Originally Posted by
Bob36 
I don't consider a planned episode of drinking to be incompatible with a daily commitment to not get drunk for a year before that or after that. I consider it a commitment to moderation.
- AVRT is incompatible with moderation — it is about abstinence.
- AVRT is not about a "daily commitment" ala "I choose not to drink today" or one-day-at-a-time sobriety.
- The Big Plan removes the option of choosing.
- The Big Plan is not an experiment, 'to see how it goes'.
- No Big Plan, no AVRT.
The Addictive Voice is "any thinking, imagery, or feeling that supports or suggests the possible future use of alcohol or drugs -- ever."
What you wrote above qualifies in spades.
Originally Posted by
Bob36 And who knows- that year could change my mind into being less tolerant for that contingency.
It could also change your mind into being more tolerant of other drugs, which you've already alluded to with your comment about alcohol leading to cocaine use.
Originally Posted by
Bob36 I understand the polar opposition of I and IT- and appreciate that it is key to interjecting a rational response to an animal drive.
In AVRT, we don't interject a rational response. We generally do not respond to the Addictive Voice at all. We don't need to respond, because the Big Plan renders anything the AV says just plain wrong.
Originally Posted by
Bob36 The same area of the brain which becomes perverted into finding pleasure in things that kill us also can be retrained and reintegrated into driving us to reach out for healthy pleasures... what if anything do ya'll do in terms of reintegrating the beast into a healthy part of the brain?
The Beast of AVRT is not the entire Midbrain/Limbic System, although it originates from there. Unless you have identified some other vice, such as gambling, The Beast is the desire for alcohol and other drugs. Nothing more, nothing less. You don't need to re-integrate it, because it is already entirely integrated into your brain. It was born there.
All your other pleasure drives, such as for music, etc, are good and well if you think they are. AVRT sets you free as a bird to engage in whatever other activities you may desire. Just out of curiosity... how far have you gotten into RR: TNC? Have you taken the crash course?