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December 14, 2015 Hi {!firstname_fix} 
We had our first snow here today. I got up early and everything was totally still. No tracks in the snow, no movement, just quiet. I drove around for a while and went down near the river to watch the sandhill cranes snuffle for corn in the field. Came home and put Christmas music on. I know the snow will be melted by noon so I treasure these fleeting moments.
Most of the dogs loved the snow. One of them is from down South where it does not snow. She sat on the dog bed and shivered, poor little thing. She usually is very brave and adventurous so that surprised me. By the time I came home from my drive, all four were out romping. Ronan and Grandma were doing more watching than nose snow shoveling but it was fun to watch.We are looking forward to our two unique classes this week. The first is the new orientation to YLD class. And the second is our old winter tradition (smile)...you are welcome to join either or both. These classes will begin Wednesday, December 16, 2015. Please Signup and it will take you to the registration page:
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**The power of your radiance will affect all those around you. In both big and subtle ways, everything will change. **********************************************************************
**Testimonial of the Week**Okay, my turn. Funny enough, I recovered by isolating (smile). I isolated from everything that would take my focus off doing the program. I posted only to the then relapse class and I posted way more than I ever had. I did not post anywhere else or even read any other list. I turned them all off. When possible, I did only those life things that would enhance my program. I am reconnecting w/my journal in a deeper way. I took both journal classes. But one of the best things I did for myself was to relax about being in relapse. You see, I was terrified that I would not get my program back. I actually thought I might not be accepted back to the community (MY perception--nothing anyone said or did--please don't take this personally anyone--it was ME and MY anxiety). And when Kathleen opened the second relapse class to continue supporting us, I knew that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and that I was accepted and that it would all be okay. So I relaxed about it and that's when the healing began. In fact, I actually ENJOYED being in relapse. I felt unburdened by only posting in one very SAFE place with amazingly supportive people. I was learning about the program in deeper ways than I had before because I was clearer and had more intention behind my actions. I could look at myself and understand the process. I was not desperate about weight loss. I talked to Kathleen about this paradox of enjoying relapse and likened it to Milton's *Paradise Lost* and the idea of the fortunate fall--Milton's belief that virtue untried is not virtue at all, but virtue that wins out over adversity is true virtue. (Sorry, I used to be an English teacher (sheepish grin). And here I am. Being radiant and silly and still working hard on my program; planning food, cooking food, and mostly, staying connected HERE. Kathleen, thank you for helping me get my radiance back. Well, thanks for helping me get it in the first place (crying). Have a nice day everyone. Ann Margaret My story is so similar to Ann Margaret's I considered just copying it, LOL. It sounds weird to say that relapse was the best thing to happen for me and my recovery. But it's true. If I hadn't relapsed I wouldn't have taken the classes and the classes are what changed the nature of my recovery. It was in the classes that I finally connected at a heart level with my journal. I had never been able to really connect with anyone online except on the surface. Having connected to my journal and having a small group of very supportive people around me online I took the risk and started to open up my heart and share my feelings. I had no idea how life changing that would be. My focus was this group of recovery from relapse people and my food. I don't have the words to express my gratitude for Kathleen starting the classes when she did and for having such supportive people joining the classes along with me. I know now that, no matter what, my focus has to be on my recovery. If I don't keep it front and center my life starts to fall apart. As I step out into the bigger community I know I have my relapse recovery buds to lean on and tell me the truth since they know me so well. Linda If you are in relapse and want to join a class, go to the class signup page. **********************************************************************
**Interesting Bits of Science**Can physical exercise enhance long-term memory? http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/can-physical-exercise-enhance-long-term-memory This is a really fascinating discussion about how exercise enhances adult growth of NEW brain cells. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Recovery® Store**Allergy season is here! If you are sniffing and snorting and itching and complaining, get some fish oil. It stops allergies at the cause by changing the reactivity in your body. What folks are telling us is that the combination of the fish oil and the pycnogenol is awesome. The pycnogenol protects from any bruising that comes with the blood thinning effects of the fish oil.
Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
**Radiant Kitchen**This recipe has been around the community a long time. Everyone who tries it just loves it. Hope you do, too! Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Citrus and Mascarpone
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**Radiant Your Last Diet**If you want to know all about how YLD works, come join the free class that will be starting shortly. If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here **********************************************************************
**Radiant Living**Last week I did an announcement about our *topic* and then when people showed up we didn’t do it. I think this is how radiant life works...we respond to the people who are with us and define how we want to spend our time. It sure was fun. Sometimes we just get downright goofy. If you would like to join us in Radiant Living, come find us here **********************************************************************
**Healing Phases**Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
Patti introduced this concept at a YLD beginner's chat. I was so impressed with the idea, I asked her to write this week's article. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Kathleen In working through the Radiant Recovery program, working the 7 steps, the question I am pondering is: Do we work a step, get it steady, heal, and move onto the next step without having to refine or go back to the previous steps? And if we do find ourselves going back, because it isn't working any more, does that mean we are doing something 'wrong?' I don't think so; I think we come across 'healing phases,' let me explain why. I believe that as we work each of the steps there is a sort of healing 'process' that our bodies go through. Meaning in one sense that what we start out doing on that step may not work long term, we may need to adapt what we are doing according to the healing that is taking place within our body. Maybe we add exercise, or stop eating as much sugar, or there is an underlying healing 'shift' (biochemical) taking place (unseen) where our outward lives haven't changed. Let me say more about this part. I believe that our biochemistry is, as we begin/work through/ and continue on with the steps always 'shifting' towards wholeness/healthy levels. I don't think that we get to a certain step, work it for two weeks, and bam biochemistry is healed. So, sometimes when a person is working a step, and they get it stable, and then they move on to the next step to only find that the previous step may not feel as stable any more, that it is because there is a 'healing phase'(one of a shift of biochemistry) that they may need to address. So, our body 'shifts' and all of a sudden some part of what we were doing before doesn't work. Maybe we are getting hungry before our next meal, maybe the potato isn't giving us restful sleep any more, or we start feeling emotionally out of balance. Our immediate reaction has often been, 'What am I doing wrong?' Well, I don't believe that we are doing anything wrong, necessarily. If we checked, and it all looks good, and we checked in with our buds and they don't see anything either, then what does this mean? I believe it means that I simply needed to 'adjust' my program to the changes within my body (whether things such as adding exercise/limiting sugar/etc. or inward biochemical changes/shifts). For me personally this occurred when I added in a training program. I was no longer able to go 6 hours between meals (I had been able to go 6 hours for years). But, I wasn't doing anything 'wrong.' My body was definitely indeed in a place of healing more, a 'healing phase', it was a good thing - but my meal timing didn't work right any more. I was getting hungry earlier. So I adjusted my meal timing to 5 to 5.5 hours between meals and amazingly everything started working again. The more intense exercise created a 'shift' and I needed to respond to that shift. Identifying these 'shifts' or 'healing phases,' when fairly early in program can be difficult. Our beta-endorphin levels are sometimes not supportive enough yet to help us to ascertain what is happening with our recovery. For instance, let's say we are going through one of these 'healing phases,, something that was working isn't working any more - we very often become discouraged and frustrated, and then this often leads to giving up, thinking that the program just won't work for us; that somehow we are doomed to a sugar-addicted life forever. We are not. (smile) Every one of us can have the radiance that is our birthright. And one of the most important things we can do when we feel the way I described in this last paragraph is to reach out in the Radiant Recovery community and share this with our buds. There are those who have walked the path before us, who daily share their experience, strength, and hope. Those who have walked through their own 'healing phases' many times, and can help us walk through ours. Through connecting with others we can then recognize that the possibility of help exists, and we rediscover the hope we thought we had lost. **********************************************************************
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. Mosaic contributes to the Notes from the Forum column. ©2015 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://radiantrecovery.com/learn/newsletter/ |
