My experience, AVRT dosen't play well with others, lol. When my intent is not to "actually combine" different programs or other approaches, such as counselling and group therapy with AVRT, then the resulting experiences are very affirming and respectivefully useful for individual needs and wants relative to a lifestyle free from alcohol.
In other words, a healthy degree of separation when practiced enjoys the best bang for your bucks. AVRT stands alone as sufficient enough to quit, and then continue on with living, and so when used this way as another tool and skill set, unlimited personal advances can be made with what ever else one deems required to fulfil their lives in abundance.
Being authentic to ourselves is worth more then any tool or whatever if one wants to stay in the game and ensure a lifestyle without relapse or a return to drinking.
Higher powers are a non-issue with AVRT. My having an HP has zero effect on my practice of AVRT. Spiritual responsibilites have zero effect on AVRT and vice-versa same deal. The only connection between AVRT and HP/spiritual experiences for me is in fact no connection.
As for my sanity being restored, that is a more difficult challenge, since AVRT has no opinion on alcoholic insanity per se. What this simply means is AVRT is entirely rational and insanity is anything but rational, lol. It is moot if alcoholic sanity is unrecognised by AVRT since AVRT has no workable solution for insanity in any case. It also has no solution for emotional insanity either, for that matter, nor spiritual insanity, as already discussed. AVRT has a working cure for ending physical addiction. Period. End of story.
My "alcoholic mind" is the seat and home of my past alcoholic insanity,
including my emotional and spiritual illness, if you will. My Beast is an otherwise healthy desire made maladaptive because of an appetitie for alcohol. Where my Beast is stupid, my alcoholic mind is intelligent. Where my Beast speaks to me thru my AV, my alcoholic mind was the alcoholic me. Where my Beast/AV has no physical powers, my active alcoholic mind could easily pick up a drink no problemeo, taking me for the ride.
There is where of course AVRT and AA can't be usefully combined. The separation is absolute and required to be authentic and realistic when practicing either. It dosen't matter the differences as long as both are kept independant of each other.
I hope this helps
identify how workable sobriety can be while notwithstanding AVRT's total lack of interest in alcoholic insanity and/or sober sanity.
Being restored to sanity is simply my alcoholic mind taking a back seat to me, my sober spiritual self no less. The darkness is set aside and out of my concentrated awareness. At present, my alcoholic mind is unempowered, asleep, in remission, shut down. Not cured, not gone, not dead. Once the alcoholic self is off-line, what remains is the natural me.
I hope this helps explain in some detail being
restored to sanity and still getting on with AVRT. Please understand these are complex issues, and i'm simply typing this out from my experiences. I'm not attempting, in these threads to be scientific or otherwise writing an essay or thesis, lol. I'm just sharing, so feel free to examine and question my shares in this thread without mercy, as there is no downside to me learning how to explain myself with greater efficiency and realism. I have other as yet unpublished writings which hopefully one day will be organised and refined enough to see the light of day. These writings are more in-depth and inclusive.
My HP is entirely of my own understanding, and is entirely internal to me. No outside deity required. FWIW, sobriety is just another facet of my individuality. Sobriety does not lead my life and does not require me to sacrifice any of my personality to be totally successful with a non-drinking sober spiritual lifestyle. I'm not just another sober robot, hahaha.
And as well, I'm also a Christian by faith, which has nothing to do with my addiction recovery in a mechanical sense. My faith of course increases my life as a whole. My sobriety is more an immediate experience in the moment as much as anything else. My Christian faith surpasses all earthly and worldly responsibilities. This seems paradoxical on the face of it, and to be honest, it is indeed.
