Hi {!firstname_fix}

Well, we have just had a fabulous ranch experience in England. We had people from all over Europe meeting in a 14th century hotel. You can see a picture of it here. Most of us also went on over to Stonehenge to see the stones. It is always so lovely to gather in radiant friendship. Good food, good people and learning new stuff is a mighty combination.

I have put up a class schedule through spring so you can pencil in your own calendars for the classes you want to take. We may add as we go, but the basic structure is there now for your review. Please do not sign up for classes until the 'registration begins' date on the schedule, or for any that are not on the schedule.


There will be no classes the week of Wednesday, October 15, 2008 while I am at Euroranch.


These classes will begin Wednesday, October 22, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page:

Using Radiant Resources (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.

Step 3: Three Meals (2 weeks) 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.

Brain Chemistry: Serotonin (2 weeks) is the other of our most popular classes. It helps you make sense of why the potato works, why you have a problem in the winter and how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can play into this. If you munch in your mind, if you are depressed or edgy or feel sad, this is the class for you.


These classes will begin Wednesday, October 29, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page:

Step 1: The Art of Breakfast (1 week) is our foundation class to get you started. Learn all four parts of step 1 in a structured way. Learn how to progress through them with enjoyment. Let us support getting your program off to a fabulous start.

Step 4: More Than You Think (1 week) is the potato class. Come learn everything you ever wanted to know about the timing, size, frequency of your potato. Learn about the best vitamins and talk all you want about them. This is a nice way to strengthen and refine your step 4.


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.


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

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October 13, 2008
** Quote From Kathleen **


Weave Step 7 into your life a hundred times a day.

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** Testimonial for the Week**


I love to watch all that kind of stuff because I think it is so cool. I think the reason I love it is because I have, what I call a "major foot flaw.'" I like to take dance classes but I spend a great deal of time laughing because none of it comes easy to me. Just like you accepted not sleeping well at certain times I accept the fact that although I love to dance I don't do it well and therefore I don't have to be perfect or take myself to seriously. I get to move AND laugh so it's a BE win win. LOL

Mary

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**Radiant Ambassadors**


We have had a new person posting on the forum saying that she found RR after researching sugar addiction on the internet. She then checked out the reviews of PnP on Amazon. On the strength of the wonderful Amazon reviews she bought PnP from a bookstore on her way home and is now talking about breakfast!

So it looks like putting book reviews up on Amazon DOES work after all! Feel free to add your review of PnP, SARP, YLD, LSA on Amazon. It’s quite straightforward to do and you don’t have to write a book.

You never know quite who will be googling sugar addiction and finding out about RR next!

Selena

Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news.

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**Radiant Kitchen**


I will start giving you some holiday recipes to try.

Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Stuffing


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup uncooked wild rice
  • 2 1/2 c water
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1" cubes. Do not peel
  • 1 cup chopped apple
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c onions, diced
  • 1/4 c celery, diced
  • 1/4 c parsley, chopped
  • 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds


Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine wild rice, salt and water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until grains open. Drain and set aside.

  2. In another saucepan, combine sweet potatoes with enough lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Drain, set aside.

  3. In a large skillet, heat 2 TBS. Olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and celery and saute until vegetables are fragrant. They will be about 2 minutes.

  4. Add apples, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Continue to saute another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

  5. Combine wild rice, sweet potatoes and apple mixture. Add chopped parsley and combine well. Add almonds and toss.

  6. Use stuffing to fill poultry. Or you can put the stuffing into a lightly greased casserole dish and bake at 350 for 25 minutes until golden and heated through.


    Radiant Recovery
    Cookbook

    Naomi's Nutritious and
    Delicious Cookbook
    Sheila's
    Kitchen Recipes


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    **Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**

    YLDonline is a membership program run directly by Kathleen DesMaisons herself.


    Ready to reframe the holidays? You do not have to slide from Halloween to New Year's. YLDonline is the single most powerful tool we have. Nothing beats it. If you feel frantic about your weight and you are ready to make a commitment, this is the place. If you are scared to do *one more diet,* this is the place. If you are slipping and sliding with your core program, this is the way to get steady. YLD is unlike other weight loss programs. We learn how to do maintenance first, then we lose weight. You come to the hard part clean, steady and skilled. And everyone loses weight. It is not glamorous or sexy or quick. But it works and it can change your life.

    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.
     


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    **Radiant Recovery Store **

    David manages the Radiant Recovery Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.



    		 Well, I see that we have a recipe for wild rice up there. Of course, you know we have the best wild rice on the planet.
    		 And don't forget the wonderful little cookbook we carry that talks about great rice recipes.



    We did have a couple of glitches in my wonderful new data base system. I am really, really sorry for that. And it will be all resolved shortly.

    Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better.

     
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    **Our Online Groups**


    The Radiant Journal list is a source of helpful information and support with journaling. On this list we talk about how to get started with the journal, how to start listening to our body and why giving it a voice is so important. We also discuss how to use the journal for detective work in our program and, of course, how to make journaling fun! Right now the list is rockin' with people supporting each other and making big discoveries with their journal. So whether you are just starting out or are looking for a recharge in your journaling, come on over and join in the fun!

    Or come to the group page to see all our groups. http://www.radiantrecovery.com/list_serves.htm


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    **Healing Phases**
    Patti Holden


    Patti introduced this concept at a YLD beginner's chat. I was so impressed with the idea, I asked her to write an article. I am including it once more because I think it is still powerful.
    Kathleen

    In working through the Radiant Recovery program, working the 7 steps, the question I am pondering is: Do we work a step, get it steady, heal, and move onto the next step without having to refine or go back to the previous steps? And if we do find ourselves going back, because it isn't working any more, does that mean we are doing something 'wrong'? I don't think so; I think we come across 'healing phases', let me explain why.

    I believe that as we work each of the steps there is a sort of healing 'process' that our bodies go through. Meaning in one sense that what we start out doing on that step may not work long term, we may need to adapt what we are doing according to the healing that is taking place within our body.

    Maybe we add exercise, or stop eating as much sugar, or there is an underlying healing 'shift' (biochemical) taking place (unseen) where our outward lives haven't changed. Let me say more about this part. I believe that our biochemistry is, as we begin/work through/ and continue on with the steps always 'shifting' towards wholeness/healthy levels. I don't think that we get to a certain step, work it for two weeks, and bam biochemistry is healed. So, sometimes when a person is working a step, and they get it stable, and then they move on to the next step to only find that the previous step may not feel as stable any more, that it is because there is a 'healing phase'(one of a shift of biochemistry) that they may need to address.

    So, our body 'shifts' and all of a sudden some part of what we were doing before doesn't work. Maybe we are getting hungry before our next meal, maybe the potato isn't giving us restful sleep any more, or we start feeling emotionally out of balance. Our immediate reaction has often been, 'What am I doing wrong'?

    Well, I don't believe that we are doing anything wrong, necessarily. If we checked, and it all looks good, and we checked in with our buds and they don't see anything either, then what does this mean? I believe it means that I simply needed to 'adjust' my program to the changes within my body (whether things such as adding exercise/limiting sugar/etc. or inward biochemical changes/shifts).

    For me personally this occurred when I added in CST (Circular Strength Training). I was no longer able to go 6 hours between meals (I had been able to go 6 hours for years). But, I wasn't doing anything 'wrong'. My body was definitely indeed in a place of healing more, a 'healing phase', it was a good thing - but my meal timing didn't work right any more. I was getting hungry earlier. So I adjusted my meal timing to 5 to 5.5 hours between meals and amazingly everything started working again. CST created a 'shift' and I needed to respond to that shift.

    Identifying these 'shifts' or 'healing phases', when fairly early in program can be difficult. Our beta-endorphin levels are sometimes not supportive enough yet to help us to ascertain what is happening with our recovery. For instance, let's say we are going through one of these 'healing phases', something that was working isn't working any more - we very often become discouraged and frustrated, and then this often leads to giving up, thinking that the program just won't work for us; that somehow we are doomed to a sugar-addicted life forever.

    We are not. (smile) Every one of us can have the radiance that is our birthright. And one of the most important things we can do when we feel the way I described in this last paragraph is to reach out in the Radiant Recovery community and share this with our buds. There are those who have walked the path before us, who daily share their experience, strength, and hope. Those who have walked through their own 'healing phases' many times, and can help us walk through ours.

    Through connecting with others we can then recognize that the possibility of help exists, and we rediscover the hope we thought we had lost.



    ©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