The Brick Magazine - November 2020

BRICK

THE

NOVEMBER 2020

MAGAZINE

ANN ARBOR

THE MOCKTAIL REVOLUTION ODE TO MY DAUGHTER

PLUS! MAKING YOUR HOME "WORK" DURING CHALLENGING TIMES

Jenine Howard

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

S P IN N IN G T H READS I NTO

The fabric of our old lives is unraveling.

Yet, somewhere deep inside, hope whispers of new possibilities.

We’re being called upon to weave a new normal out of our old threads.

Enjoy a Complimentary Coaching Session as a gift to yourself!

Together, we can spin those threads into gold.

Maria Sylvester, MSW, CPC Life Empowerment Coaching, LLC 1785 W. Stadium, Suite 104 | Ann Arbor, Mi 48103 | 734.717.7532

www.LifeEmpowermentCoaching.com

THE

BRICK MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER 2020

Publisher • Sarah Whitsett

Managing Editor • Tanja MacKenzie

Art Director • Jennifer Knutson

Copy Editor • Angelina Bielby

Marketing Director • Steve DeBruler

Photographer • Emily Rose Imagery

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Contributors >>

Liz Crowe Morella Devost Tiffany Edison

Beth Johnston Mikki Moscara

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Lisa Profera Maria Sylvester Marji Wisniewski

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The Brick Magazine, LLC 734.221.5767 Email: office@thebrickmagazine.com Visit us on the web at thebrickmagazine.com

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CONTENTS 6

The Mocktail Revolution

10

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work with Jenine Howard

16

Ode to My Daughter

18

For Personal & Planetary Thriving

When Gratitude Feels Syrupy

20

Gratitude for Sacred Safe Spaces

23

Gratitude for Flowers and Clouds: A Lesson from Caring for My Mother

26

Making Your Home "Work" During Challenging Times

28

Can a Little THC Help Me?

The Brick Magazine >>

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4 | The Brick Magazine

www.emilyroseimager y.com

Life. Business. Captured.

www.ericreativemedia.com

Welcome to (UN)Booze 101 with

Liz

The Mocktail Revolution

by Liz Crowe

Photo by Drew Farwell

6 | The Brick Magazine

I

’ve had a bit of an epiphany of late, with regard to our monthly chats here in Brick Mag. It occurs to me that I’m being a touch exclusionary. I mean, not all of you drink alcohol, I assume. And here I am prattling away as if we all enjoy the same level of tolerance—mine being one that I’m simultaneously proud of and embarrassed about.

Given the events of the past nine months, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of you former semi- or complete teetotalers changed your ways.* For those of us lucky to be able to make such a decision, we are choosing to go in different directions. Me? I’m cutting back because of “empty calories,” and I need no help in that area. But also, I take my research quite seriously, and so for that past few weeks I’ve ventured into the ever-expanding world of what we Gen X types used to call “mocktails” and are now known as “Sober Curious Drinks.”

Clever, that. Never mind that most of us fully realize what being sober feels like.

Nomenclature aside, these days you can find all sorts of fun recipes for drinks to enjoy or share with your sociallydistanced friends that go well beyond the Shirley Temple or the Virgin Daiquiri. A lot of this is thanks to dedicated creative types who’ve gone well outside the bartender’s comfort zone recipe of ice, booze, additional liquid (preferably fizzy), and maybe some limp fruit or an olive (probably not).

If you managed to venture into a bar** prior to March 16th or so this year, you probably found yourself faced with a stunning array of options, drinks-wise. Never mind the five hundred beer taps and seven hundred wine bottles—you now have two completely different cocktail menus: “Traditional or Classic” (see above) and “HouseMade” or “Specialties” or (shudder) “Craft.”

Now don’t get me wrong, when I was faced with this back in The Before Times, I was known to freeze up and go with gin and tonic or an old-fashioned, just to see if those still got the same attention as the ones that took twenty minutes, six different tincture bottles, fire, and a sprig of fresh-cut, non-GMO greenery to create. But a quick check back at the Liz Archives will show you that I also enjoyed sampling some of the whackier ideations of our local mixologists (the milk-washed mescal springs to mind). And we can thank all that bartender creativity with the super cool tonics, washes, vinegars, shrubs, kombuchas, bitters, and whatnots for the current delicious state of the Mocktail Revolution.

There are brands that have capitalized on this, of course.

Curious Elixirs is an online shop full of options that are sugar-free. They’re pre-mixed and come with some fairly lofty recommendations from the Wall Street Journal and other serious media places. I can tell you right now that they are delicious, and you can choose based on your favorite flavor profile: Negroni, Dark & Stormy, French 75, the super trendy Aperol Spritz, etc. I went with the sample box and can attest that they’re super yummy and satisfying, if a little pricey.

Another buzzy company cashing in on our new Sober Curiosity is Kin Euphorics. These folks take the whole alcohol-free drink and jack it up a notch by saying their drinks are designed to relax the spirit and elevate the body—or maybe vice versa. But either way, they have created a serious alcohol-free culture with their products, with a bar out on the West Coast and everything. Their website makes me want to do power yoga, have a vigorous massage, and then drink one, but I’m a sucker for great packaging (as we have already established).

The company acknowledges that “drinking” is one of the world’s oldest traditions and they claim to “bliss up the cup” of said world. I’m still waiting for my shipment of High Rhode, which I’m told contains notes of earthy florals, tart citrus, and warming spice, that I can drink straight from the bottle, pour over ice, or mix with… oh, right. Sorry.

Anyway, a visit to their website is worth the time spent.

I love any site that asks me how I really feel before recommending one of their three options: the Kin Spritz (for your seltzer lovers), the High Rhode, and something they call Dream Light, which might replace melatonin for all you insomniacs out there.

Seedlip is the only company that makes a liquid marketed as a “nonalcoholic spirit.” It’s actually distilled by macerating herbs and botanicals in neutral grain spirit and water, putting each one through a copper-pot distillation, then removing the alcohol before blending and bottling.

Again, the packaging is top-level gorgeous, and it’s been around a few years now, so it’s no flash in the pan. I grabbed a bottle of Seedlip Spice 94, one of their three options, via special order. You can’t order directly from them unless you’re reading this while sitting in England, but many stores will get it for you at your request and many stores in large cities have it in stock.

Seedlip Spice 94 is made of allspice, cardamom berries, and "bark" (whatever that means), but it's a luxuriously complex beverage that I topped with club soda in order to

November 2020 | 7

appreciate it more or less purely, with some carbonation. One recipe I also tried from their website was the “Panoma,” which had the Spice, a bit of fresh grapefruit, fresh lime, simple syrup, and club soda, and it was knock-your-socks off delish.

Their other two options are Garden 108, which is gin-style aromatic, and the Grove 42, which is ginger/lemongrass and orange citrus. I highly recommend the Spice, and once I can locate the others I’m going to add them to my liquor cabinet for when I want something non-alcoholic at happy hour that’s nicer than 7-Up and cherry juice.

olfo Photo by Riccardo And

Pomegranate Negroni This drink I found is made of stuff that’s relatively easy to locate without a long web-based or liquor specialty store search that would be perfect for Thanksgiving this year. It’s called the Pomegranate Negroni: INGREDIENTS •

200ml pomegranate juice

•

2 tsp Montmorency cherry concentrate

•

Ice cubes

•

3 good dashes of Angostura bitters

•

A twist of orange peel

METHOD Pour the pomegranate juice and cherry concentrate into a tumbler of ice, then stir well before shaking in the Angostura bitters. The drink should have a bittersweet tang, so add more Angostura if needed.

Twist the orange peel on top of the drink to release the oils. The cherry concentrate gives an extra layer but isn’t essential. However, I recommend keeping the cherry concentrate in the fridge as a sugar-free cordial. It’s also delicious with hot water.

8 | The Brick Magazine

One more company worth mentioning is Surreal Brewing. This is a brewery that only makes non-alcoholic (NA) beer in Campbell, California. I haven’t been lucky enough to try any of their options yet, but their story and products are fascinating. They chose an alcoholfree life after the wife side of the husband-and-wife team survived breast cancer, but were not terribly impressed with the NA beer options available in 2018, so they decided to brew their own. The rest is a success story that includes multiple World Beer Awards and Championship awards for their flagship Chandelier Red IPA. If you look at their cans and their website, you’d figure them for just another california craft, but they are definitely not. They’ve moved to the top of my beer and travel bucket list for sure.

In the name of mocktails, sober-curious, zero-proof, spirit-free, and guilt-free drinking, I can also recommend adding aromatic bitters to juice. Mind you, they do contain alcohol, but are typically used in such minuscule quantities that you can still feel all of the above, plus virtuous.

Whether you’re being alcohol virtuous or not, it’s always fun to see what the creatives are doing with drinks—and some of these companies are definitely doing things with drinks that are worth a try.

Cheers and stay safe, *I am not speaking to those of you who suffer from alcoholism. I may be flippant about booze, but I watched a family member drink themselves to death quite literally, so I do not joke about that. I realize that it’s a disease, and one that must be treated by whatever means the sufferer deems necessary, so please, don’t think that I’m speaking to you. If you suffer from it, I wish you all the healing strength in the known universe. **By “bar” I mean someplace where the minimum drinks price is $15 and you don’t call them bartenders, they are “mixologists.”

Amazon best-selling author, mom of three, brewery founder, craft beer marketing consultant, and avid sports fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales, public relations, and fundraising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse, all of which provide ongoing idea fodder for novels and other projects. www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor (fan page) www.twitter.com/ETLizCrowe

“it has to be more than pretty; it must be livable” REFLECT YOU R L IFE STY L E . www.birchdesignassociates.com RES I D ENTI AL • COMMERCI AL

November 2020 | 9

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work with Jenine Howard

by Marji Wisniewski

Photo by Emily Rose Imagery

10 | The Brick Magazine

B

efore our interview, all I knew about Jenine Howard was that she was the wife of UM basketball's head coach, Juwan Howard. To find out more, I started with checking out her social media profile; I was instantly intrigued. Jenine doesn’t define herself as Juwan Howard’s wife (even though they make an awesome team). She has many diverse passions and plays many roles in her life. As she begins to write her next chapter here in Ann Arbor, she’s looking forward to discovering herself even more.

Mother / Life Partner / Creative / Truth Seeker / Fashion Enthusiast Cancer Crusader / Cliff Jumper / Island-Made / Brooklyn-Raised Singer / Writer / Business Owner / Philanthropist

I

’m sitting here surrounded by boxes and to-do lists — a familiar feeling for me, as we’ve moved many times. My husband, Juwan Howard, was in the NBA for 19 years. He played for eight different teams, some more than once. In 2019, Juwan became head coach for the University of Michigan men’s basketball team. We are only now getting settled into our Ann Arbor home. Last year I stayed in Miami with our two sons, Jace (19) and Jett (17), while Jace finished his senior year.

Right now, I’m focused on unpacking and making this house feel like home. Being that it’s mid-September, I’m already googling apple orchards in the area. I can’t wait to pick apples, see the fall colors, and breathe in the crisp fall air. I want to fully immerse myself in all the things that Michigan has to offer. I’m looking forward to experiencing fall and winter in a new climate.

I do miss my family in Florida, but I’m excited for what lies ahead here. I wake up each day reflecting and giving thanks. I reflect on the excitement I feel to see Juwan back at Michigan (he was part of the Michigan Fab Five in 1991). I’m excited to be part of this tradition. I love that I get to see Jace play for his dad’s team, to see his games, and see him get to know and embrace his teammates. I’m going to be the biggest cheerleader, not just for my husband and my son, but for the entire team.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK The Howard family mantra is “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Juwan had a painting commissioned by RETNA, an artist out of California who uses a secret language to express his art. You cannot tell with the naked eye what the painting says, but it reflects our family’s values.

When Michigan hired Juwan, he repeatedly said that “it’s all about family.” That’s even more true this year, as Jace is playing for his dad as part of the recruiting class of 2020.

Since childhood, Jace’s dream has been to play for the University of Michigan. Early on he was recruited here for football, but over time, basketball became his passion. Being recruited by Michigan to play is an amazing opportunity for him. He’s navigating his way on Michigan’s campus as an athlete and plans to study international business. He speaks Mandarin and wants to travel the world. He has always been pretty focused in life. I’m excited to see what he gives himself and what he does with his time here.

Our son, Jett, could potentially be playing for his dad one day as well. He’s a beautiful contrast to his brother Jace — he’s more like his Mama, dancing to his own tune. He is not a follower. He loves Michigan, but he’s keeping his options open and has not committed to any situation. In his junior year of high school, he wants to play the game and make his own legacy. Jett knows himself well, and he wasn’t excited about moving to a new city for his junior

November 2020 | 11

year. He opted to go to a prep school and stay in Florida.

He will play on a national basketball team competing against other teams across the country.

RESTLESS BUT HOPEFUL As a mom, I love my sons’ independent spirits and passion for adventure. But I also love having them home with me.

When they’re out, I can’t sleep until I know they’re safe at their destination. Regardless of the privileged lifestyle that Jace and Jett have grown up with, they are still young Black men. There’s a different conversation that needs to be had about if or when they get pulled over when they’re driving.

A few years back, Jace and I were pulled over in Miami by five police cars with sirens blaring. One officer approached Jace’s side of the car with his hand on his gun. They told us that we had run a stop sign. It was petrifying. These are real things that happen. Not saying they do not happen to other people, but as an African American family, it’s something we must continuously discuss and prepare for.

The climate of the world right now saddens me. The racial divisiveness saddens me. Raising Black sons comes with a unique set of fears that I’m not sure is as prevalent in other American families. I feel like we are going backwards instead of forward. At the same time, part of me feels like this needed to happen. We needed to shake things up so that we could have the awareness to address certain things and implement changes. We need to raise our collective consciousness for all the issues we’ve been sweeping under the rug.

I believe in reaching out and having tough conversations with others of differing opinions. I encourage us to listen to people from different parties and different socioeconomic backgrounds. I think we all care about our kids and want the best for our families. We have so much more in common than what seemingly separates and divides us.

I also encourage people to take this November election seriously and vote. Not just vote in the general election, but also in our communities for our judges and local representatives. This is where we’ll start seeing some effective change.

ROOTS AND WINGS

Photo by Emily Rose Imagery

12 | The Brick Magazine

I am the second of four girls. My father was an airline pilot who, much like Juwan, moved us around a lot. I think that

may be why I’m able to adapt fairly quickly, even to the David Lewis by Emily Rose Imagery point of craving change. Wherever we were or whatever life threw our way, my parents taught us to stick together, and I’ve always felt grounded in love.

and operated my own medical spa for seven years, and I still own a CBD company. The opportunity to create music is still there, as it’s my nature to be creative.

THE NBA Juwan and I have a blended family of seven, and we’re very proud that our kids are extremely close. We always stress to them that when we’re gone, their sibling relationships will become the most meaningful. It’s important to nurture those bonds for the generations to follow.

My parents were both born in Aruba by chance. Their parents had migrated there from Grenada in the 1940s; the job opportunities at the oil refinery attracted families from all over the Caribbean. When the refinery closed, my father’s family moved back to Grenada and my mother’s family moved to Brooklyn, New York. Years later, they met while in Grenada and married. They stayed in the Caribbean and my father took a job as a pilot with a commuter airline.

When I was five, our family moved to Brooklyn. The part of Brooklyn where we were raised was a melting pot of the Caribbean. I was able to absorb many aspects of Caribbean culture there; I am deeply passionate and proud of my Caribbean roots.

I graduated high school from a performing arts school in Manhattan as a theater major. But it was actually singing that had always come naturally to me. My mom was a singer in the 1960s Motown era; her group was called The Lollipops. She toured all over Europe and performed in shows with The Jackson Five. She also performed at the Apollo Theater. My most cherished memories are of my mom singing around our house on Sunday mornings. I grew up around the greatest voice.

Right out of high school, I was offered a recording contract with Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony Records. I felt like I had made it. I chose a college near the recording studio and recorded an entire album with my music group Onome, Nigerian for “My Own.” Unfortunately, our album was shelved and then the label dropped us. The group split up, but it allowed me to pursue music on my own. I was recording a solo album when Juwan and I fell in love.

I don’t know how my life would have turned out had the album been a success. I believe that little snag gave me the opportunity to be creative in many other ways. I opened

Juwan and I met in his second year in the NBA. We moved around a lot; it was tough, especially with the kids.

When we first got married, he said that he’d only play for ten years. Ten years later, he still wanted to win a championship. That turned into him saying, “They’re going to have to kick me out, I want to win a ring.”

I love the game. But I never loved the lifestyle; there was a bit of a dark side to the NBA. I did, however, make some good friends along the way who were in the same position as us. It was a sisterhood of players’ wives to cling to; they understood what I was going through, as they were going through the same things. It was a language only we spoke. We formed tight bonds and our kids grew up together.

When we got to Miami, Juwan had been with the NBA for 17 years. I thought he’d lost his mind, as he was still playing the game nearly twice as long as he said he would, but there were chances to win a championship there in Miami. I felt if he could win, then he would retire. He had worked hard and had an amazing career. He had been the rookie, the franchise player, and then the guy that comes off that bench last. He ran the gamut of every opportunity.

What else could he possibly want?

So, when we won the first ring, I assumed that was it. But then he worked towards a second ring. During that time, I noticed that he was not playing as much on the court, but being valued more as a mentor to the younger players.

That’s when I saw his passion start to shift.

19 years after the start of his career, he became a player’s coach and then an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. I admit that when he took the assistant coaching job, it hurt me. I won’t sugarcoat that fact. By then, I wanted nothing to do with the NBA anymore. 70-80% of marriages to NBA members fail after the players retire. My thought was that we should salvage what we had left and get the hell out of there. I wanted to ride off into the sunset as a family to some little corner of the earth.

But I saw a different spark in him, a different energy. He

November 2020 | 13

really enjoys teaching the game.

So I supported him, begrudgingly at first. Soon, however, we took on this new challenge together.

He went into coaching, and other NBA teams started calling him. I began to realize we would most likely be moving again, which felt like a lot. When The University of Michigan called, there was spark in his eyes. He had never entertained coaching on a college level, but I knew he would take the Michigan job if the opportunity were right; I could tell by the look on his face. He came home that night and said, “I think this is my calling, to mentor young men. I was mentored and this is what I’m supposed to do – to give back.” I knew I had to support him.

This felt bigger than us, if it was a calling than that’s God and we need to follow that. That’s how we made the decision that brought us here. He loves it and he wants nothing else but to be here!

THE JUICE FOUNDATION

Photo by Emily Rose Imagery

14 | The Brick Magazine

One of my passions that I left behind in Miami, but hope to reignite here, is the Juice Foundation. The inspiration for the foundation came about ten years ago when Juwan’s friend, Lamont “Juice” Carter, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. It was a stage four diagnosis that had metastasized. He was 38 years old and Juwan’s absolute best friend in the world. Traditional medicine left very few options, and the hospital wanted to send him home to die. We wanted him to have a fighting chance. We started researching alternative treatments and sent him to a

clinic in Mexico where he received cutting edge treatment.

Although doctors initially gave him only five months to live, he lived almost two years after his initial diagnosis.

Through the process of caring for Juice, our eyes were opened to the fact that alternative medicine was for the rich, limited to only those who could afford it, and we felt that that wasn’t fair. Juwan and I wanted to find a way to offer alternate medicine to anyone who needed it. We wanted a way to inform sick patients about better nutritional choices. For example, when Juice was getting treatment in the hospital, they would give him Jell-O, a food that had no nutritional value. We wanted to change people’s awareness of nutrients and their power to help fight disease in general, not just cancer.

We partnered with the Miami Heat, the University of Miami Sylvester Center, local farmers, holistic suppliers, and health stores. With fashion being one of my favorite creative outlets for expressing myself, I knew I wanted to tie it into this project. We hosted our Fashion for a Cause Show annually. The shows had pediatric oncology superstars working the runway with Miami Heat players. Alongside the fashion shows, we educated families about the way nutrition can support modern medicine. The children and families that attended had a great time, and I’m still in touch with many of them today. I still hold that experience close to my heart. The Juice Foundation is not currently active, as it was a Miami-based foundation, although I do have ideas on how I might give it new life here in Michigan.

DEFINING SUCCESS Success, to me, is a measure of how happy you are.

Happiness comes from contentment, from being satisfied with what you have. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be ambitious, but just be grateful for what you have now. Be thankful for your health. 2020 has taught us all that health is wealth. I’m grateful for my sound mind, my health, a roof over my head, and being able to watch my children grow.

I have an amazing group of friends and family. That is success to me. I don’t want for much else in life.

Juwan and I are grateful to be in Michigan with this incredible opportunity. Juwan is the only Black head coach in the Big 10. This is bigger than us, and we feel a great sense of responsibility to our people and to our culture.

We want to make the Alumni proud, Ann Arbor proud, everyone proud.

/ letsgoblow 335 S. Main Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104

734.263.7610

This next phase in my life has me looking forward to new opportunities for self-growth. I want to work on making this house a home, so that no matter where our kids are in the world, they have a place to come home to. I want to be actively living in my creative spaces, where I feel more fulfilled. I want to focus on more happiness, more joy, and more gratitude.

Say hello if you see me around town. I might be at an art gallery, recording studio, theater, shopping for winter clothes, or just grabbing some cider and donuts. I’d love to say hello back, and perhaps a “Go Blue!”

With a passion for marketing that started as a young girl, Marji Wisniewski created her own marketing and communications organization in 2017. As owner of Blue Zebra Marketing Solutions, she helps local and regional businesses and non-profits tell their story through branding, graphic design, content creation, and PR, focusing on customized solutions for each client that are more unique than a zebra’s stripes.

A Michigan native, Marji received her bachelor's from Western Michigan University and master’s from Wayne State University.

When not working you can find her gardening, doing Pilates, listening to podcasts, and spending time with her family and two dogs.

November 2020 | 15

Ode to My Daughter

by Mikki Moscara “Oh, she’s so pretty!” That’s the first thing I said when the doctor laid her in my arms for the first time. I finally got to meet the person I had been talking to for nine months, and she was perfect in every way to me. Those big blue eyes stared back at me, and I realized I could never love anything more than my daughter.

Over the past fifteen years, I've grown more and more grateful to live in a peaceful part of the world. Having my daughter in my life has opened my mind to new perspectives. I would say that the world is filled with pain and hatred, but that’s not necessarily true. There’s also so much beauty and good.

“Why did that person speed up to where the lane ended and cut me off?!

What an awful jerk!” I said angrily while stuck in an Ann Arbor traffic jam.

“No, mom,” she says, “maybe they’re running late or they’re rushing to the hospital. We don’t know.”

She was absolutely right. That’s how a lot of our conversations go. I get frustrated with how something is going, and she gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think that makes her naïve; as adults, I think we lose that positive instinct in fear of being naïve.

After years of being burned, it’s easy to assume ill will or poor intention.

However, she dismisses negative assumptions, and I think that’s a beautiful point of view.

16 | The Brick Magazine

“Who cares what you’re wearing, Mom? They care more about what you have to say.”

These are words of wisdom I live by when I let the clutches of convention take hold of me. I hold her words to the highest esteem, because they aim beyond the surface. She’s usually right.

My daughter had a number of academic evaluations throughout her elementary school years.

It was always very difficult for me to make those meetings over the years due to working full-time throughout her life, but I managed. One thing I always looked forward to was the positive feedback from the teachers and staff about how much of a delight she was to have in class. The faculty always started the meeting with compliments about her positive attitude, but they always went on to talk about how she’s different. I never thought any of it warranted a meeting. I was never concerned, because academic struggles can be worked through, but a terrible attitude often cannot. I still always attended and had the same conversations. I didn’t care if she wasn’t an overachiever, if she was one of the kindest kids in the class. I grew up as an overachiever, yet I spent most of my life jaded and angry.

She eventually caught up in school, but I would trade aptitude and academics to see the world more beautifully and with an open mind in an instant. She was, and still is, my hero.

I remember one meeting in particular, when she was in fourth grade. As we were going through the paperwork, her teacher said, “I’m concerned about the way she answered several of her reading assessment questions.”

I inquired, and the teacher showed me an example. “The story was about a student named Ben who had to give his friend Tyler a ride to school because his car broke down and it was snowing. I asked her why Ben gave Tyler a ride, and she said, ‘because it’s the right thing to do.’”

That story always stuck with me. Sure, she could have said that Ben gave Tyler a ride because his car broke down and it was snowing. That’s what they were looking

for, right? However, where’s the heart in that answer? My fourth-grade daughter truly felt it was the right thing to do, and that’s something that many people see differently from my experience. Some people may have to ask what’s right or wrong. I never could understand how that could come into question under some circumstances. I failed my Philosophy of Ethics course in college because I refused to believe right and wrong was subjective in all cases. Not many people understand that more than my daughter. For that, I am proud and grateful.

Even now, she’s focusing on virtual school, connecting with her teachers and friends to ensure a successful high school experience. I’m watching her grow into a magnificent young woman who’s more and more autonomous every day, and I’m so glad to spend all of my days with this incredible person I’ve been blessed with raising. I am so lucky.

As I sat down to think about all of the people and things I’m grateful for this autumn, I of course thought of my parents and family first and foremost. But I also thought about all of the people who’ve made an impact on my life — about all of the unsaid “thank you’s” that live within my heart, those I thank for all of my successes. However, when I really look within myself, I’m most of all thankful for my extraordinary daughter.

Mikki Moscara is a writer with a degree in journalism from EMU. She has been a contributing writer and editor for Eastern Echo, Gothic Beauty Magazine, and Monroe News. She is currently the marketing manager at BELFOR Franchise Group.

She lives with her family in the King neighborhood of Ann Arbor.

In addition to being involved in local women's initiatives, Mikki and her family also frequently attend Ann Arbor charitable events.

Instagram: @mikki.moscara Twitter: moscara_mikki

November 2020 | 17

for personal

& planetary thriving

When Gratitude Feels Syrupy

by Morella Devost Dear gratitude-challenged reader, This is for those of you who find the idea of a gratitude practice somewhat syrupy.

I too have been gratitude-challenged. For years, reading the self-help advice from teachers and coaches alike telling me to “practice gratitude” or “just find one thing to be grateful for” made me feel totally inadequate. I understood that I was supposed to feel grateful, but in reality, that always felt so foreign. I’d ultimately feel a little resentful of the rosy advice and envious of the people for whom it seemed so easy.

From childhood and well into my thirties, all I could see was that life was simply not going the way I wanted.

Therefore, practicing gratitude seemed forced. Whenever I did follow the advice of a daily gratitude practice, I’d end up writing pretty much the same thing every day: I’m grateful for my family, I’m grateful I have a home…

Then, some years ago, it dawned on me that I was a glass-half-empty person. It’s funny, because in our

18 | The Brick Magazine

culture, it almost sounds like a taboo you wouldn’t want to admit to. Like a venereal disease nobody would be proud to talk about in polite company. If someone called you a glass-half-empty person, you might take offense.

I’m not a pessimist by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t expect bad things to happen. I’m never one to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I truly don’t have a negative vision of the future for myself or for the world. I actually expect good things to happen.

My glass-half-empty disposition is this: I more easily notice what’s not quite right in my life than what is good.

I see what needs to be fixed or improved. I notice what’s missing in my relationships. I can list the quirks about my body that I wish were different. I’m very aware of the things I haven’t yet accomplished. And I know I’m not alone. As a counselor, I know that a large chunk of humanity believes that we must notice what is broken so we can fix it.

In addition to this, when you come from a family that

shares an undercurrent of depression, it can be truly hard to find all that there is in life to rejoice over. Sometimes, we’ve lived in this cloud of subtle depression for as long as we can remember, so it feels as though this is who we’ve always been. The ever-present background hum tells us that life isn’t totally okay.

Since then, I’ve “inchwormed” my way into appreciating my life as it is, in this moment. I’ve learned to value each little thing, each simple gesture, and everything as it is right now. I’ve been increasingly releasing my impulse to dwell on what’s not here, or what will be in the future, and more fully embracing what is here, right now.

Throughout childhood, that dark cloud hovered over me. My life wasn’t exactly what I wanted, and I couldn’t wait for it to become what it could be. From an early age, I fixated on all of the reasons why I wasn’t happy: my parents were divorced; my siblings lived in another country; I didn’t have all the things that my friends had. As I grew older, noticing what was lacking in my life became my default state. It was my automatic habit and I wasn’t even conscious of it.

I’ve also learned to avoid the common pitfall of looking to practice gratitude by comparing myself to others (i.e., “Think of all the people who have nothing to eat”). The great spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle says that practicing gratitude by comparing ourselves to others is ego selfconsolation, not real gratitude. If this is the way in which you seek gratitude, you will always need someone to be worse-off than you. As Mr. Tolle says, real gratitude is the deep appreciation for life in this very moment.

As an adult, I would dream of the day I’d finally have what I wanted and be blissful. I’d be married. I’d have my own family. I’d have my own beautiful home and amazing adventures. But as I breezed through my twenties and thirties, none of those things got any closer to materializing. The dream of future happiness remained that: a dream. It was finally sometime in my mid-thirties when I began to realize that I was living in the halfempty glass, always noticing what my life was not. Always noticing what was missing. Always feeling the subtle hum of depression.

So looking back on my journey, I find that appreciation is more accessible than gratitude for those of us who are recovering glass-half-empty people. What can we appreciate today? What’s something that was pleasant?

What’s something that is going well for you? Appreciation allows us to start acknowledging, and as we open up to recognized the goodness that is already here, then gratitude starts to come within reach.

The truth was that I had a great many wonderful things in my life. I had amazing family and friends who loved me.

I was doing meaningful work. My health was starting to improve through self-care and good nutrition. But because there was so much more that I wanted, and I could only see what was not present, I was deeply dissatisfied the majority of the time. Gratitude was foreign.

Then one night, I had a really simple experience that started to help. It was a late winter night and I was alone at home, in my bed. As I lay awake in the darkness, I reflected on how cold and stormy it was outside, while feeling the coziness of my flannel sheets against my skin and the softness of my pillow under my head. I noticed the depth of the comfort of my bed in that moment, and more than ever before, I appreciated the simple fact of having a cozy bed. In that moment, I sunk deeper into the bed and it felt even more wonderful.

It was the first time I remember ever consciously practicing gratitude — not by paying it lip service, but rather by deeply allowing myself to have the experience of feeling profound appreciation for something quite basic, but also significant.

In the end, despite how inadequate I felt or how foreign it seemed, the syrupy coaches and teachers were right.

Appreciation and gratitude are indeed the fairy dust of life. The more we sprinkle them on our days, the better life seems to go. It’s proving true for me as the dreams that were always a faraway vision in my twenties and thirties have become realities in my forties. I’ve come to appreciate life as it is right now, and the more I appreciate it, the more I find things that I genuinely, spontaneously feel grateful for. And the more I do, the more I feel I have to give to the world.

Morella Devost is a counselor helping her clients turn their deepest challenges into their greatest source of strength. After receiving two master's degrees in counseling from Columbia University, she became a Clinical Hypnotherapist, NLP facilitator, and Reiki Master. Morella is a VenezuelanVermonter working with people all over the world from her RVoffice as she travels the US with her family. She is the host of the Thrive With Morella TV-radio-podcast show. www.youtube.com/morelladevost thrivewithmorella.com www.facebook.com/ThriveWithMorella Instagram: @Morellad Facebook personal: @Morellad1 Twitter: @More_Joy

November 2020 | 19

Gratitude for Sacred Safe Spaces

by Maria Sylvester, MSW, CPC

Photo by Frances Gunn

20 | The Brick Magazine

W

e all need this. We need the experience of security that comes from feeling safe, where we can simply be and feel trusting there. In the comfort of such security, we might then allow ourselves to drop down into turbulent waters — the waters of big emotions, especially the core ones: anger, fear, sadness, joy, disgust, excitement, and sexual passion. For these are the emotions that happen physiologically, to all of us, whether we want to feel them or not. These emotions occur because we are human, and because certain circumstances trigger the experiences caused by these feelings in our bodies and nervous systems.

Sometimes, we may need to become gently reacquainted with some of these feelings, especially the more challenging ones. This is because when growing up, we perhaps learned to deny some of our feelings, or transform them into more socially-tolerated forms. It just so happens that as children, we discover very quickly which emotions are deemed acceptable and which are likely to cause problems or be threatening to others. So, to preserve the attachment to the grown-ups we so needed for survival, most of us began pretty darn quickly to bury some feelings, lest they threaten to rock the boat.

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What is lost, however, during this sad operation cover-up, are parts of one’s authentic self. When you deny or push away core feelings, you lose your sense of aliveness — of confidence, connection, curiosity, and calmness. It is through the amazing phenomenon we call healing that you find your way back home to your full self — to vitality, energy, and an empowering life-force. Your empowering life-force. But there is another essential step in this process of re-embracing the self. Healing can happen only after one feels safe.

ourselves and to others. When you feel safe, you can drop the protective barriers and defenses you've constructed to avoid pain. You can let your guard down and feel respected and supported. This is why, first and foremost, my relationship with coaching clients focuses on creating a safe emotional space — a container of sorts — for our work together. Only then can explorations into the inner world of traumas, hopes, and dreams begin.

Safe Realms Are Key

What ingredients make up a safe relationship with yourself and others? It’s in the details and the little moments, in the sweet nuance of meaningful connection. It happens when we slow down. It happens when you offer comforting words or gestures. Or when you communicate a message of acceptance, fondness, or care. It’s there when you reach out and touch another with a loving caress or hug. Or when you offer a high-five as you celebrate a friend’s success.

These beautiful gestures all add up to make an offering of a safe and gentle feast of nourishment for our mental health and emotional well-being. If you’ve given yourself these gifts, or known this experience with another (and I sure hope you have), you’ve most likely been filled with deep gratitude.

Today, writing this, I’m filled with appreciation for the areas in my life I’ve discovered or cultivated as safe spaces (be it locations or relationships) within which I can simply exist without fear or trepidation. I refer to these places as my sacred safe realms. Within such realms, I can experience my full range of genuine thoughts and emotions as they happen in the moment. I experience such without judgement or shame. I breathe freely. It’s a sigh of relief. Sometimes a giant one!

I learned long ago that the reparative work of the psyche and soul happen effectively only in safe situations. It’s in the cultivating of safety that we can open both to

Safe Relationships

November 2020 | 21

Or, these days especially, perhaps you experience that “safe place feeling” as you hop on a Zoom call with a group of trusted friends or colleagues. Many group settings can offer safe refuge if the participants hold similar values and are committed to honoring and supporting each other. Here one can take risks and engage in conversations that might feel uncomfortable. In the right space, infused with care and compassion, anything human can feel speakable, and is often made more manageable as well.

The Trust Factor

Of late, one safe place for me has been my meditation chair, which is beautifully crafted from vegan white leather — something I splurged on as a way of concretizing the significance of the emotional state I choose to enter daily.

It’s a state of sacred calm. A space I’m ever-grateful for!

And I can’t not mention my big, comfy couch. What’s not to love about the way the pillows on it hug against my body, leaving me able to easily drop into an emotional place of contentment and rest?

Additionally, I believe trust lies at the heart of an emotionally and physically safe relationship. Trust involves having personal boundaries honored and respected at all times. Additionally, trust in relationships means looking for the other to be reliable and able to be consistently depended on. Accountability with each other factors in, too. For instance, can you and your special person own, apologize for, and make amends when there has been a misstep or wrongdoing? If so, that feeling of sweet safety is likely to return.

Lastly, yet perhaps most significantly, let us not forget to consider nature as a sacred, safe realm. For being amid the calming energy of the earth’s electromagnetic field offers us a most magnificent reprieve from anxieties or worries that stress and tax us. I don’t know about you, but for myself, a simple walk through my neighborhood woods — deemed my local temple — is all it takes to soothe a racing heart, tight chest, or upset stomach. In other words, anxiety often ceases when we put ourselves in safe spaces. So head there!

Trust is fueled by maintaining confidentiality in all areas deemed private or personal. Trust also calls upon us to have integrity at all times — doing what you know is right, and steadfastly upholding one’s values. I believe a trusting relationship is one where each person generously assumes the best of the other. There is non-judgement and generosity of spirit; believing, first and foremost, that the other’s actions, words, or behavior are centered around good intentions. My friends, if all of these factors are in play, you can indeed deem your relationship a truly special and safe one!

Thanks-giving

Photo by Annie Spratt

Safe Places In addition to safe relationships, we of course need safe places where we can just be and feel held by good energy surrounding us. What constitutes a safe space varies, as what that means varies by individual to individual. A safe place could be your bed, place of worship, library, or living room. Maybe it’s your favorite local yoga studio where you regularly plop yourself on a mat, surrounded by familiar faces and a trusted teacher. This might be just one of several magical places that bring you great peace.

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And so, my friends, in this month of November, a season of giving thanks, let us appreciate all the safe spaces we have in our lives. Celebrate these unique containers that support your growth and transformation. These spaces hold us, allowing us to then feel, heal, and thrive. What a sweet, exquisite place to land.

Maria Sylvester, MSW, CPC is a certified Life Coach in Ann Arbor, MI who loves empowering adolescents, adults, and couples to live from the HEART of what really matters to them so that they can bring their fully expressed, vibrant selves into the world.

She has a special gift for helping women reclaim their feminine power, and embrace their radiant, sensual, sexy spirits. Their lives transform. They soar into their mid-life magnificence! www.lifeempowermentcoaching.com Instagram: @life_coach_maria Facebook: www.facebook.com/LifeEmpowermentCoaching

Gratitude for Flowers and Clouds: A Lesson from Caring for My Mother

“I want to tell you how much I miss my mother. Bits of her are still there. I miss her most when I’m sitting across from her.”

— Candy Crowley

by Beth Johnston

November 2020 | 23

T

hanksgiving is a time to count our blessings and be grateful. My mom is 82 and has Alzheimer’s. I am her primary caregiver. I’ve had to come to terms with the loss of the mother I knew, and I’m learning how to embrace the woman she has become.

My mom and I have experienced what I deem a typical mother-daughter relationship. I was the oldest and only girl, with two younger brothers. I was definitely a daddy’s girl. In my teenage years, my mom and I had the typical teenage drama. I remember a few times I told her I hated her, but of course, I didn’t.

Besides the normal mother/daughter drama, my mom was also an alcoholic, which made it difficult for her to be there for me emotionally during my formative years. She did get sober, thanks to AA, when I was around 14 and has been sober ever since.

Our relationship changed when I had children. I think there’s a special bond between mothers and daughters when the daughter becomes a mother herself.

Both my mom and my dad were always there for me.

I cherished their advice and support, especially when I went through my divorce. If it hadn’t been for them, I’m not sure that I would’ve survived emotionally or financially.

My dad passed away in 2003 from brain cancer. He was only 71. I was a single working mom of three boys (aged fourteen, twelve, and nine). The boys and I used to travel often with my parents, and after my dad passed my mom and I continued traveling together. She, along with my best friend, were my lifeline to sanity.

About seven or eight years ago, we started realizing that my mom was having some memory lapses. At first, she noticed that she was having trouble and she was mortified by her difficulties with remembering things. We had her evaluated by her general practitioner with a few simple memory tests that showed her memory loss was progressing. Her doctor prescribed an antidepressant and a memory medication.

On February 13th, 2016, I remarried. I wanted my mom there, but we knew that she couldn’t travel alone to Punta Cana where our destination wedding was taking place. I 24 | The Brick Magazine

also knew that I couldn’t be her caregiver since I would be so busy. My niece ended up escorting her and attending with her. On the last day she was there, she ended up having some issues with her heart medication, which caused some dizziness. I was grateful my niece was there.

As I look back now, I think she might not have been taking her medication properly.

The following Christmas, we were in Florida with her.

When we returned, she called me and told me she wasn’t feeling well. When I got to her house, her BP was 30/50; I called an ambulance. It was a wild ride to the hospital in a blinding snowstorm. She had to stay there for four days. It turned out that she had overdosed on her meds because she would forget that she had taken them and kept taking them again. I purchased a pill dispenser that had an alarm that went off twice a day to remind her to take her meds; that way, she’d know she had already taken them. That was January of 2017. It has only got worse from there.

She was officially diagnosed with moderate Alzheimer’s in November 2018 by a neurologist. My brothers and I decided that I would be her primary caregiver. She lost her driver’s license in the summer of 2019. It’s been a rollercoaster of ups and downs since then.

She became angry and bitter, blaming me for her Alzheimer’s and everything that went with it. In her

Alzheimer’s mind, she reverted back to what our relationship was like during those trying teenage years.

She would tell me that I hated her and I enjoyed seeing her suffer. I knew it wasn’t my mom talking, but it still cut like a knife. I cried a lot.

She loves Disney World, and she was supposed to go with a friend of hers last October. That friend had a tragic fall and passed away unexpectedly in April 2019. I took my mom to see her in the hospital and promised her I’d get my mom to Disney. Last November, I fulfilled that promise. The trip was difficult for me because my mom was still experiencing a lot of bitterness and anger towards me at that point, but I’m so very thankful that we did it. Her joy and wonder as we rode rides we had experienced together as a family for years was contagious. She was enthralled by the fireworks and she loved watching the children during the parade. That may have been her last trip there.

Recently, my mom has been much more amicable and content. I invited her to dinner one night since she doesn’t get out too much, especially with COVID. I went to pick her up and she said, “Wait, I want to take this to show the kids.” She had a photo cube that had photos of me and my brothers when we were little. I explained to her that only Dan (my husband) and I were going to be there, not the kids (my sons). I had told her that when I invited her, but she didn’t remember. She looked so disappointed. She loves her grandkids and great-grandkids. My heart broke a little for her.

On the way to our house, she commented on things along the way as if she were seeing them for the first time. She loves flowers; every time she saw some, she exclaimed how beautiful they were.

For dinner we had hamburgers on the grill with fresh sweet corn, watermelon, fresh tomato, and onion for the burgers. She was so happy. She couldn’t stop raving about the corn. It made her remember when she used to visit her Nana in Michigan as a kid. She struggles to find words now, but this was a story I’ve heard a thousand times, so I filled in the blanks for her, something I have to do more and more.

We had ice cream bars for dessert. Later, she asked me what we were having for dessert. I said, “We already had it, those ice cream bars.” She said, “Oh, that’s right.” I

jokingly replied, “I know what you’re trying to do, you’re trying to scam me out of another dessert, aren’t you?” We both laughed.

On the way home, she talked about what a good dinner it was. There was this beautiful cloud in the sky that we were both commenting on. She finds such joy in simple things.

She’s mostly happy these days. Occasionally she misses my dad and gets lonely. Sometimes I think it’s a blessing that her memory is gone because she really has no sense of time, so she forgets how long it’s been since she’s seen people.

I miss consulting my mom, confiding in her, sharing everything with her. I miss her advice; I even miss her nagging. I get sad and grieve who she used to be. Of course, none of that does any good. I’m thankful for who she is now and that I’m able to hug her, and she can look at me and say “I love you.” I’m grateful that she helps me see the wonder in the simple things, like beautiful clouds and flowers.

Beth was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI and currently resides in Pinckney, MI with her husband Dan. She is a retired elementary educator from Ann Arbor Public Schools (13 years) and Pinckney Community Schools 17 years). She has three sons from her first marriage (ages 30, 28, & 25), a daughterin-law, a new grandson, and three step-children. www.orenda.travel www.facebook.com/OrendaLuxTravel/ www.instagram.com/orenda.travel/

November 2020 | 25

Photo by Roberto Nickson

26 | The Brick Magazine

Making Your Home “Work” During Challenging Times H

by Tiffany Edison

ave you ever sat down and made a list of the things that you’re truly grateful for? It can be a highly rewarding experience, and one that brings about a much-needed dose of self-awareness, especially in challenging times. I find it unfortunate that Thanksgiving seems to be the main event for this, when in fact practicing gratitude on a daily basis is beneficial to both our hearts and minds.

Over the years, nothing seems to bring me more pleasure than hearing my design clients express how grateful they are for our shared time together, collaborating on creating spaces in their homes that enrich their day-to-day lives. It’s exactly what drew me to the profession in the first place, as I am no doubt a “people person.” I’m touched by those I’ve been lucky enough to work with, because the design process in and of itself is incredibly personal. Our home is our place of refuge, and holds our most precious memories.

It may sound contrite, but if we’re lucky enough to have a roof over our heads, then we’re lucky indeed. The pandemic has brought about incredible strain on many, not only financially but on family life as a whole. People are now spending more time in their homes than ever before, and our attention has refocused a bit; we are working to distinguish true “needs” from “wants.”

I’ve had countless consults for designing new “flex spaces” — flexible spaces that allow for work as well as a place in the home that the entire family can utilize and enjoy. These are challenging times for sure, but there’s a refreshing air to having to prioritize what we truly need, and what we can live without.

I love the creativity and resourcefulness that I’m currently seeing from my clients. I’m grateful for their trust in determining which space in the home could be both a

classroom and a home office at the same time. (Hint: It’s most likely the dining room!)

It would be an understatement to say that it’s an interesting time for home design. There is a reemergence of adult children returning home due to job loss or other financial reasons. It’s comforting to know that one can always go home, even if it’s just for a short time. And then there’s the issue of a home gym. But the good news is that this can all be addressed. Families are getting closer these days, physically and mentally.

Typically, I like to give practical advice regarding interior design within these pages, but lately, I’m feeling a bit more sentimental. These days, my advice would be to take a deep breath and think about what you are most grateful for.

Perhaps it’s your health, your family, and hopefully a fulfilling career. This is our new normal, and though we can’t always change our situation, we are always given the option of changing our perspective. I supposed that’s where the catchphrase “Gratitude is the Attitude” came from. We all need to give ourselves a break and accept that we’re (hopefully) doing the best we can with the hand we’ve been dealt. Seek some solace in the nest you’ve built.

Tiffany Edison has been an interior designer since 2002, and specializes in both residential and commercial projects.

She holds a Master of Social Work degree (ACSW) and utilizes interpersonal relationship skills on a daily basis with her client base, largely comprised of Ann Arbor and Metro Detroit residents. She enjoys residing in the city and the comforts of home. When she’s not fully immersed in client projects, you can find her on the golf course, a favorite pastime. www.birchdesignassociates.com Instagram: @birchdesignassociates

November 2020 | 27

Can a Little THC Help Me?

by Lisa Profera MD

28 | The Brick Magazine

Can a small dose of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) help you?

The short answer is yes.

T

he days of THC being vilified as a drug of abuse or a gateway drug are mostly behind us. As you know, THC is the chemical in marijuana that is responsible for the feeling of being “high.” The recreational market is flooded with cannabis strains that have potent amounts of THC for people who desire its psychoactive effect.

However, there’s now a trend on the medical side of the cannabis industry toward micro-dosing THC. A little THC can help with pain, improve the quality of sleep, reduce stress, and treat other medical issues.

The cannabis plant has been used by humans as medicine for over ten thousand years. The first documented medical use for the plant was in China 2,500 years ago. Its prohibition is fairly recent. It appeared in the US Pharmacopeia in 1851, but it was removed in 1942 for political/social reasons (read more in Martin Lee’s book, Smoke Signals). In 1970, marijuana was listed as a Schedule I controlled substance in the US, putting in the same category as heroin, ecstasy, and LSD. As such, cannabis was classified as having no medicinal value by the federal government, despite the vast body of research (some of it done by US government institutions like the NIH, but most of it coming from Europe and Israel) proving its value as medicine.

Despite the federal decree, marijuana is recognized as medicine in our state and many others. Unfortunately, most US research is stymied by the DEA. It’s not impossible to conduct cannabis research here, but it’s a very difficult process. Most American physicians want to see evidence-based studies done by American researchers, so they often say that they can’t recommend cannabis due to a lack of research.

Meanwhile, outside of the US, the research world of medical marijuana is exploding. Pharmaceutical companies are racing to make synthetic copies of the chemicals that bind to our cannabinoid receptors, such as THC and the enzymes that modulate the endocannabinoid system.

What do we know about THC? Delta-9 THC was first isolated by Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam in 1964.

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) was discovered

in 1988; cannabinoid receptors in humans were identified because THC was able to bind to them. In 1992, the two cannabinoids that our bodies naturally produce were discovered: anandamide and 2-AG (2-arachidonoylglycerol). The ECS is deeply embedded in our genes, as it is the “master-control” system of all of the other systems in our body (the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, the digestive system, etc). Its main job is to balance and regulate the other systems, achieving homeostasis. Sometimes when our bodies are challenged by chronic stress, injury, infection, environmental toxins, and other causes, our ECS can’t balance itself out on its own. This is where a little help from the cannabis plant can be life-changing.

Isolated synthetic forms of THC have been used medically in the US for a few decades now, but it’s abundantly clear that they don’t measure up that well to the real thing. In 1986, the FDA approved the use of Marinol® for nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. Additional approval for weight loss caused by HIV/AIDS followed, as THC is known to stimulate appetite. Interestingly enough, Marinol®, a synthetic copy of THC, is listed as a Schedule III drug along with amphetamines, barbiturates, ketamine, some forms of codeine, and anabolic steroids.

Usually, patients taking Marinol® don’t tolerate it as well as the natural cannabis plant, and side effects have been reported. Cesamet® is another synthetic THC analogue approved for use in the US for treatment of nausea. There is evidence of its analgesic effects, especially as it applies to neuropathic pain. Studies show that Cesamet® has some effect in relieving pain associated with fibromyalgia.

It has also been shown to be effective in the treatment of movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, as well as inflammatory conditions such as ulcerative colitis. On the black market, the synthetic drug HU-210, also known as Spice or K2, is more toxic to the brain and more addictive than naturally-grown THC from marijuana. It has induced acute psychosis in some users and evidence suggests that it triggers longterm psychiatric problems. It turns out that the synthetic versions of THC, both legal and illegal, act differently in the human body than the whole plant would.

November 2020 | 29

in the process of apoptosis, which is the process of killing off old or dysfunctional cells to replace them with newer, healthier cells. There is even promising medical evidence that THC has the ability to kill off highly abnormal cells such as those in glioblastoma multiforme cells (brain cancer).

With prudent use, a little THC can convey many medical benefits with minimal psychoactive effects. In the medical marijuana arena, we always advise the patient to “start low and go slow” in regard to dosing. Knowing how THC Photo by Kimzy Nanney affects your personal biochemistry, and understanding dosing and administration, is the key to success. In my medical marijuana consulting As I’ve said before, our bodies produce our own THC practice, I empower my patients with education so that analogues. Anandamide (AEA) is our own naturallythey can make the best decisions for themselves. You occurring version of THC. It regulates pain and pleasure, can go to www.apothecareannarbor and look at the anxiety and mood stabilization, and our overall sense Education Guide that I wrote. Another excellent source of of well-being. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit information can be found at www.projectcbd.org. word ananda, meaning bliss. AEA also plays a key role in forgetting. Why is that important? Forgetting is almost Last fall, I wrote a series of articles about CBD for The as important as remembering. Our brain is constantly Brick magazine. Virtually every patient that I’ve been editing out what’s not important, what’s not worth consulting with over the last eight months or so has been “sweating about” so to speak. Without it, we wouldn’t stressed and anxious. We’ve been challenged in many ways be able to function as our brain would be filled with in 2020. CBD and THC work together as a “power couple,” insignificant or even painful memories and experiences helping us re-balance our ECS — in short, helping us get that have accumulated throughout our lives. If a woman back to normal. Now more than ever, it’s important to find could feel the intense pain of childbirth every day of your bliss. her life after having a child, do you think she would have another? People with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and other Owner and Founder of PROJUVU MD; anxiety disorders suffer from sustained or reoccurring Aesthetics and Lifestyle Medicine in Ann thoughts and memories of painful physical or emotional Arbor, MI; Expert Injector, Medical Director; experiences. Forgetting is a good thing, in this respect.

In small doses, THC derived from marijuana can have many clinical benefits. It can take the edge off of pain without the dangers of opioids. In addition to its analgesic effects, THC is an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. It’s a wonderful natural sleep aid that doesn’t leave you groggy in the morning. THC is neuro-protective, which means that it helps neurons function normally in our brain. It also aids

Facial Innovations Medi-spa, Ann Arbor; Medical Director, Northville Beauty Spa; Certified Medical Marijuana Doctor; Certified doTERRA Essential Oils Expert; BEMER Independent Distributor; CrossFit® Level 1 Trainer www.projuvu.com • 1-844-PROJUVU • drprofera@gmail.com www.facebook.com/projuvu/ Request to join my closed FaceBook group, www.instagram.com/youressentialoilsdoctor/

Disclaimer: Please note that the information in this article has been designed to help educate the reader regarding the subject matter covered. This information is provided with the understanding that the author and any other entity referenced here are not liable for the misconception or misuse of the information provided. It is not provided to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any disease, illness, or injured condition of the body. The provider of this information shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity concerning any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this information. The information presented is in no way intended as a substitute for medical counseling or care. Anyone suffering from any disease, illness, or injury should consult a qualified healthcare professional. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

30 | The Brick Magazine

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Angela Hagopian Snow, Edmond Hagopian, Suzanne Hagopian

Showroom & Cleaning Drop-Off Birmingham: 850 S. Old Woodward 248-646-RUGS (7847) Novi: 43223 Twelve Mile 248-449-RUGS (7847) Additional Cleaning Drop-Off Location Ann Arbor: 5899 Jackson Road 734-769-RUGS (7847) HagopianRugs.com

Call 1-800-HAGOPIAN (424-6742) for your Rug, Carpet, Wood, Tile, Air Duct & Furniture cleaning needs.

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