CHAPTER 9

TO DRINK OR NOT TO DRINK

          Now I will explain how to give up “Old Crow” and live a long, happy and very healthy life.  I have never met you, but if you are an “Indulger of the Spirits,” I can tell you why you drink. When it gets down to the bottom line, you simply drink to relax and have what you think is a feel good.  No one ever sat you down and explained to you that you can become relaxed and happy without spending your good money on alcohol.  Once your body is perfectly relaxed and you are content, you no longer have the desire for alcohol.

          Do these guys in the pictures look relaxed and happy and content?  Other people have learned how to stop drinking, so can you. You control the mechanism that controls the body, learn how to use it for your benefit.  That is what this book is all about.

          It is a shame that churches have condemned you for drinking.  Those people simply do not understand the feelings that you were experiencing in your body.  They said that you were a sinner.  They called you a bum!  As I stated in previous chapters, those negative statements made by society were commands to your Subconscious for you to continue to drink. Had they understood how to give good commands to help you, they would have.

          In the program that I will outline, you will have the choice to drink or not to drink.  If you choose not to drink, you will find that you no longer have the desire to spend your good money for alcohol.

          Let us start by taking a good look at liquor commercials.  As I said in the chapter on smoking, almost all of the ads show some kind of connection to relaxation, having fun or sexual connotations.  It is impossible for cigarettes or alcohol to relax you, but the advertisements certainly do show people relaxing and having fun, while drinking and/or smoking.

          When you have a drink, the alcohol enters into the bloodstream and eventually travels to your brain.  Once it is there, it breaks down the brain’s ability to function normally.  It changes the chemical structure of the brain cells and causes a variance in electrical charges that take place in the brain.  So, if you are sitting there with a “numb” brain, chances are that you are not going to put as many negative thoughts into your Subconscious.  Whenever you eliminate the negative input, the Subconscious takes care of you and gives you a “feel-good.”  If you put too much alcohol in the brain, you will become irrational and you might say or do anything.

          You were not taught about the Subconscious.  You may have drawn the conclusion that you enjoyed drinking.  No, you enjoyed the “feel-good” that the Subconscious gave you from the lack of negative input.

          The following is the program that you are to follow.  YOU MUST DO EXACTLY AS I SAY! When you do, the desire for the alcohol will leave your body.

          If you are sitting there reading this book and you are having a drink, simply finish your drink.  Say the words, “This drink is the last drink of alcohol that I am going to drink and it is the last drink that I am going to use to alter my brainwaves.”  GO AHEAD AND FINISH YOUR DRINK! DO NOT CONTINUE TO READ THIS CHAPTER UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR DRINK!  Finished? O.K. Now, set the empty container out of sight. 

          Before you continue to read this chapter, take all of your alcohol and put it in a box or carton and seal it up!  Get all of the alcohol out of the refrigerator or pantry and pack it away also.  DO IT NOW! DO IT RIGHT NOW! Have you done it?  You must do as I say, now. NOW is the only moment in your life, so do it NOW!

          Good! NOW that you no longer drink, repeat in your mind that you have finally given up drinking and that it feels good now that you do not drink.  Read the following and then, with your eyes closed, you are to repeat it in your mind several times:

          “I AM NOW A CHANGED PERSON.

           I AM NOW A VERY RELAXED PERSON.

           I AM NOW A GOOD PERSON AND I SEE ONLY GOOD IN MY LIFE.

           I CONTROL MY LIFE AND I CONTROL MY BODY.

           I HAVE NO PROBLEMS.  I HAVE ONLY SITUATIONS AND THOSE SITUATIONS CAN BE EITHER DEALT WITH OR SET ASIDE.”

          Now, put yourself into a deep, relaxed state and give yourself a reason for all of those things in the past that you did not understand.  It does not make any difference whether or not the reasons are logical; just explain to yourself WHY those negative things happened.  If those negative things had to do with something that involved people, remember that people have not been trained to think.  People have been trained to react.  Every person that ever did something did it because that person thought that he was right.  Even though it may not have been right for you, he thought that he was right.  Just as each and every time that you have done something, you have thought that you were right also, or else, you would not have done it.

          In the future, you may be reminded of alcohol. If this happens, simply think to yourself that you are a changed person and that you do not care for alcohol.  If you experience the feeling that you used to think was a feeling of wanting a drink, understand that it was not a feeling for alcohol.  Instead, it was a “feel-bad,” as a result of your accidentally having a negative thought.  If you were unaware of the negative thought, it was the Subconscious sending you an uncomfortable feeling, as a result of negative conditioning.  Now that you are in charge of your own conditioning, condition yourself to be relaxed and confident in all situations.

          You no longer have a poor self-image.  You are a great person.  You are a wonderful person.  You are an attractive person.  You are an intelligent person.  In other words, you are all of the good things.  You are all of these good things, because you are NOW in charge of your life.  No one can see inside your mind, so think what you like.  But think only healthy thoughts.

          Repeat the relaxing exercise once or twice a day.  A good time to do this is right before you go off to sleep at night and right after you wake up in the morning.  Anytime is a good time, and all of the time is the time to be relaxed!

          People will try to get you to drink and they will act hurt if you do not drink with them.  Remember, “hurt” is a feeling and feelings are a choice.  If they choose to be hurt, that is their problem. It is not yours. Now sit back and see what drinking has gotten them.  What did drinking get you?  You experienced the “feel-good” and then maybe the hangover.  How about having a “feel-good” all the time? What is the old phrase, “Misery loves company”? Look at that poor person who is drinking.  He doesn’t know how to relax, but now you do!  You could tell him where to get a copy of this book, but, better yet, go out and buy him a copy and save his life!  Show him how he can stay happy and healthy.  Do not loan him your copy.  Let him have his own.

          Remember, because of what you say and what you think, you are now changed!  You must repeat these words out loud to your friends and in your mind: “I am changed now.  I do not drink.  I feel fantastic as a non-drinker.  I am relaxed, not drinking. I am a good person.  I am a confident person.  I am a happy person.” When you do this, the Subconscious will make the words come true.

YOU DO NOT DRINK!

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU WONDERFUL PERSON, YOU!

P.S. If you have been successful in quitting drinking and are active with another program, continue with the program that works for you. This chapter is meant for those who have not been able to quit drinking by any means.

COMMENTS FROM CLIENTS

          "Tom Ray has introduced me to the concept of positive thinking, and it really works.  At first, I thought very little of myself and I didn’t believe that I could kick my drinking problem, but Tom said that he would stick with me for as long as it took and he did.  As a matter of fact, even longer than was actually necessary, and I might add that it was at no extra cost to me.

          Now I take an occasional drink because I want to and not because I feel that I have to and it is 98% social drinking with friends.  For this I am very grateful to Tom.  God Bless You, Tom, and Thank You!"

                   *        *        *

          "I am 27 years old.  I am married to an accountant.  We have two young children.  I am now a person who no longer drinks.

          I began drinking when I was 17 because it was daring to do something illegal and, according to my religious training, forbidden.  I immediately liked the effect alcohol had on me and drank whenever it was available to me.  I got married shortly after my 18th birthday and drank very little for the next 3 years.  I worked as a legal secretary and was considered a good one.

          Then my husband joined the service and my life changed drastically.  During the early months of his Army career, he was stationed away from me and I was on my own for what was actually the first time in my life.  I could not stand the loneliness.  I was very insecure and frightened.  So, rather than go home to an empty apartment, I would go to a bar.  This became a habit.  A few months later, I joined my husband in Germany.  During our separation, he had also spent a great deal of his time in bars, so it seemed only natural that we should continue drinking regularly together.  Our marriage began deteriorating almost immediately and this gave me even more ‘reason’ to drink.  After 5 years of marriage, we were divorced.  I don’t feel that alcohol caused the breakup of this marriage, but it certainly played a big part in it.

          I stayed in Germany after the divorce.  I had a good secretarial job there and many friends.  My entire social life consisted of going to the bar at the Officers’ Club and this was where I met my present husband.  We were married about a year after my divorce was granted, and returned to the U.S.  My present husband was a heavy drinker when I met him and I can’t recall a day during our courtship and first year and a half of marriage that we weren’t drinking.  But it didn’t seem to affect him the way it did me.

          I had been in several automobile accidents-all my fault-was having frequent blackouts and anxiety attacks.  I was nearly always late for work, frequently absent, and was finally advised to take a few weeks off and rest by a doctor who didn’t know I was an alcoholic.  During that time, I was involved in another automobile accident, more serious than any before, and finally had to admit to myself that I had a drinking problem.

          I was hospitalized for 30 days in an alcoholism treatment program.  Within one month of my release, I was drinking again.  I was seeing a psychiatrist, but quit because it interfered with my drinking.  I got another job and was fired within 6 weeks for absenteeism.  I can’t remember how many times I have been in and out of the Alcoholics Anonymous Program.  Nothing worked for me.  My marriage was falling apart.  My children were neglected. I couldn’t hold a job.  I had attempted suicide twice.  My husband’s job required him to travel a great deal and he didn’t dare leave me alone because he never knew what I might do or whether the children would be taken care of.

          I was desperate for help when I decided to make a change in my life and called Tom Ray.  With his help, I turned my life around.  I have not had a drink since my first session.  I have not had the desire to drink, even when I’m around other people who are drinking.  I will soon have my real estate license and am looking forward to my new career.  My husband has drastically curtailed his drinking, and our marriage is better than ever before.  Our children are so much happier and more secure.  I look better, feel better, have more energy and self-confidence, and am happier than I have ever been in my life.

          I recommend Tom Ray to everyone!"


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 10..Fat Is Not Forever