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March 1, 2010 Hi {!firstname_fix} I was watching National Geographic this week about the little robots that are up on Mars and how the scientists tell them what to do. One of the little machines was losing power because its solar cells were all dusty and the light couldn't reach the cells. There was an unexpected gust of wind, a vortex that just happened to catch the robot. It sent back before and after pictures, one all dirty and one clean and shiny. Somehow this just seemed astounding to me, that a random act of wind would clear it - poof and the light was restored, the power and the connection to earth all those many miles away. And, yes, I used to think about things like this even when I was a wee sprout. I know it drove my mother mad, LOL. But it does seem that if those scientists can get a robot unstuck from a sand trap, we can find our way out of sugar addiction! Ranch in NM is almost here. If you have been thinking about coming and have not yet signed up, now is the time. I will be speaking about the addiction amoeba and healing those extra things that derail us. I will also be sharing some of the newest material I am writing about - how sugar sensitivity and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder intersect and why talk therapy can't heal them. This will be new biochemistry that you haven't heard before, so if you want to be on the cutting edge, Get thee to Ranch. Our scholarship fund is growing, thank you. We have raised enough money for a plane ticket for Kath to get from Australia to NM and are now working on raising funds for the 4 tuition remissions we want to give. If you cannot come in person, perhaps you will consider supporting some of the folks who have worked really hard to make it to ranch. And David has set up a system to do ranch scholarships through the subscription function of the store as well. Just call or email him and he will add it to your subscription. This class will begin Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Using the Resources of the Community (1 week)is a free orientation for those of you who are brand new and would like to find your way around town. And even if you are not brand new, this is a really fun class to reconnect with all the treats of the community. Selena and I are going to do some really creative things in this class, so do come and join us. These classes will begin Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Store Tour (1 week) is a free guided tour of the store. David will be leading this class so if you want to get to know the guy that makes it all work, come sign up so you can show your support for the work he does to keep you happy. Radiant Step 4 (2 weeks) 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. Step 4, more than any of the steps, is about getting your serotonin settled. Learn how to do this artfully rather than just hit or miss. And the new two-week format will allow us to explore this in depth. 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 ** What you are trying to do is learn to notice and record. You do not have to sort it all out, nor make sense of the feelings. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** I felt sooooo horrible in the beginning. I was depressed, anxious, and phobic, as well as miserable about my uncontrollable bingeing. In a way, I was lucky to be in such a bad way. My life had pretty much imploded. I had dropped out of school, dropped my volunteer job at church. I wasn't working, I wasn't cooking or taking care of the house. I decided to put my whole focus on getting better. I am just a leetle bit obsessive by nature :) Well, when I'm healthy I am impassioned and detail-oriented. When I'm off-balance, I can't let go of things. So I consciously decided to channel that into the steps. I joined each step list in turn. Couldn't post--I was so socially phobic that pushing the send button was a nightmare. I listened and ate breakfast. I read the Forum, which scared the bejeepers out of me. Definitely didn't post there. But I could take the classes and post my assignments in a nice small group. I bought the CDs and listened to them over and over in my car and kept moving through the steps. I was already a member of YLD. I read the list there and started to post a bit. The chats were way too scary at first. Eventually, I could go and participate a little and then turn off the computer and feel like I'd made a fool of myself. Then I signed up for Ranch. I was still pretty messed up. Most newbies on any step have a great time at Ranch. I did what I could, showed up, acted friendly and then went to my room to cry and pace at night. When I came back the next year, it was like being a different person. Ranch made my program deeper even though I was still nuts while I was there. I was learning to connect. I posted on the Ranch list (after Ranch) more than anywhere else. Then I came to this list and started to post. I held on for dear life till healing caught up to me. I started to serve in small ways, answering posts from newbies. Kathleen talks about putting every skill we gain as an addict into the service of our recovery. That is what I was doing. I obsessed on the steps until that obsessiveness started to heaI and my death grip on the program could loosen enough to let the joy in. My BE and serotonin healed, and eventually I didn't feel so raw and weird. So I think it is good to ask ourselves what we have to place in the service of our recovery. Perseverance? Knowledge? Experience? Social skills? Compassion? It all helps. Jeannie **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** I thought it might be fun to share an article on the BBC website linking kids who love sugar with depression and alcoholism in their families: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8506758.stm It seems that not only has the summary from the Addiction journal appeared in the Los Angeles Times, but also on the very influential Huffington Post site too. The LA Times started their story with: "A new study finds there may be a link between sweet preference in children and a family history of alcoholism, plus the child's feelings of depression." What I love about seeing all this discussion is the fact that talking about these connections seems to be becoming more and more mainstream. So that means more people will be looking for a solution. That’s where we come in. Selena Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Here’s a Hurray for Your Last Diet. I don’t think I would ever have picked up Potatoes not Prozac (oh I hate to think I might never have found it!) But I didn’t eat potatoes, and I didn’t think of Prozac. I didn’t realise about my brain chemicals, I just thought if only I could lose two stones or so, perhaps everything else would settle down. I don’t think I have ever been depressed (I could do amazing anxiety though). But having got a bit desperate again re: the 1,001th Diet I was doing, I was seeking another solution. I was browsing through the internet one day and saw a picture of Your Last Diet. Aha, a diet book I had not got. This one may have my answer. Well - how right I was. I was always hoping the next diet book would have my answer. This one actually DID. I was astonished with YLD because every word was about me. Of course I had to throw myself at it at 100 miles an hour so I didn’t rest till I had SARP and PNP as well, and read them lots, and the forum, and the site, until I calmed down enough to get my breakfast right. Mosaic **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** Ingredients: Crust:
For crust: In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter and shortening until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir in ice water just until dough comes together. Stir in cheese and combine well. Form dough into a dish and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour. For Filling: Combine apples, juice and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Once apple mixture boils, lower heat to simmer and cook down 10-15 min. Return to boil and thicken by adding cornstarch mixture. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in Vanilla To Assemble: Spoon apple mixture into 9" pie pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. On lightly floured surface, quickly roll out the crust into a 13" round. Drape the crust over the apples and crimp edges to seal. With a sharp knife, cut 2 or 3 slits in dough for steam vents. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and place in 450 degree oven. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes more or until crust is golden and apples are tender. Let cool at least ½ hour before cutting. Yield: One 9" pie - 6 to 8 servings. For more great program-friendly recipes, check out these great cookbooks in the store. **********************************************************************
** Your Last Diet - More Than What You Think ** Why I don't want to lose weight yet: I think my food and timings are really on, because I'm enjoying one of those really stable, peaceful days. I'm also off for the following week, so I'm considerably less stressed and crazed than usual. I get moments of worry about my weight, and shame as well... but I am growing increasingly comfortable with my weight and the journey I am on. There are times I downright enjoy it. There is much humor to be gleaned, and shared with others. Recently, I was walking down the hall at work, and thought I saw someone behind me, over my shoulder. No one was there. I caught another glimpse, looked more closely, and realized that I actually saw my ass over my shoulder. Since that was a good day, I had a good laugh, by myself, in the hallway. I just keep sharing that story, with SS people and civilians because my ass truly is huge, and the story truly is funny. It just popped out of nowhere, it seems. And everyone in my life watched me grow from a size 6 to a size 18, so why pretend? I feel better when I laugh about my size... not to disparage myself or put myself down, but damn it, because I am a brick house! I got big. And you know what? All that stuff people say about fat people isn't true. I'm not lazy, or lacking will power. And the world hasn't ended, my friends still love me, my fiancee is still marrying me in July. So, here's to being fat... my gratitude list:
Jeez, I'm crying. Thanks all, and especially Kathleen. em 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.  Kathleen started to carry Pycnogenol as a support for the people who were taking fish oil. Since then, she has learned about all sorts of other really good things it does. Let me summarize what she thinks might be most important for SS people:
We looked for a long time to find a source that we would feel good about. I am really happy to be carrying this product in the store. And special thanks to Kathleen and Max who got this month's subscriptions out the door while I was off vacationing on a ship going to Belize. No cell phone coverage so I wasn't even on call. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** The Radiantdepression group is all about support for the person who is depressed and trying to work the 7-step program of recovery from sugar addiction. Many of us have struggled with severe depression for years without any hope of finding an end to it. But through doing the food we have found that hope returning and have found light where before there was only darkness. Some of us are taking anti-depressants while doing the food, so we talk about how the two are compatible and we also share about getting through the tough spots together, with support from each other. If you are feeling depressed please come join us. There is hope. **********************************************************************
**What Makes a Difference ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
I have been doing a lot of reflection this week. Why is it that some folks come to the program, do the food and find their lives changed? And others play with it, poke around, do a little here and there, and then go away and say it doesn't work? Or do step one for two years and wonder why life is not better? Why do some decide to rewrite it, adapt it, take only what they like and throw the rest away? What makes the difference? I am thinking that there are three key things:
When you find it takes time, you get bored, frustrated, angry, inattentive or sloppy. You blame the program for not meeting your needs. Or it is too confusing so you stop and say that didn't work. And you go do a real diet. But there are others who say, 'Yes, this is for me' and they believe it, they do it and it works. What is that about? What happens? Where does that first trust and commitment come from? It is funny to think this, but I think ultimately, it is an act of faith. With a regular diet, you can pick or choose. There are thousands of them. If one doesn't work, you just try another. This silly program is different. It's so simple, it is so deceptive. It asks you to put aside what you have been taught. It asks you to do maintenance first. No glamour, no quick results, no hype. It says what you need to heal is here. If you want to use it, you can. Doesn't have to cost anything. You don't need a doc or to pay thousands of dollars. Doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, or smart or not, or living in a family. If you do it, your life will change. As I wrote this in the early morning, I started to laugh because the simplicity of this message goes way beyond the food. I have a spiritual teacher. Every morning I meditate and read from her work. This was yesterday's reading: If however, instead of being desires, they are aspirations for spiritual things, and one continues her life with regular progress, then one is absolutely sure to one day obtain what she has imagined.I think that the struggle with 'doing the food' mirrors the struggle for a spiritual life. Trusting, committing, doing. Somehow this makes me laugh. I work so hard to complicate things. I thrash around, question, argue, insist that I know better and then I say the 'program' doesn't work. This time is about quieting, living into the stillness, letting simplicity help me trust, help me recommit. 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/ |
