Hi {!firstname_fix}

Several people asked me about the song Auntie Claire is singing from ranch. Some wanted to know if we are a *Christian* site (smile). The round is called Dona Nobis Pacem. It is Latin for give us peace. The first time we sang it at ranch, we were just playing with the idea of a round and it was more melodic than Row, Row, Row your boat (smile). Claire was leading it. And something funny happened. Here were all these people groping to learn the language, stretching to learn the melody, and then working, working to sing in harmony with different timing. We spent hours. And then, something happened, it just clicked and the it was breathtaking. The sound was more than the parts. Sort of like the community (smile).

Anyway, if you want to see it and hear it, we have it on DVD from last year’s ranch. Sometimes people order that DVD and think, oh how boring, LOL. They are doing the same thing over and over. Kinda like doing the food. Then some moment, some unexpected moment and there is exquisite music.

So, no it is not about church, it is about harmony and peace. (smile)

I am deferring the depression class a week since so many of you want to do the serotonin class (and should) and didn’t want to overlap. So what is coming up is listed below. But check the schedule because I am always playing over there, LOL. And soon I am going to do a money recovery class.

The Step 4: More Intriguing Than You Think class is about that potato and those vitamins. If you think this step is a snap, you may be wrong, LOL. There is lots more to the art of the potato and this is the place to learn.

The Brain Chemistry: Serotonin Week 1 class is a perfect class for all sugar sensitive people and especially those who have dealt at all with depression. Find out *why* so you can make effective change.

The Working With Clients class is for anyone working with clients in the healing professions - therapists, CD counselors, doctors, nurses, massage therapists, coaches, you name it. Learn the art of helping other people by teaching them to do the food. This class is the introduction to a whole training program I will be developing for you.

A number of you have asked me about how the classes work. I conduct them via email through Yahoogroups, so it does not matter where you live or what time zone you are in or whether you can get to the computer at a specific time. After you register for payment, you will receive an autoresponder email from me with instructions on how to get to the class. Please be sure to click on the link in the email that will take you to Yahoo to sign up

If you come right now, sign up, then immediately return the autoresponder email to join the Yahoo group through which the class will be conducted, we can fit you in... Just click on the links above.

Also, I would like to thank all of you for your continuing input on the classes. It is VERY helpful to me and I think it means we are creating a real resource that suits your needs.

We have posted a schedule of the classes for the next month.

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

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March 28, 2005
** Quote From Kathleen **

If you want it, we have something that will change everything, everything.

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** Testimonial for the Week**


I just wanted to share with SOMEONE – and I figured that you, of all people, would be the best ones to share it with.

I'm not so worried any more because, while all of the obvious signs seem to be pointing in the opposite direction, I can feel the changes going on inside me. I can feel my body getting re-aligned, re- adjusted, re-awakened. And I love it.

I can say this because, just a few days ago, I woke up happy for the first time in years. Years. Not "happy" as in excited about something that was going to happen that day, or because of something that had happened the night before. Not a giggly, funny, ha ha happy either. Not even a conscious happy. It wasn't until I was walking out the door for work that I realized I had been smiling since I woke up. That was two hours prior. And I didn't know why, and it really didn't matter. I liked how the smile felt on my face, and I left it at that. I woke up happy, and it was amazing. I've been waking up happy since. Just feeling pleasant in the mornings. What a treat that is.

I'm so happy that, even though I've gained 6 pounds since starting SARP, I'm not upset. In the past, this would have crushed me. Not only have I gained 6 pounds, but I'm at the heaviest I've ever been. But I'm not worried. Here's why:

Not so long ago, I was deep in the midst of yet another diet. I've been on and off diets since I was 18, and have been continually on a diet for the last 3 years. Non-stop. Counting this and that, eliminating these foods, eating only other kinds of foods, points here, there and everywhere. And a few months ago, while charting up my day's intake of "allowed/allotted" food, I thought to myself that none of this was working. I was practically starving myself, and the weight wasn't moving. "What I need," I thought, "is a way to get my metabolism going." I felt that my blood was stagnant, that no matter what I ate, or didn't eat, nothing was ever going to happen. My body was like an engine that had been run without oil – gasping and sputtering, no matter what kind of fuel I pumped into it, it just wasn't going to run.

(for you gearheads out there, please pardon me if that's an incorrect analogy.)

My engine is now getting a tune up. I can feel it inside me. I can feel the good foods that I'm eating going out and repairing the broken bits inside of me. I feel like my blood is starting to "live" again, instead of flowing through me sluggishly. Yes, I've gained, but I know why. I dove off the deep end. "I'm not on a diet anymore" I thought, "I'm on a LIFE PLAN, and I can eat anything I want (as long as I have my breakfast with protein and brown/green)." So I did. And then I journalled, and didn't listen when my journal told me that the "forbidden" foods I was now indulging in were making me feel sick. Then I moved on to step three. And as I ate my 3 regular meals, with protein, brown/green, and ANYTHING ELSE I WANTED, I found that I didn't really want anything else. The chocolates, the chips, the garlic toast, they all started tasting kind of bad. I'm starting to eat less and less of them. Not because I'm saying, "no- you can't have that", because I CAN have that, if I want to. I'm not eating them because I'll pick up that next chip and get it half way to my mouth, and then put it back down. I don't WANT it. It doesn't seem appetizing. I'm FULL.

Just like being just plain happy, I haven't been just plain full in years. I've been stuffed to the gills, but not full. I've eaten so much on some occasions that I thought I'd be sick, and ten minutes later be right back at the table. Now, I'm eating smaller and smaller meals, not consciously, but almost inadvertently. I'll cook a big dinner, and halfway through, without thinking about it, put down my fork and clear it away. It won't be until I'm putting the chocolate cake back into the refrigerator that I'll notice that I DIDN'T EAT IT. I'm finding that if I really really want to eat sweets or salty things, I have to eat them first, otherwise I'll forget.

I know that for a while yet, things will be hard. My car/body is still being repaired. It will stutter and gasp and emit large clouds of ugly black smoke. What that means for the really me, I'm not sure. I'll probably gain a little more weight, or have days when I don't wake up happy, or whatever. But the main thing is that the repairs are getting started! To mix my metaphors – Rome wasn't built in a day, and I'm not going to be healed overnight. But I'm starting. Brick by brick, brown rice by chicken breast, it's getting done.

I'm curious and excited to see what happens over the next steps. What will happen when I start with the potato? I've already started to dream again – something else I haven't done in years. I still can't fully remember them, but I'm sure it will come. What will happen when I finally reach detox? Will I even need to? Or will I have just forgotten to eat all those things I used to NEED so badly. Who knows?

Anyway, sorry this has been so long. I just needed to get it out to someone who would understand.

Cate

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**Recipe of the Week**


I am co-opting Naomi this week, LOL. Our Browning Your Family Class was so exciting that we branched out into beans. Then I got all excited about beans. Last night I was reading my Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook and came across some bean info. I just love these books, LOL. That is why I carry them in the store. I love knowing *why.*
Have you ever cooked beans for hours and found they failed to soften? Chalky and tough-skinned, they might as well be raw. A few phone calls to experts and some research pointed me to the prime suspect: acid. Food scientists universally agree that high acidity can interfere with the softening of the cellulose-based bean cells, causing them to remain hard no matter how long they cook. Alkalinity, on the other hand, has the opposite effect on legumes. Alkalines make the bean starches more soluble and thus cause the beans to cook faster. (Older bean recipes often included a pinch of baking soda for its alkalinity, but because baking soda has been shown to destroy valuable nutrients, few contemporary recipes suggest this shortcut.) The effect of acids and alkalines on beans certainly explained the warnings I found in some recipes against the use of too much vinegar. Still, while it all sounded good in theory, it made little practical sense to me. Molasses is acidic, but it didn’t seem to affect the cooking of the beans in most of my tests. What I really wanted to know were the following: At what pH level would there be a negative impact on the beans? Could a splash of vinegar spoil the pot, or would it take a whole bottle? How could I relate pH levels to the everyday ingredients I might use to flavor beans?

It was time to put some beans to the acid test. I cooked four batches of small white beans in water altered with vinegar to reach pH levels of 3, 5, 7, and 9. I brought them to a boil, reduced the heat to a low simmer, and tested the beans every 30 minutes for texture and doneness. The beans cooked at a pH of 3 (the most acidic) remained crunchy and tough-skinned despite being allowed to cook 30 minutes longer than the other three batches. The beans cooked at pHs of 5, 7, and 9 showed few differences, although the 9 pH batch finished a few minutes ahead of the 7 pH batch and about 20 minutes ahead of the 5 pH batch.

Acidity, then, must be relatively high to have any significant impact on beans. I had to add a whole cup of vinegar to the pot – much more than would be reasonable in most recipes – to reach a pH of 3.

If in making a recipe and you are plagued with crunchy beans, you may have extremely hard water or a stale batch of beans. Hard water, recognizable by mineral deposits in pots and plumbing and greenish rings around the drains in porcelain tubs and sinks, contains high levels of calcium. Calcium, for reasons not yet fully understood, toughens cellulose. Your safest bet would be to use bottled water. Stale beans are impossible to detect until cooked, but it’s too late by then – they will never soften.

– M.C.


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


I am working hard at the structural changes. Should be soon. I will keep you posted. Make sure to come to chat to have input. (smile)

For those of you who are not yet YLD members, Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun.
 


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**Radiant Ambassadors**


Looking for In-Person Support? Form a Support Group in your Area!

Online support is great, but you might also be thinking that an in-person connection would be nice to have as well. Well, you’re in luck! Radiant Recovery® is starting up a new Support Group program. We have a team working right now on creating guidelines and tools to help you if you would like to get a support group up and running in your area. Here are some of the tools we will have available soon… As a support group facilitator, we expect you to handle the logistical details of your group and to stay close in contact with the Radiant Recovery community so that you have the latest information to share with your group. Currently there are a number of regional and local groups (our GEO Groups) that meet in person every so often for fun and socializing. These new support groups would provide a more formal setting to meet on a routing basis to discuss your program. This just gives you a new option for program support.

Our first group is forming now, in the St. Louis area, facilitated by Carol Moody. Contact Carol at clmoody@charter.net if you want to be part of the St. Louis group. If you are in another location and think you would like to start a group, please contact Martha at mcarnahan@mindspring.com to learn how to get started.

If you’ve been craving in-person support with your program, this will be a great option for you!

Come find us among the Online Groups


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**David's Corner **

 


Well, since Kathleen is reading, reading cookbooks, I thought I would feature those this week.
The Radiant Recovery Cookbook - clear and has lots of information beyond the recipes. It is a great tool for people starting out. And recipes for ever level of cook. A good old staple, we are nearing 2000 copies of this sold- loaded with appetizers, main courses and even desserts, I just tried the no crust pumpkin and pecan pie, yummy
America's Test Kitchen - Kathleen has been using this in her kitchen the last few weeks, some ideas she uses for herself and some are for the puppies :).
Ranch Recipes - were created by the hard work of all the liasons of Radiant Recovery - it is loaded with great recipes. Make sure to try the cedar plank salmon, one of my favorites.


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


 
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**Our Online Groups**


Hi, I'm Gretel, and I'm the volunteer liaison for the radiantrecovery group. I had been sober with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous for 13 years when I found Radiant Recovery 6 years ago. At that time I was suffering severe sugar hangovers that rivaled any I’d ever had from alcohol and was sliding into a depression. I commented one night at a meeting that I might as well go back to my drug of choice, alcohol, if I was going to feel that bad. A wise lady came up to me and suggested I might be interested in Kathleen’s book, Potatoes Not Prozac. I read it in one day, felt Kathleen was speaking directly to me, and embraced the program because I intuitively knew it would add a whole new dimension to my recovery.

The radiantrecovery list was set up as a support for people who have already given up alcohol and/or drugs or who would like to in connection with the Radiant Recovery program. We are a very warm, compassionate and caring group who have known the depths of despair that addiction brings. We are grateful for the understanding Kathleen has provided us, that our addiction is biochemically based, and for the nutritional solution she offers to help us in our recovery. We would love to have you join us.

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** Featured Topic**
Another Look at Learned Helplessness
Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.


When you get hurt as a child, you get a big beta-endorphin response to protect you. It literally kept you alive. And then as an adult you have intuitively found ways to recreate *safety* with sugar. Your body *remembers* that beta-endorphin means *safe* so you become very emotionally attached to your *comfort foods.* Sugar sensitive people are more attached to these foods, as we well know. And sugar sensitive people who have experienced childhood abuse are even more vulnerable.

But here is what is even more intriguing. The body is flooded with beta-endorphin in the time of trauma or inescapable stress. These can be bad things happening like an accident, a death, a horrid boss, abusive situations or even traumatic stimuli like having your utilities turned off or your credit taken away.

If you experienced the protection of the beta-endorphin flooding when you were little, these later adult experiences will recreate that powerful feeling of safety – even though on the outside it rationally seems as if these things are bad. You are drawn to them for the biochemical solace that comes with the release of beta endorphin.

Learned Helplessness

So even the things that seem like they are really *bad* are actually hooking into a very old biochemical pattern of beta-endorphin protection. And if bad things happen enough, you will feel (just as it did when you were little) like there is no way out. You will feel overwhelmed, inadequate and without options – this is learned helplessness.

The most incredible thing is that these feelings are biochemical. They are beta-endorphin mediated. When you use sugars, you are comforted for a little. Life seems more possible, options seems bigger. But you can’t find your way out because the optimism and hopefulness only lasts for a little bit – while the sugar induced beta-endorphin lasts. Or goes away and when you are in beta-endorphin withdrawal, the helplessness gets worse.

A Way Out

You stay in a downward spiral of hopelessness. The good news is that the Radiant Recovery#&174 plan can help you to get out of the destruction of learned helplessness. But in dealing with the bigger story, you have to make some adjustments. If you really want to be in the world in a new way, you will need to be very diligent about creating experiences to evoke the slow, healing beta-endorphin rather than the quick spikes that come from sugar.

When you start getting better with the food, you reduce the priming from sugar. This is a good start. But unless you *add in* emotional experiences to recreate beta-endorphin (like EXERCISE, prayer, meditation, dancing, puppies, kittens, good sex (relational intimacy), good food, etc.), your body will be seeking, seeking something to re-activate the beta-endorphin *safety* which you connect to being okay.

You will drift back to old patterns which mirror the trauma. So you will pick a fight with a cop ;-), your husband, partner or mother. You will *forget* to pay your bills on time, you will double book appointments, or not pay your taxes. This is NOT a function of being screwed up so much as an unconscious attempt to find solace and safety. Unless you reform the patterns, learned helplessness will follow you tenaciously. And you reform the brain patterns by changing the food.

Take care of the food and the rest will take care of itself

©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.