by Tina Greene | Jun 8, 2016 | Living in the Glow, Manifesting intentions, Overcoming Fear, Uncategorized
Are you scared of love? I am. I’m scared of being vulnerable, scared to ask for what I need (much less what I want), scared of being rejected or found unworthy. I suspect that most of us feel this way more often than we admit. I also suspect that most of us have learned to be scared and love anyway. Being scared and doing it anyway is the definition of courage. When we are sick or hurt or struggling, it can be especially hard to RECEIVE all the love that comes our way even though it’s what we need the most. So I wrote a song about standing in the center of the circle of love for a dear friend who had just been diagnosed with non-smoker’s lung cancer and was blown away by all the love and support coming her way. I wanted to remind her that she was doing a remarkable job receiving and to encourage her to keep going. Little did I know that it would do the same for me. Last Tuesday I was in another car accident. I’m ok, tho pretty battered and bruised, mostly from the airbag, which did its job really well – that’s the good news and the bad news. Being on the receiving end of an airbag when it deploys is like being on the wrong end of a battering ram. Way better than the alternative though, that’s for sure! So I’ve had lots of opportunities in the last week to stand in the center of my own love circle and exercise my own courage muscles. I’ve received incredible...
by Tina Greene | Apr 15, 2016 | Lotus Wisdom, Manifesting intentions
Hello everyone! Pete Seeger always said that “harmony is when the person next to you is singing a different note.” I love the image this evokes. A group of people creating something that is more than the sum of its parts. A place where each voice has a place and each person is valued for what they have to contribute. The fact that it also describes my dream for our world is a big added bonus. I’ve just returned from a four-day gathering of creative women and girls who are committed to exploring their own gifts and how they may embody those gifts to help create a world that works for everyone. I listened in awe as the young girls spoke about their vision of the future, about how they can contribute to the change that we all know is needed, about how we can support each other in our own work. This gathering reminded me how precious each voice is. There was a time when I didn’t have a voice to add to the circle. Insecurity, fear, shame and the deep conviction that I had nothing to add kept me bound in silence. Thankfully, the voice inside me would not be silenced. It kept whispering that life wasn’t meant to be like this. That there had to be more. Sometimes those whispers turned into tears. Of longing. Of loneliness. Of outrage and anger. Finally, in in the midst of the darkest night, I started listening. The more I listened, the better I heard. The better I heard, the stronger my own...
by Tina Greene | Mar 22, 2016 | Lotus Wisdom, Manifesting intentions
~The Gift~ Lift one foot. Surrender Place the other. Claim Step by step life unfolds behind me The future beckons me forward The path wasn’t clear until I chose it. It will be gone once I have passed. The gift is neither ahead nor behind. The gift is in this choice to surrender and claim This choice to create my life one step at a time. The gift is right here where I am. Happy Spring everyone! What a difference the rain makes!! Here in Northern California we are experiencing a robust Spring for the first time in years. The rivers are full, the reservoirs are filling and there is a healthy snow pack. While it’s not enough to end the drought, it sure does help. I can almost hear the land’s huge sigh of relief. Surely, the gift is right here in this moment! The Spring (or Vernal) Equinox, which we celebrated earlier this week, is a time of exquisite balance. The world stands poised evenly between dark and light. It’s almost like the earth has taken one big winter inhale and is suspended in that briefest of moments before it exhales into spring and summer. For me, the poem I shared above also describes a place of exquisite balance – the one between what was and what is coming to be. Between the inhale and the exhale. Between this step and the next. (If you’d like to sit quietly and simply receive the poem, you can listen to the audio version below) http://tinagreenewisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Gift-Take-3.m4a As we move into Spring, what are you ready to surrender?...
by Tina Greene | Mar 6, 2016 | Lotus Wisdom, Manifesting intentions, Overcoming Fear
I’ve been hibernating in the woods next to the ocean for the last two months. I’ve had lots of time to marinate in the silence and isolation that always calls to me when the nights get long and the natural world sleeps. I’ve also learned a lot. From my woodpile, no less. The house I’m in is old and the walls are full of love and life well lived. It’s also cold. And damp, especially in the winter. A wood-burning stove is my primary source of heat. Fortunately, the house comes with its own seemingly endless supply of wood. But the wood is out back and there is no one here to help me move it inside. When I first arrived, I was totally overwhelmed just by the idea of bringing enough wood inside to heat the house. Thinking about it made my back and head hurt. So, for the first few days, I simply turned up the old thermostat and added another layer. I pretended that I was warm enough. But it was January, the temperature was dropping and heavy rains were in the forecast. I knew I had to face the music and bring in wood. So I bundled up, found some work gloves and headed out back, dreading the process and hoping that once I was sitting in front of a warm fire, it would all be worth it. As I rounded the corner of the house, the first thing I saw was a wheelbarrow. AHA!! That will help. I took the wheelbarrow over to the woodpile and started loading...
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...
