Venus rising on a deep blue night with the words Radiant Recovery superimposed on it
Last of the peppers
Feb 6, 2021,
 
Hi {!firstname_fix}, 
     This is a picture of my preschool in Tucson, Arizona in maybe 1948. I was 3. I am the little one on the far right.  What I remember is they served ratatouilles for lunch day and I refused to eat it. They told me I could not get up from the table until I ate it. I sat there until it was time to go home. I remember the white painted table and the white painted bench. I didn't have a temper tantrum, I just would not eat that stuff.  I love that little girl who cared about what she ate.  I remember the little white shoes as well.
    It's funny, but I have been thinking about what shaped me and how I got to be who I am today. Maybe it has been too long in the house, maybe sorting old photos, but it is fun to make connections and watch the thread weave itself up through my life.
      Yes, I got the two Step Two classes set up. Just look under LEARN and then Classes [Steps] to find them. Would love to have you. We haven't done a class since the start of COVID. feels good to get back to it. If you are new and don't know how a class will work, check over on the page for an in-depth description,  We will get to the brain chemical classes next.
    I will. be doing a follow up to Ranch 2020 on the 20th of February. Check in on the Ranch list for details.
Support for Your Program
Journals
Do Not skip this section even if you have read it before. I am putting surprises in.
 
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
                                                                                   

We have a master community email list. It is nice place to get started if you are new to the community or are coming back and are wondering what to do.  Introduce yourself and ask for help. Or just listen. We won't mind. The community is made up of a huge number of introverts which means LISTENING is held in high esteem. We will direct you to the right spot for your questions. It's fine if you know nothing, just stop in and you will be welcomed 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. If you are starting or returning, join the Step One list. Don't join Step One and Step Two and Step Three all at the same time. If you. have any trouble joining, send me an email at kathleen@radiantrecoverycom and we will get you all set.
 
CLASSES
I am going to be doing a split class on journaling. I will do it on Zoom and in an io group so you can actually see examples of journals. Level one will be for people starting on journal (steps 2-5) and Level 2 will be for people who are steady with their program and ready to do interpretation. Each Level will start with the Zoom live discussion and then we will spend time in a group email discussion learning the skills.
 
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK
If you prefer talking on Facebook, come over to one of our groups there. Radiant Recovery®,or  Radiant Recovery® International or 
 
WORKING WITH KATHLEEN 
People have been asking for a long time how they might be able to work with me directly. We wanted to set up something that was accessible and affordable so we designed a system of coaching that seems to be working well. If you are serious about enhancing your program and would like to have ongoing coaching, this might be a good option. Support is provided in a small group with people who are looking at similar concerns.  I am in each coaching group. This is not a class but is a process to support your progress. The process includes peer support with my  guidance and direction.
    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. This is a good place to plug in if you have gotten wobbly and would like to restart your program.
Skilled Coaching is for people who are steady on the steps and ready to work on Step 7 life skills.  
 
The fee for these three coaching options is $20 @ week, billed in 2 week intervals.  If you wish to join coaching send an email and say what you are interested in and why.
 
I am interested in coaching
 
    I also provide individual one on one intensive coaching called Signature Coaching.  I 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 particular option is especially helpful if you did the steps a while ago and then kinda meandered away. Or if you are facing some intense times and would. like skillful support. 
    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 talking with me once a week via phone or Zoom to work on your progress. You will learn to do an efficient journal and to identify your strengths and challenges.
     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 integrating doing the food with special medical concerns.
    And in fact, we have developed some creative personalized plans especially suited to where people are in the program and what will work best to support them.You can go here to learn more about it.  Call 505-345-3737 if you would like to chat. 
 
Sign up for Signature Coaching
 
 
"Your cells will ALWAYS remember your touch of radiance. It is not like you have to find it. It is already there. You came in with it. Your unbalanced food covered it. But it is waiting.."
 
 

 

Testimonial for the Week

 

I would first like to thank you Kathleen for putting on this class. I personally got one of the answers I was looking for in Lesson 1 in regards to how long one could take to go through the process. I had originally rushed it and learned my lesson but didn't know how slow "slow" was. I was starting to enjoy being on Step 1 a bit too much! A small amount of self-discipline in the morning and then the rest of day was a free for all food wise.

 

I am now back on track journaling every day. I am finding the very act of writing down what I'm eating modifies the way I eat. I am moving toward Step 3 every day. Would I be correct in thinking that Step 3 is one of the most important Steps? I say this because I have a parent who has a definite problem with sugar but who has always had three consistent meals a day and doesn't seem to have suffered from it as I have.

 

I am REALLY looking forward to the next few months and the changes I will go through. I have been "off" sugars and whites in the past but there was always something missing. I believe the missing key is in this approach.

 

One thing I have done is copied and printed out Kathleen's Lessons from this course so that I now have an eight-page booklet to refer to when I'm not sure where I'm going and why. The books are great, but as someone wise said, we SS'ers tend to "gloss over stuff" so already I'm finding it a great summary and an easy read!

 

Thanks to all you fellow classmates for your comments and questions. I learned a lot from you. Thanks again Kathleen, I feel my money was well spent.

 

Eric

 

 
Chicken and Apples
Image

A savory, belly-warming meal with chicken and rice.

  • Prep: 30 mins
  • Cook: 20 mins
  • Yields: 8 servings
You can make this in the over, in a slow cooker or an all-one pot. It is totally delicious. If you make the full recipe, you will have enough for lunch later.
Go To Recipe
Radiant Recovery Store
David Smiling
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 featuring the Cookbook this week because I am not really a cook, but I actually LOVE using this one. First of all I like the recipes. They are simple, and easy to follow and the dishes come out great. But even more I love all the "extra" information in here that you will not find in any other cookbook. If you are trying to do the program, this is a great guide.Here is a small list of a few of the many things on the cookbook:

  • How to set up a vegetarian food plan
  • How to convert your daily allotment of protein grams to ounces of food
  • Designing Menus that work for you

Come visit our STORE. Call 505-345-3737.
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$16.99

Get the Cookbook
Your Last Diet: A Surprise Awaiting
Your Last Diet Book Cover

Even more exciting is what is happening with chats.  I love the questions and answers that are coming out from that chat. They are so helpful. Wednesday evening continues to be the highlight of my week. Last week we tried really hard to *work* but we started having so much fun, it was hard to stay on task. It is pretty amazing to think how far we have come. Chats used to be serious stuff. People were anxious and overwhelmed by being fat. We no longer feel that way. We have a solution that we know works. Our task has become simply to help people stay focused on the doing. 

 

I did post a instruction sheet for how to get to chat. It is in the files at the YLD email list online.

 

If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. 
balanced stones
 

Why You Are Having a Hard Time

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

 

 

The past couple of weeks have been difficult. Everyone I know has felt flat and sort of numb. I heard about forgetting stuff, feeling edgy and hypervigilant, feeling immobilized, having a hard time with sleep, anxiety and feeling just sort of checked out. The fact that so many were having such similar experiences really struck me.

 

As I sat and thought about it, I realized that this is way deeper than personal struggling. I began to hear the same story, spoken in different ways and the more I listened the more I began to sense that something bigger is happening. I believe that we have been experiencing cultural post traumatic stress disorder.

 

Jan 6 was a big deal. I think it rocked us more than we ever imagined. Now a few weeks ago someone asked why a list had gone quiet. I answered that I believed it was an insurrection and an inauguration. It actually was sort of a factual reply. I thought we were on overload. I got an email from someone who did the "how dare I talk about POLITICS" on a site designed to talk about food lecture, and then went on to tell me all the horrible things that would happen to me.

 

This week, I decided I would speak about this directly.The story is actually isn't about politics at all. It is about the deepest level of WHY we do the program, why we work so hard to step out of addiction, into recovery and stay there. The story here is not just about "getting off of sugar" but is so much bigger. At its deepest it is about learning to hold intense feelings, and not use or do things to numb our pain and discomfort.

 

As sugar sensitive people, we feel more deeply. Watching someone be beaten to death is a big deal for us because we experience it on a cellular level. And for those of us who have been doing the program longer, we feel it even more deeply.

 

When I reference the idea that we have been struggling with cultural post traumatic stress I am giving words to a reality that you may not even understand or know about.  I have studied PTSD for more than 30 years. I developed the Safe Place CD as a way to help with it. I learned about the biochemistry of it and what will help to heal it.

 

I want to speak of this now so that you know it is not just  a personal discombobulation you are feeling. It has been too much, too fast and we have not been able to catch up. I want to give you some practical ideas for healing.

 

Here are some ideas:

 

1) Do the food. At whatever level you are in the process, work from there. If you are on Step One, work on one part of Step One. If you were on Step Seven and you wobbled around, go back to Step One and rebuild one layer at a time.

 

2) Journal. Journal even if you haven't bothered to before. Write down times, include amounts, pay attention to intervals. Notice your feelings, if if you are tired, flat, edgy. If you don't know how to journal, take the journal classes.

 

3) Be realistic about what you are able to do. I decided to commit to doing one thing a day. I started a list so I could see that in fact I was not just sitting and staring into the moonlight. The list help to get me into. motion.  

 

4) I started putting joy dots into my food journal. Joy dots go right into the amygdala which is where PTSD lives. It feels as if joy dots soften the brittleness of the trauma.  If you don't know what joy dots are or how they work, ask on any list. The old timers will chime in and give you a sense of it.

 

5) Come to chat. We are talking about these things. Sharing helps. It makes it feel less personal.

 

We can heal. Connection helps.

 

 

 "If you are going to be with a person in a dark hole, take a ladder and a lantern." the steps are the ladder and our humor and perspective is the lantern. You are not alone. Grace is unfolding.
©2021 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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