Hi {!firstname_fix}

Well, I am home again. This trip took me north to Minnesota. We met with many people about the possibilities of bringing our program into the Native communities. Everywhere we went we were welcomed with openness and kindness. And it looks like what has started at Lummi will continue at White Earth, perhaps Fond du Lac and in the urban communities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. As this starts forming, I will let you know so you can hear more of what we are doing. If you are Native American and would like to share in our discussion please come join our new Radiant Native American elist.

It snowed while I was up there. I thought it was going to be a white out and we would be lost in the snow. Maggie, who was driving, was laughing and said, "no problem". Of course she is a native Minnesota gal (smile). They be used to THAT.

I am going to change the format a bit this week and let the voices of folks in our community speak to you. I feel so blessed to have this *nation* of healing. Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Let me know what you like and would like to see.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted to the web at http://www.radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page.

And be sure to visit our Radiant Recoverywebsite and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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March 8, 2004
** Quote From Kathleen **


It seems so simple. How can it be profound? Do the food and your life will change.



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** Testimonial for the Week**

I can remember being ruled by sugar even as a kid. We didn't have sugar cereal at our house, but I looked forward to spending the night with certain friends because they had sugared cereal. Captain Crunch was my favorite. I would eat it until the box was gone and the top of my mouth was torn up. One friend was actually kind of mean to me and her mom was an awful crab (probably an ss family), but I loved staying there because they always had Captain Crunch.

Once or twice a week I would make my own concoction that my mom and I called brown sugar candy. Butter melted on the stove, add brown sugar, sometime raw oats and freeze. I would eat a whole pan of it in a couple days.

I was never overweight as a kid, don't know why not, lol. But I was a loner. Now and then I would have one or two good friends, but I always felt on the outside or on the fringe. I was smart, but I was a C student. Looking back, I wasn't always "present" in class. I would also fight with teachers instead of keeping my mouth shut. No energy, few friends, low self-esteem.

As a teen, I smoked, I partied, I did drugs. I was also a very responsible employee, but my finances were a mess, my love life was always a mess and because of low self-esteem, I let people walk on me. I was a magnet for friends and boyfriends that had huge issues. I took care of all of them and they treated me badly.

I quit smoking to have kids and ate more sugar and junk. Gained massive amounts of weight with both pregnancies. Was in a rotten marriage, spent too much money and hated life. My family has big issues around weight and I was the only one in the family for generations that was over-weight. It wasn't long before I was bulimic. For several years I was either gaining weight at an alarming rate or I was actively bulimic.

I tried to be a good mom, but had no energy and most of the time no patience. I was out of the horrible marriage, but not really "present" for my kids. Of course they are ss too. I would lose my cool with them and then feel bad and spoil them. I would put my foot down on something important and then give in when they begged. I was mean and strict about stupid things and ignored big things everyday. Mush brain, moody and no energy. I would completely lose my temper over something stupid and stomp around, slamming doors and throwing

Mornings before school were terrible and on the way to school, I would drop by the donut shop and that is what the three of us would eat for breakfast. The year my kids' dad and I divorced, I fed my kids donuts every morning before school. OMG you know, now, it is more embarrassing for me to write that about the donuts than to tell you about the bulimia and drugs. The way I was with my kids still makes me cringe.

I was in a 2nd wonderful marriage to a great man, and still a mess. Would come from work and go to bed. Grumpy, no patience, hated summers because my step-daughters were there (and they are great kids). Some days I didn't want my husband to talk to me, much less touch me. I wanted to be alone in my universe with a gallon of ice cream and no one to bother me. Still a great employee and even a good boss, but a sick, whiney wife and grumpy, no energy mom.

I was starting to instinctively know that sugar was at the core of my problem and did a search for sugar addiction on the web. SARP and Kathleen came up. I ordered the book and a few weeks later it arrived. The night I received the book, I remember posting on the forum while eating a bowl of cake mix. LOL. I really haven't looked back since. I trusted what I read on the lists, I whined and posted a lot and I healed at an amazing rate.

My kids and I have this great relationship. They don't even attempt to beg these days. LOL. We spend a huge amount of time laughing and playing together. We have big issues now and then still, (hey, I have an ss teen in the house LOL), but I am present, I handle the situations calmly and wisely and I don't buy into the drama.

My marriage is better than ever. I actually wait on him now and then instead of the other way around. More intimacy, more laughter, less stress. We still owe money, but I don't spend it like I used to. And when we are broke, or screw up and bounce a check, I don't go off the deep end like I used to. We deal with and it doesn't take over our life.

I have weight to lose, but it doesn't affect how I feel about me or how I relate to my family. I know that it will take a while for my body to trust me again. Hey, look what I have put her through her entire life. Sugar, drugs, bulimia.

My house is clean, meals are on time, homework is done, plants are watered, pets are healthy and happy. Kids like mom and bring their friends home with them.

I am still a good, full-time employee, but now I am also writing and actively involved with learning all there is to learn about being an author and writing as a career. I look forward to the time that I work at home and am there when my kids get home from school.

Who was that person in that other life? I don't know, but I guess I learned a lot from her. Thank goodness *I* live a radiant life. (grin)

Vicki L.

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

I have been thinking a lot about obesity. The weight loss group in Your Last Diet has clicked in and its members are rockin'. Is that exciting or what.

Come join us and hear about this success!

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/YLD_signup.htm


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** Radiant Recovery Seminars **

I am getting really excited about our annual four-day ranch held in Albuquerque May 19-22. Radiant Ranch is the highlight of the year. Most of the liaisons come and we all have a blast. Swimming, hot tubbing, great program-friendly food and lots of new information. I have posted a schedule of the seminar if you want to see what we will be doing.



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** David's Corner **


Well, Kathleen went up and visited The White Earth Reservation. She saw where the wild rice that we carry is prepared. She came back and told me about how wild rice is considered a sacred food that led the native people to the land where food grows on the water. She also explained why the rice that comes from the reservation is different from regular store bought wild rice. Instead of looking like little black ants, it looks like real seeds. And when you cook it, umm, it is good!

I thought you would like a little recipe from the Wild Rice Cookbook we now have.

Wild Rice and Chicken Breasts

  • 1 1/4 cups raw wild rice
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 2 TBS sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 6 boneless, skinned chicken breasts
  • 1 TBS fresh basil leaves, chopped
Cook the rice. Season with salt and pepper. Put in a shallow buttered casserole. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet, add the chicken breasts and saute over medium to low heat just until cooked through. Remove chicken breasts and place on the wild rice in the casserole. Add the cream to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping all the browinings. Add the totmatoes, and add salt and pepper to your taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.

Now, I know if I can make this and love it, you will too. I never thought I would like something *strange* like wild rice, but oh is it great. And I am hearing all sorts of wonderful things about its cholestrol-lowering properties.

Do get some wild rice today. Help us support the tribal store.

Please send questions and suggestions for items you might like to see in our store.

Thanks
David

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


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** Featured Topic**
The Power of Our People
by Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

As you know I was up in Washington a few weeks ago at a tribal gathering of the Lummi Nation. This week I have just come home from White Earth, which is the home of the Annishinabe people, also known as Ojibwes and Chippawa. I had been invited and gone to speak about our work. But something happened while I was there. The experience of being in the culture moved me deeply.

The nations have a *people* who have been connected and share a heritage and culture and land. American white people do not have a people in this way. Most of my life I have thought about my family history and how it shaped me.

But when I was with the native people, I thought about our community in a different way. We come together because we share a biochemistry. We have a *family* of shared experience; the pain of being outside, of not being understood, of trying to make sense of things and feeling that we cannot find our way.

We come here, and something happens. It is not obvious right away. It feels comfortable and welcoming, but we don't realize that something is changing - some sort of rooting in our healing. When I sign books, I often write *Let radiance wrap you and hold you*...this is something I mean and something I have experienced. But the meaning of that idea, of this as radiance wrapping our people, is bigger than any of us imagined.

Listen to Ted. His letter is like thousands I get each year. This is your community, your healing. And every day I give thanks to the creator for it!

Warmly,
Kathleen

Hi all, my name is ted... and I'm not new to this program, only this part of it. For me this program is not about God, it's not about why it took 64 yrs to get here, or the horrible pain I've endured over the years. It's about getting another chance to get it right. It's all about the food. If I get the food right my life will unfold the way it was supposed to. By doing the food my mind is clearing, the mental pain has stopped and my knees have stopped burning. I don't know why I'm here now, with you all, or why it took so long for me to find out what was wrong with me. I'm here now and that's all that matters. After 50+ yrs of knowing something was wrong with me I finally have the answer. I never stopped searching, not ever. I went to AA and got sober, I went to Christian crusades and got saved, and I tried every diet and self help program I could get my hands on……and nothing worked, not for long anyway……and low and behold I stumbled onto this simple program. Tried it once and failed, but for some reason I returned and I finally GOT IT……it's the food…I am a sugar addict and if I do the food right I am right…I have never experienced a change the likes of which I am going through now. I have embraced this program with every ounce of my being and will never look back. My on-going recovery has been in direct proportion to my obedience to this simple program. The better I work it the better I feel. I don't really know how I got here but I am thankful I'm here and here I'll stay…just doing the food and smiling……hugs to all ted

Copyright © Kathleen DesMaisons, 2004. All Rights Reserved.