work.

The best way to convince your subconscious that it's a good idea to stop smoking is to tell it a fairy story.

I am being serious.

You could make up a story about this beautiful princess, and a wicked witch put a spell on her, took all her money away and made her dress in rags.

I'm sure your conscious mind saw straight away that wicked witch represents smoking habit, but your subconscious mind soaks stuff like that up without your conscious mind noticing.

If you don't believe me, try this little demonstration of how powerful this method is.

Here we will have a brief look at ten essential oils considered by some to comprise ‘basic home care kit’. While by no means exhaustive, this list will go a long way to providing effective (and often pleasant!) treatments for you and your family for things like cuts and scrapes, sunburn, digestive troubles, stress related conditions and more. In second article, we will cover specific applications and uses of each oil.

Oil #1: Lavender Lavender has often been called ‘medicine chest in a bottle’ for its broad range of applications. Every home should keep Lavender on hand, even if no other oil is used, as it is so very effective on burns. It’s anti-inflammatory action is responsible for beginnings of modern aromatherapy, as Dr. Jean Valnet discovered Lavender’s healing properties after being burned in a laboratory accident. Lavender is considered to speed wound healing and reduce scarring. The oil is also pleasantly calming, and can be used to reduce stress in a variety of situations – a commonly used technique is to apply Lavender oil ‘neat’ (undiluted) to soles of feet of patients recovering from almost any ailment.

Oil #2: Tea Tree When first examined for it’s antiseptic properties, Tea Tree essential oil was found to be 100 times more powerful than carbolic acid – medical standard at time. Tea tree has an extremely broad range of antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal properties that have been confirmed by modern scientific research. Often used topically on small wounds, Tea Tree is also commonly found in oral hygiene preparations, and can also be effectively employed for Candida, athlete’s foot and acne, among other things.

Oil #3: Peppermint An excellent digestive tonic, Peppermint essential oil can sooth many stomach complaints. For traveler, it’s effectiveness on calming motion sickness can be of great help. Further, at least eight controlled studies have shown Peppermint oil to be effective in reducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, a painful condition of intestines. Beyond it’s support of digestive system, Peppermint is delightfully stimulating to mind, brightening and sharpening mental focus. Finally, Peppermint is considered by some to be a more effective insect repellent than citronella when used on body (rather than in surrounding air).

Oil #4: Chamomile Ah, great tension reliever, Chamomile oil. This extremely gentle essential oil is useful for a wide variety of nervous conditions, and is often indicated for cases of stress in children (including teething and general ‘crankiness’). Rubbing into solar plexus is a commonly used application if that is where one tends to ‘hold tension’. Chamomile essential oil is available in to varieties, German or Blue Chamomile and Roman Chamomile. The Roman variety is most often used for stress relief, whereas German variety has added bonus of being an extremely effective anti-inflammatory.

Oil #5: Eucalyptus Another essential oil with a broad range of properties, Eucalyptus is most often used for respiratory conditions, being useful in clearing congestion with coughs and colds. However, it’s effects are certainly not limited to airways – because of it’s broad range of effects, it has been called aromatherapists ‘designer oil’. Eucalyptus oil can cool body in Summer (or due to fever – use in a compress), and support immune system in Winter. Diffusing Eucalyptus oil can kill most staphylococcus bacteria, again being supportive of bronchial infections. It is considered equally effective in cases of cystitis, candida, and sunburn, to name a few, as well as being an insect repellent.