December 22, 2008

Hi {!firstname_fix}

Last night I went to a house concert at my neighbor's across the street. There were about twenty people there. I sat and listened to this wonderful musician play songs that he had written...he loves the southwest so many of the songs were about this land I love so much. There was a fire in the fireplace, and the light was skittering on the hand-hewn beams on the ceiling. Music, nice people and firelight was a nice package. When I walked out the door, I could see my reindeer on my roof sparkling in the clear night sky. I could also see my dogs standing on my bed watching and waiting for me to cross over.

There were a gazillion stars in the sky, and it smelled of the pinon that was burning in the fireplace. I came in, my tree was twinkling, I hit the button on my stereo player and the Messiah was playing. I just sat for a while and read. A dog on each side and one on my feet. Life is good.

There will be no classes the week of Wednesday, December 24, 2008. There will be YLD chats. So if you are a YLD member, come join me in a holiday time.

These classes will begin Wednesday, December 31, 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.

Getting Started With Limited Funds (1 week) is a special free class for those of you with limited funding who are trying to make do. Come hear some fun ideas to maintain your humor and find tasty and inexpensive solutions.

Family and Friends (2 weeks) is a special class for Step 7 people to explore the complexity of relationships changing in recovery.


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 online. 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

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** Quote From Kathleen **


All this work will create enormous gains for you. As you 'do the food,' you are going to reconnect with your birthright.

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** Testimonial of the Week **


What to do to realize this and help yourself along? Strategy beats willpower.

1. Post your fears and your successes no matter how small.
2. Read all or most of the posts.

It will take a little time but it is worth it. The healing will be a slowish matter, a gradual changeover. What seems impossible will happen. I have yet to meet anyone on this website who magically accomplished the whole program with no glitches or fears along the way. I have met and continue to meet those who have made minor and major breakthroughs in thinking and nutrition planning.

SJD

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** Radiant Ambassadors **


You may have noticed that last week Professor Bart Hoebel, researcher from Princeton University, presented new new laboratory evidence that sugar can be addictive. Within 24 hours there were over 215 news stories about it showing up on a google search. It looks as though sugar addiction has caught the public's imagination and is now common knowledge! It is very exciting that Dr. Hoebel was introduced to Kathleen's work eight years ago and rose to her challenge to do the rat studies to confirm what she was looking at from a clinical point of view. The science is catching up to the vision of our lived experience.

The Ambassadors list is in the process of sending out a press release about the *solution* shortly.

Selena

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

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** Radiant Kitchen **


I grabbed this recipe out of the Radiant Recipe Cookbook because it is something so yummy and festive that you can serve it for your Christmas dinner. I also love to eat soup on such cold winter days, just the thought of this one, warms me up! Enjoy!

Spiced Butternut Soup



Ingredients

  • 1 T. Olive oil
  • 3/4 c. onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 T. grated fresh ginger root
  • 3 c. vegetable or chicken stock
  • 4 c. (about 1 medium) butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 T. lime juice
  • 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
  • Dash of cayenne or to taste
  • Sour cream or yogurt for garnish


Process

  1. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and saute briefly until vegetables turn translucent and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add squash and broth.
  3. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
  4. Puree soup in batches in a blender, being careful to avoid spilling and burns.
  5. Return soup to pan. Stir in lime juice and remaining spices (coriander through cayenne) and heat until hot.
  6. Garnish with sour cream or yogurt if desired.
Makes 4 servings. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 45 minutes. Beginner Skill.


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 **


We will be starting the Introductory Weight Loss class soon after the beginning of the year. We will also do the Weight Loss in Action class for those of you who are ready to go with your action plan.

If you are not a YLD member, come and join us now to get mobilized. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just have some plain ol' fun!

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** Radiant Recovery® Store **

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


We have not featured the CDs of the "Southwest Coffeehouse"for a while, I am thinking this would be a wonderful gift to your self for the new year. You HAVE TO get this product. It is just awesome!! I have one in my car and it is like listening to All Things Considered on NPR! I think Kathleen shares on a more personal level on this CD than on any other one we have in the store.


And I wanted to remind you that we have LOTS of shake now. Plan on getting a subscription and I will get shake to you right at the first of the month.


Don't forget the flavorings! Sign up for the flavor of the month and be surprised with each mailing. And remember you can put those flavorings in your morning cereal too!


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 **


When we first started this group, it was a hard one. People were just starting in recovery. There was lots of fear and rigidity. Now I cannot keep up with the laughter and joy over there! Those messages just keep rolling in. And now the recovery wraps and holds the newcomers with joy and hope.

Hi I'm Heather and I'm the liaison for the Radiant ED list for people recovering from eating disorders. We make new connections with our recovery every day, and the list is incredibly supportive. If you struggle with an eating disorder, whether anorexia, bulimia, or anywhere in between, come join our group and experience the joys of what recovery can bring.

Or come to the group page to find the one that will best support your program: http://www.radiantrecovery.com/list_serves.htm


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** Season's Greetings from Kathleen **
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.



Well, it is that time of year. Days are dark early, morning is dark late. Lots of black sky and going inward.
For many years I have tried to reconcile the growing use of 'Happy Holidays' as a way to be inclusive. But I have felt a loss of hearing 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Chanukah'. I have resented losing the tie to unique celebrations for this time of year.

Naomi sent me a web link to a little clip about miracles. Chanukah is the celebration of a miracle, of sustained light. Light which endured and grew. And I have always felt that Christmas was not about the “stuff” so much as the generosity of heart and seekers being guided by the light to a promise of something new. So this year, I want to share some thoughts about the miracle of healing, the miracle of a light shining in the darkness of addiction and sugar sensitivity.

Every day I receive letters from people saying, 'I have looked for this answer for years and years.' 'Are you sure this can be true?' 'I feel as if my heart is opened up.' 'I felt as if you were reading my life story.'

I come to the lists and I hear you talking about new ways of doing your life. Early struggles with breakfast, midtime struggles and joys with meals, playing with potato dreams, taking the risk of letting go of sugar and all that surrounds it. And then there are the stories of the healing, what happens after a year, two years and now five years.

The other shoe does not drop. It does not go away. Baby steps become habits. Habits become a rock-solid foundation. Desperation becomes hope. Flapping becomes humor. Isolation becomes connection. Panic becomes commitment. Over and over and over. It is not an accident, it is not an isolated personal experience, it is what happens when we do the food and we do the process.

Ten years ago, I took everything I had and laid it on the line because of my passionate belief in this program. I felt it was a light of healing risking all of me for. It is. But today I want to share what has become of that light. Here is a little story to show you.

Each morning, before the sun is up, I sit and meditate. I light one little candle that illumines a picture of the one who guides me, and a little image of a rabbit with a bowl with two eggs in it. The rabbit represents me coming with my little offering. It is a very simple ritual. This week was a VERY dark time in my life. A dear friend sent me a little tea candleholder. She didn’t 'know' anything about what I was going through. It was a gesture of the season. It holds six candles. Hm, I thought, let’s use this one in the morning. I lit all the candles and the whole room was lit up. I could SEE everything. The rabbit, the eggs, the whole picture. Not just a dim image, but a bright reminder of why I do all this.

One person brings a little light. Six make more. And as we grow from ten to a hundred to a thousand to ten thousand to the thirty thousand who receive this newsletter, we are creating a light of healing. Do not think this is just your story. If you are here, if you are receiving this newsletter, you are linked to something way more than just you.

It is like the candles of Chanukah. One becomes many and keeps burning. And when the lights are burning, we can see in the darkness. So, I would like to invite you to take a little time. Give thanks for your commitment, for the connection that sustains us. Give thanks for the process that guides me to guide you. Give thanks for the lonely, isolated person in Ogden, Utah who found the book in a used book bin and came online to meet us.

From the bottom of my heart, I give thanks for you all. Your candle is lighting another.

I wish you the deepest blessings of the season.

Kathleen


Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:

Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together.
David runs the Radiant Recovery® Store.
Selena provides the weekly Ambassadors column.
The banner photograph is by Geraint Smith.


©2008 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, use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®", and notify kathleen@radiantrecovery.com of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery® website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction.

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.