January 10, 2011

Hi {!firstname_fix}

Well, the rescue puppies all have homes now. Things are quiet and tidy..life back to normal.

It has been a time of a lot of change for many of us. It does feel as if things are easing, getting settled and quieting. I love this time of year. Sort of midwinter. Here in NM we are having blue, blue skies. The cold has eased and there is light behind the mountains instead of that deep blue at 6:00 AM.

These classes will begin Wednesday, January 12, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:

Radiant Step 1 (2 weeks) 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. Even if you think you have been having a great breakfast for years before you found the program, take this class and find out why what we are doing is so different.

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. Learn nanos. learn planning, share with others and have a LOT of fun.

These classes will begin Wednesday, January 19, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:

Radiant Step 2 - Introduction (2 weeks) will teach you the basics of journaling. The class will give you step-by-step instructions in how to record your food and feelings in a way that gets you excited.

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 **


The relationship between your food and your quality of life is powerful.

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** Testimonial of the Week **


I can relate to this. I can find myself going through the motions of journaling and getting all the data down. But that doesn't mean I'm connecting with my body--or conscious. I have always found it interesting that people can have what seems like such strong programs without journaling. That is so not me. My program unravels quite rapidly without my journal. I truly forget even when it's written down, LOL. But without my journal I am definitely unconscious.

Terri W

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** Radiant Ambassadors **


Imagine stumbling upon a copy of a book that a kind person had left on a park bench or on a cafe table for you to discover? Imagine what your reaction would be if that book were Potatoes not Prozac which contained the very answers you were looking for? Actually, that thought gives me shivers!

Well...that's precisely what's happening through a website called bookcrossing.com which Teresa came across recently. It seems that there are over 25 copies of Potatoes not Prozac currently going around the world. You can even set up a wish list and then someone with that book might just send you a copy out of the blue. When you release a book you can even track its journey via the label inside the front cover. How exciting is that!

I think I'll have a go at releasing a copy of Potatoes not Prozac at some point - probably when it's a bit warmer though LOL! What do you think? Does anyone else want to join me?

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'm Linda and I'm looking forward to participating in this group. I live in Southern California.

I am a sugar addict and have tried so many different (mostly low-carb) ways of eating for years. Always..............the sugar binge raises its ugly head after a time. Ohh.......... the lost days.

I have read The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program and will read Kathleen's other books as soon as I can. Her research and conclusions were like getting a "big hug." I know now why I do what I do and that there is a sensible healthy answer.

I have been on Step One for only 4 days and feel calmer already. What a different feeling--part of me misses the anxiety and ups and downs.

How radical! Eating three meals a day starting with breakfast!

I had to laugh this morning because it dawned on me how "radical" this really is for me after all the years vacillating between not eating and then overeating. I guess for non-sugar addicts its just so normal.

Feelings????? Looking forward to meeting them too.

Glad you are there,
Linda

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** Radiant Recovery® Store **




Someone asked me if the *complete course* had the same information as the book and was it worth getting. I was thinking about that question a lot. Honestly, I think this CD set is a wonderful addition to any one's program. It will give you such a sense about the steps in a different way...it will help you understand how the PROCESS of doing the steps in order with enough time to integrate them makes such a difference.

I actually have this set on my ipod and I love listening to it. Every time I listen, I hear something new, which of course, cracks me up. See what you think.

Kathleen

Please send questions and suggestions to David. He loves hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better.

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** Radiant Kitchen **


Here's what I've been playing with...

For the YAM CAKES...

Cook up your sweet potatoes (yams are so much easier to say, but we don't get true yams), and mush them up. Add some oil (I use coconut oil), and about the same amount of rolled oats as you have of yams. I'll use a cup of yams as an example. So you take your cup of yams, cup of oats, blurp of oil, and about 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, shredded coconut, and mix them all together. You want it to hold together, and be nice and sticky, so add water if you need to.

I then use a scoop, and make little mounds, but flatten them with a fork. Bake at 400* for about 15 to 20 minutes. I freeze these, and take them out as needed...they are yummy cold and yummy hot, and they don't crumble, and don't get mushy, and travel well!

Using peanut butter instead of the oil is yummy. And I bet you could experiment and use different spices...for variety.

Enjoy!
Colette

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


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** Radiant Conversations **


I am continuing to be touched by the depth of your sharing at chats. I think the combination of knowing what our topic will be so the introverts have some heads up time, the post-chat conversations on the chat study list and your enthusiasm are a winning combination. I so look forward to chat. It is the highlight of my week.

I am also thinking about reinstating a special chat for newcomers to do problem solving. Let me know on the Conversations list what you think about that idea.

If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun!

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** Our Online Groups **


The Radiant Recovery list is in support for people who are in recovery for alcohol and/or drugs and would like to add the Radiant Recovery nutritional piece to their healing. Our approach to recovery also encourages the use of 12-step programs. We find the combination of the two programs to be dynamite in addressing the underlying issues affecting alcohol/drug addiction. The folks on the list are warm, compassionate, caring and straightforward. We would love to have you come join us.

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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** Reframing Misery Talk **
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.



I LOVE this post from Janice and wanted to share it with you. She has captured a really crucial issue.

Hi all,

I've been really thinking about the recent thread and what it was about the tone that touched a chord in me. Some have expressed the idea that it was *just talk* ...like the venting we all do. Maybe so, but I wondered why this particular idea makes me so uncomfortable. Then I got to thinking about what has changed for me in this area as I've grown in my own recovery.

I've come to believe that how I talk and the perspective from which I meet the world around me makes a difference. Before I found RR my perspective was terminally pessimistic and negative. Engaging in *just talk* that was negative and pessimistic was the norm. My glass was always half-empty and everyone around me knew it.

Through the process of doing the food I've learned that kindness, joy and hope are real, attainable, and sustainable. As part of my journey I heard many discussions about the idea of "misery addiction". Kathleen talks about sugar-sensitive people staying attached to misery for the BE response to the "pain" of it. At first I thought it wasn't a huge part of my story anymore, what with doing the food and all (smile), but I soon began to notice the many, deeply entrenched, ways misery was/is still very present in my life. I decided I don't want to be in the world this way. I want to meet the world from a place of kindness, joy and hope that is core deep. So I've pushed my recovery to include healing my own addiction to misery.

As part of healing my misery addiction, I started noticing negativity and complaining, both mine and around me, and how easy it is to feel a connection by joining in. I saw how negativity seems to feed on itself and crowd out positive interactions. I decided to try a different approach, to catch my negative comments and attitude, then look for and express the positive. You may have heard us use the term *reframe* in the community. Reframing is a key part of healing the addiction to misery. I've embraced the idea of reframing my negative thoughts and ideas into solutions. It's made a big difference.

This is an ongoing process and I ask myself - 'Does what I say send a positive, empowering message or does it add to the turmoil and negativity already too present? Am I contributing to the collective misery in the world or am I, in my own small way, changing the world for the better by being in it as a Radiant sugar sensitive person?' This has been a profound shift in my way of being in the world. And I take it with me wherever I go. So, since I learned this skill in the community, and since it has truly changed my life, I consciously bring it here to the list. I care about this list and the shift in my own life affects how I listen to the tone of the list. Kathleen's invitation to look at my own *talk* and her ongoing challenge to leadership to support the community in moving out of addictive patterns means that I listen to the conversations with a different ear.

So for me, it's not *just talk* and I want more than *just talk* for you, too.

I hope this helps you understand the bigger issues in why I wanted to redirect this conversation.

Janice


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.
Tina tells us what's happening on Facebook.


©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.

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