Well, I am back from Minnesota. I flew in on the very day of their big snow storm. When we were up at White Earth, it was -2. Whew, that was a wee bit colder than Albuquerque. I loved working with the staff at the women’s treatment center. They are enthusiastic and excited to get started. We learned a lot from the dialogue. It was a wonderful trip and I know that their input will affect all of us. Special thanks to all the volunteers who cared for the community while I was on the road. What a gift you are! And Radiant Ranch is just around the corner. I am writing more about it in this week’s article. We have a few slots still open and would love to have you join us. BTW, if you want to change your newsletter subscription email, or unsubscribe, the link is always at the bottom of every newsletter. These are the classes that will begin on Monday. Make an effort to get on over on time. I would like to get started so we can have the full time for discussion. Make sure to check out the schedule for the upcoming classes. I posted it before I left, but you may have missed it. 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 20, 2006 ** Quote From Kathleen **
Eating at regular intervals, whether you are hungry or not, will ensure that your blood sugar doesn't drop to crisis point. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
This morning i had 2 French toast with 2 eggs, 1/2 cup cottage cheese/banana and a protein shake made with almond milk and chocolate powder. With only 22 days of breakfasting behind me, I'm amazed at all the changes: I sleep better; I eat less; My self esteem has gone way up; I'm more focused; I'm exercising again; I'm drinking more water; and I feel happier and less depressed. It's truly amazing! I love the process, too. My SS brain gets to have the sugar it craves while my body is slowly changing and healing. What a plan! Diane ********************************************************************
**Recipe of the Week**
This is a recipe I invented after being inspired to try out different kinds of browns. My kids just love it and ask for it often! BANANA COCONUT PUDDING
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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
Ok, we are getting ready to start our YLD classes once again. We do them every quarter. It is a sequence of three classes. If you are already a YLD member you can click on the links below: YLD Foundation for folks who are ready for weight loss but are just starting off in the program. This class takes people through building a foundation. You get steady, clear, mobilized and funny. You learn how to use the resources of the community. YLD Weight Loss is for those of you who are on Step 7 and are ready to begin your weight loss process. This is one of the most transformative classes we do. Everyone who takes it reports a total transformation. YLD Weight Loss in Action is the implementation class. Learn practical tips on how to put together the plan that suits your body best. Learn the parts of refining the basic 7 steps to lose weight. And most of all, have a blast doing it. If you are not a YLD member, 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 **  I have been out i n our fulfullment center (that would be the shed in the back, LOL) cleaning and getting ready for Ranch. I was thinking about the CDs we have. You can put them in your car or ipod and listen. Listening over and over really sets the info in your brain. Here are my three favorites:
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
 Did you think you knew everything about how to brown your family? Want to know more? I asked Val to be the liaison for this group because she knows all about browns and beans. They are are having a lot of fun over there! ********************************************************************
**Thoughts on Ranch ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. It’s getting to be that time of year again. People ask me *so what do you “do” at ranch?* The question always makes me smile. I thought I might give you some history. Ranch started in the early years of the program at Ghost Ranch. You can check that link to see how beautiful it is. It is in northern NM and is one of the most beautiful places in the world. At out first ranch, we had 20 newbies and me. It was an event to be remembered. The following year, we had some returning folks who had more experience with the program. I began to see ranch as a time for leadership to come together and explore our vision and hope for the community. The times at Ghost Ranch were powerful. We had a small group and worked out of the arts center. The light on the mountains was surreal, it was so beautiful. We put up with more rustic accommodations, laughed when we found a dead mouse in the heater, coped with communal bathrooms and balky weather. The starlit nights and sharing were worth it. We worked with the staff on the food and developed a wonderful relationship. Then Ghost Ranch got new management. They didn’t want to do food accommodation. So we were in a bind. We loved the place, but could not work with institutional whites and sugar. So we brought ranch down to the city. The first year in Albuquerque we went to Los Poblanos. It was beautiful. We catered our own food. As we planned for the next year, they said they would have to provide catering, and this would have meant a $900 ranch. It wasn’t what I wanted. So we found the Rio Grande Inn. It is an unpretentious little hotel with a big heart and a lot of excitement about serving us. The logistics worked. People with handicaps were welcomed. They made potatoes for us at night. The food was good and more and more program friendly as we kept explaining what *no sugar* meant. The actual program was a combination of my sharing new information in lectures and working in small groups to make sense of program skills. We learned a rhythm...not so much information and more relaxing and connecting. And something happened. The power of being together, of people who are sugar sensitive being together without having to worry about food or being accepted, started weaving its way into out hearts. Ranch has a quality all its own. In the hot tub, in the pool, at the tables outside. In the rooms late at night, over breakfast, over coffee at Starbucks. I think it is community. It feels as if Ranch is our heart beating. We reconvene to drink from the well. New people are welcomed, old people remembered. We watch our growth, celebrate our steadiness, and laugh and play and be goofy. How do we explain this? How do I give you an agenda that tells you the serendipity. I plan a wild card based on the people. One year it was about eating disorders. It surprised us all. The questions took us into a place none of us expected. We remember the hair on the backs of our neck standing up. We remember the seeds that get planted at Ranch. A topic, an experience, an event. I think perhaps Ranch is undefinable in the last analysis. Every ranch is different. Every year a joy. Sort of like the program! ©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 step 4 gathers the recipes 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 |
