Venus rising on a deep blue night with the words Radiant Recovery superimposed on it
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Feb 23, 2020, 
 
Hi {!firstname_fix}, 
    I was sitting at my desk this morning and heard a sound like a little snare drum. I looked out the window and realized there was hail falling. It lasted for about 30 seconds and dropped thousands of tiny white balls. All the birds disappeared. Five minutes later, the hail is gone and the birds are flocking to the feeders. Just a moment in time. It really moved me. Where did all the birds go?
    I have been thinking a lot these days. What is it we are doing here? Why do people come, why do they stay? Why do they leave? Radiant Recovery® is not about healthy eating. We are healing addiction. This means accepting that it has ruled our lives, wanting something different, being willing to do what it takes to change, and then hanging in there. Over and over and over.
    Addiction is a black vortex.Like a tornado, it pulls everything into it to destroy it. You cannot outsmart it, you cannot love it out of someone. Doing the food is an antidote. Doing the steps takes us through one layer at a time. Getting steady, restoring hope, supporting willingness, over and over. And doing this in a community helps to reinforce and stay with it when things get hard. There is more going on here than meets the eye. I am glad you are here.
 
   
 
Support for Your Program
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COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
                                                                                         Conversations are grouped into topics so you can search for something you are interested in and join in, or you can start a new topic. This discussion is held on a list at our host service.

People are talking, bring your questions and ideas!.It is nice place to get started if you are new to the community and are wondering what to do. Join it now.

 

GROUPS
The groups list is up on the web site. Just sign up for the group you would like to join. Read about the group before you ask to join.
 
CLASSES
We do classes in several ways. Some classes are done right on the lists and there is no added charge for them. Some classes are done separately a couple of times a year.   We will announce any classes here in the newsletter.
 
RANCH
This a time to learn how to the do the program in a way that you can get nowhere else. The dates will be May 15-16-17. If you go over to register and get confused that it says it is free, click on the drop down box to determine how to pay. Email me if you have any questions.
 
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK
If you prefer talking on Facebook, come over to one of our three groups there. Radiant Recovery®, Radiant Recovery® International or Radiant Recovery® Germany  
 
WORKING WITH KATHLEEN 
Coaching is a special offering for people who are serious about enhancing their programs and would like to have ongoing coaching. Kathleen personally runs the coaching groups.This is not a class but is a process to support your progress. We have added a special chat for people in coaching. It meets twice a week to accommodate those who are in Greenwich Mean Time and those who are in USA time.
    Coaching includes several options now: Return to Radiance Coaching for those who have done the steps in the past and then drifted and would like to get back on track. Skilled Coaching is for people who are steady on the steps and ready to work on Step 7 life skills.  
    If you wish to join sign up for coaching and then we can talk about which section to join.
 
Sign up for group coaching
 
    I also provide individual intensive coaching called Signature Coaching.  It can help you step out of the craziness of sugar addiction, return to steadiness and clarity after slipping away, slow down and focus on your recovery, or deepen a steady rhythm of recovery.
    This is a 3 month process that includes doing an in-depth assessment of where you are in the process, designing an individual plan for you and then meeting once a week via phone or Skype to work on your progress.
     This is the way to step out of feeling overwhelmed with where to start and what to do. Because it is so individualized, we can work on what is right for you at this point in your journey.  People tell me that coaching helps them feel safe and focused. We work with your style, your rhythm. This is a unique opportunity to release your fear and let go of shame.The guidance can shorten and ease your process so that in 3 months you will do what you might take a year to do on your own. Signature coaching is also an excellent way to tackle any special needs you may have. like wanting to get sober, or dealing with insulin resistance, or special medical concerns.
 
Sign up for Signature Coaching
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"You are telling your body it is important. You are noticing what you are eating and what you are feeling."
 
Testimonial of the Week

    I was thinking about this early this morning....

    I can remember how everything just felt so hopeless and overwhelming when I first started this program. Even the smallest of things would send me into a spiral, down, down, down. Or maybe something would happen like not being able to get the lawn mower started and I'd go in the house ranting and raving, grab me some sweets, and decide life wasn't worth living. Ya. Wow. My life is so different now. For instance....

    I found out yesterday that my son, who just got back from Iraq is going to be able to come down and see me on his way to CA, but he can only be here next week from Tues through Thurs. Well, I was supposed to show up for jury duty selection and work both Tuesday and Wednesday. I imagine in the past I would have not been able to work on a solution and then not have time with my son and end up all pissy and depressed. Not now.

    I called the court person and left a message on her voice mail explaining the situation and asking to be excused from appearing for jury selection this coming week. She called me back and said, no problem, you got it.

    Then I talked with my manager to see if I could flex off on Tues and work Sunday, but they didn't need anyone for Sunday. Okay, plan two, I had a couple of personal vacation days and asked if I could put in for them. So I got Wed. off as a personal vacation day and put in for Tuesday. And my manager and Unit manager said that if it didn't go through they could push it through for me.

    So I will have three days with my son who has been in Iraq the past year.

    Instead of curling into a ball of tears, eating tons of sweets, figuring life was unfair, whining, and all the things I used to do, I simply looked for and found solutions. :) And get this too, if it couldn't have been worked out I still would not have whined. I would have been able to trust that it wasn't in the Divine plan and let it go and spend the evenings with my son.

    I am such a different person now, and this is just one piece that has changed. But it's a big one for me.

    I wanted to share it here. Because I got to thinking...you may feel "it's just breakfast", or "it's just the journal"..."it's just three meals"..."it's just a potato"...."it's just browns"..."it's just no sugar"....but....

    It is SO much more. It is creating the miracle inside of you; creating a life transformed beyond your wildest dreams.

    Just had to share. It is still amazing to me. In fact, reminds me of a song I wrote  titled "It's Amazing." Here's the chorus:

 

It's amazing, it's amazing, it's truly amazing where my life has brought me to,

It's amazing, it's amazing, it's truly amazing what recovery can do,

It'll give you hope where there once was none,

And a radiant soul to shine on everyone,

It's truly amazing what recovery can do!

 

Patti
 

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David, my oldest son, runs our store. He makes sure your orders go out quickly and works with you to find the best things suited to where you are in your process. 

Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. I am putting Restore in again because you got so excited about it.

 

Come visit our STORE. Call 505-345-3737.
George's Restore
Order George's® Restore
Here is that George's® Restore again. It is our flagship product for a reason. Nothing artificial in it. Whey protein isolate made from cows raised in New Mexico. Some milk protein concentrate to add a unique and fresh flavor. The taste is incredible. People are shocked at the flavor. Try it and you will never be satisfied with any other protein powder again.
 
Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think
Your Last Diet Book Cover

 When should you join YLD?  Anytime you want to be able to talk about losing weight. You DON'T have to be on step 7 to join us. We soon will be talking about the gene codes that determine whether you will be a slow loser or a fast loser and what to do about it. And ironically, it is NOT just for people who want to lose weight. It really is for anyone wanting to real time connection and problem solving every week. Nothing like it!

 There is a lifetime membership fee of $99 to join YLD. This means if you go away for 5 years to try all sorts of other things that don't work and come back, you still have a membership and a great welcome!

 

If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here.  
 
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Structure as Antidote to Blind Lurching

by Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD

 

    

Many people come to Radiant Recovery saying they are already doing most of the steps and just need to add a potato. I often suggest they get a copy of the talk I did at ranch in 2007 about what else is embedded in the steps. That discussion goes through each step and outlines the biochemical changes encoded in each step. But there is another key issue  one I havent really talked about. Structure antidotes blind lurching.

    When we are in active addiction, it is as if we lose our center and we stop being grounded. We lurch from one thing to another. Maybe from diet to diet, job to job, person to person, place to place or interest to interest. We have 6 knitting and crafts projects going on. We present ourselves as creative and curious, liking to try new things. We collect little things like office supplies or pens in case we need them. We lurch and resist being pinned down.

    We might say that structure ties us down, thwarts our creativity. Structure seems dull and old fashioned. It seems routine and boring and who would want to do that. Nowhere in our brain have we thought of our behavior as lurching. We never really thought that a little of this and a little of that might be saying something about our sugar addiction.

    Why is it that we dream big and stay small? Why is it that those sparks of insight and knowing sputter and fade rather than bursting into our passionate flame?

    My hunch is that we have avoided the gift of structure. We havent considered that structure, doing things in an intentional order, might actually shape us. And it might change the lurching to intention. If you do this, you will get this result.

    Now think about that. For so many years, we have worked how to forget the consequence of our actions. We forget that if we eat sugar, or skip meals we get cranky and unpleasant. We forget that we lose direction and we lurch. We forget a lot.

    So when we have structure, we stop lurching and we do not lose direction. Even early on in the program, when we are still forgetting because of our biochemistry, the structure itself guides us. The steps, those funny steps led us into intention. They guide us with if you do this, you will change. If you do these steps, you will have a life you cannot imagine. Everything will shift. And it will shift in ways beyond anything you have considered.

    Now, many of you may feel that this is simply talk. It is not. We now have enough people who are doing the steps for a long enough time that it is really, really clear that there is a developmental pattern that emerges very predictably over time. The promises we make happen.

    The steps are bigger than the food. Dont think of changing them. Do them, do them and get the miracle.

 

Warmly,

Kathleen

 
 
©2020 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your blog 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 for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. 

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