 Hi {!firstname_fix} Summer rains have come to New Mexico. The smell of rain in high desert is a wonderful smell. All the grasses and plants perk up. The peacocks have hatched babies. I caught one glimpse. Mamma keeps them mostly hidden away till they are bigger. We are in the home stretch with little Franklin. I put a movie of him up on You tube. You can go look at it if you like (smile). Here is the link. Franklin in Chute Next week, he will be on his way to his forever home with Diane in Maine. There will no classes beginning Wednesday, July 30, 2008. These classes will begin Wednesday, August 6, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Step 3: Three Meals (1 week) is one of our core classes. This is a skilled based class. If you want to learn the baby steps of a successful step 3, come join us. This class is ALWAYS fun. Using the Resources in the Community (1 week) is for those of you who are brand new and would like to find your way around town. Come sit on the top of our double decker bus for a guided tour. And even if you are not brand new, this is a really fun class to reconnect with all the treats of the community. If you are on disability or low income (your household income is less that $1000 a month), you may take classes for free if you get certified. I have put the guidelines for certification on the class schedule page. The class schedule is on line. Click here to see what is planned. Please do not sign up for classes that are not yet scheduled. 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 and you do not have to be at your computer at any set time. It does not matter whether you are in the US, Europe, the Far East or Australia, you simply respond on your own time. And although I advertise that the classes are one or two weeks, sometimes we are a little flexible and they may run longer. And please go read the questions and answers before you write to me. 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 **********************************************************************
July 28, 2008 ** Quote From Kathleen **
Doing the food will balance you, and you will know exactly what to do to heal yourself. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
Being able to state my needs and get them met has been a huge one for me. I am very skilled at this with my food. It is rare these days that I get stuck in situations without a plan or a back up plan. Helping those around me understand that my needs are about me and not them. DH used to have a very hard time with my not being willing to "just try it." Setting a boundary that I'm not willing to negotiate on has become a great skill. I'd like to see that develop in other areas of my life. Planning ahead and making sure I have food on hand has become the norm. Not only can I make a meal at home in mere minutes, I can do this at work, too. I have stocked my locker in the break room with tuna packets, cans of veggies, cans of beans, crackers, seasonings, a microwave vegetable/rice cooker, and other things. I have condiments and frozen veggies in the fridge. Today I didn't realize the meal I pulled from the freezer at home didn't have a brown in it. I was pleased I had supplies in the breakroom. It makes for a very fluid program. It still amazes me that I have breakfast within an hour of waking every day. Now that is discipline. LOL Actually, I read a quote by Luciano Pavarotti where he said he wasn't disciplined but devoted. I have a devotion to breakfast. It's always the first thing I think about when I'm planning trip. My journal has become an integral part of my life. The basics seem to take care of themselves which frees me to use my time to reflect and ponder more. I didn't realize until recently just how much introspection I need. I have learned to work with my body on meal timing. I have learned to relax the "rules" and let her guide me with her needs. I still have to be careful with meal timing. The thing that is the most significant for me is the key habit plays in my success. Good habits support me seemingly easy. I am learning to notice my amoebas and striving to notice them before they get me into trouble. This seems to be an ongoing learning curve, LOL I could probably go on and on about what I'm learning and developing. (smile) Terri ********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors** I think of the ambassadors as special scouts thinking about places to share the story of recovery. I love working with them . Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. ********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen**
Another wonderful recipe from the Radiant Recovery Cookbook Cottage Apple BakeIngredients:
Directions:
Makes 6 servings
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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
YLDonline is a membership program run directly by Kathleen DesMaisons herself. Last week's chat was fun. I liked talking about how oil and vinegar can help you lose weight (smile)...Nothing like talking regular life things and exploring how science can teach us. Thank you all for coming. That was really fun. And I have especially been enjoying your input in the Weight Loss Readiness Class. What a group! You have such fun energy. 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. ********************************************************* ***********
**Radiant Recovery Store **
David manages the Radiant Recovery Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. 
Many people ask me which CD is the one to get if you want the essence of the program. I think the Ranch 2007 CD is awesome. Here is what Kathleen says about it. Every year at Ranch, I try to assimilate and reflect on the progress in thinking from the prior year. What has the community been reflecting on? What themes and ideas are coming up in different places? This year, the premier talk is on *The Big Picture*. This is not information I have written about yet. I talk about how the food and the behavioral aspects of the steps interweave to create a special kind of energy. It will give you such a sense of why doing the steps in order has such an impact. The second CD in the ranch set is on our favorite topic - brain chemistry. It offers another look at the things we love to talk about. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
The radiantrecovery list was set up as a support for people who are in recovery for alcohol and/or drugs and would like to add the Radiant Recovery nutritional piece to their healing. And we have added a special intensive process for folks who are not yet in recovery for substance abuse but want to be. Senior people work with folks on a special study list. You come to the recovery list for a while, and then if you wish to join the study list, you let us know. Our approach to recovery encourages the use of 12 step programs and Radiant Recovery. The folks on both lists are warm, compassionate, caring and straightforward. We would love to have you come join us. ********************************************************************
**I Have Been Trying Step 2 for Two Years**
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. Last week, we had a number of conversations in the community 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 2008. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together: Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together 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. ©2008 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 |
