by Tina Greene | Aug 6, 2015 | Overcoming Fear
What a wonderful time to be alive! Summer is here. The days are long. The gardens are growing. There is so much to be grateful for! I am deeply grateful that YOU chose to join me on this incredible journey we call life. I know that you have more than enough material in your inbox and am honored that you chose to add mine to the mix. These last two months have been a whirlwind of activity, causing me to dream wistfully of those wonderful lazy summer days when I was a kid and the most important question was whether to stay in and read a good book or go out and PLAY. Ahh, yes, little did we appreciate how lucky we were! Just like giving a new workshop for the first time, launching my website reminded me of the big plays we used to produce in high school– the intense preparation, the thrill of production, and the “let-down” when it’s all over and suddenly there is a vacuum. It feels like I’m learning all over again how to maintain momentum so that I can continue to connect, inspire and do the work I want to do in the world. And that makes me wonder about you. What brings you joy? How do you respond to the vacuum? How do you manage the let down and maintain momentum? One of my personal tricks is to remember that the journey of 10,000 miles begins with every step. When I feel overwhelmed by all there is to do, I remind myself that just like...
by Tina Greene | Jul 2, 2015 | Lotus Wisdom, Self Care
I have a confession to make. When I launched my website, I said I would be sending out bi-weekly newsletters. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t. Ouch! Not exactly how I wanted to start. When I realized that I was going to miss my very first goal, I immediately felt the flush of shame. My inner mean girls took over and they had a heyday! “HaHaHa. We said all along that you couldn’t do this! “ “You BLEW IT, Tina. No one will ever listen or trust you now!” “You’ve never been good with planning ahead, what made you think you could do this anyway?!” “You SUCK!” I know intellectually that I’m probably the only person watching the days tick by and that many others have tripped up in the beginning. But that knowledge didn’t help silence the negative voices screaming inside. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I hadn’t delivered my first official newsletter “on-time.” I struggled with what to do, what to say, how to recover. So, I did nothing. And of course, that just made matters worse. It was a nasty, self-fulfilling prophecy. The more time passed, the more I beat myself up. The more I beat myself up, the more stuck I became. This is not a new pattern for me. It’s something I’ve worked with my whole life. I become so afraid of what others will think or say or do, that I am frozen in my tracks, crippled by my conviction that I will be rejected if I don’t do what I think I’m “supposed” to do...
by Tina Greene | May 4, 2015 | Living in the Glow
Welcome to Living in the GLOW!! As I write this inaugural post I am filled with gratitude for whatever it is that brought you here. You are why I write. Living in the Glow was born of a deep desire to support those who hear the whisper of their own dreams, who seek a deeper, more fulfilling experience of life. Those who sense that there is something more to learn, more to experience, more to be. Those who long to create a life that reflects their own heart’s desires. To be the human beings they came here to be. If this describes you – or if you are simply drawn to consider these ideas – then you’ve come to the right place! Carlos Santana says there are two kinds of people in the world: artists and con-artists! Since I’m not a con-artist and doubt you are either, I guess that means we are ALL artists – of one sort or another. Maybe your medium is gardening, maybe it’s ideas. Maybe you are helping to create a generation of compassionate beings or helping others heal the wounds that often come with living. Whatever is on your palette, your life is your canvas. How cool is that?!!! In painting there is a concept called the “glow”. The Glow is the place between layers on the canvas. When we leave part of a previous layer visible, that space– the Glow– adds depth and movement to the painting. While it may be only a small piece of the whole, it helps bring the painting alive. In life as in painting,...
by Tina Greene | Apr 18, 2015 | Self Care
For most of my life, I was a pusher. Whatever the challenge, I could push my way through. Emotional, physical, professional. It didn’t matter. The name of my game was “just get it done.” Worry about the consequences later. Sound familiar? And then, four years ago, in less than the time it takes you to read this post, everything changed. Driving on the freeway. Construction zone. Traffic stopped. The guy behind me didn’t. The damage to my car was easily fixed. The damage to my brain, not so much. In that instant my life turned inside out and upside down. Nothing remained the same. Well, almost nothing. Thankfully, the accident didn’t affect my heart, my soul, and my commitment to grow through, and beyond, whatever curveballs life throws my way. But I’d never seen this pitch before. It didn’t respond to my pushing. In fact, pushing was the very worst thing I could do. Brains are tricky that way. First, they take way, way longer to heal than any other organ. Second, every brain is unique in how it responds to injury and how, when or even if, it heals. What works for one person, doesn’t’ necessarily work for another. In this sense medical advice has something in common with microwave instructions: your experience may vary. My challenge was learning how to live within my new limits, rather than in spite of them. And, as anyone living with chronic pain or illness knows all too well, this is a hard lesson to learn. In the beginning, I was a very reluctant student. I fell...
by Tina Greene | Apr 18, 2015 | Manifesting intentions
How many times have we all heard that our intentions matter? Too many to count, right? If you’re anything like me, there is often a big gulf between what I know intellectually and how I live my life. Bringing these two together is hard work. It requires me to discern, articulate, remember AND ACT on what I want. PHEW. The entire process can be overwhelming and I either give up or “forget” to take the action I know is necessary. Either way, chances are high that I will beat myself up – again – for not following through. UGH. Get me off this treadmill! That’s why I love Patti Digh’s little book “Four Word Self Help, Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives” It’s an easy and quick read with wonderful artwork and fabulous action-oriented reminders like “Give Up Toxic People,” “Ask Why Not How,” and “Live in Present Tense.” Sweet, right? Since being introduced to this practice by my first art teacher, Karen Brooks, I have often used it to help me remember how I want to live my life. Seriously. I have a large portion of wall space in my studio devoted to my personal four word self-help list. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways I’ve found to create new perspectives and build new habits. And, it’s FUN! This practice is particularly helpful because the result is custom-made for ME – or for YOU when it’s your turn . My dreams. My desires. My words. The fact that I stretch my creative muscles as I find new ways to express my thoughts is...
