Hi {!firstname_fix} My robin has not been seen again (pout) although Kitty told me she saw a flock of 50 sitting in a tree in Colorado. I am hoping they are on their way north. The sea is blue green today with chunks of ice floating around in it. Last week at full moon, the tide went WAAAAY out. I let the dogs out to run. Pepper and Ronan ran flat out for one hour. They were so far away, they were only tiny gold specks on the horizon. Today they are muscled up from all that running. Josie stayed close because she knew I had dog cookies in my pocket. She would intentionally run off look out at the other two, turn and look back, and then come running back. She knows when she comes back, she gets cookies. For those who celebrate Easter, I hope you had a lovely day yesterday. I spent it with my daughter and her boyfriend and my son. We went out to dinner at an elegant little restaurant in Keene and just had a lovely time talking. Please note that we have made some changes to the schedule page. Let me know what you think. This class will begin Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Step 3: Three Meals is perfect for getting to know what is involved in the lynch pin of your program. Step 3 is pretty complex. This class will give you a guided tour and lots of special hints on how to make it successful. These classes will begin Wednesday, April 2, 2008. Please click on the name of the class you wish to join and it will take you to the registration page: Using the Community Resources is 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. What Else is Embedded in the Steps is the perfect class for new folks who want to understand that the program is more than the food. Come learn about how the process helps to heal addiction. And if you are not new, but haven't taken this class, it is excellent. YLD Weight Loss Emotions 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, a two week class will give you wonderful, wonderful tools to get you on your way. The class schedule is on line. Click here to see what is planned. Please 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. The classes are done online and you do not have to be at your computer at any set time. It does not matter whether you are in the US, Europe, the Far East or Australia, you simply respond on your own time. And although I advertise that the classes are one or two weeks, sometimes we are a little flexible and they may run longer. 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. 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. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery¨ website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
March 24, 2008 ** Quote From Kathleen **
Rather than responding to the problems or roadblocks with tears, you will start anticipating and solving problems. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
Recently I found myself falling back. However, the past 6-7 months have been really stressful at work. The company I own has been faced with really tight cash flow. We're behind with most of our vendors, etc. Anyway, I was falling back into the mode where I was fully enveloped by the misery. Not sleeping well, not doing the food particularly well, feeling scared and depressed a lot. You know what got me out of it? THE FOOD! I started tightening up my program and I feel really good now. Instead of being scared about the future, I am full of hope and optimism. Everything looks different to me now. Why didn't anyone tell me that the food could do this, LOL. Mark ********************************************************************
**Radiant Ambassadors** Hi all! I've just received an email from my local library saying that as a result of my recommending PnP they have ordered 3 more copies and included my review on their website!!! They went on to say that "Feedback of this kind helps us in our book selection and is always appreciated". Yes, I would call that one a winner!! Feel free to write to your own libraries, they might be able to help :) Selena And don't forget that if you wish to ambassador in a small way, order some of the FREE program cards they have in the store. And I will always love to have you join us on the ambassador list. ********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen** I want to give a special thanks to Naomi who has been doing the recipe column for a number of years. Thank you, thank you!!! We certainly have appreciated everything you have brought to the community awakening of program friendly choices. We will be trying out a slightly different approach to the column. You can let me know what you think as we go. DUTCH PUFFED PANCAKES
Process:
Suggested Savory Fillings:
Cut fresh seasonal fruits with yogurt or unsweetened whipped cream KATHLEEN'S BAKING MIXIngredients:
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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
YLDonline is a membership program run directly by Kathleen DesMaisons herself. So next week we will begin the emotions class. I always love this class. It is so healing. You can begin to sign up now so you don't miss it. And thank you all for the lovely chats. They are the highlight of my week. If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. ********************************************************* ***********
**Radiant Recovery Store **
David manages the Radiant Recovery Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. Well, I am hearing a lot of conversations about travel out there. Here is my travel kit for you. The pycnogenol is for those of you who are flying. It is a PROVEN preventative for DVT (deep vein thrombosis) which is one of the problems you can get in long flights.
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
Well, you will notice from Mark's comments up there, that the men's list is rocking. What a great bunch of guys we have. Come and join us! ********************************************************************
**We Don't Remember or Unremembering**
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. For many, many years I have heard the definition of addiction as being continued use despite adverse consequence. We drink even as life slips away. We use sugar even though we are crazy, gaining weight and being horrified. We restrict food and don’t notice we are in the throes of anorexia. We create misery even when there is none. It is all the same. Last week, I was sitting on my couch studying. There was one dog on each side and one on my feet. This was the same morning the robin sat on the wire for about 3 minutes while looking at us. I was reading a very fat and heavy book with tiny print. I have to work hard to pick out what I need. Then he says, high opioid use wipes out the connection to the consequences of behavior. Opioids turn off the switch that says if you do this, bad things will happen. Well that about knocked my socks off. No, wait, it didn’t because I was barefoot. But it took my breath away. So things that create an opioid response CREATE the continued use despite adverse consequence. The neural mechanism comes after we start using and before the adverse consequences kick in. So the opioid response creates what has been named “denial”. But this is not some sort of character flaw. It is a biochemical and neural reality. Now think about this……when you are using….you simply forget that it will cause bad things to happen. They just seem to come out of thin air. This reinforces the idea that you are a victim of circumstance. You are not a bad person for being an addict, you are suffering from the amnesia effect of the opioids in your brain. And here is the stickler...let’s say you stop alcohol but you still use sugar. You still forget. This is why AA helps so much. It reminds you over and over what bad things happen when you drink. Then let's say you stop sugar but you still debt or foster misery, your brain is still being flushed with the opioid reaction. So you still forget. But not as much. The effect is dose dependent. If you are getting it from a thousand different things, you really, truly do not make the connection. You have to be taught it, you have to learn it mentally. You do not inherently sense it. Anyway, I think I just understood why addiction makes us do stupid things. I will be working with this a lot more. I just found this part soooo interesting I wanted to share it. ©Kathleen DesMaisons 2008. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together: Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together David, who runs the Radiant Recovery¨ Store talks about what new products we have. 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.htm. ©2008 by 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 and use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery¨. Please visit Kathleen's website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction." Please notify me at kathleen@radiantrecovery.com to let me know where the material will appear. Banner Photograph by Patti Holden, Step 7 |