I just finished reading "You Are Not Your Brain", which I talked about on page 7 of this thread. It is another way of looking at the primitive, desire brain versus the true you. I liked it as an adjunct to the information in Rational Recovery..... Maybe its just me, but I really want to get a hang of the AV and at this point am reading anything on the topic, which is why I love these threads so much.
Anyway, the author of this book breaks down the whole craving/giving in cycle in steps. He spends a lot of time talking about the recognition and separation of the primitive desire from the real you. He calls the AV "deceptive brain messages". Beyond the recognition and separation, he talks about redirection. By this he means that once you have recognized and separated, you need to find something else to do, at least in the beginning. He talks about redirecting to anything from simple breathing and mediation to a new hobby or excersize.
I mention this because a couple of pages back on this thread was a conversation about being bored and how to get yourself to get "that feeling" (or similar feeling). He doesn't spend too much time on redirection, just thinks it's important. He really does think that recognizing and separating from the deceptive brain messages is the most important thing and that it takes practice. He also thinks you should tackle one bad habit or behavior at a time.
I think that spending time really trying to "get it" has been well worth it. One pass through the RR book wasn't enough for me. Reading and re reading these threads, reading other material and putting it into practice has helped solidify this in my brain. I feel like a am becoming a "student" of AVRT at the moment, much like I was a student of yoga. It is the only thing so far that has changed my way of thinking.