Hi {!firstname_fix}

Don’t forget we have three classes starting up Monday. If you come right now, sign up, then immediately return the invitation email to join the group through which the class will be conducted, we can fit you in...

Step 1: The Art of Breakfast
Step 2: Introduction to Journal
Restart: Waking Up

The Step 1 class will teach you how to get a steady start with concrete details. The Step 2 Intro is perfect if you are having a hard time with it or if you just want to make sure you know the drill. And the Restart class is for those who have done the 7 steps of the program who are in wobble or stumble (smile). Come be comforted and guided with no shame or judgment. Everyone who has taken this class LOVES it.

We have posted a schedule of the classes for the next 2 months. Check it and see if there is something you like. If there is something you would like and don't see it, let me know. We are having so much fun with these classes. It seems to provide a nice structure and I am presenting some new information as we go. I am postponing the depression class since only a few people have signed up for it.

Something powerful is happening in the community. Read this issue carefully. It is pretty exciting.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see me cover.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page. Do not email me, do not get mad at me, just click on the link and you will be forever removed.

And be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery® website and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

**********************************************************************

January 24, 2005
** Quote From Kathleen **

Your cells will ALWAYS remember your touch of radiance. It is not like you have to find it. It is already there. You came in with it. Your food covered it. But it is waiting.

*********************************************************************

** Testimonial for the Week**


Here are Eric's thoughts on Doing the Steps class.

I would first like to thank you Kathleen for putting on this class. I personally got one of the answers I was looking for in Lesson 1 in regards to how long one could take to go through the process. I had originally rushed it and learned my lesson but didn't know how slow "slow" was. I was starting to enjoy being on Step 1 a bit too much! A small amount of self-discipline in the morning and then the rest of day was a free for all food wise.

I am now back on track journaling every day. I am finding the very act of writing down what I'm eating modifies the way I eat. I am moving toward Step 3 every day. Would I be correct in thinking that Step 3 is one of the most important Steps? I say this because I have a parent who has a definite problem with sugar but who has always had three consistent meals a day and doesn't seem to have suffered from it as I have.

I am REALLY looking forward to the next few months and the changes I will go through. I have been "off" sugars and whites in the past but there was always something missing. I believe the missing key is in this approach.

One thing I have done is copied and printed out Kathleen's Lessons from this course so that I now have an eight-page booklet to refer to when I'm not sure where I'm going and why. The books are great, but as someone wise said, we SS'ers tend to "gloss over stuff" so already I'm finding it a great summary and an easy read!

And a special thanks to Lesson 8 and the links in it. The Simple Solutions are a great resource.

Thanks to all you fellow classmates for your comments and questions. I learned a lot from you. Thanks again Kathleen, I feel my money was well spent.

Eric

********************************************************************

**Recipe of the Week**


Found this recipe and altered it so it would be program friendly. It sounds so yummy on cold days like we are having (smile).

ROASTED VEGETABLES AND BRAISED TURKEY

Roasted Vegetables:
Braised Turkey:
Preheat oven to 450°.

To prepare the roasted vegetables, place first 7 ingredients in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Bake at 450° for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half of turkey, and sauté 5 minutes or until turkey is browned on all sides. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with 1 teaspoon oil and remaining turkey. Return browned turkey to pan; add 1/4 teaspoon salt, broth, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Uncover, bring to a boil, and simmer until the liquid is reduced (about 5 minutes). Serve turkey with roasted vegetables.

********************************************************************

**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**


I have been thinking a lot about YLD. Last week at chat we started the dialogue about the tsunami shift that I am writing about in today’s newsletter. I realize that YLD is no longer just about weight loss. It has become our *cutting edge*. It’s funny. We started with all these people desperate not to be fat. And we have ended up with this group of funny, loving, committed folks who are losing weight but no longer fret about it. They are so excited to be thinking about radiance and living in awareness of the big Alpha Endorphin, diets seems sort of silly. What an amazing transition. I wish every single one of you could hear what is happening.

Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. And remember that I haven’t gotten around to changing the signup page. It still sounds like weight loss, LOL.I don’t know yet how to describe this. Feel fat? Want to transform? Want to get funny and happy and motivated? Oh yah, and lose weight too. I mean, what kind of marketing is that!
 


********************************************************* ***********

**Radiant Ambassadors**


If you love the program and want to learn to share the word more effectively, consider joining the ambassador group. We are having some much fun learning from one another.

If you haven't gotten any cards to pass out yet, order them now. They are free! It is a great way to spread the word.

Come find us among the Online Groups


********************************************************* ***********

**David's Corner **

 


This is dog week. Pepper is bursting with puppies, so we all are thinking dogs. Here are the things we have for your buddy.

Joint Response is a useful suppoort for dogs with arthritis. There is no comparison to just plain glucosamine. Kathleen’s neighbors have a very old, very arthritic dog who hobbles across the front of our office every morning. She started giving him joint response and in 3 days he could walk. Man, that got my attention.

Missing Link is a great supplement that improves coats. Dogs LOVE it. I think that is because it has some molasses in it, LOL, but we figure their sugar sensitivity isn’t triggered by it.

Cod Liver Oil is GREAT for dogs with skin problems or allergies or ear infections. I am not as into dogs as Kathleen, but I am sure amazed at how she transforms those rescues. They come in scratching and oozing and go out glowing.

And then of course the books (smile). Kathleen was at the book trade show and shared a booth with the publishers of these incredible dog books. I & Dog will touch your heart. Life is Good is by a dog and really captures the best of a dog’s life. And Love Heels is about Canine Companions. You may remember that Kathleen raised Vancouver for them.

Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better.

Thanks
David

And of course, we have something for everybody in our store


 
********************************************************* ***********

**Our Online Groups**


Hi, I'm Heather, the liaison for the Radiant Fitness group on Yahoo. On Fitness we talk about how doing the food can support our fitness program and vice versa. Some favorite topics are what to eat when doing intensive exercise when all that’s out there commercially are sugar filled products. We also talk about what to eat before and after morning workouts, and what to do for those folks whose training program requires a twice a day workout. We just had a great thread on the necessity of sports drinks and how doing the food is better.

We have runners (I’ve done two marathons myself), walkers, bikers, dancers, aerobicizers, yogis, and many more types of exercise enthusiasts on the list. One of the neat things I see on the list is people who are recovering from exercise addiction who are learning how to work exercise back in their life in a healthy way. If any of this fits you, well, come on over and join in!

********************************************************************

** Featured Topic**
Why You Are Having a Hard Time
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

The past couple of weeks have been difficult. I went out to Florida for a family crisis. Big depression clobbered someone I love very much. I came back and found that a whole number of folks on my leadership team were having a really hard time. At first blush it seemed as if it were simply coincidental... timing maybe, post Christmas stress, or winter fatigue or something like that.

But as I sat and thought about it, I realized that this is way deeper than personal stumbling. I began to hear the same story, spoken in different ways and the more I listened the more I began to sense that something bigger is happening.

The tsunami was caused by an earthquake. But really it was a huge shift in the surface of the earth - a planetary shift that actually changed the earth's axis. This was a monumental event. The energy flooded, literally, and wiped away everything that had been. You held on for dear life or you were swept away.

Now, it is funny, but this is the same theme I have been hearing over and over. Nothing that was makes sense. It all feels pointless. Everything I counted on no longer fits. I don't know who I am, I don't know where I belong, I cannot find my center. Too much, too fast and I feel like I am being sucked into a dark hole.

Now a medical model will diagnose these feelings as clinical depression. And that same model will prescribe medication. It will identify the situations that precipitated these feelings of darkness. Of course there will be "situations" - a lost job, a move, a promotion, stress at work, no sleep from a new baby, the death of a mother, a son at war, an abusive husband, a lost relationship or all of the above. But we have all had these things all our lives. Why are we stumbling so now?

I think the energy shift of the world discombobulated us on a cellular level. Things as they were actually do not exist any longer. Literally, our 'magnetic north" changed and we can't get our bearings. And if we stumble and then our food gets off, we cannot sort it out. It feels so personal. We do not experience it as a major spiritual crisis, it just feels horrible and we feel lost.

In last week's chat, I talked about this. I talked about this as a time of awakening. When things no longer fit, we have an opportunity to clear out that stuff, to throw away the stuff that does not fit and to make room for something new. We don't know what that will be yet, it has not emerged. So we have to endure this time of "in between" where the old is gone and the new has not emerged. However can we make sense of this?

At the first level, comfort comes with doing the food, doing the program. Not just taking out sugar, that is a tiny part of it. But following instructions, being connected, being patient. Rebuilding a solid foundation that cannot be swept away are all part of creating a way to hold what is emerging.

This is the time to go back to basics. Literally. Rather than getting caught in how horrible it is, ask for help. Get connected. Trust that this is not just a personal stumble, but that you are part of a great shift. You got thrown off kilter and you can get steady. Come to the relapse/restart class. Get back on track with your food and program. Don't beat yourself up.

Last week, I said "If you are going to be with a person in a dark hole, take a ladder and a lantern." (Smile)..the steps are the ladder and our humor and perspective is the lantern. You are not alone. Grace is unfolding.

©Kathleen DesMaisons 2004.

Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:

Gretel, the liaison for the recovery list and the webmaster puts it all together
JoAnna, the liaison for vegetarians gathers the testimonials
Naomi, the liaison for Yisroel gathers the recipes
Terri, the liaison for Ambassadors sends over the ambassadors quote
Marie, the liaison for diabetes gathers the info on the online lists
David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have.