Believe

You say that your sky has been changing lately. That you're tired and broken. That the answers you thought you'd found don't seem to work anymore.

We've been down these sad roads a hundred times before, sat quietly on lonely hillsides, cried with forgotten songs on the radio.

Always it was our belief in other days that got us through.

I remember planting dreams with you,chasing wishes and watching flowers. But what I remember best is how you always made me laugh, even when the world around us was falling part.

All these years walking the solitary paths where I found and lost myself a thousand times, I never felt alone because you were in my memory. You were there. And I will always stand by you.

Go outside now and walk away. Find one of these roads again somewhere, in the quiet shade of gentle trees. Take this note and hug your shadow and love yourself and remember these things:

There is nothing in the world worth giving up what you've already achieved. You will always be a fighter and a dreamer. Now more than ever, you've got to look deep within your heart and believe.

Unknown Author

Thinking

I read somewhere this evening if we devote at least fifteen minutes a day to thinking on a particular topic we will be better off for it.

Its easy for me to feel and feel things strongly...I also like to think I can think for myself...be rational about certain things..I think it takes practice...I'm going to think about it for awhile and share my thoughts later.

I want to exercise the more rational, well thought out muscle in the new year...2008 will be the year of balancing my heart and mind and taking action....

Mary Jo Doyle

By Eve Brownstone


“Whoosey…. Whoosey… whatsey… whatsey”….Mary Jo Doyle would say to explain anything that was not easily explainable…. like herself.

You were a dance partner, a friend, a mentor and a community leader….

Thank you for letting me know you…through your beaming smile there was more to you…

You would go out on Christmas Eve to hand out historical society membership information.

You had the kind of sweet heart that would take in your niece and six month old daughter…not for a couple of days but for a year and a half…

People talk these days about everybody is replaceable…. There is no one who can fill your shoes…you drove the bus and commanded the wheel especially at the historical society… You had the vision…the passion the guts the will to get things done…not everybody agreed with you all the time…I didn’t agree with you all the time…but I was astounded by your heart and commitment to our community of Rogers Park/West Ridge.


From your bed at Lakeshore, you were still editing the newsletter, organizing a party for your family and making sure Bert had a ride to the Founders Day picnic.

You dreamed of making it to Catalina…you planned to go…it became your hope of getting better.

I knew you were having a good day when you were bossy, up making lists….trying to keep track of all your visitors..phone calls…meds taken...keeping something under control..even if you couldn’t control what was happening with your body…

I was there with you when things were not so good…when you talked about the cancer being back…the pain...hospice…you were happy to go home..

When I would leave you at Lakeshore I would touch my fist to yours as a sign of respect. You would smile when we did this. You would let me know you were still fighting the cancer.

The last time I saw you were in bed at home. Your hand could no longer make a fist but was out stretched as if in acceptance of what was happening. You looked peaceful and loved ones were close by taking good care of you.

I remember the music playing in your room, angelic choir music.

Standing at your bedside, I had a clear image of you…in one of your colorful outfits…on a large dance floor filled with your loved ones: your husband, John, your parents, your brother and sister and many others who love you and have been waiting for you. In this vision, you are beaming with so much love and vitality. I was filled with tears not of sorrow but of joy, knowing you would be dancing very soon with so much love surrounding you.

Bless you Mary Jo…

Article about Oral History in New Star

Article about Oral History in NewStar read all about it!

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/newsstar/news/680176,SN-VideoLegacy-120507-s1.article

Eve Brownstone

New Videos

Check out my new videos at ..
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ebrown67&p=r
Also check out www.rogerspark.com.

Baxter Swilley who is trying to bring the Olympics here to Chicago in 2016 with Citizens for 2016

Maureen Flowers, a new family owned flowershop in Rogers park

Stay Warm!

December

December is cold...but it also means we are closer to spring..we also have the holidays...Chanuka..Christmas...Quanza....New Years....I find it a good time to reflect and setting goals...letting go of stuff that isn't working....Stay warm everybody...Happy Chanuka!

Thanks

I am very thankful.
I am thankful for good friends and a wonderful family withwhom I will be sharing a turkey later.
Thanks turkey..for letting me eat you.
I am thankful for my ability to write..this blog among other things..like novels..articles..interviews..
Thanks to everyone who has read this blog..
A big thanks to you!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 26 Giving Birth To Your Truth

Click here to check out
The Givng Birth to Your Truth!

7PM-9PM

After Awhile

After AWhile

After a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and sharing a life.
And you learn that love doesn’t mean possession
and company doesn’t mean security
and loneliness is universal.
And you learn kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes open
with the grace of a woman ( man )
not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build your hopes on today
as the future has a way of falling a part in mid-flight
because tomorrow’s ground
can be too uncertain for plans
yet each step taken in a new direction
creates a path
toward the promise of a brighter dawn.
And you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get to much of it
so you plant your own garden
and nourish your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that love, true love
always has joys and sorrows, seems ever present,
yet is never quite the same
becoming more than love and less than love
so difficult to define.
And you learn that through it all
you really can endure
that you really are strong
and you do have value
and you learn and grow
with every good-bye
you learn. by V. Shfstall

The Warrior Makes Some Peace

Doing battle with yourself..with myself...I am tired of fighting..time to start living..

Trusting

Hidden and protected...not really safe...

More Art

Teeth, Flesh and Bones

Trust the Process

Art Therapy

Holiday Oral History DVD Sale

Holiday Special from Brownstone Therapeutics

For the months of November and December, 2007 Brownstone Therapeutics is
offering
short Oral History DVDs for $200.00.

Brownstone Therapeutics can capture your mom's life story on DVD.

This makes a nice gift for your loved ones and future generations.


Everybody has a story to tell. From my eight years as an Oral Historian, I
have found one of the greatest gifts to give someone is to just listen.

Oral History is an opportunity and a platform to share life stories and
create a legacy for future generations. Oral History Services provided: a
reminiscing group, Oral History Projects in DVD or written form and Oral
History 101, a dynamic and interactive training.

Benefits of Reminiscing:
1. Boosts quality of life
2. Leaves a legacy for the future generations by passes on life lessons.
3. Provides a place for positive and meaningful interactions between
family members through storytelling of life journey.
4. Enables older people to achieve a sense of coherence and wholeness.


Some of my experiences include:

• Produced and Directed two video-documentaries on reminiscing with
seniors: “Wise Friends” and “Community Building/One Story at a Time”.
• Interviewed 50+ neighbors in Rogers Park for local website:
www.rogerspark.com.
• Collaborated with Methodist Home, White Crane Adult Wellness Center,
Lakeshore Healthcare & Rehabilitation Centre, Edgewater Historical Society
and The Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society
• Facilitated groups for seventeen years

You can check out my twenty+ video interviews at
http://www.youtube.com/ebrown67 and interviews on www.rogerspark.com.


If you want to contact me I can be reached at 773-859-1276. Thanks for
your consideration.

The Test

This past Saturday I took a test I was fearful of..I took it ...five hours of essays..oh, my goodness..the kicker was when I finished writing I wasn't tired..which I interpret as a good sign.. I faced my fears and took my test..regardless.. i moved forward..for me that means so much..
In life we can be tested all the time..in situations..relationships..it is good to know when you are being tesed and be able to see options in how to get through the test with flying colors and gain some insight to boot.

Every day is a new day

I am learning that every day is a new day..nothing is a given... everything changes..even me..even the moon which is full tonight.. What I can do is picture in my heart and mind what I want and continue to move forward.

Remembering a Friend

On this day, while the wind is whipping up leaves I am remembering a good friend, Bobby gene Mike. You are dearly missed.

A New Light

I ran into an aquaintance of several years today..She was getting on the bus and I was getting off. She remarked to me at first that she didn't know me..when I explained where we had met she remarked ..you look changed you look happy..there is a new lightness about you...I feel it...even with everything else internally I am okay.....

Enjoying the moment

Hello again...I got pulled into the summer wind for awhile...lost in the lake mist...comforted by the waves... it is hard to come back...we got to enjoy moments that call us out to play..from the ordinary... feel the spark and magic in our hearts and dance... I still have stars in my eyes... thanks..

Starry Night

The summer night wind and the stars have become my best friends.

Rose and Grandma Hilda

Family

Tree of Life

She is the tree of life more precious than gold.
Hold her in your heart and you will understand.
Eytz chayim hi.
Her roots are deep and wise.
Her branches filled with light.
And all her pathways are peace
Machzor

Transformation and Change

Happy New Year!! This is a time of transformation and change. To step into the new year with courage and more clarity of mind and spiirit. Many blessing ahead!!!

Another Giving Birth to Your Truth Meet-up is happening on Monday September 17 at 7pm. We will have new adventures and create more juicy lives for ourselves all in two hours...peace .
Call 773-859-1276 for more details.

Alternatives

..
It is good for me and anyone else to see that they have alternatives. With alternatives, the need to act in depserate ways is lessened. There is time to consider and plan. Desperation, calls for action... no waiting just plunge.. afterwards then you pick up the pieces if there are any to pick up... I like to explore my choices..but I also need to make a choice and then act.

You Got to Believe in Hope and Change

The IL Governor and I at a previous Goveror's Day... no we are not a couple. He was gracious to consent to a photo.

About Friendship

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.


Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.


May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy

Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too


The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.


Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.


When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. !


Please send this message to those people who mean something to you, to those who have touched your life in one way or another, to those who make you smile when you really need it, to those that make you see the 'brighter side' of things when you are really down, to those who you want to let them know that you appreciate their friendship.

Brighten someone's day with this message...

From the Internet..Author Unknown

Now from Brownstone Therapeutics

Upcoming Events from Brownstone Therapeutics, a therapeutic private
practice in Rogers Park


Monday September 17, Giving Birth to Your Truth Meet-up 7pm
For just $10 bucks you get a wonderful taste of this dynamic workshop

Giving Birth to Your Truth Workshop which will be held
Sunday Oct 27 from 10am-3pm, $100

After School Arts Group starts Thursday September 20 from 2pm-5pm, ages 5-11 $40 per child/per group *Held Thursdays

Accepting individual therapy clients. Sliding scale and discounts for
Loyola students

Specializes in transitions, co-dependency, identity issues, self-esteem development, and
anger managment, grief and recovery


Check out new videos on http://www.youtube.com/ebrown67

Governor's Day 07
Obama, Some Real Basics
A Tribute to Mary Jo Doyle

Eve Brownstone, MA, LCPC
Director of Brownstone Therapeutics
(773)859-1276

Time to get focused

Time to get focused. Time to get focused on finding more work and taking care of myself. Time to get focused on studying for my psychodrama test. These are my priorities for the next 2 months. I can do this. I can putting my time and resources behind my words as of now.
Wish me luck.

A Good Path

I feel good today..out of that financial funk at least some of the way. I am not letting IT control me and I am taking action.

Another Day and Another Problem Solved

I am proud of myself...facing reality can be treacherous, but it is important to do when facing a problem. I have been having a money crunch situation for the last week. It happens in business, I'm learning. Today, I talked with my banker and looked the problem square in the eyes. It looks like I will need to get another part time job to foot my bills. Something 3days per week in counseling or writing field. There is no shame in this. I can take this next step. My private practice will continue, but I will have other sources of income.
Good job Eve Facing reality!!!!

Near the End of the Summer

I know it is near the end of the summer. The lifeguards last day is tomorrow. School begins on Tuesday for alot of kids. It has been a great summer! I feel so blessed to have lived by the lake this summer. I was just outside. The sun was starting to set and there was a wonderful breeze. Families were playing in the waves and young couples were cuddling in the sand. Enjoying a good day in the sun. Thanks for this summer......Mother Earth. I love you.

Accomplishments This Summer

What a good summer! Brownstone Therapeutics has been actively involved in the Rogers Park Community!!!

Here is some of what we accomplished in Summer of 2007

Co-created Unity Night before Artists of the Wall with Katy Hogan -June
Coordinated and Implimented All Ages Tent at Artists of the Wall-June- My Secret Garden
Provided creative opportunities for kids and adults at the Clark Street Festival-July
Provided Chalk Art for Kids at National Night Out-August
Co-coordinated and implimented activties at Kids Fest Tent with Lifeline Theater for the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival 2007-August- Magic Spirals

Videotaped Founder's Day Picnic for RP/WR Historical Society


Brownstone Therapeutics, we rock!!!

More Pics from Glenwood Ave. Arts Festival 2007

Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival

Trusting Myself

She isn't perfect, but I am learning to trust her

Making Room

Making room for new means letting go of the old.
We can waste to much energy clinging to what we know.
Blow out the old (the stuff that isn't working) and breathe in all the new adventures.

The new stuff is just on the horizon waving to you. It wants you to see it and say"hello".

Another Growing Pain

Ouch...my heart is open... my eyes are raining... I am learning to let go of the illusion .....

Some Affirmations to Remember

I am enough
I am lovable
I am fearless
I am focused


I can love and be loved.


I AM Enough!!!!

Reconnecting

Do have a friend or family member that you haven't talk to for awhile?

Reconnecting....might not be sure how to do this?

Make it a safe and comfortable thing. Send an email make a phone call..
find a place where you can talk without to many intrrruptions or distractions

Clear the air and then start over..I know it sounds easier than it is....

Take the first step

Meeting New People

Being Shy
Meeting new people
You can do both

I can be shy. When I go to new groups..I think about learning something new..the possibility of making a new friend...

No pressure.. just a new experience

Then I bite my nails afterwards

Howard Street

Being in the Here and Now

Being in the here and now...not ten minutes behind or a day ahead but right now being here..with feet planted and ability to flow and move with the waves not pressed up in fear against them with sandbags


I am the co-creator of my life wth my higher power.

I have the ability to decide...but being here and now is the first choice first step to greater undrstanding and feeling awake in my life...

I can feel asleep with ten sandbags at the ready...

Persistence

Persistence..moving forward even though others are saying no. You don't say no to yourself. You say yes you can and pick up your feet, not at the same time but go in the direction you want.
I like the expression small moves.
Small moves everyday gets you where you want to be going

Again you got to trust the process

Resistance

In therapy, the therapist and client work with the resistance.. it is a sign that a button has been pushed..an sos signal on a misty day ..saying pay atention to this...The therapist acknowlegdes the the SOS signal..but without judgment or punishment or you needing to dig. Fear and shame may be involved and a million other feelings.. so explore with compassion and empathy and patience.
"
Listen when you say, "no this doesn't feel right "or "I don't want to go there... maybe ask yourself...how come I don't want to talk about it? How come this feels scary for me?

Resistance can be a beacon of light into the unconsious.... to deeper meaning and understanding...

Trust the Process

Permission

What are we waiting for to try something new?
Permission from the Great and Powerful Oz,
our parents, our Swim Coach from high school, the cool kids..
Why do we have to wait for someone outside of us to let us know what ever it is we want to do is okay.
At some point, we may have been scared into submission... by yelling and teasing and more severe punishment...like the silent treatment.

Take a leap of faith..try it out..Don't wait for someone else to tell you to go for it..by then you may be bedridden..you never know

Go for what you want..Give birth to your own truth....

I am leaping into beautiful possiblities.. join me....

Good Weekend

I had a good weekend. I added my talents and skill to a wonderful group experience led by a friend. It felt like I had a place to shine and was appreciated. That can make anyone feel smashing.
peace,
Eve

My phone

I didn't realize how important my cellphone is to me until I didn't know where it was. I looked all over for it. I called the restaurant where I had it last. I looked through my bags..my desk,,another desk... It reminds of a feeling I get when friends go...move or move on...I don't realize how much I care until they are living in another state...and I don't have my cellphone to call them... Oh, boy!

ps A friend found my cellphone in his car.

Clark Street Festival 2007

Praise for Oral History Projects

Please check out my videos on http://youtube.com/ at ebrown67.
Thanks Eve




Dear Eve,

You may share our interviews with anyone you wish. May I ask that you establish a link to my Synagogue's web site (www.aansc.org) so that folks who are interested in our work can check it out.

Your work is exceptional. It is very different, approaching a serious issue in life in a manner that is compelling and enlightening. I wish you much success in this work. In your depiction of me I really would like to see a handsome slim Rabbi Lefkowitz with a resonant and regal tone. Just kidding!

Good luck.

Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz


Dear Eve: I am extremely honored that you have produced this film about me, Links-to-Literacy, and Gale Community Academy. It is very gratifying to know that you and Rodgerspark.com care enough to record the achievements we have made. Too often public education is under attack and I applaud your efforts to help us get the "good word out." Through the hard work and dedication of so many people in the school, parents, and community we have filled the school with programs that will help all our students succeed.

Thank-you, Gracias, and Merci many times over for your support and affirmation.

Sincerely,

Rudy Joan Lubov

P.S. We have started a book fund for the Gale Library. Book donations would be most welcomed if anyone would like to add to our collection. Presently, we are trying to refurbish the book collection in the Kindergarten to fifth grade library as many of the books are very old. Contributions can be sent to: Gale Community Academy, 1631 W. Jonquil Terrace, Chicago, Illinois 60626. 773-534-2100 or 773-534-2250. I can be reached at rjlubov@aol.com

Summer Time and the Living is Hot!

Chicago is int the 100s. Woowee, the beach and more specifically the cool water is the place to be. You could find me submerged in the blue Lake Michigan these days. I just dive in. No wading, no dipping my toes. Just one ..two three dive..oh boy....a refreshing reminder that I am alive and well and very blessed. Thanks to the powers that be.

Declaration of Independence

It's that time of the year when we wave flags, watch fireworks and remember "How the British were coming" and how we beat their butts.

For me it is also a time to think about what I can liberate myself from. Something came to mind, a little tidbit of insight today.
I want to liberate myself from the negative thought that I am just tolerable and not lovable.

Cause I am lovable, by golly!!!!

I hope we can all feel more free and lovable.
Best,
Eve

Videos

Please check out my videos on http://youtube.com/ at ebrown67.
Thanks Eve

A Spiritual Quest

I journeyed by bus to a foreign land by an old orchard.
I strolled in the warm rain and
didn't know what to expect.
I found a friendly face and another interesting person on the phone.
They wanted to know what I knew.
They wanted me to capture the beauty of humanity in a new face and different culture for me.
Full of meaning, art and stories.
People who came to America with 500 in their pocket and now help lead the nation.
I feel honored.

Moving

Packing bags and boxing books
Taking stock of where you've been
I jokingly ask,"Have you seen the tape monster?"
Lugging my suitcases, "everything fits in here"
The true defintion of baggage.
Eight moves in seven years
After my divorce....
Search for the right place..the right people..but it is all inside me.
Finding home begins inside.... I am learning that.

A Stirred Heart

My heart is stirred tonight. I was exactly in the right place I was meant to be. I watched and enjoyed the movie Once.. full of beautiful music..I felt chills down my spine...sweet, tenderness.. Thanks Glen and Marketa. When the movie was over in the Evanston Theater nobody moved and people clapped. The movie filled my heart and eased me. It felt like a warm blanket on a rainy day with my sweetheart.....

A New Day

It is a new day. A Wednesday to be more correct. The sun is shining. The birds are shirping outside my window. I sound polly annaish. I feel a little rusty today writing. I took another pause from writing and I do feel it. I feel a little strain in my creative flow. I don't know much but I know blah blah...Just write. I sat down here this morning I am writing, that is part of the internal battle that can rage inside of every creative person. The battle between that voice that says you can and go for it and the other mean voice that says no way how dare you think you can write... Shut up you meany....greenbeany....The voice that says I can is winning if I am writing the word greenbeeny. Very silly.

My fingers are still moving. I don't really know what comes next...that is the great mystery..the the magic beans of the land of the imagination. I am thinking how many times have I used the word bean in this writing. Anyway... I am feeling more chippier.. not a real word..cause I think I made it up. I like making up words..you try it sometime.

peace

Soaring

Soaring into Happiness

Today, I am choosing to write about my journey of soaring into happiness. Getting happier is a good goal. It is a good choice for me. Writing is part of the path, therefore I will document how I am getting happier almost daily. I can't promise..if this is tooo regimented it will seem like a chore and may reduce happiness factor.

Today, I have much today. I am plotting out my course for soaring, but wil be open to surprises. I will trust the process. Thanks Margot and Paolo.

Intro to You Can with Master Gary Clyman

Check it out!

Writing Home at Last

A three year olds mind can come up with many adventures. When I was three, with the help of my favorite preschool teacher, I wrote my first story about a mommy bird and a baby bird and that fateful day when it was time for the baby bird to fly solo. There was squawking from the baby bird, but once in flight she could find she could do it. She could fly and not hit the ground. Today, I feel some similar feelings about writing now at the lovely young age of 40. I wasn’t sure if I could write a novel, I felt a gentle push then a harder kick in the pants by my characters, Edward and Liz Levine, telling me they want to be in the world, outside of my head. (Even though my head is a cool place to hang.) I visualized these childhood sweethearts at a writer’s retreat ten years ago. Three years ago, I said to Ed and Liz and myself, I am going to try to write your story. I took weeks off from work and wrote everyday by the ocean. The writing just flowed out of me. (I have been a therapist for seventeen years and an oral historian for eight.) The character Liz is a therapist and world renowned for her knowledge of sex and relationships. I found that I put a lot of my thoughts and experiences about love and relationships into this book. It became an act of love to write and to finish a good draft. I am glad I could take that flight from the branch and soar as a writer. Thank you!

Happy Birthday Studs

You sat in a big comfy chair, listening to Mahaila Jackson from 50 years ago. She still sounds sweeter than ever. She lives on tape. You Studs will live in every person you touched. You touched my mind. I always tell people I am a therapist by day and Studs Terkel wannabe by night. I write interviews for a website in Rogers Park. I am proud of my 40+ interviews. They are getting better and better. I think something that really helps is really listneing. I listen to what people are saying also I try to hear what they may want to say but the tongue is twisitng on them.

People say "I know you are listening." I am proud of my abilities of hearing and capturing it on paper or video. Some gem, some kernel of truth of that person. I wind up liking and caring about all the people I interview. I may not always agree with all their opinions. I wonder if you feel the same way.

Happy Birthday Studs Terkel!!

With Regard and Affection
Eve Brownstone
Third Generation of Free Thinker and Compassionate Heart

Corporate/Organizational Training

In this economy of constant change and stressful choices, Brownstone Therapeutics can infuse your company/organization with new energy, better morale and more creative choices. Give us a try and see what grows!!!

We can customize a training for you to develop: conflict resolution, leadership, communication, problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Giving Birth to Your Truth
During this dynamic training, participants will let go of the "shoulds" and focus on the kind of people they want to be. If you have ever wanted to sing at Carnegie Hall or be a motivational speaker or whatever else you can envision, we can enact it within a safe group experience.

Dining with the Family
This training helps participants get ready to spend time with family. Learn how to deal with Aunt Stella who nags you about eating too little or Uncle Ralph who has had a bad day and takes it out on you. Role-play and discussion will be featured in this boot camp for the family.

Choices
Life is full of choices. Participants will explore the choices they have made and have the opportunity to explore different choices through enactment and role-play.

Walking In Your Shoes
Participants will reverse roles with someone with whom they were in conflict and get a chance to walk in the other person’s shoes and see the conflict from the other side.

The Yes/No Game
One of the toughest things for a young leader, supervisor or manager to learn is when to complete a task or when to delegate. Participants will practice saying yes to what they do want and no to what they don’t want to do.

Building a Stress First Aid Kit
Designed to help people learn how to relax, de-stress and rejuvenate. Music, laughter and guided visualization will be standard tools of operation for this training. Perfect for a Board of Directors meeting or a staff retreat.

Building Bridges
Team building, communication and cooperation are keys to this fun and energetic three hour workshop. Through role-play, art and games participants will gain more insight into workplace dynamic, where they fit in and how to build bridges of communication with
others.

Corporate and Organizational Trainings
All training fees vary due to amount of time required, number of participants and travel costs.

Listening..really listening

Have you ever gotten the feeling that someone was really listening to you.
They look at you..look into your eyes
Not rush you..ask questions and ask you what the experience meant to you

Maybe they make sure you breathe when a part is hard to talk about

Maybe they don't stop you when you cry

They just listen and hear you.

Oral History Services

Proposal for Oral History Services
Brownstone Therapeutics 2007
(773) 859-1276 or email at brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com
http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/

Brownstone Therapeutics is a therapeutic private practice that aims to encourage clients to connect with themselves and others through the creative arts. Brownstone Therapeutics offers individual and group therapy, supervision for students, corporate and organizational trainings, and oral history services.

Proposal: Brownstone Therapeutics proposes to provide our older neighbors and their families oral history services. These services include: an eight-week reminiscence group and oral history projects (DVD or written format).

Benefits of Reminiscing:
1. Boots quality of life
2. The older person feels that he/she is leaving a legacy for the future generations-passes on life lessons.
3. It provides a place for positive social interaction through story-telling of both painful and humorous moments.
4. Enables older people to achieve a sense of coherence and wholeness.

Possible 8-week Outline for Reminiscing Group (Like the Good Old Days?)
Week 1
Childhood Adventures
Week 2
Teens/School, Sports and Dating
Week 3
Adult Years/Working and Raising Children
Week 4
Relationships
Week 5
Challenges
Week 6
What are you most proud of?
Week 7
Life Lessons
Week 8
Celebration

Inquire about fees at 773-859-1276.

Feeling Proud of Myself

I feel proud of myself. I learned how to put my videos up on youtube. I know for you folks born in the eighties it is no big deal. But for me who was born in 67..you can do the math.. I feel a wonderful naural high right now. Yes!!! I interviewed one of my favorite people, my Tai Chi Teacher Master Gary Clyman.

Here is my Bio/Story "You Can! Interview" on YouTube:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNDXl64PhPk
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9HX3d_UEho
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLVFxaW2TB8
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tDW5dvv94Q

Untying Knots

Mother Meera, a gentle and loving woman full of light traveled from across the sea to join us here in Oak Park.
She touched me with her smiling eyes and the room filled with this loving light. In unison we took a deep breathe. For a few moments we were transfixed by this Indian woman with dark hair and eyes and a brilliant magenta sahri.

She spoke not a word. Her silence moved many hearts including my own.

Thank you Mother Meera.

Brownstone Therapeutics Services

Compassionate Care For the Creative Soul
Brownstone Therapeutics
brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com
http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/
773-859-1276

Brownstone Therapeutics is a therapeutic private practice that aims to encourage clients to connect with themselves and others through the creative arts. Brownstone Therapeutics offers individual and group therapy, supervision for students, corporate and organizational trainings, and oral history services

The three types of services Brownstone Therapeutics provides:

Psychotherapy
Corporate and Organizational Trainings
Oral History Services

Psychotherapy

Individual Therapy (Adults, children (5 and up) and teens)
One to one therapy, which encourages clients to explore their own strengths and choices

Group Therapy

Choices
An eight-week dynamic support group learning experience to explore old patterns that are not working and to try out new behaviors. Group addresses life choices, stress management, relationships and much more.

Hope and Recovery Group
A eight-week group to understand the process of grieving and to connect with loved ones living and deceased and to find openings for self-transformation


Clinical Supervision/Consultation
Supervision is available for students and professionals in counseling or social work who are working towards licensure.



Individual Therapy $40-$125 (sliding scale)
Group Therapy $35.00 per group session (per person)
Supervision/Consultation $50-$80(sliding scale)



Corporate and Organizational Trainings
This is a series of trainings that assist participants in developing conflict resolution, leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.

Giving Birth to Your Truth
During this dynamic training, participants will let go of the "shoulds" and focus on the kind of people they want to be. If you have ever wanted to sing at Carnegie Hall or be a motivational speaker or whatever else you can envision, we can enact it within a safe group experience.

Dining with the Family
This training helps participants get ready to spend time with family. Learn how to deal with Aunt Stella who nags you about eating too little or Uncle Ralph who has had a bad day and takes it out on you. Role-play and discussion will be featured in this boot camp for the family.

Choices
Life is full of choices. Participants will explore the choices they have made and have the opportunity to explore different choices through enactment and role-play.

Walking In Your Shoes
Participants will reverse roles with someone with whom they were in conflict and get a chance to walk in the other person’s shoes and see the conflict from the other side.

The Yes/No Game
One of the toughest things for a young leader, supervisor or manager to learn is when to complete a task or when to delegate. Participants will practice saying yes to what they do want and no to what they don’t want to do.

Building a Stress First Aid Kit
Designed to help people learn how to relax, de-stress and rejuvenate. Music, laughter and guided visualization will be standard tools of operation for this training. Perfect for a Board of Directors meeting or a staff retreat.

Building Bridges
Team building, communication and cooperation are keys to this fun and energetic three hour workshop. Through role-play, art and games participants will gain more insight into workplace dynamic, where they fit in and how to build bridges of communication with
others.

Corporate and Organizational Trainings
All training fees vary due to amount of time required, number of participants and travel costs.

Oral History Services
Our elders want to leave legacies for future generations and Brownstone Therapeutics listens and documents these amazing life stories. In my experience no life story is boring.

Oral History Video
Oral History Booklet
Oral History Story
Reminiscing Groups
Oral History 101

Oral History Services


Inquire about fees.

Staff
Eve Brownstone, MA, LCPC, is an expressive arts therapist with sixteen years experience working with individuals and groups of all ages. Her work has been featured in The Boston Herald, The Chicago Tribune, and The WGN Morning Show. Eve has collaborated with thirty+ different organizations from universities to hospitals. Eve also has eight years experience as an oral historian. Eve produced and directed two oral history videos on reminiscing.

Laura Brownstone, MSW, LCSW with eight years experience as a psychotherapist. Laura is an expert in grief and trauma work. She received her graduate degree from Loyola University. Laura has an expertise in imagery and Tai Chi.



For more information, you can contact us at 773-859-1276 or email us at brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com.

What an awesome Day!

What an awesome day!

The sun is shining. I am awash in positive engery. I was surrounded by 10,000 positive people yesterday. We experienced a wonderful talk on compassion from the Dalai Lama. He has been through an awful lot. If he can still giggle by golly so can I. So more laughter and giggling is inorder for me.

I was struck by one definition of compassion he offered. You can easily have compassion for someone when they are doing things you like-the trick is to still have copassion for those folks when they do things you don't like---I needed to hear that right now. There are loved ones who are doing things that are pissing me off---I can still care about them..maybe there is still hope for me yet.

Ask Eve

Ask Eve. Please write in your questions about relationships. I will do my best to think about it and give you an answer hopefully filled with insight and a little humor thrown in.

This is just fun entertainment and educational, but not therapy. I don't know all the answers, but I know a little bit after being in the therapeutic business for close to two decades. Give it a try. If you want therapy you can call me at 773-859-1276 to schedule an appointment. Post your questions in the comment section of this post Ask Eve. Have Fun. Best, Eve

Upcoming From Brownstone Therapeutics

An Open Art Studio
Monday May 7
7PM-9PM
$10
1227 W. Jarvis
Come make art in a fun and safe environment.

Ask the Shrink
Thursday May 10 6PM-8PM
Cafe Ennui
6981 N. Sheridan Rd.
Grab some tea, a chair and chat a while

Giving Birth to Your Truth Workshop
Sunday June 11
2:00PM-5:00PM
Let Go of the Shoulds and embrace your bliss
$100.00
1227 W. Jarvis

My Birthday

At 9:42AM, I turn 40 tomorrow. I got some issues with it. I appreciate all grey hair. But I ain't old man. I am going to be kicking up my heels at a dance party. Rock on!

From Eve Brownstone

Eve Brownstone, MA, LCPC
Director of Brownstone Therapeutics

Some of you know me as the interviewer for this amazing website www.rogerspark.com
for the past four years. Today, I am tooting my horn for something I have been doing for the past seventeen years, Expressive Arts Therapies. I ran my first group in 1990. I got my Masters in 1993 and my LCPC in 1998. For seventeen years, I have worked for other organizations. I have had wonderful experiencing working with clients from eighteen months to ninety-five years old. Today, I am letting everybody know that I am putting up my own shingle. Brownstone Therapeutics is open for business.

Brownstone Therapeutics is a therapeutic private practice in Rogers Park aimed at assisting people: to explore choices, gain more self-awareness and self-acceptance, reduce stress, anxiety and depression so that people can live more fully. I am looking for folks who want to make positive changes in their lives. I use music, dance, art, writing and psychodrama to get to the heart of things, to look below the surface. I see myself as mid-wife, assisting clients to give birth to themselves. It is not always easy. With growth can come some teething. But it is a joyful experience when someone stands on their own two feet and embraces themselves- the good, the bad and the ugly. Individual and group therapy sessions are provided. There is a sliding scale. We are a Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Provider and offer a special discount to students of Loyola University of Chicago.

Another service I am thrilled to offer is Oral History Services. Brownstone Therapeutics offers convenient and affordable ways to document loved ones life stories or your own.
Through DVD or written form, I can capture someone’s story for present and future generations to enjoy. Also telling your story, I have been told is very therapeutic. Sometimes people just want to talk and know someone is listening. I am a good listener.

Lastly, Brownstone Therapeutics offers fun, interactive and educational experiences for groups from schools to corporations. We aim to reduce stress, increase leadership skills and team cohesion in creative ways. Trainings include: How to Build a Stress First Aid Kit, Dining with the Family and Choices. We also offer private consultation to businesses and other organizations.

For more information or book an appointment call 773-859-1276 or email brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com or check out http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/.

Growing Pains

Moving on.
Life is about learning new things. Some new things come in pretty packages with charming wrapping and lots of smiles. Other lessons feel like teething and the soothing cream is out of your reach. Ouch!! I am learning a life lesson. It is one of the second type. It is an oucher!. I am moving on. I realize things can't stay the same. Nothing stays the same. I am moving on with some fear...I am getting closer to knowing what I want and getting it.... I don't want anybody else to force me to move on in a mean way. I am moving on...at my own pace....I am acknowledging the pain. Because where I was on my journey was meaningful and important to me. It still is. I am moving on into the unknown. Into the forest...I will find the beach and sun on the other end. I know it.

Another Bend in the Road

My laptop is open as I prepare for four hours in the philly airport. I am listening to my fav instrumental. I can send emails. I am on the slightly happy side. Even though the flight is delayed due to bad visiiblity...Communication with the world is still possible. My cellphone lacks juice but I'veI got some apple flavored.

I am sitting next to two friendly but frustrated people. All of us are determined for whatever reason to get to Chicago at around 6pm. One comes from Jerusalem and other other comes from Philly. It is nice to have people to talk to.

I am so ready for Spring!!! Let the sunshine and no more bad visibility. I guess there is still some sunshine with in this philly airport. I am finding some anyway.

Journey

I am in NYC with my family. Tomorrow is Uncle Max's Memorial, a celebration of his life. He was a prangster and my grandma's best brother for ninety years. Wow to know somebody so well. My grandma is hanging in there.
Max was a leader of children, father of Peter and Barry, WWII vet, lover and husband of wanda.

You are a treasure and a mench.
Love Eve

What a great day!!

It is summer, by golly! What a difference twenty degrees makes in my day. I am wearing a t-shirt. I am not quite in shorts. It is still March in Chicago. Tomorrow it could be 30 with snow, by gumshin. I am enjoying myself. Finding reason to be outside:like interviewing people on the street passing out flyers.

People are smiling. People are smiling around me more. I like it. It makes me smile more freely.
It makes me want to go for a long walk by the water and contemplate diving under the waves. Only a thought, cause the water would freeze my butt.

Enjoy!!!

Speaking up

This is the kind of day I don't want to do much. Stay under the covers, watch an old movie. I don't feel like talking much, my voice is hoarse.

Last night I joined ten thousand people on Michigan Avenue for Peace. We shout"What do we want ?" "Peace" "When do we want it, Now!" There were probably as many cops as marchers, but most were nice to us. They laughed, talked and even smiled. They were making double time for protecting us from ourselves. It was better this year, last year they were not smiling and were in riot gear. I walked from Ogden School to Daley Plaza with my mom.

She told me about taking us to our first peace demonstration when my sisters and I were kids. No Nukes!! I remember. I like being a part of a family that speaks up and says when we don't agree with something.

It is really time to speak up everybody!!!

Pause in Writing

There has been a pause in my writing. I feel it physically. I feel better when I am writing. I feel less stuck more liking I am moving somewhere, even when I am siting still at my computer. I can come up with excuses..bla blah..blah.. I just know writing is good for me... even when life is pulling me down or in another direction, writing helps me makes sense of it all.

Goodie-Trust the Process

I tell my students to Trust the process..I tell my friends to trust themselves... Both are good things to do....I think as I approach 40..This has been a little hard for me..I am better with the questions and unknowns.

I don't expect to be right all the time or know every answer. I like to say"I don't know."

I am on my path..that is what I know. I am trusting the process. Any moment now I could vear off and find myself on a tropical island with a hunky guy. That would be fine.

The Invitation- Words of Wisdom

The Invitation
By Oriah, Mountain Dreamer, Native American Elder

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dream of meeting your hearts longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own;if you can dance with the wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your life from God's presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mind and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver moon,"Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you can stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the insides when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."

What is Expressive Arts Therapies?

What is Expressive Arts Therapies?

The expressive arts move people into the world of emotions. It gets people out of their heads and into their bodies. Experiences are stored in the body.

Many people are survivors of some kind of trauma, whether it is resulting from war or an abusive relationship.

Some people can't or choose not to speak about the violence they witnessed but find it easier to paint or dance or sing our their stories. Someone can find her voice again through the arts. She can learn that she has an inner power and an indestructible will that won't leave her.

The feelings of grief, anger, pain , fear and joy are the tunnel through which we must pass to get to the other side: to self-awareness, understanding and wholeness.

Other Principles of expressive arts therapies
All people have the ability to be creative.
Our feelings and emotions are an energy source.
Personal growth takes place in a safe and supportive environment.

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you are still alive it isn't."
Richard Bach

Change

Change can be your friend.
Who said that, Freud?
I said it. Who are you?
Someone who is experiencing alot alot of change.
Not so much. Others have changed more.
I changed my job.
I am changing my relationship with my body to a more positive one.
Getting healthy
Being Happy..
Those are good changes.
Can I have some of what you are having?
Come and get it.

Getting Up Again

I come from a long line of rough houser. When I was a kid I'd wrestle with my little girl and boy friends. Under water was the best. My sister once clobbered me and gave me a bloody nose. At least that is how she tells the story. As I got older, I wrestled less and got more fearful. Instead of blows, I got teased and bullied. I didn't make a wise crack back...I would cry.
Now I want to learn how to take the blows that life dishes out...mainly emotional and physical. I am starting to rough house again. I am getting out again and learning how to weave away from danger. Also I am learning to recover quickly and bounce back into action. It feels great to let my Dragon out. RRRRRRRHHHHGGGGGGG!!!

Tooting Our Own Horn

Compassionate Care for the Creative Soul

Brownstone Therapeutics
Eve Brownstone, MA, LCPC
Director of Brownstone Therapeutics
http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/
brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com
773-859-1276

Mission:
Brownstone Therapeutics is a therapeutic private practice that aims to encourage clients to connect with themselves and others through the creative arts. Brownstone Therapeutics offers individual and group therapy, supervision for students, corporate and organizational trainings, and oral history services

Accomplishments:
Eve Brownstone, MA, LCPC has facilitated groups since 1990. She is a Group Specialist and Expressive Arts Therapist. Eve has worked with 3,000+ clients over the past seventeen years in groups and one to one. In Twinsburg, OH,
Eve led a Giving Birth to your Truth Workshop for 500 twins and their families. Eve co-facilitated and co-founded a Twin's support group in Boston for two years called Twins Inc. Eve co-founded DreamShop Inc, a therapeutic arts not for profit corporation and served as Board President for four years. Eve also facilitated an Anger Managment Group for six years.

Eve served as Director and Producer for two video-documentaries: Wise Friends: The Beauty of Reminiscing and Community Building: One Story at a Time.
She interviewed 40+ movers and shakers in Rogers Park for http://www.rogerspark.com/. Most recently Eve interviewed former Il Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General Neil Hartigan. Currently, He serves as Chairman of The World Trade Center of Chicago.

Collaborations:
DreamShop, Inc, Twins Inc, Englewood Community Health Organization, Chicago Youth Centers, Elliott Donnelley Youth Center, Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, Saint Francis Hospital, Resurrection Health Care, Advocate Health Care, The Admiral, The Methodist Homes, White Crane Adult Wellness Center, University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Columbia College, The Festival of Life, ASPSAC, ASGPP, Twins' Day Festival, The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, The Edgewater Historical Society, The American Swedish Museum, Unity Church of Chicago, Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, Lakeshore Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society, DevCorp North,www.rogerspark.com, Howard Area Community, The Mitziut Jewish Community, ICASA, UpCorp, EarthDance, Artists of the Wall, The Loyola Park Advisory Council and The Rogers Park Community Council.

Media Attention:
Eve’s work has been featured in The Boston Herald, The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-times, New Star Press, Conscious Choice, The Monthly Aspectarian, Jewish Star, RP2000, and The WGN Morning Show. Eve was also featured as a guest expert on twins on talk shows The Charles Perez Show and The Danny Boneduci Show.

The Power of Exercise

The Power of Exercise

Sweat dripping down my spine.
Thoughts of muscles bulging from my arms
Getting stronger everyday

Believing in myself
Breathe
Do those squat
Kick some butt
You are getting a cute butt

Whoa, look at me run!
It is my own pace..I am running :)
Another five minutes...
30 minutes and I am still breathing
40 minutes and I am breathing...
I am craving yogurt
Usually I crave chocolate when I am all sweaty
Not today buddy
Yogurt and sushi

I am engaging the warrior within me.
The one who is fearless,
who could fly through the air in a back hand spring to back flip and land that dismount
I am running again .... I feel my fire.... flying again..whooaaa!

A Grief Group from Brownstone Therapeutics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, please contact Laura Brownstone, LCSW, at 773-983-0237.
(January 30, 2007)

A new psycho-educational, grief support group will start March 22 and will run until May 3 in the Rogers Park area. The support group will be sponsored by Brownstone Therapeutics..

“Grief feels all consuming, overwhelming and crazy making. You could be sitting on a crowded bus and feel an ocean of tears well up in your eyes or you could be in a supermarket and feel great longing for the one you lost. These are both normal reactions to grief. Grief is a whole body response to a loss which feels devastating to the soul and spirit,” said Laura Brownstone, LCSW.

As an experienced facilitator, Laura Brownstone, LCSW, plans to lead a psycho-educational grief support group for those who have suffered past and recent losses. She would like to invite those who are ready to let some of their grief be expressed and witnessed in a safe space. She encourages use of creativity and members’ own imaginations to lead them to further healing. Ms.Brownstone also uses some didactic learning as well as provides a focus on the mind, body and spirit.

By their friends and family, people are told to get “over it and to stop wallowing.” This may not be helpful advice. Embedded grief over time does affect the whole person. “In doing necessary grief work, people can feel less crazy, more grounded in the present and better able to imagine their future,” added Laura Brownstone, LCSW.

When: Thursday, March 22- May 3 from 6-7:30 p.m.
Where: East Rogers Park, 1227 West Jarvis, Chicago, by the lake.
Who: Anyone who wants support for their loss and feels capable of being in a new group. Cost: $35 per group.

Facilitated by Laura Brownstone, LCSW. Sponsored by Brownstone Therapeutics. Ms. Brownstone has at least seven years of experience working with grief and loss. If you wish to participate, please call, Laura Brownstone, LCSW, at 773-983-0237.

Brownstone Therapeutics is a therapeutic private practice which aims to encourage clients to connect with themselves and others through the creative arts. Brownstone Therapeutics offers individual and group therapy, supervision for students, corporate and organizational trainings, as well as oral history services.

Being Productive

I am being very productive.
Finishing drafts..finishing interviews...
Returning emails..Sending necessary emails
Answering questions for Ask Eve..
Please send more questions.

Working out for an hour today keeps me going.
Walking in the sun.... bliss...

Brownstone Therapeutics Services

Brownstone Therapeutics

You don’t have to be good. You don’t have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Wild Geese, Mary Oliver

Compassionate Care for the Creative Soul

Eve Brownstone, MA, LCPC
Seventeen years experience

Now Offers:
Individual Therapy
Group Psychotherapy
Trainings
Psychodrama/Action Method Techniques
Art Therapy
Giving Birth to Your Truth Workshops
Supervision/Consultation
Oral History Services

For more information call (773) 859-1276
Or visit http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/

Ask Eve

Tonight we are launching an advice coulumn, Ask Eve. Please right in your questions about relationships. I will do my best to think about it and give you an answer hopefully filled with insight and a little humor thrown in.
This is just fun entertainment and educational, but not therapy. I don't know all the answers, but I know a little bit after being in the therapeutic business for close to two decades. Give it a try. If you want therapy you can call me at 773-859-1276 to schedule an appointment. Post your questions in the comment section of this post Ask Eve. Have Fun. Best, Eve

A Journey

A Journey from Anshe Emet to Garfield Park Field House

At Anshe Emet, a girl spoke with her voice and became a woman within her
community and within her family.

She spoke of prayer, service, sacrifice, ancestors and of miracles sixty years ago. She moved the crowd with her hope for the future.

Cousins, aunts, uncles, mom, dad, brother and sister embraced and celebrated her, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to bask in sweet vicarious love for a few more moments, but I was called to Garfield Park, to a wedding reception.

The taxi took me to the Southside. I needed to go to Garfield and Cottage Grove. The CTA said that is where I would find the Garfield Park Field House. The taxi parted me with my thirty dollars and left me in an unknown land. (At the Corner of Garfield and Cottage Grove) I asked rugby players, "Where is Garfield Park Field House?” “I don’t know.” was their response. I walked all over a park, which became known to me as Washington Park. Fear began to grip me. I called my sister and my brother-law for help. They were at the wedding reception. They didn’t answer their cell-phones. I started to cry. I prayed to G-d for help. “Please help me G-d.” I looked for an answer. In the mean time, I asked a father and son walking on the street, "How can I get to Garfield Park?" The father directed me to the Garfield bus. I thought yes, maybe I would find my way. The bus driver let me off at a building that was locked up. Panic gripped me again, “Oh shit!”

Good fortune smiled upon or an angel sent some love my way in front of that locked up building. Another father and young son also parked in front. I told them of my challenge and being lost. They acted with care and brought me safely to the Red-line. Standing on the Red-line platform, I thanked G-d for my well-being and answering me. I never made it to Garfield Park Field House today, but I went on a journey I was supposed to experience. I found my own voice to speak up and ask for help until I got it. Everything happens for a reason.

Ask the Shrink

Brownstone Therapeutics Community Outreach

Ask The Shrink?

Starts February 8
Thursdays 7pm-9pm
at Café Ennui, 6981 N Sheridan

Meet with Eve Brownstone a licensed therapist with seventeen years experience working with clients from eighteen months to ninety-five years old. Grab a cup of warm cider and pull up a chair for a one to one therapeutic session with this shrink. We can chat or make art together. $1 a minute.

These brief sessions at Café Ennui are meant to be therapeutic and not therapy. Participants are responsible for their own experience. Private therapy follow-up sessions with Eve Brownstone are available.



Call 773-859-1276 for more information or email brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com or visit http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/.

An Open Art Studio

Brownstone Therapeutics presents

An Open Art Studio

Starting Monday, February 19
7pm- 9pm
At 1227 W. Jarvis in Rogers Park
$10 at the door
Space is limited to six

Come make art with me, Expressive Arts Therapist, Eve Brownstone.
This is a fun laid back experience. No experience with art required.
Just a desire to create something is important. You might even learn something new about yourself. I look forward to making art with you.
I have all the supplies and space. Call me at 773-859-1276 with any question. Or email me at brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com or visit me at http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/.

Conversation

I just had a conversation that surprised me.
I spoke with an orthodox rabbi for the past 2 1/2 hours.
We are both jewish, yes.
He has a white beard and I kept listening.
At times I was moved to tears of joy.
He said he and I have alot in common.
We are both searchers. He said.
Questioning, exploring, thinking, trusting our higher-power will show us the next step.
He said it was a burden and a strength.
It can lead to wisdom and being alone.
He said that he was alone but not lonely. That is how I feel these days.

Giving Birth to Your Truth

What is Giving Birth to Your Truth?

It starts with me being a twin. You see I am an identical twin sister. For most of my life I thought the word “twin” was written on my forehead. In high school, my sister Laura and I were known as the “twins”. I am not complaining. I liked the celebrity-like treatment. My twin sister Laura felt like a freak. After high school, Laura and I went to different colleges in different states. This was Laura’s idea.

It was the best thing for us with twenty years hindsight. At eighteen, we went through an intense separation-individuation period. We yelled at the top of our lungs at each other in an effort to define our own identities. “I am not you!...I am me!!!” At the time, I had no idea who I was and I wasn’t sure I could make it without Laura, and I was damn pissed at her for abandoning me!

It was in graduate school at Lesley College in Cambridge Mass, that I began more concretely to define myself. It was a fun and intensively creative experience being a part of the Inter-modal Expressive Arts Therapies Program. I had great friends who didn’t see “twin” on my forehead but something beautiful in me. More importantly I saw something beautiful in me.

I wrote my Masters Thesis about being a twin and how it affects my relationship with me and others. I learned not only that was I afraid of being abandoned but that I was afraid of being consumed by the Other (Laura or a boyfriend). Being silenced. I have been silenced in relationships. I choose to speak up now.

Fourteen years ago, as I finished my thesis, I created a white spandex bag. I called it my “birthing bag”. Inside it, I would get an idea of what it was like to be born alone and not in relationship. Being a twin you come into this world “born in a relationship”. It started out as a performance piece. I would go into the bag and birth myself to music. I’ve been told my performance was beautiful and intense.

It was fun coming out of the bag, all sweaty and being greeted by others. I thought to myself, maybe other people could benefit from this rebirthing experience. Other people may learn how to feel more welcomed into the world in new empowering ways. So I created the Giving Birth to Your Truth Workshop. Participants may use the birthing bag or not. The imporant thing is to create your intention for change.

This safe group environment can be an incubator for making changes in your life. Through role-play, movement, music and group process participants rehearse roles that they have always wanted to play such as: a singer at Carnegie Hall, a mother or President of the United States. By rehearsing these roles, participants help themselves move towards creating the kind of lives they really want.

I don’t have all the answers. I know my twin and I get along much better now that we live own lives. I like to see myself as a Dullah, encouraging and steady. I am the one who wipes the brow and whispers “You can do this…watch you go.”

Saturday March 17, 2007 from 10am-3pm, I will be hosting another Giving Birth to Your Truth Workshop at 1227 W. Jarvis in Chicago.The fee is $150.00.

For registration and more information you can phone me at 773-859-1276 or send me an email to brownstonetherapeutics@gmail.com. Or visit me at http://brownstonetherapeutics.blogspot.com/

Emotional Energy-Power

A great thing happened to me this weekend. For the first time in along time I felt my body let go, perk up and dance inside. It felt like I was giving birth to myself. I spent the weekend at a wonderful empowerment workshop. It bypassed my mind and went straight for my body. Zing, tingle bang whoooo, baby! I didn't realize I was holding so much stored emotional baggage in my body. I did have alot of abandonment and bitterness. Whoo! It is good to let go of it. It makes sense every experience you have is stored in your body. You can feel stuck emotionally because your energy is stuck and not circulating in your body due to emotional overload. By the end of the weekend, I felt more powerful, I still do...

Hilda and Frank

Hilda and Frank
By Eve Brownstone
Under a bright blue sky at a summer picnic they met
on a blanket full of warmth and good conversation.
Hilda was a ballerina of 23 on a break from performing
Frank was 33 resting after organizing a union.

They spoke with friends and each other about:
the arts,
politics,
social justice.

She felt she knew him
And he couldn’t forget her.
The day they met she whispered to her best friend “This is the man I will marry.”

They would not be parted for very long
He would find her and they would move in together for six months
unheard of back in the 1930s.

They said their “I dos” down at City Hall in New York City.
Simple but meaningful to them both.

Two babies followed: Peter and Bill.
Day to day life:
PTA meetings,
marching for social justice,
labor union organizing,
raising children,
Ann pitched in,
being separated during the week,
spending time some precious time alone on weekends,
ballet and Israel,
Paul Robeson,
long talks with friends into the night over vodka and knishes,
standing up for what was right,

She was 53 and he was 63.
It came quickly from stroke.
World was shattered.
Life went on but differently:
sons were grown,
worked for Hudson’s Bay,
lived with sister Ann,
traveled all over the world.
Grand-children.
Great-grand-children.
Something was missing.
Frank was missing,
the love of Hilda’s life.

Tears

They say that tears are the window to your soul.
Tears let me into the door of my heart.
Tears can cloud my eyes but when I dry them I tend to see more clearly.
They take me on a journey to discover what I want and how I feel.
Tears can shake me to the quick, but they don't have to be scary.
They come as a teacher or a friend who says gently or roughly sometimes,"Pay attention."
Tears can come as soft as a lover's caress or as hard as a Hurricane hitting land.
At these times we must hold ourselves gently.
I also know that this too shall pass.

Communication Confusion

Communication Confusion
What did you say?
Did you really mean that?
I don't get it.
I don't get you.
Please explain your idea more clearly.
Excuse me.
What is it that you want from me?
I just want to tell you know something that is important to me.
I am listening.
I am not sure that you are listening or really care what I have to say.

What a mess!!
Not you.. just how we are communicating.
Just slow down and breathe.
You talk and I will listen.
In five minutes, I would like to talk and then I want you to listen.
I can agree to that.
That's it.
Simple.
Thank you.
Kisses.
Here goes....

Leap of Faith

Taking a leap of faith into the unknown?
Yes, I am.
Starting a new therapeutic business.
Scary, Yeah?
Exciting, yes?
The unknown is filled with situations and people I want and
some I haven't planned for
Oops!! Thats life.

Prayer helps.
Visualization and making things real are part of the process.
Cleaning and painting help me make things more real, like a new office.

A little unease is part of the mix.
"No." Is thrown in now and then to bring the heat up.
But be ready to hear the "yes", they come too. Yes!!
"Yes" is like a waterfall on a hot July day. Whopee!

Sweat and tears won't hurt me, laughter is the grease that makes things go.
I haven't laughed today yet.
Time to smile and think about puppies or having tea with my Grandma.
It helps my day go better.

Leadership

What makes a good leader?
What makes someone stand up for something?
To feel so inspired that they can't be quiet anymore.
To do what is right even if it is unpopular.
It doesn't take a blow torch or knocking someone over the head.
It means making a choice and doing what you feel is right in your heart and running with it until you are satisified with the outcome.
It means being a part of something bigger than you. It is not about you or being a star.
It is about opening your heart and being a mirror for the good in other hearts.
Reaching out, trusting that you are not alone in the actions you take.
Even if you are a single voice, know that you are speaking for others and others will join you and speak up for the greater good.

We have a woman now as speaker of the House. I feel proud of America this moment and this poem is dedicated to the leader in all of us.

Home

Home

What makes a home? Is it the brick, cement, metal and wood that create a home? It is what the heart knows, connections between loved ones, the feeling of being held with love and safety. It is the feeling of being seen as good enough and encouraged to go for what you want, even if it involves leaving home to make your dreams come true. As you make your journey into to this unknown adventure, you find that your home is still with you in your heart. It says to you, “We are with you, you are safe and you can do this.” Your sense of home is reflected in the way you say “hello”, help out a friend, and stand up for yourself. Home is also a place you may return to again and again. You are welcomed with open arms.

Mom and Me in Paris

Mom and Me in Paris
By Eve Brownstone

Mom said to me “I don’t think we spent this much time together since you were in Kindergarten.” There was a brief wave of fear and nausea in my gut. It could have been the jambon (ham) and fromage (cheese) I just consumed for breakfast. This was our first morning in Paris together for a start of a ten day vacation. Before I left Chicago, a friend said with a smile, you might want to kill your mom 20%, if you don’t come to blows 70% of the time it is a good time. This friend had just spent some quality time in Europe with his daughter and was speaking from experience. I laughed at the time.

During the ten days in Paris, I experienced the magnificent Eiffel Tower, café au lait and exquisite people watching at side walk cafes, the beauty of Versailles the but more importantly, my mom and I got to know each other. It wasn’t all crème Brule and champagne but mom and I kept talking which helped.

Our second night in Paris we were out on a café/ people watching adventure in Bastille Square, home of The French Revolution of 1789(there were others) and my mom and I developed this code word to use to let her know when she was pressing my buttons. The code word was “Le pain”; it means the bread in French. My mom’s code word was to growl. This kept us laughing together for most of the night.

Le pain did come in handy. While out “shopping till we drop” mom encouraged me to be thrifty, which was a good idea, but then persuaded me to buy a red scarf. I am glad she did, but I can be too influenced by my mother when she holds something in front of me saying “Don’t you want this?” I wish I could have said it’s lovely but I don’t really want it. Another “le pain” moment came when we talked about me quitting my job due to burn out.

I spoke from my heart. I told mom that “I feel like I had been living my life for other people. I am tired and burned out from my last job. I’ve been working for other people for almost seventeen years and I want to try to be my own boss.” I am a therapist. Once you’re a therapist you never really stop being one. I told my mom, “I want to be a writer. You know that I have been working on a novel for two years. It is important to me. I want to have time to get it published.”

Mom said,”I hear you but I can’t help worrying about you. I am not going to stop being your mother.” I said, “I am glad that you are my mother and I love you but that there are better uses of your energy than to worry about me. I like it when you ask me how my book is going.” We agreed to continue to talk and learn how to accept each other more. I felt like our talking this stuff out brought us closer.

Mom got to exercise her growling abilities due to my late night snoring habits. Mom and I shared a hotel room. We slept in separate beds but had to be creative about finding a good solution to the problem of both mom and daughter both snore like chainsaws.
“Oh, boy, roll over mom, I’d say.” Mom and I both tried those anti-snore strips that you put on your nose and of course earplugs. One of the best remedies was pure exhaustion.

Mom and I were on the go all day to Le Louvre, Le Musee D’orsay , Le Pompidou or Le Champs-Élysées and most of the night to a Jazz club on Lombard St., Saint Chapell for Shubert and Dvorak, Saint Germain De Pre for a round of extreme people watching and a walk about to try to find where mom lived for a summer in 1956. Mom came to Paris with her mom and little sister, when her mom was on sabbatical from teaching. They could have stayed in Paris for a year but decided to live in London because it rained everyday in Paris.

Mom was glad to be back in Paris. This time the weather was beautiful for eight of our ten days. The rain and cold made a brief appearance cause it could. It rained at Versailles. I traveled to Chateau de Versailles by myself. That was another thing my friend suggested to have alone time. Good idea. The magnificence of the palace and the stunning grounds were breathtaking, I spent the whole day.

I tried to imagine myself at fourteen coming to this enormous palace for the first time as Marie Antoinette. I learned that Louis –Phillip her husband wasn’t much older at fifteen. They didn’t consummate their marriage for four years. Sophia Coppla’s movie Marie Antoinette, which mom and I saw together at a Parisian movie theater, made the young queen seem likeable but very naive. Mom and I were surprised at the empty movie theater. Maybe there were three other people in the theater.

This trip to Paris with my mom was full of learning. Facing my fear of heights at the top of the Eiffel Tower, negotiating how to end the loud snoring coming from the other bed, and understanding better where my mom is coming from were important lessons I learned. I am glad we liked each other at least 70% of the time Mom. Where to next???