Friday, January 31, 2014

A Review Worth Sharing

Please check out this in-depth review of my book, Building Faith and Character Through Life Challenges (companion to my Life Challenge Consultation service). I really appreciate people who take the time to not only read my work, but also put such detailed effort into their thoughts about it afterward.


"Within the genre of "self-help" books (I've read a few!), Charlene E. Green's newly published Building Faith and Character Through Life Challenges is the most profound and practical literary resource I have encountered. It is a great read--clear, logical, and full of personal experiences to support the guidelines Ms. Green has discovered/uncovered---applicable to everyone. Whether the reader be agnostic, atheist, Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist etc. etc.---something will resonate with that seeking person and make his/her journey more enlightened.

Ms. Green touches the core of everyday human experiences-- interpersonal conflicts, physical and mental illness, financial distress. Yes, this book offers a do-able guideline, a way to change one's thought processes and behavior habits so seemingly unsolvable situations become untangled.

Using problems, sufferings, desires as stepping stones toward enlightenment (as in living with joy, wisdom, compassion and courage), Ms. Green provides a method--using personal, honest proof, filled with humor scenes from her nitty-gritty life experiences.

This book is for the strivers--the seekers of effective and healthy ways to overcome life's challenges.

The concept of expanding one's consciousness to include others is an essential factor in Ms. Green's prescription to happiness.

From Charlene Green's book:
'Life-challenge triumphs are not just for us to benefit from; they're for us to use to help others overcome their obstacles.'"

Dianne Bye, MA in Performing Arts, Syracuse University
Los Angeles Unified School District Theatre Arts Teacher (grades pre-k-12)



To order your copy, please visit www.hustledivaspeaks.com/pages/purchase.aspx
Need a little more info before you order? Click here

Haiku #31 for January



CLIMATE WARRIOR

Faith means bravery
to battle our storms when we’re
afraid they’ll drown us

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Haiku #30 for January



PLENTIFUL

Loving what you have
is the cure for being sick
about what you don’t

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Haiku #29 for January

WINTER BULLIES, PART II

Abused, naked trees
sulk on streets, cryin' 'bout the
leaves the season stole

Click here to view WINTER BULLIES.

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Haiku #28 for January

HIT MAN

Spirits of the slain
are full; they gnawed his soul till
stuffed with his remorse

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Haiku #27 for January



THANKLESS

Days without mishap
are stepchildren of blessings:
ignored and unloved

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Haiku #26 for January



SUN BLOCK

Vexed clouds thwart the sun,
jealous cuz all winter it’s
been upstaging them

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Haiku #25 for January

DELUSION

All that nip/tuck did
was trick you into thinking
you like yourself now

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Haiku #24 for January



EMPTY CHESTS

When mothers bury
their kids, who helps exhume moms’
thrashed hearts from the graves?

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Haiku #23 for January

HERE, NOT THERE

Light's not just at the
end of the tunnel; it's in
your daily fortune

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Haiku #22 for January

SINGULAR SENSATION

Be glad you don't fit
with the "in" crowd. They're clones; you're
a bold trailblazer

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!


Monday, January 20, 2014

Haiku #21 for January



IN THE FALL

They fell in love but
their minds and self-respect were
lost on the way down

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Haiku #20 for January


EPIDEMIC, PART II

Fingers on keyboards
eyes on screens, hearts offline from
human relations

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!


Saturday, January 18, 2014

Haiku #19 for January



EPIDEMIC

Ramen for dinner
Jordans on kids’ feet, warped codes
taught to future guides


Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Haiku #18 for January

OBLIVIOUS LIVING

Folks complain they can't
catch a break; life throws them one
every time they breathe

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Haiku #17 for January

REALITY TV

When your landlord comes
asking where's the late rent, point
to that new big-screen

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Haiku #16 for January

REMEDIAL ARITHMETIC

You're not the math whiz
you claim to be; you suck at
counting your blessings

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY

My Sentiments Exactly, my most personal compilation, was written over the course of about four years, while I was deep in the throes of major life changes and spiritual transformation. It's my favorite poetic work to date, and it features poems such as "Asunder" and "Time Management." 
To order, click the "Treat Yourself" link below the book.                                                                 
                                                                               
    https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JY7NN5JHU26FL
$15.00

 To purchase additional products, please visit www.hustledivaspeaks.com.



Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Haiku #15 for January

STAR-STUDDED GALA

Stars aligned in Waltz
on midnight sky's ballroom floor
till daylight curfew

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Monday, January 13, 2014

Haiku #14 for January



PERVERTED CHILL

Cold air kissing my
neck, begging for a threesome
with me and the heat

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Haiku #13 for January

MOVING ON

Boxes packed, U-Haul's
here; only thing missing's the
love they moved in with

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Haiku #12 for January



SIMULTANEOUS CONTRADICTION

Nose smiles at fresh-cut
lemon’s perfume-sweet; glands quake
prepping for its tart

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Haiku #11 for January

BUSTED LIPS

Lipstick stains on mug
found in boyfriend's dishwasher ...
and she don't wear pink

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

TIME MANAGEMENT



Over time
the heavy of you
has gotten so much lighter

the weight of my affection
has decreased
to something manageable
pocket sized
only visible when I decide
to take it out and look at it
and even then
it’s just a glance
sometimes a lingering gaze
but nothing I can’t handle
cuz I’m in control now
I learned how to buck the system
the one where
my anxieties had me
strung up
doing a painful puppet dance
slave to their uncomfortable beat

but those days are over
cuz I finally accepted that
I would never be able to outrun
my heart
couldn’t even escape it
by hiding in the darkness
of my own shadow

it’s etched there too

so I stopped running
resisting
got proactive
realized I couldn’t just
hang around and wait for time
to make things better
in its own time

I had to get aggressive
and push the clock forward

when the sun shines so brightly
in your path that you can’t see clearly
beats down on you with so much vigor
that you feel assaulted
you don’t stay there
exposed to its harshness
you find ways to diffuse it
protect yourself
so you don’t get burned

now
when I window-shop you
it’s from a healthy distance
without the compulsion to
rearrange your exhibited position
reaccessorize you to fit my preferences
I accept that I may only be able
to admire you from afar
where I fantasize briefly about
what it would be like
to take you off display
out of the view and reach
of the others who’ve been
coveting you

and then I keep walking
can’t loiter too long
cuz time has a tendency
to get away from you
if you don’t monitor it closely

it’ll run amok and then have you
scrambling to backtrack on
important things you didn’t tend to
while you were distracted
like keeping the pieces of yourself
in proper order
from coming unassembled

and amid the chaos of your undoing
you’ll realize you were so busy
standing unprotected in the unbearable sun
getting scorched
that now there’s not enough time
to put yourself back together
before the parts get lost

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green










Haiku #10 for January

DENTAL CAPACITY

Too bad toothbrush and
floss can't remove the dirty
lies stacked in your grill

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Haiku #9 for January

WINTER BULLIES

Wind and rain ripping
leaves off tree branches like skin
from arms in a brawl

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Haiku #8 for January

BRAIN DEAD

Your killer smile pulls
drive-bys in my mind so much
my focus is shot.


Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Haiku #7 for January

*Yes, I'm a day ahead!

RELIABLE

True friends function like
instructional manuals:
they guide us through life.

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green

Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!


Sunday, January 5, 2014

New-Year's Poetry Challenge

Fellow poet Jaha Zainabu wrote a poem a day, every day last year. This year she's focusing on a different form of poem every month. For January, the challenge is a haiku a day. She asked if anyone wanted to join her in this venture, and today I finally got on board. I love a good haiku; I have a bunch of them in random files (and some here in my blog from April 2010) that I was initially saving to do a book of haiku. After thinking about it, I wasn't sure I wanted to do a whole book of them, so I decided to use them in my upcoming poetry book My Sentiments Exactly. Since I just joined, I had to conjure up five all at once so I could catch up. So, here they are. I'll post the rest daily.

TURBULENCE

Loving you was like
a thrilling roller coaster
ride that left me sick.


INTERNAL BATTLEFIELD

When you open your
mouth to speak, it's like a war

resides in your tongue.

GIDDY

When you stand near me
my heart jumps around like it's
playing Double Dutch.


NO DRINK FOR THAT

Alcohol won't cure
the virus that's making your
self-esteem its bitch.


YOU FIRST

You should probably
grow your own spine before you
try to have MY back.


And an extra one to stay ahead of the game:

LOVE THERAPY

Let me massage your
heart free of the knots other
women tied it in.

Copyright 2014
Charlene E. Green


Thanks for reading! Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5 Thank you in advance!