When I was FORCED to go to NA at one time years ago, the thing that stuck in my craw was the part where people robotically uttered: "I am powerless over my addiction." I had to subdue my anger at that suggestion and attend for several months. I entertained myself by people-watching, having chosen a group that were inner city street people, most of whom were also forced to be there. It was a lesson learned, but not in the way that NA intended.
The concept of "the Beast" is interesting to me. I have been enjoying Eckhart Tolle's books for a number of years, and it almost reminds me of what he terms the "pain body". I just wondered if anyone else had ever noted the connection. The "pain body" is part of our ego as a whole, and when active it plays upon the pain bodies of other humans it encounters. It can overwhelm and envelop the rest of the ego until its time dies out or the person takes control over it. Interesting analogy to what AVRT is talking about.
FT