Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) Discussion — Part 4
I can see why you would ask that, since it suggests that recognition is a precondition for abstinence, but AVRT = separation. If the AV is not recognized and objectified, then there is no separation, and I am one with the Beast (I=IT). At that point, I am liable to smoke. The separation needs to be maintained, and for that, I need recognition (and a Big Plan).
In my experience, people who have made a Big Plan, or a non-RR abstinence pledge, have a very strong intrinsic attraction to AVRT and how it makes the Big Plan so much easier, or jives with how they did it alone.
On the other hand, I have also observed that people who learn a lot about AVRT and have not made a Big Plan will frequently find themselves not practicing the technique at important times, and also find themselves even seriously considering future use, however specialized or "cautious" the plan to use might be. Simply put, people who learn AVRT and have not made a Big Plan are usually not comfortable with the ironclad potency of AVRT, and not really interested in quitting, at least not yet.
Any Big Plan does not require AV recognition or separation from IT (the Beast) to remain intact. People have succeeded with abstinence pledges for centuries before the Jack Trimpey developed AVRT. The Big Plan is not some sort of weaker abstinence pledge that requires AV recognition or separation in order to work. The Big Plan is the ultimate abstinence pledge. It can stand alone forever.
I thought it was clear, but perhaps what I was trying to say with "I cannot recognize all of the addictive voice and still smoke," which is the following, did not come across properly. Recognition and separation neutralize the Beast, because IT can't engage the peripherals, the voluntary muscles that do the actual using. By "all AV," I simply meant the tail end of the AV thought pattern leading up to using. In order to actually use, that last bit of AV, the "I will use" part, has to not be recognized (objectified) as AV, because only "I" can engage the voluntary muscles.
We cannot use without first thinking about using, and recognition puts the Beast, and the voluntary muscles, in neutral. This is why we can set our confidence level for abstinence arbitrarily at 100%, and is also why I say that recognition is necessary. You cannot "not use" without first recognizing the thought to use and then falling back on your Big Plan. The whole point of AVRT is to catch yourself in the process of changing your mind, though, is it not? Why else would it even be worth the trouble to learn and use AVRT, as opposed to simply making a Big Plan and stopping right there?
Originally Posted by RR:TNC, Page 84
.... you will be tested, and you will either pass or fail. The test will be in the form of real life experience when your Addictive Voice acts up. If you recognize it, you will pass, and if you fail to recognize it, you will drink or use.
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Hi thought I would post and say hi. rather than just lurking reading the posts as I have done this last week or so.
Absolutely love the concept of avrt and the big plan while I am rather new to it all It just makes so much sense. Have really enjoyed reading all of your posts. Have read all 4 threads. Am now looking forward to celebrating a sober birthday today. Darn beast loves birthdays but I'm going to celebrate this one my way not his! :-)
Absolutely love the concept of avrt and the big plan while I am rather new to it all It just makes so much sense. Have really enjoyed reading all of your posts. Have read all 4 threads. Am now looking forward to celebrating a sober birthday today. Darn beast loves birthdays but I'm going to celebrate this one my way not his! :-)
Originally Posted by RR: TNC p. 84
.... you will be tested, and you will either pass or fail. The test will be in the form of real life experience when your Addictive Voice acts up. If you recognize it, you will pass, and if you fail to recognize it, you will drink or use.
Originally Posted by RR: TNC p.40
With your Big Plan, Addiction Diction, Shifting, and knowledge of the Structural Model, you are secure. You cannot fail to recognize your AV because there is nothing more conspicuous to a formerly addicted person than ideas of indulging once again.
Originally Posted by Dalek
In order to actually use, that last bit of AV, the "I will use" part, has to not be recognized (objectified) as AV
I'll repeat from p. 40 "You cannot fail to recognize your AV because there is nothing more conspicuous to a formerly addicted person than ideas of indulging once again."
As I see it, you DID recognize your AV all the way through the event, and decided what the heck, since I don't have a Big Plan this is as good a time as any for smoking, so I'm going to go along with IT.
Hi thought I would post and say hi. rather than just lurking reading the posts as I have done this last week or so.
Absolutely love the concept of avrt and the big plan while I am rather new to it all It just makes so much sense. Have really enjoyed reading all of your posts. Have read all 4 threads. Am now looking forward to celebrating a sober birthday today. Darn beast loves birthdays but I'm going to celebrate this one my way not his! :-)
Absolutely love the concept of avrt and the big plan while I am rather new to it all It just makes so much sense. Have really enjoyed reading all of your posts. Have read all 4 threads. Am now looking forward to celebrating a sober birthday today. Darn beast loves birthdays but I'm going to celebrate this one my way not his! :-)
Originally Posted by RR: TNC p. 84
.... you will be tested, and you will either pass or fail. The test will be in the form of real life experience when your Addictive Voice acts up. If you recognize it, you will pass, and if you fail to recognize it, you will drink or use.
Originally Posted by RR: TNC p.40
With your Big Plan, Addiction Diction, Shifting, and knowledge of the Structural Model, you are secure. You cannot fail to recognize your AV because there is nothing more conspicuous to a formerly addicted person than ideas of indulging once again.
Originally Posted by The Art of AVRT p. 79
Anything you objectively recognize is logically not you, because you are the observer and not the observed. As long as the Beast remains an "it," you are safe from it. However, if it gains possession of the pronoun "I," then you are free to drink/use, and very likely will. (Get it? Free will!)
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Yesterday was my first birthday in at least 18years that I've ever had sober. My father was visiting and he too is an alcholic but not isd not ready yet to give up. It was amazing how clear I could hear my beast as well as hear my fathers."its your birthday one won't hurt you". And then when I explained to my dad that I wasn't drinking he was explaining how much stress he has and how he needs a drink to cope.
It seems so obvious to see the AV thoughts now even when they are other peoples AVs. But darn if I know what made me wake one morning to see it has I had problem and to realise it was in my power to solve.
It seems so obvious to see the AV thoughts now even when they are other peoples AVs. But darn if I know what made me wake one morning to see it has I had problem and to realise it was in my power to solve.
Well done TheSubtleKnife and congratulations!
Yes stress is a pretty common excuse to drink isn't it? I know I used it a lot. Thing is alcohol causes stress and depression so you end up in a never ending loop all the way to an early grave. Hopefully you'll be a good example that your dad will want to follow.
Yes stress is a pretty common excuse to drink isn't it? I know I used it a lot. Thing is alcohol causes stress and depression so you end up in a never ending loop all the way to an early grave. Hopefully you'll be a good example that your dad will want to follow.
I don't deny that I chose to smoke, but the part that I underlined in your text is the part of the AV stream that I chose not to objectify. It is a very subtle point, which is why we are going back and forth, but I believe that Trimpey chose his words carefully. If you look closely, you'll notice that he uses the expression "objectively recognize," which means recognize and objectify. As long as the AV remains out there, objectified as the voice of the Beast, the AV can't have any effect.
Addict Identity
If this question sounds strange, have you noticed that former smokers who have quit smoking don't usually call themselves "smoke-a-holics" or nicotine addicts? Why do this with alcohol? Is there any difference?
"I am an alcoholic" or "I am an addict" translates to "I am my desire to use. I am my Beast." With AVRT based recovery, you are not your desire to use. You are not your Beast. You are a normal human being who doesn't drink or drug for personal reasons.
A Real Time "the AV can't have any effect" Experiment
On Jan 1, 2012, I resolved to not eat any sweets (except occasionally pure honey and pure maple syrup) for one year and monitor my health and decide at the end of a year if I wanted to make a Big Plan for sweets. Well, I've gotten good at recognizing the sugar Beast and its AV barking. My health has improved tremendously. I've lost 20 pounds and have been at my ideal weight for the longest time ever since college decades ago. I've been thinking about moving up my Big Plan date, and cut out honey and maple syrup, too, but of course the AV says no. So, I've been waiting on that Big Plan.
Well, my wife likes sugar, so there's a bunch of it in the kitchen. (pause while I go to the kitchen) I just went to the kitchen, recognizing the AV all the way up to including this very moment. I took out a jar of cranberry chutney jam loaded with sugar and ate three giant spoonfuls. As I was swallowing it, I made sure to focus as strongly as possible on objectifying the AV as the voice of my sugar Beast. It is loving this whole experiment. Yes, there it is, that object other than me, the AV. "See, sugar is no big deal. Of course you can moderate! Your AVRT fanaticism is ridiculous?!"
How was I able to do that?
Shift in AVRT focus?
For those of you who have read The Art of AVRT, have you noticed that in addition to the much heavier emphasis on the moral axis of AVRT than was present in The New Cure, Trimpey also seems to shift the focus away from the Structural Model of addiction, towards the "stream of consciousness," or self-identity in operational consciousness framework based on the work of Julian Jaynes?
In The New Cure, there is a heavy emphasis on the Structural Model, but it seems to be missing entirely from The Art of AVRT. I didn't see any pictures of the brain in the book, and in Chapter 11 (pg 121), the author refers to "another version of AVRT," which is basically most of the AVRT crash course. Conspicuously missing, though, even in that chapter, is the Structural Model of addiction.
Instead of "I am not a beast brain, I am a neocortex," as in the AVRT crash course and TNC, the I/It split becomes "I am not my body, or any part of my body."
In The New Cure, there is a heavy emphasis on the Structural Model, but it seems to be missing entirely from The Art of AVRT. I didn't see any pictures of the brain in the book, and in Chapter 11 (pg 121), the author refers to "another version of AVRT," which is basically most of the AVRT crash course. Conspicuously missing, though, even in that chapter, is the Structural Model of addiction.
Instead of "I am not a beast brain, I am a neocortex," as in the AVRT crash course and TNC, the I/It split becomes "I am not my body, or any part of my body."
Originally Posted by The Art of AVRT, Pg 45
You are not your body. You are not any part of your body. You are not a foot, a knee, a toe, a brain, nor a hand. You a conscious, self-identity — a human being — which resides in the body of an animal called homo sapiens. "Human" is not a species, and means, "not animal."
Copyright © 2010 by Jack Trimpey
Copyright © 2010 by Jack Trimpey
I just went to the kitchen, recognizing the AV all the way up to including this very moment. I took out a jar of cranberry chutney jam loaded with sugar and ate three giant spoonfuls. As I was swallowing it, I made sure to focus as strongly as possible on objectifying the AV as the voice of my sugar Beast. It is loving this whole experiment. Yes, there it is, that object other than me, the AV. "See, sugar is no big deal. Of course you can moderate! Your AVRT fanaticism is ridiculous?!"
How was I able to do that?
How was I able to do that?
Most likely, you thought to yourself "I will now swallow some jam" right before doing it, no? As soon as IT became "I", the separation broke down, and the AV was no longer objectified as 'not you', because 'not you' (IT) can't do anything. What other way would there be for you to use your arms to get at that jam other than to lose the separation?
Originally Posted by Dalek;
As long as the AV remains out there, objectified as the voice of the Beast, the AV can't have any effect.
My point is this. AV recognition has no practical use to me without a Big Plan.
As I remain almost sugar free so far this year, I've recognized and objectified my sugar Beast and it's AV, but all that doesn't have any real effect on whether or not I will eat sugar because I don't have a Big Plan. I just ate sugar for the second time this year and it was only sort of a big deal, not really, though.
When I make my Big Plan for sugar, then I know from experience with other Beasts, that AVRT will have a very useful purpose in making it so much easier to get on with my gastronomic future.
I can feel it even now. I am seriously thinking about a Big Plan for sugar right now. Oh my gosh! Does it mean I will never experience the taste of sweetness again. Oh, wait, there's stevia. Will that be OK? WOW! Is that what I really want? Yes, now the AV is really poppin'. Yes, now AVRT makes sense. It will really help tie it all together - and quickly, too. WHEW! Haven't I loved what's happened by almost not eating any sugar so far this year? Of course! HAH! I win. Well, not quite yet. Dag-nab-it!
OK, I'll let y'all know when I make that Big Plan for sugar.
------
You know what? Enough of this pussyfooting around.
I will never eat any sweets again.
THANK YOU BRAIN!
Oh, WOW!
THANK YOU (AGAIN) AVRT!
------
There. Done.
Without a Big Plan, there is no AVRT.
My point is this. AV recognition has no practical use to me without a Big Plan.
As I remain almost sugar free so far this year, I've recognized and objectified my sugar Beast and it's AV, but all that doesn't have any real effect on whether or not I will eat sugar because I don't have a Big Plan.
As I remain almost sugar free so far this year, I've recognized and objectified my sugar Beast and it's AV, but all that doesn't have any real effect on whether or not I will eat sugar because I don't have a Big Plan.
I suspect that you may disagree with me here, but since the Addictive Voice can also be adequately defined as simply any thinking, imagery, or feeling that contradicts your Big Plan, I'm not convinced that without a Big Plan, someone can even recognize the AV properly. Perhaps I make too much of the need for separation, but they are liable to miss some things, and to attribute the AV to themselves, instead of to their Beast.
Originally Posted by Jack Trimpey
Recovery is accomplished through a personal commitment to permanent abstinence called, the Big Plan, backed up by the learned ability to catch yourself in the process of changing your mind. The ability to recognize the AV must be learned because, while in addiction, the AV appears to be you. Only in the context of your Big Plan, may the AV stand out for recognition.
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Thanks Dalek. I hadn't looked at it like that. And yes I have made a big plan. So you are very right about me being a TeeTotaller.
Infact I decided to never drink again before I had heard of AVRT and the big plan.
That's how I found it. I was googling for "I will never drink again".
Most things I seen said one day at a time. Or I will not drink today. And I thought if I had a husband who said I will not cheat on you today how would I feel. In comparison to I will never cheat on you. Its a rather powerful difference.
Infact I decided to never drink again before I had heard of AVRT and the big plan.
That's how I found it. I was googling for "I will never drink again".
Most things I seen said one day at a time. Or I will not drink today. And I thought if I had a husband who said I will not cheat on you today how would I feel. In comparison to I will never cheat on you. Its a rather powerful difference.
Another good one is when a habitual drunk, temporarily on the wagon for the Nth time, says "I have no desire to drink." I then think "What are they saying, exactly? That the only reason they aren't drunk is because, presently, they have no desire? That as soon as that desire comes back (and it will), that they will get drunk?"
The reaction when I ask them this question is usually priceless, with a look on their face that says "Uh-oh, they're on to me!"
To use your analogy, we can imagine a husband who says to their wife "honey, I'm not cheating on you because I have no desire for sex."
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