 Chanukah finished at the end of this past week with the light overcoming the darkness. We are just doing the reflections class and learning to call the light into the darkest night. Christmas will come soon. For those of us who celebrate it, it can be a source of joy for memories and connections, and a source of pain for missing people who have gone before, or loss. I have found that the simplifying and focusing on the meaning of light being born helps me. David and his daughter Madison will be flying out to Boston on Christmas Day to be with his two siblings and the other kids. We will continue to share a *skype* gathering which makes it feel like we are all gathered in one place. The wonders of technology are just super. I am going to see if I can hook up my new TV to my computer so they will literally be in the living room. Who know how the dogs will cope with that. Do come check out my new blog. It is a nice addition to our conversations. There will be no classes beginning this Wednesday, December 23, 2009. These classes will begin Wednesday, December 30, 2009. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Step 1 (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. Radiant Step 2: Skillful Use (1 week) is the next level of journaling. This is for those of you who know *how* and want to learn what to do with your data. This class shows you how to interpret what you have written in an exciting and pragmatic way. The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. Please wait to sign up for classes until a week or two before, and 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. 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. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
** Quote From Kathleen ** Resting when you are tired may seem like an outrageous idea, but learning to take care of your body is the focus of your path to recovery. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** I've been thinking about how Radiant Recovery gives us so much, like the ability to find joy in even the simplest things. As well as running outside this morning, catching snowflakes and listening to the wonderful snowy silence, I was struck by the thought just now of how pleasurable it is not to have to peel potatoes any more! And, yes, that means I'm actually doing some cooking! What simple joyful things are you all doing today? Jenny **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** Kathleen did a really fun interview with Aricia La France on her Sprit2Spirit show. Here is the link. Listen to it and see what you think. Aricia is doing the food program and so gets it. Tweet it if you like it! Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** I just love green beans, they have to be my favorite vegetable. Hope you enjoy them, too!
For more great program-friendly recipes, check out these great cookbooks in the store.
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** Your Last Diet - More Than What You Think ** Well, the YLD stockings are cris-crossing all over the country, Canada and the UK. A couple of people have commented that this tradition is the highlight of their year. I actually can relate to this. I really, really love stockings, but for many years, my family has not connected to that. Nothing is worse than Christmas morning with no stocking. Two years ago when I was in Maine on the cold, cold beach, my first stocking arrived, stuffed with little treasures. I cried through the opening. I think I cried all morning. And I think it is pretty wonderful that out of our desperation about being FAT, we have created something so giving. I think this is the essence of recovery, moving out of ME into caring for someone else. If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. In keeping with some of the new ideas that Kathleen learned while she was in South carolina, I have decided to reduce the stock of some of the items we have been carrying. In the whole grain department, I am just going to stock the cream of buckwheat. So I am going to do a little sale. Yes, yes, you heard that right! I will price these three items at 50% off...
This will be a one time only sale. Once they are gone, they will be gone. 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 Step Two 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! **********************************************************************
** What if None of This is Hard ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
As many of you know, we often talk about addiction to misery and always believing that things have to be *hard*. Here is the original reflection that started this dialogue in our community.. What if none of it has to be hard? This is the radical thought that has followed me home from Ranch. Kathleen had been talking about addiction to misery and how it seems to be one of the easier pieces of our sug sen puzzle to fix - it doesn't have t be hard. And then she blurts out what if none of it has to be hard? I think most everyone's instant reaction was "huh? I don't think so," me included. But the hair on the back of my neck stood up when she said that. And I have not been able to get this idea out of my mind. I was listening to a (country) CD in the car and it seemed every song was about some kind of "hard". And a voice in my head is saying "What if it doesn't have to be hard?" I looked at my shoes that have been by my bed for weeks now patiently waiting for me to wake, shake, walk. And the voice again "What if it doesn't have to be hard?" I came home to what could have felt like and overwhelm of laundry, no groceries, starting the potato and the need to gain weight. But what if it doesn't have to be hard? And the laundry and groceries got done. The potatoes are ready in the fridge. I'm remembering to eat a little more than usual. These are, I realize, simple things, easy to not be hard. But what if none of it has to be hard? I've been thinking about why I am so invested in things being "hard". I was brought up in a culture that taught 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps', 'nothing worth having is easy', 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger', 'true beauty lies in struggle and pain' and so on. And I am very attached to the idea of having been "brave" in my recovery journey. I think the dopamine boosting reward factor is in play, too when I feel I've done something "hard". So what happens if I let go of the idea of doing what's hard = worthy accomplishment. If it's easy will there be that sense of accomplishment? Will the act of letting go of "hard" be the accomplishment? Maybe it is all in the re-framing. What if instead of "hard" and "how can I possibly do what seems impossible and just too difficult and where in the world do I start?" the "hard" thing becomes a challenge and the doing of it an adventure? The feeling/idea of my life being an adventure instead of a struggle is something I have been becoming aware of as I've done my post detour work. If I stop and look at the past 7 months what started out as hard became easy. Not easy as in in being a piece of cake (sorry) but easy as in being a joy to do. I have come to think of my regular life as a grand adventure, too. It still has it's moments of scary-as-all-get-out but it doesn't spook me any more. And I think maybe that is another key - seeing "easy" as joyous instead of just easy and not really valuable. So if "hard" becomes an adventure and "easy" becomes a joyous thing to do, then "what if none of it has to be hard" becomes pursuing the business of life as a joyous adventure. This idea feels incredibly real and true to me. Would I have been ready for it at the beginning of recovery? I honestly don't know. I think I might have said "this is nuts, I'm outta here". It's hard (no make that it's a joyous adventure ;-) ) to turn our long held, deeply embedded, highly invested way of being in the world upside down with such a radical thought. I am ready to give it a go. By the way, I got up and put my shoes on and walked for 20 min. this morning :-D Turns out it didn't have to be hard. I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this idea of it doesn't have to be hard. Thanks as always for listening to my long ramble. Janice in Maryland 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 Patti Holden. ©2009 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. |
