Dalek, thanks for your comments. You make some good points that I will think about further.
For a few items, I suspect I didn't make my statements clear enough. You quoted me as saying "I quit smoking almost 30 years ago. I used similar constructs and after a few months have had absolutely no cravings or interest in ever smoking again." And yes, I did say that but afterwards corrected myself and said that I almost automatically handled the cravings and so it
felt like I didn't have cravings until I really thought about it. So I wasn't saying that I no longer have a beast. I certainly know that I do!
Originally Posted by
Dalek 
Are you sure about that? It is subtle, but your statements below suggest that only after the bad 'cravings' are over will it become easier to abstain. In other words, that abstinence will be easier, and therefore more likely, in the absence of 'cravings' (desire).?
By "bad 'cravings'", I was referring to the initial first few days which are different for me than later. I did not mean to suggest that I didn't have cravings, only that the first few days are, for me, the worst.
Originally Posted by
Dalek One of the prime functions of the Addictive Voice is to conceal its existence, and by extension, the existence of the Beast. I can think of no bigger concealment than "I have absolutely no cravings/interest/desire" (ie, no Beast).?
Again, I feel you selectively quoted something I corrected.
Originally Posted by
Dalek The Beast (the desire) may temporarily lie dormant, and we may certainly have periods -- even extended periods -- of no Beast activity, but the Beast is immutable. Once born, it is a permanent, biological script error, and it doesn't just go away, no matter how much time passes since its last fix. Your experience with drinking again, even after 14 years of abstinence from alcohol, should give you an appropriate perspective regarding this, no?
Absolutely yes! I was not aware of AVRT prior to May of this year and so am still absorbing and trying to understand.
I appreciate your comments but would also ask you to consider that we all sometimes make a comment that, upon reflection, we realize does not truly represent what happened/is happening. So to go back to quoting the original statement multiple times is, imho, a clear and willful misrepresentation.
And finally, I don't believe that any method of dealing with addiction has the "final and only word" on how things work. I believe AVRT is a reasonable method to deal with addiction for me, but I don't believe in dogma -- and blanket statements (though I admit to sometimes making them - lol). Although I have limited experience with AVRT, I have extensively used self-hypnosis, mindfulness meditation and similar methods to calm my mind and separate parts of my mind that are not working in my best interests. When I use these practices on a regular basis, they are sufficient to maintain sobriety. However, I am not good about staying on track with a regular practice (beast activity, I suspect now) and I think the addition of AVRT to regular practice and using AVRT to keep to regular practice will enable me to better deal with the beast.
I do wonder if dogmatic devotion to AVRT is also beast activity...