by Tina Greene | Nov 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
Please check back to see future events and workshops offered by Tina. Email Liz at Liz@TinaGreeneWisdom.com to come for more information or to save your spot in one of our workshops. I hope to see you...
by Tina Greene | Dec 21, 2015 | She Hears Our Cries
I love this time of year when the darkness is brightened by Christmas lights and warm fires. I feel the call to hibernate. To go within and reflect on the year that is coming to a close and begin to set my intentions for the year to come. All of this is happening a little late for me this year because of the recent passing of my dear niece, Songja Ono, who released her struggle with brain cancer on December 5, 2015. A very bright light in the world went out and a new star was born that day. I will miss her presence in my life. So given the time of year and the state of my own heart, it feels very fitting to share the poem that came from my Black Madonna painting, She Hears Our Cries. I feel like I transcribed this poem more than I wrote it. I sat quietly with her at the end of the process and asked her if she wanted the pen. Her message is below. I made an audio version for you, too, in case you would like to sit quietly and allow her words to wash over your heart. http://tinagreenewisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/She-Hears-Our-Cries.m4a I send my love and best wishes for a holiday season full of joy and good times with friends and family. I hope you will remember to take time to breathe and remember that the light that so many celebrate at this time of year lives there inside you. It is who you are. May the beauty of your being be the flame that...
by Tina Greene | Dec 9, 2015 | Art, Wisdom Wheel
There are times in life when it seems that I’m living on a see-saw. One day, life is wonderful and I am full of energy and hope for the future. The next thing I know, all I can manage is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To keep taking one breath after another and having faith that this too shall pass. The last month has been one of those times for me. The night of the Paris attacks was the Opening Artists Reception at the first art show I’ve entered in San Francisco. A long-awaited night to celebrate community and creativity had also become a night of deep pain as once again we faced the affects of rage and hopelessness and asked ourselves “why?” How do we do this? How do we hold what feels like polar opposites and not tear ourselves apart? How do we remain present to the reality of our world AND not let the darkness overwhelm us? The only answer I know is choice. We have to CHOOSE to live in the light, to be the light. It’s not always easy, but with every breath, I choose love. Over and over and over again. So at the Opening Reception, I shared the message from my painting, She Hears Our Cries. It’s a message about light and darkness, about holding both and it brought great comfort to many who were there that night. “Beauty in the darkness Color in the night I will hold your heartaches I will bring the light.” from She Hears Our Cries,...
by Tina Greene | Oct 1, 2015 | Overcoming Fear
“Be more curious than afraid.” -Ishi I am calling BULLSHIT on fearlessness. Fearlessness is a myth. A set-up. An illusion. On the other hand, fear is a natural, often healthy response that arises deep in our reptilian brain. Evolutionarily speaking, it got us here. It helped our species survive in a world that really wasn’t safe, when “not belonging” to a family or a tribe really was a matter of life and death. While there are no more saw-tooth tigers threatening us, our reptilian brain – and its fear response – is not going away. Trying to get rid of fear is like Sisyphus trying to roll the stone up that mountain. It’s a no-win. That’s why I’m calling BULLSHIT on fearlessness. If fear is here to stay, how do we move beyond it? Here’s my current fear challenge. I long to move out into the world. To give what I know I came here to give. Yet, when it comes to acting on my desire, I am often paralyzed by fear. It feels like I’m on my own personal see-saw. One breath, I’m up, ready to take off. The next breath, I’m down, so scared I can’t move. It’s crazy-making. Does this sound familiar? How often do we find ourselves here? Too many to count right? Sigh. Each time I wake up in this place, I have to re-remember that I can be scared AND move forward at the same time. I can choose to move through – and beyond – fear, if I’m willing to practice – a lot! – compassion, curiosity and courage. ...
by Tina Greene | Aug 26, 2015 | Facing Mistakes
I’m sure you’ve experienced it before. That sudden horrible realization that you’ve forgotten something really important…like, um, your best friend’s birthday. One moment you’re fine, the next it feels like the floor has opened up and swallowed you whole. The flush of shame comes over you and all you want to do is curl up into a ball and disappear…or slink off while no one notices. It sucks doesn’t it? Being hit in the gut with the realization that you messed up BIG TIME. You can apologize. You can call and text and email. But no matter how hard we try, there is no way to undo what has been done. No way to “fix it” or “make it better.” As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this happened to me recently. Yup. Me, the queen of it’s-not-possible-to-make-too-big-a-deal-over-birthdays. I forgot my best friend’s birthday. (For the second year in a row, she now tells me – god, can it get any worse?) Sure I could fall back on excuses (aka “reasons”) that may actually be true, but the stark reality is that I Messed Up. Pure and simple. I hurt a woman I love dearly, a woman who has not just walked beside me, but often carried me, literally and metaphorically, for more than 20 years. What do we do when we screw up so badly with someone we really love? First and foremost, we have to recognize that the flush of shame will pass and NOT act while we are in it. That flush – you know the heat that starts in your gut, moves often...
