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December 23, 2013 Hi {!firstname_fix} Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve. For many years I have worked to make Christmas the way that fills me with grace. Quiet, holy and filled with gratitude. I feel very close to Jesus, to the choosing of a call, of being willing to do what is asked, to be in service. I have always loved the rituals of Christmas, the darkness and waiting for first light (we were not allowed to go into the *room* until 7, and I did the same with my kids), and the experience of the generosity and love it represents. I love Christmas stockings. I will be making the luminarias. I went to Walgreen's and bought those brown paper lunch bags we used when we were little to take lunch to school. Peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread in little waxed bags, yes? We will fold the tops of the bags, put sand in the bottom and one votive candle in each. I will set them out all along the street. At dusk, we will go out and light each candle, taking the votive out, lighting it with a candle lighter and then trying to get it into the bag while hot wax drips down my hand. This year will be warm. Some years it is freezing. I will light 75-100 candles. Then the whole yard, the whole street, the whole city takes on a glow. This is not big flashy lights, but warm, flickering little candles, protected from the wind. It is a holy night. People drive around, lights off, following the lights. Sometimes, they light bonfires in the street and sing carols. I love it at 11 pm when everyone has gone in. The candles are still lit, it is very, very quiet. Christmas morning I will do stockings in our slippers, the dogs will get to rip the tissue, and wag their tales against the tree that has only unbreakables on the lower branches. Then we will eat breakfast, the same breakfast for 40 years, LOL. Christmas breakfast, better even than Christmas dinner because it remains the same. And I make really, really good scrambled eggs. And if you are alone and sad, please bring your heart to my home. Imagine lighting luminarias with us, and driving in the still of the night to breathe air filled with candle smell, and then sharing breakfast. Kathleen These classes will begin Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
These classes will begin Wednesday, January 8, 2014. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page:
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 ** One of the markers for your own progress is the respect you command from those around you about your food habits. **********************************************************************
**Testimonial of the Week ** Today I wanted to clean out the fridge a bit and asked one of my teenage son's friends if he would like the final piece of leftover pie. He eagerly accepted and said yes to ice cream also. I dished out the pie and ice cream and then tidied up the kitchen. I had just finished a very tasty RR lunch of my favorite chicken dish, wild rice/brown rice medley, and apple slices with peanut butter. A couple of hours later I realized with a shock that I DIDN'T EVEN THINK about how I was missing dessert. I didn't take a sliver for myself or lick the spoon or anything. No cravings, no struggles, it just never crossed my mind. I was just happy he was enjoying it so much and now I could put the dish into the dishwasher and have more room in the fridge. WOW! I can't tell you how stunned I am! Melissa **********************************************************************
**Radiant Life ** Why not let me know next time you are visiting your mum and dad and we could have a coffee? With Alfie. (Alfie loves decaff Costa, there is one at the M20 service station and that is a regular haunt of ours as I used to visit there a lot when I was socialising him with people...I know the M20 service station might not seem an ideal place for a coffee but the Costa is lovely, and my thinking back then was it didn't matter how unruly Alfie was as I would never see these people again! So we sat outside, I had a decaff and he was unruly LOL). Or you could pop round and meet him? But if that seems scary, then the Costa Coffee would be a plan. For everyone else on the list I would say that I have met Jenny at lunches and EuroRanch so it's not as if I am inviting a total stranger off the list to meet me and Alfie. And after one lunch we caught the same train so I know that Jenny's parents live in the next but one village to me. Alfie's high five was really good until the girls in the Dirty Habit (a village pub) realised he could do it. The same place serves madelaines with coffee (a small sponge cake about the same size and shape as the bowl of a teaspoon) and Alfie just adores the madelaines. The girls that work there started to reward his high five with madelaines and he got over-excited and they just reward any kind of high five, paw waving, shaking of paw, lifting of paw. I end up laughing so hard that I am unable to correct it; the girls are happy, he is happy with his madelaines and anyone else in the bar seems to end up laughing too. Karen **********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors **  You may have noticed that I write to radio and tv programs every so often to tell them about Radiant Recovery. Do I always get a response? No! But does it matter? Absolutely not! Why? That's because I know that somewhere along the line at least one person will have read my email/letter and that one person may then find the solution to their sugar sensitivity or else they might tell someone else about Radiant Recovery. You really do never know!Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
**How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hi, I'm Jean from Essex Junction, Vermont. My therapist gave me the book and I see myself in almost every page. I'm solid on Step 1 and just starting to consider the journaling. I think I'll be on that step for a long time!! Looking forward to this class. P.S. I love George's Restore -- it's the only protein powder I've ever been able to tolerate. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son.  I think you will love the Safe Place CD. It has a special introduction, and is licensed to use the Kolbialka Bolero we all love so much. It is timed for 20 minutes so is ideal for your mediation time.This CD is the the first in a series of meditation tapes. It is the ground for all the work of stilling the mind and opening your heart to healing. Kathleen has been using this meditation with her clients for more than 25 years. She uses it as the center of her own spiritual practice. Like her food program, it is deceptively simple. Kathleen takes her listeners to a place of safety. Use this CD over and over to train a response that is immediate and fully relaxed. Teach your deepest self to be quiet and still. Open your heart to the light and your life will change.
$12.95/$11.95
 Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen ** Cottage Apple Bake
Directions:
Makes 6 servings For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
**Radiant YLD ** At this time of year there's a lot of focus on food and it can be a challenging time. Over on the YLD list we are chatting about all things 'Christmas.' We will be sharing coping strategies, good food, experiences, movement, green smoothies, supporting one another, and having lots of fun! Come and join us! Steph x 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. You may wonder what Conversations is about. Sometimes we talk about how joy dots affect the brain. How moving into that simple practice shifts the locus of emotional process from fear and anger to joy and safety. It's an amygdala thing (smile). Here is a quote: we train ourselves to joy dot awareness but the astounding part for me is not just the sun coming out but...the self confidence We have such a good time with it. 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 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 ** The Brits list was originally set up as a geo list to provide support for those doing the food in Britain. But, over the past few years British involvement in the RR program has grown and grown and we now have a YLD Eurochat on Wednesday nights (UK time) and our very own Euroranch in Salisbury for anyone doing the program in Britain and Europe. As a result of all of this, the Brits list has also grown a lot and is now a wonderfully fun place of support for anyone doing the programme in the UK. We talk about what it means to do the programme here, what different foods we eat, and how to translate American terms into British ones. And we also have lots of fun!! It is a great place, a very supportive group, full of wonderful people. We also have quite regular get-togethers, usually twice a year or so, mostly in London. The last couple have been at our favourite restaurant, Leon, where 15-20 of us happily take over their biggest table for several hours. They haven't complained yet, LOL. So if you are a Brit and you are doing this programme, we'd love to have you join us. **********************************************************************
**The Hopi Way ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
In the Holy Night Class we talked about solstice, and we will talk about Christmas shortly. But at this time of year, I also love reminding people about the Hopi Tradition of Soyal. Soyal starts on solstice and goes until the 6th of January (an interesting connection to Epiphany). I find the instructions very appropos for all of us. Soyal is a 16-day ceremonial period, practiced by the Hopi for generations, that is supposed to establish the mood for the coming year. Like other Hopi ceremonies, Soyal begins with an expression of assurance that the ceremony will accomplish its purpose, and ends with a feast of celebration and a public Kachina dance. The dance acknowledges the success of the ritual and shares its blessings with the other members of the village. So the intention is set now - the belief that doing the process will achieve the end. "Soyal time," the Elders say, "is a good time to teach children to respect others, so they will continue to practice it throughout their lives." "There must be no disturbing loud behavior or running during Soyal." Why not? Because loud behavior is self-centered. It interrupts others, and it disturbs the deities who are involved in the cycle as well. Here are some ideas about creating your own Soyal and how to benefit from this time. These are the instructions from the Hopi. Use this 16-day period to do the following things. While you are doing them, concentrate on attitudes and feelings that will bring you closer to loved ones and to the rest of the world. Remember that as you carry out these actions you will achieve a magnificent sense of inner peace. As you work, your problems will either go away on their own, or solutions to them will come to you. You will fret less since everything is being taken care of. Beyond this, you will be building an inner strength that will shield you when future prophecies are fulfilled. Following the instructions will accomplish your survival in every way.
Thanks for reading! If you know someone who could benefit from this, feel free to forward it to them. Not a subscriber yet? Like what you have read? Sign up to get future issues delivered straight to you: http://www.radiantrecovery.com Until next time!
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. Steph provides the Your Last Diet column. ©2013 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/weeklynewsletter |
