 Hi {!firstname_fix}
Really, I should be doing my get ready to go to England tasks instead of going on the web to search for brain molds. (smile), but at least you can know I love to play. These classes will begin Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Weight Loss Readiness (2 weeks) is the getting started class for YLD members. We are really excited to do this new format. Come learn how Phase One of your program sets the foundation for your entire weight loss plan. Money: Time for a New Frontier (2 weeks) is a special class for people on step 7. Come and learn how to look at the hidden area that can be scary. This is a loving and rigorous exploration about ideas and patterns with money. There will be no classes the week of Wednesday, October 8, 2008 while I am at Euroranch. 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 **********************************************************************
September 29, 2008 ** Quote From Kathleen **
Make changes at a pace that works for you. Look for solid, long-term successs, not drmamtic, short-term results. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
Sounds like you are already believing a little more in yourself, so feeling a little better. Well done. Connecting with this group for me makes a huge difference; when things go astray I usually withdraw, but that doesn't help. It is the sticking my head out of the sand and talking about my worries, and then attempting to deal with them with the help of everyone here, that I'm sure has got me this far. I know it's hard getting yourself and the children all ready for the school run, and I'm sure that you'll put their needs first. But please just take a little time for yourself, just sitting and eating a brekky each day, that you really do enjoy, that you look forward to eating, will help you and ultimately be beneficial to you all. I know where you are comming from. For ages I dithered and fought against my evening potato, coming up with lots of reasons why I shouldn't eat one. But then just by posting that here, it made me stop and just do it, and I have for a week now. Your breakfast today sounds good, keep going you'll get there. Cant wait to see you at ranch, Gaynor ********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors** Did you know that Euro Ranch is just around the corner? Do you know of alternative ways to help you get through Halloween without having a sugar fest? These are the subjects of our first ever Press Releases which have gone out this week. Kat has been working very hard getting the wording just right. The Halloween Press Release has been sent to Associated Press which provides news stories for thousands of daily newspapers, radio, TV and online customers. Meanwhile the Euro Ranch Press Release has been sent to a variety of national and local newspapers within the UK. If you come across any Radiant Recovery articles featured in newspapers or online do let us know. I'm looking forward to our first sighting! Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. ********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen**
This week I am doing something a little different. I want you to go over and check out our fast food alternatives. I would like to build this section up and create a little fast food manual for all of us. Come read, and then post on radiant recipes. Share you favorite quick meals. http://www.radiantrecovery.com/fastfoods.html
********************************************************************
**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
YLDonline is a membership program run directly by Kathleen DesMaisons herself. This is a settled time for all of you. The weight loss in action class graduates are over on the weight loss in action list now. They are simply working through the weight loss process. No angst, no desperation, no fear, just rather humorous reflection. And everyone has a different process. Folks are getting fitter, thinner, and waaaaay more funny. Chats continue to be the highlight of my week. I love how diligent you all are. One thing to remember. There have only been 1 or 2 people coming on Monday. If that continues another week, I think we will take a break from Monday chat. For those of you who are not in YLD, please note that the weekly chats are sort of the cutting edge of the community. We do things that I don't do anywhere else. And I think it is the live, in-person interaction that creates a pretty unique dynamic. Everyone is welcome. 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.  Here is a note we got about one of the CDs we have. I think she tells the power way better than I could. I just got Kathleen's CD (talking about the warrior spirit) in the mail today . It touched me deeply! It was actually really fitting to what I recently posted (the story of healing) and mentioning that we are often scared of our own power, our own radiance. It also talked about the community "getting something", the accumulative bigger picture. And because it's gotten, it's talked about! It is time to let go of all the shame we have in our bodies. It is time to set a new standard of living in our bodies! I absolutely loved it, tears rolling down my cheeks, it touched me so (in a beautiful, not a sad way!..lots of love, lots of beautiful potential). Thank you Kathleen for talking from your heart! And yes, I will follow into a new way of supporting each other. Living beautifully in the body that represents us. Learning to feel connected and comfortable in being emotional, sensual and spiritual in the body. And loving every radiant minute!... and even the not so radiant ones! For there is no turning back. The decision has been made : been there, done that, did not work, won't do it again! Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
The Radiant Fitness group talks about how doing the food can support our fitness program and vice versa. Some favorite topics are what to eat when doing intensive exercise when all that's out there commercially are sugar filled products. We also talk about what to eat before and after morning workouts, and what to do for those folks whose training program requires a twice a day workout. We just had a great thread on the necessity of sports drinks and how doing the food is better. We have runners, walkers, bikers, dancers, aerobicizers, yogis, and many more types of exercise enthusiasts on the list. One of the neat things on the list is people who are recovering from exercise addiction who are learning how to work exercise back in their life in a healthy way. If any of this fits you, well, come on over and join in. ********************************************************************
**Shame is a Crucial Part of Healing**
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. In last week’s chat, I talked about the power of shame. I thought it would be fun to share a little of that with all of you. I asked folks to think about the thing they were more ashamed of in their lives. Then I asked how that image made them feel. Almost everyone described feeling sick to her stomach. This is a big clue. A VERY big clue. If you have something that makes you feel sick to think of it is a crucial part of your life. You spend a lot of energy to stay away from those feelings. Make a list of the things that are sitting there eating away at you... These things can be your debt, your unpaid bills, your credit report, the people you hurt, the affair you had, the things you took, being fat, bingeing, purging, compulsive sex, the way you hide food and eat it in the car so no one knows, computer porn, gambling and a thousand other things. Think of the points of shame as little black holes that suck your energy. And dealing with them seems impossible. They are too big, too bad, too horrible, horrible to even look at, let alone heal. Shame is about hiding. And when you hide, the energy flows into the black hole so you procrastinate. You put the bills in the drawer. You say I will start a diet on Monday or my birthday or the first of the year. You hide the feelings of your inadequacy.You never, ever tell the depth of the repulsion and disgust about how you look. You literally *suck it up* which means, you pour your energy down into the black hole. Now there is a reason for this. Mostly you are around people who add to the shame. You KNOW that they will think badly of you. If you ever really knew....and you find the people or the institutions who reinforce that message so by the time you are grown ups, you are pretty well entrenched with the hiding. However, here is the irony. Whatever you think is the worst is usually the most shared. Think about the relief you felt when you connected with the community and discovered thousands of people who hid the candy wrappers under the top pile of the trash or who threw the vodka bottle on someone else’s lawn. We are able to talk about the shame of being fat or being out of control with the food. But we still hide the other stuff. However, it really is no different. Comes from the same place. But old patterns get etched in. And they stay to reinforce your belief that at core you really are a bad person. You aren’t really a bad person at all, you may have some grimy stuff to clean out. But it is no different than a grimy barn. It just feels that way. SHAME=HIDING HIDING=PROCRASTINATION PROCRASTINATION=SHAME It is a circle that goes round and round. And there is a way out. ACCEPTANCE = DISCLOSURE DISCLOSURE = MOBILIZATION MOBILIZATION = ACTION When we talked about this in chat, several people wondered about how to know what appropriate disclosure might be. Part of being sugar sensitive is either never telling or telling way too much. As you do the food, you begin to learn little bits in the right place. You share in places where you will not be judged or put down. You share with people who understand and do not reinforce your shame patterns. As you do this, something incredible happens. The energy that has been going into the black hole comes streaming into your life. Everything is different. And then the lightness you feel goes into the other places. Click, click, click one at a time, the places of shame can be healed. It may take a while to get the power of this. But once you do, nothing is the same. ©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 |
