Justhadenough, glad to see you back here, that is the first step.
I like the idea of mindfulness, becoming acutely aware of the present moment. I see staying sober 'in the now' to be a entire universe away in concept and intent from staying sober ODAAT. To me that is accepting that you will struggle with this repeatedly, every time the sun rises.
Mindfulness is a great tool, becoming the watcher of the thoughts. It allows some distance between us and our lower level thinking, it inserts some breathing room into the internal dialogue. And that AV? That certainly qualifies as lower level thinking I believe.