October 4, 2010

Hi {!firstname_fix}

We have finished Euroranch and are sitting in the courtyard at the Red Lion hotel having a wonderful time. We went out to dinner for a lovely meal at an Indian restaurant. And the end of dinner, we had flower tea that was exquisite. So we had a little tea ceremony. Ranch was a delight. We learned more about the addiction amoeba, and about emotional healing.
Ranch is always such a time of being focused and sharing. We laughed and laughed and then laughed some more. And as always, you all were in our hearts here.


These classes will begin Wednesday, October 6, 2010. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:

Radiant Weight Loss Emotions (2 weeks) is the class for those of you who are ready, are on step seven and want to clear out a little of the being fat baggage. You don’t need therapy, this is about doing the food can shift everything. If you hate being fat, come heal with us.

Radiant Depression (2 weeks) is a key class for the Potatoes Not Prozac crowd. Learn in-depth information on the kinds of depression, why drugs will or will not work, how they work and how Doing the Food can help.

This class will begin Wednesday, October 13, 2010. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:

Napping Your Way to Radiance (2 weeks) Given all the discussion in chats and on the conversations list, it seems like a good time to reschedule this class. I will go into the brain chemistry, talk about why naps are soooo good for us, and then offer practical suggestions for healthy nap skills. This is a really, really important class and is especially relevant before the holidays.

Radiant Step 3 (2 weeks) is one of our core classes. This is a skill-based class. If you want to learn the baby steps of a successful step 3, come join us. This class is ALWAYS fun.

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 **


Don't forget the details. They will point the way to healing.

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** Testimonial of the Week **


Sitting in the backyard, having my breakfast, looking at our apple tree, the tree just looks more vibrant and alive than it used to. It's like I wasn't quite here to see it before. This is really beautiful, thank you for writing it.

Golly I could not resist writing about this.....doing the program in step by step order and keeping on day by day has given me a LIFE that I only have dreamt about. NEVER did I think I could have daily reprieve from depression up and down moods/decisions every 2 hours, and yes, I sleep completely thru the night. Discovering WHO I really am is awesome, and being present and living in today not yesterday or tomorrow. Then the biggest surprise for me has been food being FUN! What in the world? I would not have guessed that ever. It has ALWAYS been a drag, a real pain. There really are many other things happening but for now....these are on my top list.....

Rebecca

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** Radiant Ambassadors **


I adore Stephen Fry. For those of you who don't know him, he's an English actor/comedian who is extremely articulate. If Stephen Fry doesn't know something, it's not worth knowing!

Anyway, he has recently brought out his second autobiography detailing life in his 20s. I caught a recent interview with him on UK television where he briefly described his addiction to sugar. I could so relate to his insatiable hunger for sweet things pre-recovery. And to think that maybe a couple of million people were listening to him at the time - talk about great exposure!!

I know of at least one person has sent him a copy of Potatoes not Prozac from this community. I will also be sending him a copy . Oh, and I've sent him a tweet as well - you never know!

Selena
selenas@blueyonder.co.uk

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

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** How I Found Radiant Recovery **


I am a 53 yr old woman, living in a rural area 30 min east of Oklahoma City. I am a licensed professional counselor who provides therapy for persons who have severe mental illness. I also do some private counseling and presentations on mental health issues. I am very new to PNP and have just started reading the book. I heard about PNP from a friend.

I became interested in PNP for myself. However, I can see how many people I know might also benefit from this information.

Reesie

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** Help Wanted **


How would you like to give back to the Radiant Recovery Community? What you do think would be a good way to do that? Write me at Kathleen@radiantrecovery.com and I will post the ideas here.

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** Radiant Kitchen **


Philly-Cheesesteak-Inspired Wrap
  • I saute thinly sliced onions and red peppers, and maybe some zucchini, in olive oil till almost soft.

  • Then I add meat--any kind, such as cooked chicken breast from the deli, hamburger, ground turkey, thinly sliced steak. I've even used sliced deli turkey, cut into strips.

  • I saute it all together till the meat is brown, then, unless I'm using precooked meat, I dump the whole thing in a colander to drain off the oil and meat juices.

  • I put it back in the pan and melt in some Swiss cheese if we need it for the protein boost.

  • This is good in a ww roll, but I serve it in brown rice tortillas. I heat the tortillas in a pan or the microwave, put the filling on one end, roll them up and cut them diagonally in the center. I like mustard on mine, my DH likes homemade salad dressing on it. It's a hit at my house and very quick.


For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store.


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** Radiant Conversations **


I have always been serious. Play got on my nerves, frivolity irritated me, and laughter was an annoyance.

I haven't read the Chat transcript yet but I know that Kathleen is onto something big with this play and sleep thing.

If you want to talk Chat there's the Conversations list, but here is great for your checkins and what you are saying about your life right now including chats and everything else.

I know you are still raw and reactive, and that ties in with the play thing. I always felt that I had to fight fight fight to assert myself as an individual with opinions and gravitas.

Always seeing the funny side as I satire gave an illusion of play, but that was deeply serious too, and all about what was wrong with society and the world.

I didn't flick a switch and lighten up, but slowly the darkness broke up.

I still have no time or inclination really for crafts, but I started cooking, and that's a win win.

Not drinking and persevering with meetings is good. Your addict is trying so hard to get you riled.

Three meals is good.

What are you eating?

Mel

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!

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** Radiant Recovery® Store **


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

I have had some newly pregnant women ask me about which fish oil to get so I thought it would be good to say a little about the different oils we carry.

proepa ProEPA - Nordic Naturals ProEPA, one of the industry's highest concentrations of EPA from fish,is enhanced with natural lemon oil in both the soft gel capsule and oil for great lemon taste. ProEPA is molecularly distilled for purity and concentration, and has added rosemary extract for superior freshness. This high concentrate formula provides excellent nutritional support for the body to manufacture vital series 3 prostaglandins, and is 'repeat' and 'odor free.
prodha ProDHA - DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, and is an essential building block of brain and nerve tissue. DHA can not be synthesized by the body, and therefore must be obtained by a diet high in deep-sea cold water fish.

DHA, which constitutes approximately 40% of the brain, supports brain development during the last trimester of pregnancy when the unborn child's demand for neurological growth increases greatly. If added to the mother's diet, it can help prevent the depletion of the mother's store of DHA, and support the developing baby's essential fatty acid needs. Currently, the proposed Adequate Intake of DHA for pregnant and lactating women is 300 mg. per day. (ISSFAL)
proomegad ProOmegaD - ProOmega Liquid offers a high concentration of both EPA and DHA, along with 100% daily value of vitamin D. This is perfect for those of you who live in areas with not a lot of sunlight.
children's dha Children's DHA -Nordic Naturals Children's DHA is a small, chewable cod liver oil supplement flavored with strawberry essence. Children's DHA is a delicious way for children to supplement their diet with the essential brain nutrient, DHA. Molecularly distilled for purity, Children's DHA contains only naturally existing.

For children three years and older.
proefajr ProEFA Junior - Everyone needs Omega fatty acids, especially young, developing minds! Nordic Naturals ProEFA Junior provides a full spectrum of Omega fatty acids necessary for brain and eye development and maintenance, as well as mood, focus, learning ability, and overall well-being. Taste-tested by kids and teens, these lemon-flavored chewable capsules are perfect for ages five through teens. This one is great for kids who have a hard time paying attention.
pycnogenol And if you are taking fish oil, Kathleen recommends also taking Pycnogenol to strengthen capillaries and protect you from bruising.


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 **


Hi again. Yesterday I finally joined the Intro to Cooking list and it is really fun. It is designed for total beginners but wow, the information put out there is incredible. I have been cooking for years, but I am loving reading that list.

I actually belong to all three kitchen lists and find all kinds of fun support and great ideas on all three of them:

Introduction to Cooking
Creative Cooking
Radiant Food on a Budget

I have them set on Special Notices because I don't need any more lists delivered to my inbox. Then I just read on them as I have time or questions. I love the recipe list because if I want to make something but can't find a program friendly recipe, I can ask on recipes and someone has an idea for me....usually several folks respond.

Maybe one or all of these lists will help you find some enthusiasm.

Carol K

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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**Structure as Antidote **
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.



Many people come to Radiant Recovery saying they are already doing most of the steps and just need to add a potato. I often suggest they get a copy of the talk I did at ranch in 2007 about what else is embedded in the steps. That discussion goes through each step and outlines the biochemical changes encoded in each step. But there is another key issue – one I haven’t really talked about. Structure antidotes blind lurching.

When we are in active addiction, it is as if we lose our center and we stop being grounded. We lurch from one thing to another. Maybe from diet to diet, job to job, person to person, place to place or interest to interest. We have 6 knitting and crafts projects going on. We present ourselves as creative and curious, liking to try new things. We collect little things like offices supplies or pens in case we need them. We lurch and resist being pinned down.

We might say that structure ties us down, thwarts our creativity. Structure seems dull and old fashioned. It seems routine and boring and who would want to do that. Nowhere in our brain have we thought of our behavior as lurching. We never really thought that a little of this and a little of that might be saying something about our sugar addiction.

Why is it that we dream big and stay small? Why is it that those sparks of insight and knowing sputter and fade rather than bursting into our passionate flame?

My hunch is that we have avoided the gift of structure. We haven’t considered that structure, doing things in an intentional order might actually shape us. And it might change the lurching to intention. If you do this, you will get this result.

Now think about that. For so many years, we have worked how to forget the consequence of our actions. We forget that if we eat sugar, or skip meals we get cranky and unpleasant. We forget that we lose direction and we lurch. We forget a lot.

So when we have structure, we stop lurching and we do not lose direction. Even early on in the program, when we are still forgetting because of our biochemistry, the structure itself guides us. The steps, those funny steps, lead us into intention. They guide us with if you do this, you will change. If you do these steps, you will have a life you cannot imagine. Everything will shift. And it will shift in ways beyond anything you have considered.

Now, many of you may feel that this is simply talk. It is not. We now have enough people who are doing the steps for a long enough time that it is really, really clear that there is a developmental pattern that emerges very predictably over time. The promises we make happen.

The steps are bigger than the food. Don’t think of changing them. Do them, do them and get the miracle.


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/