February 8, 2010

Hi {!firstname_fix}

I took a spontaneous outing up to Flagstaff to meet up with my brother who was going to Phoenix to judge a stamp show. He and Danielle said why not come up to play, so I did. Flagstaff is in the mountain and it was snowing so the big pines were all covered in snow. We went up to see the Northern Arizona museum which is a spectacular little museum that portrays the history of the Hopi people. They have remnants of a mural found in a kiva from about the same time as the Sistine chapel. Somehow it just touched me to think that when Michelangelo was painting in Rome, the Hopi were painting in a kiva in AZ. I took Josie as well and she thought being the only dog on the trip was just fine. The whole thing was a wonderful little respite.

This class will begin Wednesday, February 17, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page:

The Addiction Amoeba (2 weeks) is completely revised, updated, energized and exciting. Come learn how this really works and how to use your healing energy to transform your life rather than lurching from one new thing to another. I will be presenting some material that you have never heard, so if you want to be in on one of those special classes, sign up now.

These classes will begin Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page:

Radiant Step One (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 Six (1 week) is a class for those of you getting ready to detox or having detoxed and wondering why it is so hard after. We talk about *the flat*.

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
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** Quote From Kathleen **


Remember that you are literally learning a new language. You are going to have to practice to become fluent in body talk.

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** Testimonial of the Week **


Awesome Quote


Hello all,

I heard a fabulous quote this week, and since I found it so totally relevant to this program and to this group in particular, I thought I will share it with you all:

There isn't so much a cure for regret, as a remedy. You can sit and mourn all you did wrong; writhe in the empty fantasy of how you'd do it better, if only you could go back - or, you can do better now.


Every time I have a nasty memory sneak up on me about some stupid thing I did in my dreadful drunken past, I think: STOP, it's gone. JUST DO BETTER NOW. Like this week, it is my mom's birthday - the past 3 years, I have really messed up her birthdays because I always drank too much and ended up doing a runner or some other crazy thing. I have felt so very bad about it, because she is getting older and she's not extremely healthy, and I always thought, "what if that was the last birthday I got to spend with her - and I made it so horrible?"

But, after hearing this quote I realized, hey, I can't go back and change those, so feeling guilty and bad and wishing I could, is just pointless - a waste of precious time and energy. But what I CAN control is the here and now, so I will make sure that this year she has a wonderful and special birthday, because she will have a sober and in-control daughter to spend it with. i.e., I AM DOING BETTER NOW :)

L

PS: The quote is from Everwood, one of my best ever shows; we are only getting season 3 here now. If Colorado really looks like that, I would move there anytime.

Hi! I like that quote. Being sober for your mum's birthday is a great way of making amends for the past. My mum's 70th ended with me drunkenly telling her how I was going to kill myself. This year I took her out for a meal.

You sound like you're doing brilliantly!

P

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** Radiant Ambassadors **


It seems Ellen DeGeneres is going sugar-free and telling the world about it!

How do I know this? I found it on Twitter! I heard someone talking to Ellen and telling her to ask Kathleen DesMaisons to help her through sugar detox!

Needless to say, I have sent Ellen the same message as has someone else on Twitter. So that's three messages so far telling Ellen about Kathleen's work!

I think the more Ellen hears about Radiant Recovery then the more chance that other people will hear about it too.

Here is a link which takes you to the comments page on Ellen's website:

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/02/day-2-ellen-sugar-free-diet-0203.php#comments

Is anyone going to join in the Radiant Recovery discussion? (grin)

Selena

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

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** Radiant Kitchen **


The one, the only, the famous.....KATHLEEN’S BAKING MIX

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup oat flour
  • ¾ cup brown rice flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. baking powder (non-aluminum)
  • ½ tsp. baking soda


Process:

1. Combine all ingredients. Use as directed in Baking Mix recipes. Leftover mix can be stored in refrigerator tightly sealed for 1 week.

Yield: 1 ½ cups mix

For more great program-friendly recipes, check out these great cookbooks in the store.


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** Radiant Ranch **


Dear Brenda and all those with Ranch on your mind,

What a perfectly lovely compliment that you paid me! Thank you so much.

It got me thinking...that is exactly, exactly how I felt about meeting all the wonderful people that I met at my first Ranch. I have thought about this for a while, and I think it would be a very long list if I named all the people that I met last year...Kathleen, of course, and then dozens of others who graciously shared food and rides and hugs and tables and games and stories and potatoes and tips on where to find whatever I needed and photo ops and you know what I mean.

What was so interesting to me, is that none of them disappointed me! Every one of us has a story, and I love to meet people and get to know theirs better. It was just a GIFT to be able to attend and soak in the experience and feelings of that time.

I have also thought about if and when I would be able to afford Ranch again, how I would pay for it, etc. Over the past months of getting more and more invested in and connected even more closely with people, I came to think of the money part this way.... These people are all people that I either know, or want to get to know. If they were in my town, I would definitely want to socialize with them, share meals, sit at their kitchen tables and have a glass of ice water with lemon...and my, would I want to feed them, and have them as guests in my home! I would sit in restaurants, go to movies, take walks, sit by the pool or the lake with them...I would be thrilled at any bits of time that any two of us could spend together!

Well, the fact is that finances and geography don't allow me to spread out that joy throughout the year, so I get to budget for the one week a year when I CAN easily connect with them in person...AND I get to learn more about the gifts of the program and the new things that Kathleen has studied and is willing to share with us. I also get to see a part of this beautiful country that was previously foreign to me, and the list goes on.

Last year, (because of the kindness, generosity, and hospitality of others) I got to go to the grocery store, to the bookstore, to the tram, to the buckwheat place, lol, to Old Towne, to the pool, to the airport, to the Flying Star, to the drugstore patio, to the hospitality suite, to the hotel restaurant Cafe Plazuela, to the hot air balloon launch, to the diner with the vintage toy stoves on the wall, to the museums, etc.....all in the company of one or more of the lovely people in attendance with me. You know who you are! (I don't want to start listing for fear I'll miss someone!) So to each of you who made my first Ranch such a pleasant experience, and to all the people I get to see this year, thank you, thank you, thank you for making it possible to share your life and your recovery with me! I wouldn't be where I am without each of you. 96 days now.

I hope you found a good ticket, Brenda?

Fondly,
Susan S

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** Radiant Recovery® Store **


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

Everyone seems to talking journal talk these days which is GREAT! We love the journals.
And don't forget the Moleskines we carry. The larger ones fit right in the back of your journal so if you have more to say, there is a place for it. And the little ones fit right in your wallet or your pocket. If you go out to eat, make notes and then transfer.




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 Transitions list a place to discuss something that many of us are dealing with, which is helping our aging parents to make a transition from their active, independent lives to something different. It can be experienced in different ways. There may be parents who are proactive and search for and find a retirement community that would be a safe place for them that also offered assisted living and nursing home care as needed. On the other side of the coin, there may be those who have dementia that progresses to the point that it was no longer safe for them to live alone. This list will be for those of you who are dealing with this situation now. We want the list to feel very safe, so you will have to apply to join it. All members of the list will be expected to participate. No lurkers, please.

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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**Valentine's Day 2010 **
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.



I don't usually think about Valentine's day much anymore since my *romance* days are pretty much in the past. But today I thought a lot about a day of showing love in many ways. I have a guy who has worked for me for maybe 12 years. He is Navajo and he rebuilds the fence whenever the dogs rip it apart, or winterizes the swamp cooler and has even been known to crawl under the house to light the pilot light to my heater. Anyone who will brave spiderland is a hero in my book. Today's project was to reconstruct the screen door. It is the original door with a beautiful wrought iron grille thingie, but has been battered by many dogs and a lot of life.

I had looked at Lowe's and considered the possibility of just buying a new screen door. But I like supporting Harold's livelihood, and we all know I like *rescuing* things....dogs, cars, old antiques, and such. So the door was on the rescue list. We deconstructed it, painted the wrought iron, got new wire mesh, painted the trim to fit over the screening. I painted the door and then Harold used the miter box to cut the trim pieces. The mitered corners fit perfectly.

It was a beautiful day. I saw two robins walking around. The dogs were sleeping out in the warmth of the sun. While we were working on the door, Harold was sharing things he had heard on the news. I told him about a picture I had seen in the museum in Flagstaff of a Navajo taken in 1885. It looked just like him. Then we talked about what his grandparents' life was like, what they planted - corn, squash tomatoes and how they got water from the wells.

When we were done, I washed the paint holder and the brush, Harold put all the tools away. I asked him what he would do for the afternoon since football is over. He laughed and said he would be working on his car.

Now I have a beautiful screen door painted turquoise. I have a good friend, and a life that feels like a valentine. No candy, no flowers, but the essence of one person sharing the vision of making things whole. On a personal scale it is like this community where so many of us come to take apart what is broken, redo it and create exquisite beauty. I am reading stories of awakening on the WEIGHT list..the place that holds so much fear, pain overwhelm and angst. And then one day, there is the story of healing. One more person has found a valentine. I like it a lot.


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.


©2010 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/