When you get this, I will be on the plane to Minnesota. I am hoping that there will not be a blizzard while I am there although we had snow in NM yesterday. I happen to love snow. Ronan tried to eat all the snowflakes as they fell. I will not be doing any classes this week while in Minnesota, but the following three classes will begin the week of March 20. Please check the new class schedule to see what else is coming up. Brain Chemistry: Dopamine is a NEW class never before offered. I know this will be a popular class since you have been waiting for 8 years (smile). We will start on March 20. I am putting this up now so you can make sure to get a seat. Using the Resources of the Community is our intro class for newcomers. Come and get a front seat on the tour bus while I guide you through the community. Intro to Journaling is one of our core classes. If you don’t know how to are not sure if you are doing it ok, come check out our hot tips. A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. The classes are done online with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time. Please note that we have added the classes to the new schedule so you can see what is coming up. And go read the questions and answers before you write to me. The classes are done online with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time. If you have trouble getting through the process, write the tech forum. Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see me cover. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery® website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
March 13, 2006 ** Quote From Kathleen **
Your body will start to cooperate. It will give you information earlier, more efficiently, and more joyfully. You and your body will become partners in recovery. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
Dear Kathleen, I haven't had very much sugar for a loooooooooong time. I plan not to have much sugar anymore. I really like being sugar free. I noticed that I have been in a very happy mood lately! I made a life-size elf and I am going to tell her not to have sugar either. Also, I will tell her we don't eat sugar in this family, except for Daddy sometimes. And if she wants to be like me, she can't have sugar! talk to you soon, love, emma I am 8 ********************************************************************
**Recipe of the Week**
The holiday of Purim is coming up and these triangular shaped cookies are very traditional. I have changed the tradition by making them program friendly (smile). Even if you don't celebrate Purim, these cookies are very yummy (smile). I have also added Janie's adaptation, which is for those who cannot have wheat. HAMENTASHEN
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper .(I used parchment) Place all ingredients in! a large mixer bowl and beat together. Roll into a ball and refrigerate until firm, covering completely in plastic wrap. Divide into four parts. On a well-floured board, roll out each portion to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles (I used 2 inch cutter). Place 1/2 tsp of apple butter on each circle. To shape into a triangle, lift up the right and left sides and have them meet in the center above the filling. Bring the top flap down to the center to meet the two sides. Pinch edges together. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. B Makes about 6 1/2 dozen cookies Janie's Hamentashen Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper (I used parchment) Place all ingredients in a large mixer bowl and beat together. Roll into a ball and refrigerate until firm, covering completely in plastic wrap. Divide into four parts. On a well-floured board, roll out each portion to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles (I used 2 inch cutter). Place 1/2 tsp of apple butter on each circle. To shape into a triangle, lift up the right and left sides and have them meet in the center above the filling. Bring the top flap down to the center to meet the two sides. Pinch edges together. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about 6 1/2 dozen cookies ********************************************************************
**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
I had 3 people ask me this week if they should join YLD if they are just starting out. The answer is a resounding yes! YLD is a fantastic support to the process. And in fact we are starting a new set of classes April first, so it is an ideal time to come over and get settled. I've been to several chats so far. I like them because I always learn something new and profound. Chats help me to see Kathleen and the moderators in another dimension, making my connection to the community feel more real. I just think some things happen in chat that doesn't come across in any of the other media here. Come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. It is not too late to get into the classes if you come right now. ********************************************************* *********** **David's Corner **  Ok, the tuna is on its way to me, and I will send it as soon as I get it. I will also give you a personal report since I LOVE tuna. Since Kathleen is up at White Earth, I figure this would be a good week to feature the wild rice from the reservation. If you haven’t had it, try it. I guarantee you will LOVE it. Here is an adaptation of a recipe from our little wild rice cookbook. Cinnamon Wild Rice Pudding
If you haven't been to the store for a while, how about just coming over and browsing. You will be thrilled to see all the changes! Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
Hi, I am Joy Lynn and I am the Liaison for the Radiant Fat and Fit group. I am really excited about our group of round (fat) people who are doing the food and are active in sports and/or consistently exercising. We support each other in movement and are learning a lot about ourselves in the process. If you are overweight and moving consistently please join in. ********************************************************************
**I Have Been Trying Step 2 for Two Years ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. Last week, we had a number of conversations about how long the steps should take. People were sharing about not being able to move beyond journaling. As usual, there was a lot of encouragement and support. As a group, we are kind. We care about one another; we listen and hold one another up. But, today, I am going to add another perspective. I am going to challenge you. If you want to be healed, you need to take action. Nodding at the idea but not acting will never heal you. Addiction has you by the throat. It has its icy hands around your heart. It is stealing your life. Support will help. But sometimes kindness helps to keep you stuck. Sometimes a greater kindness will say, “If you want what we have, do what we do.” Feeling miserable about your life and doing nothing means that things will not change. Sugar sensitives have a hard time committing. Usually we wait until it is really, really bad to take action. This is natural. Our unbalanced biochemistry tilts us in the direction of spinning and being stuck. Sugar makes us immobile. Sugar saps our spark and dilutes our motivation. It deflects intention. And if we just “wait” for it to get better, we will wait a lifetime. At some point, healing requires commitment. It demands saying, “I will do what it takes to get well.” It means that our intention overrides the sugar effect. It means that we actually “do” the journal. Even though it is hard and requires paying attention. We stop flapping and we start focusing. We stop saying, “You know, I have ADD, this is too hard for me” and we say, “What do I need in order for this to work.” When you make this commitment, you come to the lists, to the forum with a different frame of reference. What is there to learn? Who can guide you? This community has the most extraordinary people in it. People who are skilled and competent with the program. People who have been where you are and are not there now. Ask for help. Rather than staying stuck, commit. If you do not know what to do, say so. And then LISTEN. Here is an example… Someone comes to me and says, “Kathleen, my life is overwhelming, my sugar is out of control, I cannot find my way, I am in pain, I don’t know what to do. Will you help?” I say, “Eat breakfast.” “Oh, I do that already. I was been doing Atkins for 5 years. I just can’t get the journal down.” “Do you eat within a hour of getting up?” “Well, most days. Well, some days. But I am really busy. I have 4 kids and it is a rush to get everyone off to school.” “Are you getting enough protein?” “Well, of course. I have 2 eggs every morning.” So I wait. I figure this is a person who is not ready. She goes on the forum and starts talking about the kids and the stress and her life and not being able to journal. She gets suggestions about the journal and for every one there is a reason why that can’t work for her. I have been called “harsh” because I am demanding. I have been called insensitive because I do not get caught in the swirl of the kids and time and the job and the “stuff.” I have been told I do not understand how hard it is. I have been accused of being curt because I don’t get into a long discussion about how hard it is. How hard it is does not matter. Of course it is hard. If it were easy, we would have all healed many years ago. Sugar addiction is nasty. It takes commitment and courage. It takes willingness. But you do not have to do it alone, or by white knuckling it. Ask for help and then listen. Follow instructions. Do the steps. One at a time. In order. With enough time for your body to integrate the pattern. Accept that there is a reason, a very powerful one, that they are in the order they are. Consider that someone might know something more than you do about how to heal this nasty stuff. Be outrageous and consider that the people who have gone before you really, truly do have something to offer you. Ask for guidance rather than hugs. And then commit. Whatever it takes. And watch the miracle unfold. Your body will change. Your spirit will change. Your life will change. Beyond anything you could ever have imagined. But it won’t happen if you stay stuck for 2 years. ©Kathleen DesMaisons 2006. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together: Gretel, the liaison for the recovery list and the webmaster puts it all together Naomi, liaison for big ones gathers the recipes Marie, the liaison for diabetes gathers the info on the online lists David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have. You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery® in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter.htm. ©2006 by Kathleen DesMaisons . All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered and use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®. Please visit Kathleen's website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction." Please notify me at kathleen@radiantrecovery.com to let me know where the material will appear. Banner Photograph by Geraint Smith |