A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine ISSN# 1708-3265

Index Meet Our Staff Free Subscription Donations Come Shopping Advertising Archived Issues ***OUR NEW FORUM***

Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Ida Larsen Spirits of Light, Wings of Fire Dj Brown Strong Minds and Powerful Hearts of Undying Spirit Marlene Buffa The Obstinate Heart Alegria Imperial Overcoming Resistance to Change Rev. Cheryl Jewett Being Upbeat in a Down Market: 12 Conscious Actions to Restore Abundance Jackie Lapin Stop Bottling Your Water! David Suzuki PhD Fasting: The Key to Optimal Health David Wolfe My Journey Back A Story of Diabetes Sam Hoover Foods which Create Health Elyse Nuff The Envelope Please… An Interview with David and Katrina Rainoshek Melissa Gilbert Breathe Wisdom Jacqueline Kramer Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Life in the Raw Melissa Gilbert Being Mindful Janet Alston Jackson Pet-sense Jean Hofve DVM Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson The Fasting Handbook Dining from an Empty Bowl Jeremy Safron Frugal Raw Mattye Lee Thompson Practicing Conscious Living and Dying Stories of the Eternal Continuum of Consciousness Annamaria Hemmingway Goji Cherry Truffles, Raw Chocolate Covered Brazil Nuts and Mulberries and Rosemary, Garlic and Green Onion Pistachio-Almond Medley from Raw Food World

When we think of change, we tend to think of how the world has rapidly evolved. Too often, we are looking outside of ourselves and feeling disturbed by what we see. There is no doubt, man has seen incredible changes lately in the weather around the world, and with the digital age we live in. Before we can get our new computer home from the store, it's almost outdated.

But we are missing the very lesson of change if we don't look inside ourselves. There is a profound Buddhist lesson on Impermanence which is the tides of change. Waves are like the changes in our life. The wave has a beginning, and an ending like our experiences including our problems. We must look at ourselves as the water; we can expect change like the waves which are the natural flow of our lives. And, we can reduce our suffering by understanding waves come and go. Any hard times that we are experiencing will fall away like the wave in the water. So if we are the water… we must flow and accept change.

Everything in nature shows us that we are all part of the tides of change. The beauty of this is we can fully enjoy a rose because we know that it will soon decompose. So the lesson is to be truly present in our lives and to enjoy it to the fullest.

As our children grow, we can appreciate them like the rose, because we know that they too are the tides of change, and that small body will evolve. But too often we forget this when we are embroiled in an argument with them and are disappointed. Sometimes we wish they could grow up faster, and see things from our perspective. Thich Nhat Hahn, the international Zen Master says that when we are engaged in an argument or we are angry with someone, we must think… how will this matter 300 years from now? Would I care about this then?

If we look at children, and others in our world who seem difficult, from that perspective, we can know that the tides of change are within them too. There is a saying that if you wait long enough, and be patient, people will show you the good within them.

The key is not to attach ourselves to the waves of life, whether they are good or bad. The only thing that stays the same is changes. That's comforting when we are experiencing turmoil, and remembering like it says in the Bible, 'This too shall pass.' And, we can use the understanding of the tides of change when we are having good times with those we love to truly appreciate them, that experience and relationship will eventually change too.

And thinking of our problems, if we are like water, we can be the river flowing downstream. We can find ways to flow around the stones and boulders of life's problems that get in our way. Sometimes the detours we take in our lives turn out to be the best thing that could happen. So the tides of change within us is a good thing.

Janet Alston Jackson is the author of "A Cry for Light: A Journey into Love." To order books and CD's, schedule Janet for speaking engagements, or subscribe to Janet's newsletter, visit her website, email, or call Self Awareness Trainings toll free 1-877-796-8288. You can order Janet's book: click here.

Janet Alston Jackson, a certified seminar leader, has facilitated self-awareness workshops to a variety of audiences since 1993. She often teams with her husband Walter Jackson (author of "Sporting the Right Attitude"), to facilitate fun, high-energy motivating trainings for which the couple is known. This unique husband-and-wife team have been guests on numerous radio talk shows around the country, and have made appearances on KCET, public television.

Janet is a certified behavioural consultant, a certified anger management consultant, and a certified seminar leader. Through their motivational company Self Awareness Trainings, the Jacksons have given numerous workshops on "How to Effectively Communicate," "Releasing Stress," and "Mindfulness Trainings" to a variety of audiences including corporate executives, parents, teachers, women in recovery, prison personnel, health care workers, and entertainment industry executives.

Janet co-founded with Walter, Believe In Yourself Inc, a non-profit self-esteem program for children and their parents.

Janet earned her B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the California State University at San Jose. She started her television career as a production assistant for the Los Angeles local CBS station, and she was a news writer for the Los Angeles CBS owned radio station, KNX Newsradio.

A strong advocate for children, Janet was a Court Appointed Special Child Advocate (CASA) and a board member for their fundraising arm, Friends of Child Advocate. Today she is a board member for Child Care Resource Center, which serves thousands of families in Los Angeles County.

The author and her husband Walter, have three teenagers; Ryan, Devon and Jada, and one very loveable Chow named Simba. They live in Los Angeles.

Be sure to read the reviews of her book in our January 2007 Issue.

Copyright (c) 2008 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.

Any advice given is for informational purposes only.