Hi {!firstname_fix}

Happy New Year to all of you. This is such a wonderful time for new beginnings. Historically, it is when we all made all these resolutions, planned our newest diet and dug in for perfecting our flaws. With recovery I think this changes in such a big way. Now we can come to the new year with a sense of hope that what we are doing will continue and deepen. Those of you who are new can drink from the well of the profound experience that lives in our community. We welcome you!

We are resuming classes this week. Please make sure to check our schedule. A lot is planned, especially the new class on hormones. And for those who are just starting, I put lots on the table for you. You can see an updated schedule for the future by clicking here.

And when you sign up for a class, you will get an email that says to confirm your joining. This is crucial because the class process requires your formal agreement that you want to be on the roster.

Starting tomorrow:

Back to Basics 1 is for those of you on Step 7 who floundered some over the holidays. We love this class. It is kind, tender, funny and VERY useful. Come regroup and get back on track.

Using 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.

Step 2 Journal: An Introduction is a new and revised class to teach you the basics of journaling. I am writing a new mini guidebook and this class will give you a preview of those new directions. It is packed full of material you have never heard before (smile).

Learning About Depression is the perfect antidote to mid winter, dark skies, freezing rain, and feeling crappy. Come discover why you feel this way and what you can do about it.

Radiant Nailsis a new, special offering. This is a 28 day process for community members who bite their nails and would like to stop. We will look at the biochemistry of nail biting and go through practical exercises to support stopping. This is a truly unique approach.

Starting Next week:

Step 4: More Than You Think is the potato class. Come learn everything you ever wanted to know about the timing, size, frequency of your potato. Learn about the best vitamins and talk all you want about them.

Back to Basics 2 is the continuation of the regroup and get back on track class that starts this week.

Brain Chemistry: Beta Endorphin is one of our most popular classes. It will teach you the core of the science behind the program. This is the outline for a critical part of sugar sensitivity, why you act the way you do and what you can do to change it.

YLD Weightloss 10-week classes begin. See the YLD section for more information.

Hormones is a new class for women dealing with perimenopause, menopause, PMS or whatever. Let's discover what you can do to refine your program to support feeling better.

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 with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time.

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

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January 2, 2006
** Quote From Kathleen **

You are telling your body it is important. You are noticing what you are eating and what you are feeling.


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** Testimonial for the Week**


I believe that newsletter saved my life! I signed up when I first found RR and it had just started, and when I crashed out big time I never quite got around to cancelling it. Sometimes I'd just delete it, and sometimes I'd read it - and it just kept on coming! It was addressed to me by name, and it kept reminding me that there was a better life for me. Finally, when there was no other place to go, I followed the newsletter back home - and here I am!! It's worth gold, and I love getting it.

Jacquie

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**Recipe of the Week**


I just love warm and comforting foods during the winter. This one takes a bit of time for preparation, but is so worth the effort!

STUFFED CABBAGE

(*note - for those trying to reduce the sodium, you can omit the sea salt and purchase salt free tomato juice and paste - you might have to adjust the other seasonings to compensate for the lower sodium content)

Freeze cabbage head. Once defrosted, the leaves will come off very easily and the large leaves will be intact. Remove the 3 outermost layers of cabbage and discard or chop up and use it to season the sauce.

Combine turkey, rice, oil, onion, garlic and egg. Place 1 T. mixture on each leaf and roll up (place meat on end towards stem, turn stem over meat, fold in sides and then roll up). Heat oil in pot, stir in flour to make a roux. Add rest of ingredients, you can add the left over cabbage, too. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes. Add stuffed cabbage rolls one by one. Cook over low flame for 2 hours.

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


Ok, we are getting ready for our new series. We are starting a new YLD Foundation Class which is the readiness class. We have revamped the whole thing based on your input last round. I am very excited by what you suggested and how it is going to work.

We will also be starting the third YLD Weightloss class for folks on step 7. I know this will be as exciting as the first two were. The Weight Loss is Action Class is accepting Weight Loss graduates and is rockin. Folks are reporting wonderful, steady weight loss. What a package!

The membership is a lifetime deal. We actually have a number of folks returning *home* after a couple of years' digression (smile). What fun is that to welcome them back.

Come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun.
 


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**David's Corner **



Several people have commented that they think George's Junior is just for kids. It is not, we just haven't done another run with adult labels, LOL. It is whey based, so if you prefer that as the primary protein, JR. is for you. And if you think it is just like any other whey product, you are wrong on that. Kathleen spent 2 years sorting out which whey isolate to use and then crafted a formulation that adds some other things to significantly improve the taste. When we were out of it, many of us tried the other stuff. It wasn't anything like ole Jr.

Don't forget to order yourself a journal. It makes the whole process so much easier. If you want the best of all worlds, get the journal, take the class and join the group.


If you haven't been to the store for a while, how about just coming over and browsing. You will be thrilled to see all the changes!

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

 
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**Our Online Groups**


The Radiant Journal list is a source of helpful information and support with journaling. On this list we talk about how to get started with the journal, how to start listening to our body and why giving it a voice is so important. We also discuss how to use the journal for detective work in our program and, of course, how to make journaling fun! Right now the list is rockin' with people supporting each other and making big discoveries with their journal. So whether you are just starting out or are looking for a recharge in your journaling, come on over and join in the fun!



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** Featured Topic**
New Year
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

I thought I would share with you some reflections I have been musing on these past few days. I have wondered what it is that makes the difference between the folks who simply settle into the program and those who struggle so much.

I came across the idea of sincerity - an attitude of coming to a task with commitment and an open heart. I think sincerity is similar to what I have called beginner's mind in the past. Without it, we have to struggle until it hurts so much that we have no choice but to capitulate. In addiction parlance we call this hitting bottom. All that time, all that struggle wastes so much time, so much energy and throws off such sparks of negativity. I have mulled and mulled on this. Why do we do this to ourselves? And yes I know that addiction is about continued use despite adverse consequence. I know all that, but I have always felt as if there is something more.

This week, I was out to dinner with a very dear member of my family. She is working through some hard changes. The life she had and thought would continue to her death is no longer there. What she planned cannot be. So she was talking about having to do the "whatever" - just stuff her feelings and make do. I said, "You have lots of choices, it does not have to be this way," and she was totally adamant that her life is over, the path is irrevocable and she has to be miserable.

I was paying very close attention, and what stuck me most was the energy - the energy of being stuck, staying in pain and being unwilling to even try to see things in a different light. And I think many of you get caught in this same trap. It is more hidden, or more couched in "I can't" rather than "I won't" but the energy is the same.

This is the I am so miserable but I cannot manage breakfast energy. I am hopeless, I never get it right, I don't have the money, I don't have the time, my husband does not support me, my mother makes fun of me, I have to exercise first, I don't like shake and I can't eat eggs energy. The question becomes something very different with a different filter. What is it you get from being miserable?

Now that one is big. Choosing to make different choices, choosing to suit up and listen and follow instructions is what grown up people do. As I followed this train of thought, I realized why it is that our program is so different. We don't tell you what to eat when by giving you a sheet with allowable foods on it. We invite you to learn what we have learned, to ask questions, to make the program your own. We are treating you like a grownup, inviting you to be an equal participant. This can be disorienting and disconcerting. Or it can be liberating and exciting. Something is different here.

Underneath the steps is a plan to guide you into a mature relationship with your body and your recovery. When I speak of what else is embedded in the steps, I am referring to the "code" I put into the process. Step One - listen to directions. Take time. Master the foundation. Learn numbers, explore what is right for you. Create a routine, plan, ask for your needs, make a priority. These are all the things that we can not do in our addiction. If you want to learn recovery skills, simply follow the steps one at a time. They are designed to teach you all this stuff. You don't even have to think about the code, you just do the step.

So, for the new year, I would ask that you rethink your program. What is it you want? If you want what we have, the only thing you have to do is do what we do. The level of experience and expertise in this community is beyond anything I imagined. The folks in recovery are here at your service. Ask for help, listen carefully and follow instructions.



©Kathleen DesMaisons 2005.

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
Naomi, liaison for big ones gathers the recipes
JoAnna, the liaison for affiliates gathers the testimonials
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.

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.

©2005 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 Geraint Smith