As we bear witness to the horrific tragedies of the tsunami and now hurricane Katrina, we are reminded of the fragileness and the preciousness of life. Sometimes it takes catastrophic events to move our souls to the place where we begin to evaluate life and to shake us to the core reminding us that there is more to this life than the superficial activities that most of us engage in day to day. When everything we own and everything we know has been stripped away from us we are left asking questions such as "why me?", "what is life really about?". I believe that Mother Earth is mirroring to us a shift that has begun to take place in all humanity - a time of cleansing and purifying our souls. It is a time of releasing and letting go of all the things that no longer serve our highest good and awakening us to the realities of our spirit and the realities of universal law. We are first and foremost spiritual beings having a human experience, yet how often do we identify only with our human and earthly nature forgetting that the reason we incarnated in this Earthly dimension is to evolve our soul so that we might come to experience the true nature of God within us? To experience this true nature means to become the true nature and to emminate that godly vibration from us. As each of us take responsibility for shifting, changing and evolving our souls, we, in turn, are lifting up each other with our vibration of love. As Gandhi so eloquently expressed, "Be the change you seek in the world". It is then and only then that that you save yourself and one another.

Whether the cleansing has taken place in your life in a physical way or not, we are each being called to take a spiritual inventory of our hearts, minds and souls. We are being asked to strip away and let go of all of the physical, mental and emotional baggage which hinders our spiritual growth and prevents us from experiencing true union with our Divine Nature. This Divine Nature is the nature of unconditional love, compassion, understanding, universal service and expressing ourselves as enlightened beings free from ego, detached from the material plane. We must learn to live "in the world, but not of the world". We are being asked to put our life into priority and making God the center of our existence . . . because that IS the true reality. If we choose to ignore these signs, the universe WILL create situations that will force us to face this reality in a way that may cause pain and suffering. But we can choose to make the shift within ourselves in a more gentle, graceful, loving way to avoid the suffering and nurture the shift of consciousness within us by doing our "inner work".

Doing our "inner work' means going deeply within to really look at all the things that we are harboring there that no longer have purpose and that keep us from experiencing unconditional love and the true reality of life. Perhaps we are still holding on to resentments and judgments or perhaps we are choosing to see the world in a fearful, limited way or perhaps we are creating scarcity through our "lack consciousness". It is time to let it go and to experience the fullness of your true nature - which is what your spirit yearns for and the universe longs for you to experience.

Many years ago, I was taught by one of my spiritual mentors the practice of the "Cherokee Forgiveness Ceremony" which takes place during the time of the full moon. The full moon symbolizes the ending of a cycle of life - a time of releasing and letting go and stripping away the unnecessary to allow the genuine core of truth to rise up. As we empty ourselves, it is also a time that is pregnant with possibilities as we await the New Moon which symbolizes new beginnings - a time of aligning ourselves with God's will and living in accordance with the Divine Plan. It is about synchronicity, manifestation and truth. Sometimes in the process of releasing we cry, releasing the pain and sorrow and cleansing our spirit through our tears. Sometimes we feel anger or rage and need to allow the emotions to come to the surface to be expressed. Whatever the process of releasing, I invite you to trust it and to follow intuitively from your heart and spirit the guidance that is offered to you. Experiencing this process during the full moon cycle assists in facilitating the transformation as we utilize the power that is offered to us through the powerful pull of the moon. I share with you a ceremony to help facilitate this shift in consciousness and invite you to add your own rituals as you are moved.

Therese Inzerillo is an interfaith minister, holistic health practitioner and Internet talk radio host. Her No. 1 rated radio show "Intuitive Living" airs Mondays from 6-8 pm MST-AZ on <http://www.achieveradio.com> and highlights "spiritual, holistic and inspirational topics to help individuals live an empowered, enlightened life".

Her Intuitive Living Ministry is hosting an international interfaith conference in Sedona, Arizona October 28, 29 and 30, 2005 at the Radisson Poco Diablo Resort entitled "Celebrating The Many Paths To God" and promises to be a dynamic weekend promoting spiritual Truth, enlightenment, unity and world peace.

She is also the Founder and Director of The Namaste Center, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona where she is available for private sessions, classes and inspirational talks. For more information please go to her website at
<http://www.intuitivelivingministry.org>