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November 14, 2011 Hi {!firstname_fix} I found frost on my car window in the early morning this week. The air was crisp and the sky was BLUE! I was so happy for the time change, I wanted to kiss the rising sun. I have always loved November. This year, I think I like it even more. There is something about the quiet that comes after Halloween and then Thanksgiving and then my birthday. Somehow, they all combine into making the month one of joy for me. 
This is a picture from the coffee house we visited on Sunday morning. A friend was playing the harp in a New Mexico Mariachi style in a tiny little coffee house in a remodeled old 1920s gas station. The guy making the coffee is a coffee artist and the smell was incredible. It was just the kind of morning that is about as close to perfect as you can get. However, he does not have the art of decaf yet, so I volunteered to help him fix fabulous decaf too.I am writing more in-depth about ranch in our article this week so you can begin to make plans for spring. These classes will begin Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Using Radiant Resources (2 weeks) - A free orientation for those of you who are brand new and would like to find your way around town. Come sit on the top of our double-decker bus for a guided tour. And even if you are not brand new, this is a really fun class to reconnect with all the treats of the community. Clearing All That Clutter (2 weeks) - A one-week, quick and dirty get ready for the holidays class. We are going to have fun, learn how to grab that stuff and get it out of the way, make it easy and fun and share with all the rest of us sugar-sensitive collectors. If you wonder whether this is good class for you, ask yourself these three questions: Is your home, or any part of it, unusable for its intended purpose, with a bed you can't sleep in, a garage you can't park in, a kitchen you can't cook in, or a table you can't use for dining? Do you hesitate sharing about this problem because you feel embarrassment, guilt, or shame about it? Do you have a weakness for discarded objects, bargain items, freebies, reading materials, or yard sales? Remember, this class will be FUN and slanted to the sugar sensitive brain that wants to use *things* to deal with feelings. Stop Smoking (1 week) - Come understand why this addiction is so difficult and what to do to make it work. This is material I have not presented in this way. I was excited to work with the biochemistry and put together something that will make sense for you. There will be no classes beginning Wednesday, November 23, 2011. These classes will begin Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Step 1 (2 weeks) - 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. Dopamine (2 weeks) - A first look at sugar sensitivity and dopamine. Learn about the fourth leg of the story and see if this is your missing piece. Weight Loss Emotions (2 weeks) - A class for people who are ready to look at emotional issues of being overweight. You must be steady on at least step three to take this class.. The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. 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 ** Don't forget the details. They will point the way to healing. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** I have been crabby at work lately. And so I have been doing amends often! And yet I am still crabby again after a while. And I was thinking about all of this last night. I can't imagine how many amends I would have to make in a week if I weren't doing the food! I like keeping my side of the street clean, but gosh who wants to make amends all the time, and who wants to keep doing the same things over and over because of eating crappy food. That kind of life would be so hard for me. To be honest, I think it is a leap to even assume that I could stay sober without the food, but that's another essay LOL. But because of the food, I rarely need to make amends. I am able to 'pause when agitated' and hold my thoughts and my tongue. At night I pray that I be treated tomorrow the same way that I treated people today, and you know what? I don't have any fear when I ask for that. Well not usually. Here lately I have! It's just been a lot of stress at work, and even my best food isn't quite keeping me as even-keeled as I would like to be. I don't have time to meditate and exercise ever day and as a result, my BE bowl has emptied. So here is my commitment: I have one more week to go until my deadline, and I am going to focus on using my AA toolkit even more than I usually do. I am not going to do many of the things that I normally do in a week so that I have a little bit of breathing space. I am going to Put Duct Tape Over My Mouth when needed and I will not be nasty to anyone in the next week. You all are my witnesses. Elaine in CO **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** 
By chance I came across a television program called The Food Hospital last week.
Well... basically, it treats different ailments by using food as medicine - sound familiar?? (grin)There was one particular case study last night of psoriasis which cleared up over a 6-week period through adding in fish oil and avoiding sugar. I do believe I've heard that before somewhere... (although it didn't dwell on the sugar aspect or say anything about removing it from the diet straight away). At least a major television channel in the UK thinks it's important enough to have a whole series to discuss these issues. Now, where's the contact details for them... Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hello everyone, My name is Jane and I live in Oxford, UK. I don't remember where I heard about the Potatoes book but I had a write-up of it somewhere in my computer for ages so I bought it and am part way through it - I confess that I leapt straight in at the potato part! I was really focused last week but lost it at the weekend when I went away with a walking group and the meals we were provided with gave me no chance of staying away from sugar! I'm hoping to become more balanced emotionally and to be a bit trimmer would be nice too! Jane **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. Many people have asked me about Omega 3 fatty acids and the value of taking fish oil. Kathleen has written a great article for all of you. Click here to read her suggestions. And, of course, we carry great fish oil options.
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** You can cook spaghetti squash a couple of ways. One way is to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and baked it face down on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about an hour. When it cools use a fork to scrape the squash and it looks like spaghetti. Another way to cook spaghetti squash is to put it in a pot and steam it whole until it's tender. Then cut it open, scoop out the seeds and use a fork to scrape the squash. I sprayed a baking dish with Pam and then layered the squash with tomato sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan and repeated the layers. I baked it for 35-40 minutes. It was delicious, everyone gobbled it up. Gail For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
** Radiant YLD ** We have an annual Christmas stocking tradition in YLD, and it is that time of year again. I have the database set for 2011, so make sure to come over and add your name it. If you have never done it, it is really a joyful tradition. You put your name in, and you pick a person from the list. You put *yes* in the taken column. Then you make up a stocking for that person and send it off. You don't reveal your person until you send it. And then each of us has a special radiant stocking. Some of us think the stocking tradition is worth the whole YLD membership :). If you are sending to or from the UK or internationally, send by Dec 5th please. If you would like to join, come find us here **********************************************************************
** Radiant Conversations ** We have a new portal for the Conversations program. Come check it out here. I have found myself thinking very intently this week on my skills at being an addict. I was not part of Conversations when you had the chat about using those skills to benefit you know, but I read it today and it really resonated with me. We go along thinking that we are weak and helpless, that we don't have what it takes to stick with the program, that we have to change everything and learn everything over again. But in reality, we don't. We just have to redirect our focus. So for me, I'm looking at perseverance this week. I was a hard-core dedicated sugar addict NO MATTER THE SITUATION / TIME / DAY. So, I am trying to reframe my mind so that all the that awesome dedication can be poured into sticking with the program even when life is a bit rocky and stressful. It's so refreshing to think that I have all the tools I need in my toolbox, they just need a new label (can't remember who said that, but it hit home). I'm so thankful to be part of Conversations. It is my most favorite thing of the week. Take care, Heather T If you would like to join us, you can do that below. Join YLD Weight Loss Now: click here - $99 Join Conversations 2011 Now: click here - $99 Join Both YLD and Conversations Now: click here - $149 Current YLD members wish to Upgrade to Both, click here - $49 Current YLD members who wish to Transfer to Conversations 2011 Only can do so for a $14.99 admin fee: click here If you are not a member, come and join us if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** Perhaps you are steady on the first five steps and contemplating your sugar detox. Or you may already be on step six but struggling. You may be wondering why you are bored or restless, since sugar detox was supposed to solve everything--wasn’t it? Or maybe you’d like to share your excitement about reaching this milestone in your program. If so, come join us on the Step 6 list! We offer support and encouragement in achieving a successful sugar detox and in holding tight until everything settles down afterward. We are learning more all the time about this fascinating step and how profoundly it transforms our bodies and brains. **********************************************************************
**Why Ranch ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
Many of you hear us talk about our two ranches all year. The New Mexico Ranch comes in May and the European Ranch comes in Sept/October. Most of us feel that ranch is the highlight of our year. Why is this? What makes it so special?I have been thinking about this a lot. I think it is because we are pioneers. Most of us do not have a whole group of people in real life that *do the food* and celebrate how this can be. So when we get together in person, something happens. First of all there is an energy of recovery that is pretty remarkable. Humor, caring, commitment and wanting to have a better life. So if you are just learning the program, you get to hang with people who are skilled. And if you are skilled you get to share the joy of being with people who totally get it. The content is always fun. We always make sure to have information for newcomers. How do you do the program, how do you do the program skillfully and with joy. And then we add in what I call the seventh step explorations. These are the topics that put the cutting edge of our work out. As all of you share on the lists and in the classes, we start asking questions, and looking at things in a new way. The questions morph into ideas, the ideas nudge my brain, we bring them to chat, and then to Ranch. And the dialogue at Ranch moves us all forward and then things move back into the community. So coming to Ranch means you step into the process of living the program. I think in some ways Ranch is like a *do the food* lab. After you have spent time learning about it, then you come and work it in person and your program will be turbocharged! And this year, I have some exciting news. We are changing our venue in Albuquerque. At our next Ranch we will be in the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center. The room has an incredible view of the mountain, is carpeted, has comfortable chairs, and best of all, incredible food. We are changing the meal plan so we will provide dinner on Friday night, breakfast Saturday and Sunday and lunch Saturday. And you can be sure that they really, really want to make us happy. They have been working out making gluten-free blue corn pancakes for all of you. We taste tested them this morning and they get a 10! We have put lots of information up online so come check it out 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. Gail provides the weekly recipe. ©2011 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/ |
