Spiritism today, or rather what the Spiritist Movement knows and transmits about it, is very far from being reality, and this is very serious, as it is precisely because of these distortions that false ideas were created that repel individuals and create fights, not only internally, but also with spiritualist religions.

A very well-known case is that of Umbanda, which was created because an individual was prohibited from “receiving” a Spirit from an “old black man” in a spiritist center. Not only that: nowadays, people of any religion who have any interest in Spiritism are led to the question: “do I need to abandon my religion to be a Spiritist?”. This is because “being a Spiritist”, in modern times, means attending a Spiritist center which, according to false concepts, is where Spiritism “lives”.

I am here to demonstrate how wrong these conceptions are and that, far from a dispute of truths, it is possible to have union and that, in truth, this is how Spiritism developed.

The history of Spiritism like almost no one has known

It is logical to say that, before Spiritism became established as a doctrine, no one was a Spiritist. How was it possible, then, to form this science, with a philosophical aspect and moral consequences?

Anyone who says or thinks that it was Allan Kardec who created Spiritism is wrong. No: Spiritism is in nature, just like the other sciences. It would behoove someone to study, with scientific methodology and seriousness, the principles of this science, and that is what Kardec did. He never gave himself the right to take the truth for himself, simply because, as an honest scientist, he knew that science does not deal with truths, but with theories that come closest to the truth.

Thus, Kardec dedicated himself to studying the phenomena and communications of Spirits, using the main tool available: evocations, through mediums. And he didn't do it alone: at that time, study groups spread across France and other nearby countries and, in fact, preceded Kardec in evocations. When he became interested in Spiritism, there were already several evocations recorded on paper, which he gathered, analyzed and organized, which gave rise to the first edition of The Spirits' Book, about half the size of its second edition.

Kardec quickly realized that this initial effort in the Doctrine would require development, like all science. Thus, in 1858, the Spiritist Magazine — Journal of Psychological Studies, a monthly periodical where he presented to the public results of studies on evocations and spontaneous communications within the scope of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, as well as pertinent content sent by other groups. He also used the Magazine to reinforce the true face of Spiritism, often presenting counterpoints to opinions and articles full of ignorance and, at times, evil.

We talk about scientific methodology: well, Spiritism was born like all science: from a systematic and controlled observation of verifiable facts (although not under our will), from which hypotheses were created. From the hypotheses, a theory was created, which was then subjected to experiments (evocations). From the experiments, the results were verified and, from there, the hypotheses were evaluated: if they were corroborated, they were incorporated into the theory; if not, they were reevaluated and new observations were made.

Untruths

One of the biggest untruths that reign over the current Spiritist Movement is that evocations should not be carried out, which is in opposition to the historical characteristics of Spiritism. Anyone who studies the first year of Revista Espírita understands how indispensable for spiritist science, which, as it is a science, should not be taken as sacred content, which should remain untouched. On the contrary: Spiritism needs development, but this development can only be done through scientific methodology, which necessarily depends on the resumption of evocations. An example of a practice lacking method, or taken for false principles, is that it is enough to evoke one or more Spirits, in an isolated group, and ask (or listen) to them about everything, making this a doctrinal principle.

Another big untruth is the assumption that mediumship belongs to the Spiritist Doctrine. So much so, that we demonstrate that Spiritism was born through the joint effort of groups that could not be Spiritists, since the doctrine did not yet exist. At that time, people of various beliefs and religions practiced mediumship in their homes, in small groups, and reaped good or bad results from evocations depending on their efforts to reason about communications. Kardec mentions, in the Magazine, that the followers of Spiritism included Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., carrying out evocations and studies and often sending them to the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, where, together with other collaborators, they were evaluated, analyzed and separated those that could represent an interest for the general public.

Here we have two more untruths of the modern Spiritist Movement: the one that says that mediumship can only be practiced in the spiritist center and the one that says that we should just wait for the free communication of the Spirits. From these, perhaps, is born the biggest mistake of modern spiritists and followers: the blind and unreasoned acceptance of everything the Spirits say.

Another untruth, which we cannot fail to mention, is the one that says that Spiritism is a religion. We have already demonstrated that it is a science and that it can only be taken as a religion in the philosophical sense of natural religion, approached in a metaphysical and moral way by Rational Spiritualism, which we will talk about in a moment. This is the reason for finding, in Kardec's time, followers among religions, who did not leave their religions, with their particularities, to practice Spiritism. Regarding this, stay with us until the end, as understanding is extremely important.

Unfortunately, the Spiritist Movement erased science and transformed Spiritism into a religion, which started to create false ideas and dogmas that, if they please some, please for a while, but cannot face reason in the most critical moments of life, creating, thus, disbelievers. They forgot that Spirits do not become wise by leaving the material body and that, among them, there are good and bad, wise and ignorant, etc., and that it is above all when it is simply made available, without dialogue, that anyone presents themselves .

There are countless false ideas, which feed the Spiritist Movement and followers in general, which have not gone through the necessary screening, which have not been investigated and questioned, even if they were opposed to what, with method, was transformed in principle by psychological observation in thousands of Spirits, of all “types”.

We invite the reader, if they have not already done so, to start studying the Revista Espírita from 1858 and 1859 (it runs until May 1869). This publication, which should be taken as a laboratory where one can follow the development of the Spiritist Doctrine, through the method highlighted above, and not as a final idea in each article, demonstrates what Spiritism actually is and how much our society is far from this reality.

Notice what we say untruths, and not “lies”, since most of those who spread them, speak from what they were taught. But where did these untruths come from?

The materialist turn of the 19th century

Spiritism was not born out of nowhere. The ground was very well prepared before that and, at the beginning of the 19th century, the movement known as Rational Spiritualism was born, which, based on metaphysics, sought to study the human psyche through its most elementary and inseparable aspect: the soul. Authors such as Maine de Biran, Victor Cousin and Paul Janet were its main exponents.

You probably don't know, but Rational Spiritualism defined French Moral Sciences in the middle of this century, forming part of French teaching and defining its structure. I will leave information in the description. But ER approached this study only through metaphysics, and not in a practical way. As Spiritism, which was its development, Experimental Psychology was born (and now you know the reason for the subtitle of the Spiritist Magazine). I will not go into many details, which can be found in the book “Autonomy: the never told story of Spiritism”, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo. The issue here is different.

At the end of the 19th century, German materialist philosophy overcame French spiritualist philosophy, which, according to some rulers, was the reason for France's failure in the war. Rational Spiritualism was swept under the carpet and Spiritism, which was already suffering from adulterations (we will talk about that in a moment) took the final blow, being practically forgotten in France, in Europe and, later, in the world. New icons of the philosophy of nothingness and materialist psychology (however paradoxical this idea may be), such as Nietzsche and Freud, were taken as idols, replacing rational spiritualist psychology with the perspective of the nullity of moral efforts and selfishness.

Adulterations in Spiritism

Very interesting details about the events after Allan Kardec's death can be gleaned from the books “O Legado de Allan Kardec”, by Simoni Privato, and “Ponto Final”, by Wilson Garcia. In short: the fateful and unexpected event shook spiritists everywhere, who struggled to regain some strength. Along with this, wars came and, in the Spiritist Society, Kardec's successor, Pierre Gaetan Leymarie, undermined scientific doctrinal principles, expelled old people, in the middle of winter, from homes created by Kardec for poor spiritists, burned correspondence carefully kept by the Professor and, for personal interests, he admitted to the Spiritist Magazine contents originating from the ideology of Roustaing, now deceased, who considered himself the revealer of truths, blindly believing in one or more obsessive Spirits who communicated through a medium. The care for rationality, for the general agreement of spiritist communications, ended and, to throw the last straw on French Spiritism, Leymarie was put on trial for publishing content originating from a charlatan, in what became known as “ Process of the Spiritists”.

Because of this whole scenario, Spiritism grew stronger in an already distorted Brazil. The origins of FEB, an institution that took the liberty of proclaiming itself the general leader of Spiritism in Brazil, in fact, are completely linked to these distortions. FEB was founded and guided by Roustaing's principles for a long time (read Ponto Final, by Wilson Garcia). This is the main reason for the distortions of the Brazilian Spiritist Movement.

Added to this, the Revista Espírita only came to be translated in the 1950s. Here, several false ideas were formed, with, as we have demonstrated, the assumption of not judging communications and not evoking Spirits for investigations being the most damaging of them.

The resumption

When we talk about resuming Spiritism, we talk about resuming it as a science. To do this, knowledge is needed, born from study, seriousness, will, purpose and collaboration. Mediumship, which does not belong to the Spiritist Doctrine or the Spiritist Movement, can be practiced by everyone, including outside of spiritist centers. Evocations are necessary and healthy, but here we need warn about some principles of the science of Spirits.

The Spiritist Doctrine, as a science, has the merit of having produced knowledge about the observation of phenomena and communications of Spirits, spread throughout the world. It was not born from Kardec's brain, but from thousands of evocations and facts, analyzed in a scientific way. We repeat this a lot, because this understanding is substantial.

Already in the time of Allan Kardec, mediumship was practiced everywhere. At first, with many errors; later, as knowledge became established, it became increasingly more serious and rational, leaving only dissidents and stubborn people who, not wanting to observe scientific principles and driven by self-love, insisted on banal errors, which almost always led them to obsessions. . We mentioned Roustaing a little while ago, who, preferring to blindly believe the words of Spirits that fed his ego, promptly turned against Kardec when he tried to warn him. It's like Icarus, who, warned that he couldn't approach the sun without getting burned, fed with his ego by his wings, ignored the warnings and ended up burned.

This general warning comes in line with the completion of this important call: Spiritism needs to be resumed, and this depends on knowledge and care. The evocations need to be resumed. The doctrine of Spirits needs to be developed again by small groups, cooperating with each other. This was the direction that Kardec sought to give to Spiritism, shortly before his death (read Spiritist Magazine — 1868 > December > Transitional Constitution of Spiritism), where Spiritism would start to be developed by scattered groups, coordinated among themselves, observing the principles already established by the method. People of any religion can do so, as mediumship does not belong to the Spiritist Movement. The centers need to return to being serious, controlled study centers. When resuming the evocations, it is clear that we will face different challenges; It is logical to assume that many will encounter difficulties and many others will fall into the error of vanity and personalism, struggling to establish false ideas, as is already the case. Unfortunately, we will find them mainly in the Spiritist Movement. But these are challenges that will be faced and, if they are done with the doctrinal knowledge that already exists, they will be quickly overcome, if they ever exist.

Let us envision a new future, where there is no fight between religions, but where individuals and groups cooperate with the restoration of evocations with a greater purpose: that of resuming the development of Spiritism. We will return to Spiritism in homes, as in Kardec's time, where family evocations consoled, taught and, at times, represented doctrinal interest. They will be spiritists, or their followers, people of any religion, any creed, or even non-believers, who, with the firm purpose of learning and with the full awareness of not being the holders of the truth, will seek, through evocations and collaboration, to restore the momentarily interrupted path of Spiritism, a doctrine capable of revolutionizing ideas and, thus, transforming individuals, families, groups and, finally, the world. The truth does not belong to anyone, but the theories that come closest to it can be found by that maxim expressed by Allan Kardec, representing the scientific method in Spiritism:

General concordance in teaching is the doctrine’s essential character, the condition even of its existence. It is evident that all principles which have not received the consecration of general agreement can only be considered as a fractional part of this same doctrine, merely as a simple, isolated opinion for which Spiritism cannot assume the responsibility.

It is the concordant, collective teaching of the spirits who have passed beyond which constitutes the logical criterion, giving strength to the spiritual doctrine and assuring to it perpetuity.

Allan Kardec – Genesis

We welcome your comments below.

Spiritism, as a science with a philosophical aspect and moral consequences (Spiritism can only be seen as religion From a philosophical point of view, said Kardec, precisely based on the philosophy of the time, the Rational Spiritualism, from where Spiritism developed.)), formed through the scientific method, experiences challenges from all sides. Placed in a figure, it looks like the most beautiful flower, with the sweetest perfume and the greatest healing properties, smothered by thorns and weeds.

The most diverse difficulties arise from all sides, arising mainly from a lack of commitment, zeal and care. Under this nomenclature, they admit any type of ideas, coming from the mouth or mediumistic intermediation of individuals who have become unquestionable icons. As if that were not enough, lacking knowledge about what science and about the necessary scientific method, responsible precisely for the unassailable strength of the Doctrine born from the studies coordinated by Allan Kardec, most modern researchers promote, in the spiritist environment, new ideas, new theories, distracting themselves from the essential point: the evocations, producing teachings that agree with each other, so subjected to rational analysis, in the face of human science and in the face of what had already been constructed by the same method.

Scientific Method

Let us return for a moment to the question of the definition of scientific method, exemplified in the attached figure. For those who dedicated themselves to studying at least the first year of Revista Espírita (1858), it will be very easy to identify the same steps taken by Kardec:

• the systematic and controlled observation of certain phenomena and, later, of evocations;
• verification of identified facts;
• the investigation of hypotheses, which form a theory, cohesive in itself, from which we obtain implications, conclusions and predictions;
• carrying out experiments, through evocations, from which new observations are obtained, analyzed rationally and logically;
• hence, the observation of new facts, which will or will not corroborate the theory;
• finally, add the results of these observations to the scientific theory, if they corroborate it, or recycle hypotheses, making new observations and going through the same method again.

A very notable fact, which denotes Kardec's scientific rigor and his indissoluble commitment to true science, is that he Never clung to any idea in the study of Spiritism. Anyone who has studied the Spiritist Magazine of 1858 and 1859 already understands this very well. An example of this is the study treated mainly from the RE of July 1859, starting with the article O Zuavo de Magenta and concluded (at least for the moment) in the articles of the following month. We highlight the study in the article Materiality from Beyond the Grave.

And it is precisely at this point, that of attachment to ideas, added to the absence of the necessary method, that the vast majority of modern researchers of Spiritism make mistakes.

The error of the modern spiritualist movement

The big problem arises when, abandoning the essential scientific method for spiritist science, the Spiritist Movement began to admit theories contrary to the principles already solidified by the same method, such as the ideas of spiritual colonies, thresholds, etc., falling into the most basic error of the excited spiritist: blindly believe in the opinions of Spirits.

We do not say that Spiritism, studied by Kardec, has already observed everything there is to be observed. Of course not. What we say is that the modern spiritist movement has created a large set of theories that cannot face the scientific method, because they have not gone through it!

We very often find even those dedicated and willing researchers — we will not take this true impetus from them — who, however, cling to the most diverse ideas and who very quickly become irritated by the contradiction of what, scientifically, is part of the principles doctrinaires of Spiritism.

The basis of the indispensable methodology in Spiritism

Let us return here to what is highlighted on our home page – a quote from Allan Kardec in A Gênesis:

General concordance in teaching is the doctrine’s essential character, the condition even of its existence. It is evident that all principles which have not received the consecration of general agreement can only be considered as a fractional part of this same doctrine, merely as a simple, isolated opinion for which Spiritism cannot assume the responsibility.

It is the concordant, collective teaching of the spirits who have passed beyond which constitutes the logical criterion, giving strength to the spiritual doctrine and assuring to it perpetuity.

Allan Kardec — The Genesis

The statement highlighted above, made by Kardec, is not a mere result of a personal systematization. Quite the contrary: it represents the necessary scientific method for the study and development of Spiritism. It is not enough for the same principle to be consecrated by generality (which requires the use of evocations, because it is not enough that we just put ourselves in the role of listening and accepting what the spirits say); it is not necessary, furthermore, that this consenting collectivity of opinion of the spirits be passed through the criterion of logic, which means comparing it to human science and the scientific method, so that, only then, it can be taken as a principle of Spiritism.

Note, furthermore, the term “opinion” used by Kardec, not by chance: what the Spirits say, through mediumistic communications, are their own opinions, born from their knowledge and their own observations, when they are not the result of a deliberate intention to mystify, that is, to promote false ideas . It happens in the best groups. The opinions of spirits, like the opinions of human beings, can be loaded with beliefs, false ideas, little knowledge, illusions, etc. How, then, to analyze them scientifically? Through the psychological observation of these communications.

The nuances in a psychological science

Anyone who has studied at least the first two years of the Spiritist Magazine notes that, even at the end of the second year, Kardec continues to frequently question the communicating spirit how he got there, how he presents himself, how he sees other spirits, etc. If an answer disagrees with the scientific theory or brings new facts, it will be investigated through evocations and according to the scientific method — which is not done nowadays.

Kardec investigated, among many things, the issue of pain in the Spirit. There were those who claimed to feel cold or hot; pains; hunger; worms gnawing his body, &c. It was through dedicated study, through rational analysis of the psychological nuances of these communications, that Kardec arrived at several doctrinal scientific principles. An example of this is the communication from the Spirit of the assassin Lemaire in the RE of March 1858:

6. Immediately after your execution, were you aware of your new existence? — I was plunged into an immense disturbance, from which I still haven't emerged. I felt great pain; looks like my heart felt it. I saw something roll at the foot of the scaffold. I saw the blood flow and my pain became more acute.

Kardec could easily, were it not for his scientific rigor, admit that the Spirit materially suffered from a pain in the heart. But he investigates:

7. Was it a purely physical pain, similar to that caused by a serious injury, such as the amputation of a limb? — No. Imagine remorse, great moral pain.

We could cite a huge diversity of cases that illustrate this scientific principle, but we leave the purpose of studying the Doctrine that it embraces to the reader's healthy curiosity.

Spiritism needs defense

Leaving aside the scientific method is a big mistake on the part of most modern researchers of Spiritism, who aim to construct new doctrinal principles without going through this process, when they should not only be practicing evocations, given the dedicated study of the Spiritist Magazine, but also should be encouraging the spiritist movement to do so at all times.

By not doing so, they throw another shovel of lime on Spiritism, producing a bad impression and a false idea in the scientific world, which does not recognize it as something born of science, but as a mere superstitious belief or a religion. It is not uncommon for me to come across allegations from people who, having not had the chance to know what really be it Spiritism, they distanced themselves from it because they could not admit, for reason, that, for example, a Spirit has to take a flying bus to get around.

We have a lot to do and you must have realized that the first step is studying.

Many of us, and I count myself among those, at certain times ask ourselves, about Spiritism: “I seem to have already understood the essentials. What is the point of continuing to study? Nobody seems to want to know about it anymore.”

My suggestion is that, whenever we find ourselves with a lack of answers, we evoke the good Spirits, through the internal disposition of our own thoughts. The answer, one way or another, will not be long in coming.

I don't consider myself a medium, per se, but I have, as every incarnated spirit has, the intuitive capacity. So today, without waiting, I thought of: Spiritist Magazine, August 1865. I leave you this wonderful reflection by Kardec himself:

What does Spiritism teach?

“There are people who ask what new conquests we owe to Spiritism. From the fact that he did not endow the world with a new productive industry, like steam, they conclude that he produced nothing. Most of those who ask such a question, not having taken the trouble to study it, only know fantasy Spiritism, created for the needs of criticism, and which has nothing in common with serious Spiritism. It is therefore no wonder that they ask what its useful and practical side can be. They would have had to look for it at its source, and not in the caricatures made of it by those who are only interested in denigrating it.

In another order of ideas, some find, on the contrary, the march of Spiritism too slow for their taste. It is astonished that he has not yet probed all the mysteries of Nature, nor addressed all the questions that seem to fall within his purview; they would like to see him teach new things every day, or be enriched by some discovery. As he has not yet resolved the question of the origin of beings, the beginning and end of all things, the divine essence and some others of the same magnitude, they conclude that he did not leave the a-be-ce; that has not yet entered the true philosophical path and that drags on in commonplaces, because it incessantly preaches humility and charity. They say: “Until today he has taught us nothing new, because reincarnation, the negation of eternal punishments, the immortality of the soul, the gradation through periods of intellectual vitality, the perispirit, are not spiritist discoveries per se; so it is necessary to move towards truer and more solid discoveries.”

In this regard, we believe that we should present some observations, which will not be new either, but there are things that must be repeated in different ways.

It is true that Spiritism did not invent any of this, because there are no true truths other than those that are eternal and that, for this very reason, must have germinated in all times. But it is not something to have taken them, if not out of nothing, at least out of oblivion; of a germ having made a living plant; of an individual idea, lost in the night of time, or muffled by prejudices, having made a general belief; to have proved what was hypothesized; to have demonstrated the existence of a law in what seemed exceptional and fortuitous; of a vague theory having made a practical thing; of an unproductive idea having drawn useful applications? Nothing is truer than the proverb, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and even that truth is not new. Thus, there is no discovery of which traces and the principle are not to be found somewhere. On account of this, Copernicus would not have the merit of his system, because the movement of the Earth had been suspected before the Christian era. It was such a simple thing, yet you had to find it. The story of the Columbus egg will always be an eternal truth.

Furthermore, it is indisputable that Spiritism still has much to teach us. It is what we have never stopped repeating, because we never pretended that he had said the last word. However, given that there is still work to be done, does it follow that he has not yet come out of the a-be-ce? His a-be-ce was the turning tables, and since then, it seems to us, he has taken a few steps; It really seems to us that such steps were great in a few years, if we compare it to other sciences that took centuries to reach the point where they are. None reached the peak in a first impulse; they advance, not by the will of men, but as circumstances put them in the way of new discoveries. Now, no one has the power to command these circumstances, and the proof is that every time an idea is premature, it aborts, to reappear later, in opportune time.

But in the absence of new discoveries, will men of science have nothing to do? Will Chemistry no longer be Chemistry if it does not discover new bodies every day? Will astronomers be condemned to sit idly by for not finding new planets? And so in all other branches of science and industry. Before looking for new things, don't you have to apply what you know? It is precisely to give men time to assimilate, apply and popularize what they know that Providence puts the march forward on hold. There is History to show us that the Sciences do not follow a continuous upward march, at least ostensibly. The great movements that revolutionize an idea only operate at more or less distant intervals. There is, therefore, no stagnation, but elaboration, application and fruition of what is known, which is always progress.

Could the human Spirit ceaselessly absorb new ideas? Doesn't the Earth itself need a period of rest before reproducing? What would you say about a teacher who taught his students new rules every day, without giving them time to practice the ones they learned, to identify with them and to apply them? So would God be less farsighted and less able than a teacher?

In all things, new ideas must fit in with acquired ideas. If these are not sufficiently elaborated and consolidated in the brain; if the spirit has not assimilated them, those that we want to implant there will not take root. We will be sowing into the void.

The same goes for Spiritism. Have the adepts so taken advantage of what he taught until today, that they have nothing else to do? They are so charitable, devoid of pride, disinterested, benevolent to their fellow men; they moderated their passions so much, they abjured hatred, envy and jealousy; finally, are they so perfect that from now on it will be superfluous to preach to them charity, humility, abnegation, in a word, morality? This claim alone would prove how much they still need these elementary lessons, which some consider tedious and puerile. It is, however, only with the help of these instructions, if you take advantage of them, that you will be able to elevate yourself enough to become worthy of receiving a superior teaching.

Spiritism has as its objective the regeneration of Humanity: this is a verified fact. Now, since this regeneration cannot operate except through moral progress, it follows that its essential, providential objective is the improvement of each one. The mysteries he can reveal to us are the accessory. Because he has opened to us the sanctuary of all knowledge, we would not be further advanced to our future state if we were not better. To admit us to the feast of supreme happiness, God does not ask what we know or what we have, but what we are worth and the good we have done. It is, therefore, in his individual improvement that every sincere spiritist must work, first of all. Only those who have mastered their bad inclinations have really benefited from Spiritism and will receive their reward. That's why the good spirits, by God's order, multiply their instructions and repeat them to satiety; only foolish pride can say: I don't need anything else. Only God knows when they will be useless and it is up to him alone to direct the teaching of his messengers and adapt it to our progress.

Let's see, however, if outside the purely moral teaching the results of Spiritism are as sterile as some claim.

1st – Initially, as everyone knows, he gives complete proof of the existence and immortality of the soul. It is true that it is not a discovery, but it is because of the lack of evidence on this point that there are so many incredulous or indifferent people about the future; it is by proving what was nothing more than a theory that he triumphs over materialism and avoids its disastrous consequences on Society. Having transformed doubt about the future into certainty, it is a whole revolution in ideas, the consequences of which are incalculable. If the results of the demonstrations were limited to this, these results would be immense.

2nd – Due to the firm belief it develops, it exerts a powerful action on man's morale; it leads him to good, consoles him in afflictions, gives him strength and courage in the trials of life and diverts him from the thought of suicide.

3rd – It rectifies all the false ideas that have been made about the future of the soul, about Heaven, Hell, penalties and rewards; radically destroys, by the irresistible logic of facts, the dogmas of eternal punishment and demons; in a word, it reveals to us the future life and shows it to us rational and according to the justice of God. It is still a thing of great value.

4th – It makes known what happens at the moment of death. This phenomenon, until today unfathomable, no longer has mysteries; the smallest particulars of this much-feared passage are now known. Now, as everyone dies, such knowledge interests everyone.

5th – By the law of the plurality of existences, it opens a new field to Philosophy; man knows where he comes from, where he is going, for what purpose he is on Earth. It explains the cause of all human miseries, of all social inequalities; it gives the very laws of Nature as the basis for the principles of universal solidarity, fraternity, equality and freedom, which were based only on theory. Finally, it sheds light on the most arduous questions of Metaphysics, Psychology and Morals.

6th – Through the theory of perispiritual fluids, it makes known the mechanism of sensations and perceptions of the soul; explains the phenomena of double sight, vision at a distance, somnambulism, ecstasy, dreams, visions, apparitions, etc.; opens a new field to Physiology and Pathology.

7th – Proving the existing relations between the corporeal and spiritual worlds, it shows in the latter one of the active forces of Nature, an intelligent power, and reveals the reason for a portion of effects attributed to supernatural causes that fed the majority of superstitious ideas.

8th – Revealing the fact of obsessions, it makes known the cause, hitherto unknown, of numerous affections about which Science had been wrong to the detriment of the sick, and gives the means to cure them.

9th – Making us aware of the true conditions of prayer and its mode of action; revealing to us the reciprocal influence of incarnated and disembodied spirits, it teaches us the power of man over imperfect spirits to moralize them and rescue them from the sufferings inherent to their inferiority.

10th – Making known spiritual magnetization, which was unknown, opens a new path to magnetism and brings a new and powerful element of healing.

The merit of an invention is not in the discovery of a principle, almost always previously known, but in the application of that principle. Reincarnation, without a doubt, is not a new idea, as much as the perispirit, described by São Paulo under the name of spiritual body, nor even communication with spirits. Spiritism, which does not boast of having discovered Nature, carefully looks for all the traces it can find, of the antecedence of its ideas, and when it finds them, it hastens to proclaim them, as proof in support of what it proposes. Those, therefore, who invoke this anteriority in order to denigrate what he does, go against his objective, and act incorrectly, as this could raise the suspicion of a preconceived idea.

The discovery of reincarnation and the perispirit therefore does not belong to Spiritism. It's known. But, until his appearance, what benefit had Science, Morality, Religion taken from these two principles, ignored by the masses, and kept in a state of dead letter? He not only brought them to light, proved them and made them recognized as laws of Nature, but he developed them and made them bear fruit; from them he has already produced numerous and fruitful results, without which it would not be possible to understand an infinity of things; daily leads us to understand new things, and we are far from exhausting this mine. Taking into account that these two principles were known, why were they unproductive for so long? Why, for so many centuries, have all philosophies run up against so many unsolvable problems? It's just that they were rough diamonds, which had to be polished: that's what Spiritism did. He opened a new path for Philosophy, or rather, he created a new Philosophy that daily conquers its place in the world. So, are these results so null that we should speed up the journey in search of truer and more solid discoveries?

In summary, a certain number of fundamental truths, sketched out by some elite brains, and preserved, for the most part, as if in a latent state, once they have been studied, elaborated and proved, from being sterile they were, become a mine fruitful, from which countless secondary principles and applications emerged, and opened up a vast field for exploration, new horizons for Science, Philosophy, Morals, Religion and the social economy.

Such are, until today, the main conquests due to Spiritism, and we have only indicated the culminating points. Assuming that they had to limit themselves to this, we could already be satisfied and say that a new science, which gives such results in less than ten years, is not accused of nullity, because it touches on all the vital questions of Humanity and brings to human knowledge a contingent that cannot be disdained. Until these points alone have received all the applications that are susceptible to them, and that men have taken advantage of them, a long time will still pass, and the spiritists who want to put them into practice for themselves and for the good of all, will not they will be idle.

These points are so many foci from which innumerable secondary truths will radiate, which it is a matter of developing and applying, which is done daily, because facts are revealed daily that lift a new edge of the veil. Successively, and in a few years, Spiritism provided all the fundamental foundations for the new building. It is now up to its supporters to put this material into practice before asking for new material. God will know how to supply them when they have completed their task.

They say that spiritists only know the basics of Spiritism. Whatever. To start, then, let us learn to spell this alphabet, which is not a matter of a day, because even reduced to these proportions alone, it will be a long time before we have exhausted all the combinations and collected all the fruits. Are there no more facts left to explain? By the way, don't spiritists have to teach this alphabet to those who ignore it? Have they sown the seed wherever they could? Are there no more unbelievers left to convert, obsessed to heal, consolation to give, tears to wipe away? Do we have reasons to say that there is nothing more to be done when we have not yet finished the task, when there are still so many wounds to close? There are noble occupations that are worth knowing better and a little earlier than others.

Let us therefore know how to spell our alphabet before wanting to read fluently in the great book of Nature. God will know how to open it to us as we go along, but it does not depend on any mortal to force his will, anticipating the time for each thing. If the tree of Science is too high for us to reach it, let's wait to fly over it until our wings are grown and solidly attached, so we don't have the luck of Icarus.

Spirit feels hungry, but calm down!

Contrary to what many affirm bluntly (and often in a very harsh way, the best formula to keep people who come from the spiritist movement as we know it from studying), a Spirit attached to matter can suffer from all the vicissitudes of matter, at most attached to her. You may suffer from hunger, cold, heat, fear, etc. Of course: it is a suffering that originates in him, in itself, that is, it is a suffering of moral origin, but that, for him, until you understand, has all the characteristics of suffering material.

It is Kardec and the Spirits who say this, not me:

“To anyone who does not know the true constitution of the invisible world, it will seem strange that Spirits who, according to them, are abstract, immaterial, indefinite, bodiless beings, are victims of the horrors of hunger; but the astonishment ceases when we know that these same Spirits are beings like us, who have a fluidic body, it is true, but which is still matter; that leaving their carnal envelope, certain Spirits continue their earthly life with the same vicissitudes, for a more or less long time. This seems singular, but it is so, and observation teaches us that this is the situation of Spirits who have lived more material life than spiritual life, a situation that is sometimes terrible, because the illusion of the needs of the flesh makes itself felt, and they they have all the anguish of a need that is impossible to satisfy. The mythological torture of Tantalus, among the Ancients, indicates a more accurate knowledge than is supposed, of the state of the world beyond the grave, especially more accurate than among moderns. Very different is the position of those who have dematerialized since this life through the elevation of their thoughts and their identification with the future life. All the pains of bodily life cease with the last breath, and soon the Spirit soars, radiant, in the ethereal world, happy as a prisoner free from its chains. Who told us this? Is it a system, a theory? Someone said it should be like this, and we take it at face value? No; It is the inhabitants of the invisible world who repeat it in all parts of the globe, for the teaching of the incarnates. Yes, legions of Spirits continue their bodily lives with their tortures and anguish. But which ones? Those who are still too overwhelmed by the subject to instantly stand out from it. Is it cruelty from the Supreme Being? No. It is a law of Nature, inherent to the inferiority of Spirits and necessary for their advancement; it is a mixed prolongation of earthly life for a few days, a few months, a few years, depending on the moral state of the individuals. “

[RE, June, 1868]

The communications that indicated such types of suffering are the most diverse, frequently presented in the Spiritist Magazine and in other works. Some of them:

10. Do you remember the moments of your death?

– A. It is something terrible, impossible to describe. Imagine being in a pit with ten feet of earth above you, wanting to breathe and gasping for air, wanting to scream: “I’m alive!” and feel your voice muffled; seeing yourself die and not being able to call for help; feeling full of life and crossed off the list of the living; being thirsty and not being able to drink; feeling the pangs of hunger and not being able to stop it; to die, in a word, in a condemned rage

[RE, August, 1862]

[…] As for the inferior Spirits, they are still completely impregnated with earthly fluids; therefore, they are material, as you can understand. That is why they suffer hunger, cold, etc., sufferings that cannot affect superior Spirits, since the earthly fluids have already been purified in their thoughts, that is, in their souls.

[LAMENNAIS, OLM, 1861]

[…] there is not a single [Spirit] whose matter does not have to fight with the Spirit that finds itself again. The duel took place, the flesh was torn apart, the Spirit became obscured in the instant of separation, and in the erraticity the Spirit recognized true life. Now I will tell you a few words from those for whom this state is a test. Oh! how painful it is! they believe they are alive and well, possessing a body capable of feeling and tasting the joys of the Earth, and when their hands touch, their hands disappear; when they want to bring their lips closer to a cup or a fruit, their lips annihilate each other; they see, they want to touch, and they can neither feel nor touch. When paganism offers a beautiful image of this torture, presenting Tantalus as being hungry and thirsty and never being able to touch his lips to the spring of water that murmurs in his ear, or the fruit that seems to ripen for him

[Saint Augustine, RE, 1864]

“It is a torment for the proud to see himself relegated to the last positions, while above him, covered in glory and celebrations, are those he despised on Earth. For the hypocrite, seeing himself penetrated by the light that reveals his most secret thoughts that everyone can read, without any means to hide and dissimulate. For the sensual, having all the temptations, all the desires, without being able to satisfy them. For the miser, seeing his gold dilapidated and not being able to keep it. For the selfish person, being abandoned by everyone and suffering everything that others have suffered for him: he will be thirsty and no one will give him something to drink, he will be hungry and no one will give him anything to eat.”

[Kardec, OCI, 1865]

The Spirit can feel a hunger greater than ours, due to moral suffering, this is of course due to material attachment. Because of this attachment, you will see yourself in the body, and not in the Spirit. It will materialize all sensations. You may even try to eat a “food”, created by your own mind, and this food may have all the characteristics of a material food… But, however, it will not satisfy you, since, in fact, the Spirit does not have a stomach. nor any other body. It does not depend on food to survive. Thus, he will remain in that state for a longer or shorter time, which will seem eternal to him, as long as he voluntarily remains in that mental state — to which, many times, compulsory reincarnation, as an act of divine mercy, given his inability to choose, the come steal. There is a way of acting, spreading among the studious spiritist movement, which is as harmful as that of the spiritists who believe in everything: it is to deny everything and harshly refute everything. That's what I've been trying to draw attention to. Many even tend to attack individuals and reject ideas with stones in their hands, as if they were all ridiculous, without understanding the nuances of the spiritual world and becoming doctors in subjects of which we are only apprentices, learning to babble the first letters of the alphabet. . I have been among them, and today I understand my mistake.

Perhaps, guided by an irresolute and almost rabid animosity towards certain statements frequently seen in the spiritist environment in general, and believing themselves to be masters of spiritual lights, many receive questions like these — “Spirits feel hungry” — with the same degree of animosity. Instead of clarifying, they push the individual away, who feels humiliated for having asked about something that, perhaps, they saw Kardec himself say.

It was not by chance (it is never by chance that a Spirit, of any elevation, acting with honesty, makes any kind of affirmation) that São Luís said, in the RE of 1866:

But if, thanks to the lights from above, you are more educated and understand more, you must also be more tolerant and use nothing but reasoning as a means of propagation., because every sincere belief is respectable.

Friends, Spiritism is science, and it has two parts: the part of the Spirits, which is more or less known to them and which we know through their manifestations, and the part of men, which is purely theoretical, although absolutely rational and logical (and the which doesn’t make it any less “science”). Theories come more or less close to the truth and, on our part, it is up to us to investigation, and not the foolish mania to affirm or deny everything. Kardec, indeed, was the extremely brilliant scientist who understood this principle, which made him, instead of discarding it, investigate the apparently most absurd statements coming from the Spirits, when, of course, he identified honesty in it, and not the clear purpose of mystifying.

Therefore, to the questions “Does the Spirit feel hungry? Feel cold? Sleep? Do you build houses?”, the answer is: depends on your elevation. You can feel or do all that, but rest assured, you have no need, you suffer and waste time when you are in that state, due to attachment to matter.

Spiritism is an essentially moral science. Therefore, those who claim to be his followers cannot, without committing a serious inconsistency, evade the obligations he imposes.

(Spiritist Magazine, Paris, April 1866 ─ Medium: Mrs. B…)

[emphasis added; read to the end]

These obligations are of two orders.

The first concerns the individual who, aided by intellectual clarity that doctrine spreads, he can better understand the value of each of his acts, better probe all the folds of his conscience, better appreciate the infinite goodness of God, who does not want the death of the sinner but that he convert and live, and who, in order to leave him the possibility of rising from his falls, gave him the long series of successive existences, in each of which, bearing the weight of his past faults, he was able to acquire new knowledge and new strength, making him avoid evil and do what is consistent with justice and charity. What can be said of the one who, thus clarified about his duties towards God, towards his brothers, remains proud, greedy, selfish? Doesn't it seem that the light blinded him because he wasn't prepared to receive it? Since then he walks in darkness, although he is in the midst of light. He is only a spiritist in name. The fraternal charity of those who really see must strive to cure him of this intellectual blindness. But for many of those who resemble him, the light that the tomb brings will be necessary, because their hearts are too attached to material pleasures and their spirits are not mature to receive the truth. In a new incarnation you will understand that the inferior planets, like the Earth, are nothing more than a kind of mutual school, where the soul begins to develop its faculties, its aptitudes, to then apply them to the study of the great principles of order, justice, love and harmony that govern the relationships of souls among themselves and the functions they play in the direction of the Universe. They will feel that, called to such a high dignity as that of becoming a messenger of the Most High, the human soul must not debase itself, degrade itself in contact with the filthy pleasures of voluptuousness; from the ignoble temptations of avarice that deprive some children of God of the enjoyment of the goods that he has given to all; they will understand that selfishness, born of pride, blinds the soul and makes it violate the rights of justice, of humanity, since it engenders all the evils that make the Earth a place of pain and atonement. Instructed by the hard lessons of adversity, your spirit will be tempered by reflection, and your heart, after being grated by pain, will become kind and charitable. This is how what appears to us to be evil is sometimes necessary to bring back the hardened. These poor retards, regenerated by suffering, enlightened by that interior light which we can call the baptism of the Spirit, will carefully watch over themselves, that is, over the movements of their heart and the use of their faculties, in order to direct them according to the laws of justice and fraternity. They will understand that they are not only obliged, themselves, to improve themselves, a selfish calculation that prevents the achievement of the objective aimed at by God, but that the second order of obligations of the spiritist, which necessarily follows from the first and completes it, is that of example. , which is the best means of propagation and renewal.

Indeed, he who is convinced of the excellence of the principles he is taught and which, if his conduct conforms to them, will bring him lasting happiness, cannot, if he is truly animated by that fraternal charity which is in the very essence of Spiritism, but wanting them to be understood by all men. Hence the moral obligation to conform your conduct to your belief and to be a living example, a model, as Christ was for Humanity.

You, feeble sparks from the eternal focus of divine love, certainly cannot claim such a vast radiance as that of the Word of God incarnated on Earth, but each one, in your sphere of action, can spread the benefits of good example. You can make virtue loved, surrounding it with the charm of that constant benevolence that attracts, captivates and finally shows that doing good is an easy thing; which generates the intimate happiness of the conscience that has placed itself under its law, since it is the fulfillment of the divine will that made us say, through His Christ: Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Now, Spiritism is nothing but the true application of the principles of morality taught by Jesus, because it is only with the aim of making it understood by all, so that through it all progress more quickly, that God allows this universal manifestation. of the Spirit, coming to explain to you what seemed obscure to you and to teach you all the truth. It comes, like Christianity well understood, to show man the absolute need for his interior renewal by the very consequences of each of his acts, of each of his thoughts, because no fluidic emanation, good or bad, escapes from the heart or mind. man's brain without leaving an imprint somewhere. The invisible world that surrounds you is for you this book of life where everything is inscribed with incredible fidelity, and the Scales of Divine Justice it is nothing but a figure that reveals each of your actions, each of your feelings. It is, in a way, the weight that weighs down your soul and prevents it from rising, or that brings balance between good and evil.

Happy is he whose feelings come from a pure heart. He spreads around him a soft atmosphere that makes virtue loved and attracts good spirits; its power of radiation is the greater the more humble it is, and consequently the more detached from the material influences that attract the soul and prevent it from progressing.

The obligations imposed by Spiritism are, therefore, of an essentially moral nature., because they are a consequence of belief; each is a judge and party in his own cause; but the intellectual clarity it brings to those who really want get to know yourself and working on its improvement are such as to frighten the faint-hearted, and that is why it is rejected by so many people. Others try to reconcile the reform that their reason shows them to be a necessity with the demands of today's Society. Hence a heterogeneous mixture, a lack of unity that makes the current epoch a transitory state.. It is very difficult for your poor corporeal nature to strip itself of its imperfections to put on the new man, that is, the man who lives according to the principles of justice and harmony desired by God. With persevering efforts, however, you will get there, because the obligations imposed on the conscience, when sufficiently clarified, have more force than human laws based on the constraint of a religious obscurantism that does not bear examination will ever have. But if, thanks to the lights from above, you are more educated and understand more, you must also be more tolerant and use only reasoning as a means of propagation, because every sincere belief is respectable.. If your life is a beautiful model in which everyone can find good examples and solid virtues, where dignity is combined with a gracious amenity, rejoice, because you will have understood, at least in part, what Spiritism obliges.

LOUIS OF FRANCE (Saint Louis)

=========================================

The problem with the current idea of “intimate reform” is not a matter of words, but that it has become a central point, as if the individual’s mission were to improve themselves, only. Every day, it is demonstrated that the true spiritist, because he understood the light that opened to him before the spiritual horizons, improves himself in a humble way, helping his neighbor with the same humility, not punishing his conscience with punches and knives. . The true face of good is cooperation, not dispute. The highest, serves.

Luís begins the text by stating: Spiritism is a science and, as such, spreads intellectual clarity. Spiritism serves knowledge, which is a necessary part for the individual's progress. But this is not enough: example is necessary, and we have several proofs of this in humanity, Christ being the most expressive of them. He, who came to wash our feet, demonstrated: the highest, serves, giving himself the selfless example.

In the end, Luís points out: if we are better educated, it is thanks to the “lights from on high”, not because we don't have the personal effort, but because, without the charitable cooperation of the one who is higher, we wouldn't learn! By the way, those who enter into the false idea and isolate themselves due to selfishness and pride, leave the possibility of this learning, for some time. This is the truest possible face of Creation, as Spiritism demonstrates! The dispute, the idea that the world is one of the smartest, selfishness, pride, in short, are all false conceptions, linked to false human ideas, which lead the being to the abyss that imprison him and from which it is only his effort. in escaping. Absolutely, these are ideas that do not represent the truth about Creation or relationships as Spirits!

This is a communication that must be read, reread, discussed and, who knows, placed at the head of the table.

Recently, a series of studies by Revista Espírita gave us an interesting lesson, which goes directly in line with the ideas of cities in the spiritual world, which many believe in and promote. The study was carried out on the following articles from Revista Espírita:

• July 1859:

  • The Magenta Zouave;

    • A senior officer killed in Magenta

• August 1859:

• • Furniture from beyond the grave;
  • Pneumatography or direct writing;
  • A servant spirit;
  • Mrs Mally's Guide

In addition, we use Kardec's conclusion in A Gênese (Editora FEAL) — Nature and Property of Fluids.

We will highlight the main points of the study, where we list our comments in square brackets ([comment]).

Magenta's Zouavo

45. ─ Do you know why you see us, while we cannot see you?

─ I think your glasses are too weak.

[He does not know. Hence it uses a metaphor or figure of speech.]

46. ─ Is it not for this same reason that you do not see the general in his uniform?

─ Yes, but he doesn't wear it every day.

47. ─ What days do you wear it?

─ Now that! When they call him to the palace.

[The Spirits, ignorant of certain things, express themselves as best they can, and see the world of Spirits according to their ideas, just as a child, using mental images to describe something that he does not understand, speaks of things that we attribute only to the imagination, but that, deep down, has its meaning. The mistake here would be to take the “palace” as an expression of spiritual truth permanent.]

48. ─ Why are you here dressed as a zuavo if we can't see you?

─ Simply because I am still a Zouavo, even after about eight years, and because among Spirits we conserve that form for a long time. But that's just between us. You understand that when we go to a very different world, like the Moon or Jupiter, we don't take the trouble to do all that toileting.

[This is very interesting. What we understand is that he is referring to the fact that Spirit adopts a perispiritual form according to the world where it goes and according to the existence of a personality in that world, without even realizing it. If he had lived in a distant world, for example, an animal seller, when evoked there, would present himself that way. When moving through space, without being evoked, it does not take a specific shape, that is, “you don’t need to do all that toiletry”.]

49. ─ You speak of the Moon and Jupiter. Were you there after he died?

─ No. You are not understanding me. After death we find out about many things. Didn't they explain to us a lot of problems of our Earth? Don't we know God and other beings much better than we did a fortnight ago? With death, the Spirit undergoes a metamorphosis that you cannot understand.

[He is trying to explain the previous thought, not knowing how to do it.]

A senior officer killed in Magenta

13. ─ At the moment of death, did you immediately recognize yourself?

─ I recognized myself almost immediately, thanks to the vague notions I had of Spiritism.

14. ─ Can you say something about Mr… also killed in the last battle?

─ He is still in the networks of matter. There's more work to get rid of. His thoughts had not turned this way.
OBSERVATION: Thus, knowledge of Spiritism helps in the detachment of the soul after death and shortens the period of disturbance that accompanies separation. This is understandable, as the Spirit knew in advance the world in which it finds itself.

[If this knowledge is so important, how can we conceive that precisely when Spiritism was scientifically studied, at the best possible moment, nothing was said about this materiality that today dominates communications?]

furniture from beyond the grave

So far no difficulty concerning the personality of the Spirit. We know, however, that they appear in clothes whose appearance changes at will; sometimes they even have certain toilet accessories, jewelry, etc. In the two apparitions mentioned at the beginning, one had a pipe and produced smoke; the other, a tobacco box and took pinches. Note, however, the fact that this spirit was from a living person and that his snuffbox was in everything similar to the one he usually used, and that he had stayed at home. What, then, do this tobacconist, this pipe, these clothes and these jewels mean? Would the material objects that exist on Earth have an ethereal representation in the invisible world? Does the condensed matter that forms such objects have a quintessential part, which escapes our senses?

This is an immense problem, the solution of which may provide the key to a number of things that have not yet been explained. It was this tobacco company that put us on the path, not only of the fact, but of the most extraordinary phenomenon of Spiritism: the phenomenon of pneumatography or direct writing, which we will talk about below.

[Position of the true scientist, in search of the truth, without discarding anything.]

3. ─ This snuffbox had the shape of the one he habitually uses, and which was in his house. What was this snuffbox in the hands of the Spirit?

─ Always looks. It was so that the circumstances would be noticed, as they were, and so that the apparition would not be taken for a hallucination produced by the state of health of the seer. Spirit wanted this lady to believe in the reality of her presence and took on all appearances of reality.

4. ─ You say that it is an appearance, but an appearance has nothing to do with reality; it's like an optical illusion. I would like to know if this snuffbox was nothing more than an unreal image, like, for example, that of an object reflected in a mirror.

(One of the members of the Society, Mr. Sanson, observes that there is something real in the image reproduced by the mirror. If the image does not remain in the mirror, it is because nothing fixes it, but if it is projected onto a daguerreotype plate, leaves an impression, clear proof that it is produced by some substance and that it is not just an optical illusion).

4 (continued) – Mr. Sanson's observation is perfectly fair. Would you be kind enough to tell us if there is any analogy with the tobacco box, that is, if there is anything material in that tobacco box?
─ Certainly. It is with the help of this material principle that the perispirit takes on the appearance of clothing similar to those that the Spirit wore when alive.

[Today, we know the principle of the image reflected in a mirror and its fixation in a photograph: the behavior of waves. The light, as electromagnetic energy, reflects off the mirror and impresses the photography device, whatever it may be. It seems that it is to this same principle (of wave) that the Spirit refers.]

NOTE: Evidently the word appearance it must be taken here in the sense of image, of imitation. The real tobacconist was not there. What Spirit had was just a reproduction. Compared to the original, it was but an appearance, though formed by a material principle.

Experience teaches us that we should not take certain expressions used by spirits literally. Interpreting them according to our ideas, we expose ourselves to great mistakes, so we must deepen the meaning of their words, whenever there is a minimum ambiguity. Here is a recommendation constantly made by the Spirits. Without the explanation we provoke, the word appearance, repeated continuously in similar cases, could give rise to a false interpretation [Since “appearance” could give rise to the idea of something that does not exist.].

5. ─ Would there be an unfolding of inert matter? Would there be, in the invisible world, an essential matter, covering the form of the objects that we see? In a word, would these objects have their ethereal double in the invisible world, as men are represented there in Spirit?

OBSERVATION: Here is a theory like any other, and that was our thought. The Spirit, however, did not take it into account, which absolutely did not humiliate us, because its explanation seemed very logical to us and because it rests on a more general principle, of which we find many explanations.

─ It doesn't happen that way. The Spirit has a power over the material elements disseminated throughout space, in our atmosphere, that you are far from suspecting. He can, at will, concentrate these elements and give them an apparent form, suitable for his designs.

6. ─ I ask the question again categorically, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Are the clothes with which spirits are covered something?

─ It seems that my previous answer settles the question. Don't you know that the perispirit itself is something?

7. ─ It follows from this explanation that the Spirits make the etherized matter undergo transformations at will and that, therefore, in the case of the tobacconist, the Spirit did not find it perfectly finished; he made it himself at the moment he needed it, and then undid it. The same should happen with all other objects, such as clothing, jewelry, etc.

─ But it is obvious.

8. ─ That tobacco box was so clearly visible to Mrs. R… to the point of deceiving her. Could the Spirit have made it tangible?

─ It could.

9. ─ In that case, could Mrs. R… have taken it in her hands, thinking she was getting an authentic tobacco box?

─ Yes.

10. ─ If I had opened it, I would probably have found snuff. If she had taken it, would it have made her sneeze?

─ Yes.

11. ─ Can the Spirit not only give the form, but even special properties?

─ If you want; It is in virtue of this principle that I have answered affirmatively to the preceding questions. You will have proof of the powerful action that the Spirit exerts on matter and which, as I have already told you, you are far from suspecting.

[We know, today, that Creation is far from being “each for himself”, and that, in fact, it is “one for all and all for one”, with those most inferior being always “led” by the highest .]

12. ─ Let us then suppose that he wanted to make a poisonous substance and that a person had taken it. Could this have been poisoned?

─ I could, but I wouldn't have done it, because I wouldn't have been allowed to do it.

13. ─ Could you have made a salutary substance suitable for healing in case of illness? Has there ever been such a case?

─ Yes; often.

OBSERVATION: A fact of this kind will be found with a very interesting theoretical explanation in the article that we give below under the title A Servant Spirit.

14. ─ In the same way he could make a food substance; let's suppose he had made a fruit or some snack. Could someone eat it and feel fed?

─ Yes, yes. But do not look so hard to find that which is easy to understand. A ray of sunlight is enough to make your gross organs perceptible to those material particles that fill the space in which you live. Do you not know that the air contains water vapour? Condense it and you will bring it to a normal state. Deprive it of heat and behold, its impalpable and invisible molecules will become a solid and very solid body. There are other matters that will lead chemists to present you with even more astonishing marvels. Only the Spirit has instruments more perfect than yours: his own will and God's permission. 

OBSERVATION: The issue of satiety is very important here. How can a substance that has only temporary and, in a sense, conventional existence and properties produce satiety? By its contact with the stomach, this substance produces the sensation of satiety, but not the satiety resulting from fullness. If such a substance can act on the organic economy and modify a morbid state, it can also act on the stomach and produce the sensation of satiety. However, we ask pharmacists and restaurant owners not to be jealous, nor to think that the spirits are coming to compete with them. These cases are rare and exceptional and never depend on the will. Otherwise, food and healing would be very cheap.

15. ─ Could the Spirit manufacture coins in the same way?

─ For the same reason.

16. ─ Once made tangible by the will of the Spirit, could these objects have a character of permanence and stability?

─ They could, but this is not done. It's outside the law.

17. ─ Do all spirits have the same degree of power?

─ No, no.

[Because only superior spirits could do it (following answer).]

18. ─ Which ones have this power more particularly?

─ Those to whom God grants it, when this is useful.

19. ─ Does the elevation of a Spirit influence this case?

─ It is certain that the higher the spirit, the more easily it obtains this power. This, however, depends on the circumstances. Lesser spirits can also get it.

[And, in that case, they are supplied by the assistance of superior spirits, often without even knowing it. See The Book of Mediums or Guide for Mediums and Evocators > Part Two — On Spiritist Manifestations > Chapter V — On Spontaneous Physical Manifestations > Throwing Objects.]

20. ─ Does the production of semi-material objects always result from an act of the Spirit's will, or does it sometimes exercise this power despite its own?

─ This often happens in spite of you.

[That is to say: he doesn't even realize, consciously, that he does what he does.]

21. ─ Would this power then be one of the attributes, one of the faculties inherent in the very nature of the Spirit? Would it be, in some way, one of the properties, like that of seeing and hearing?─ Certainly. But sometimes he himself ignores it. Then another exercises it for him, in spite of himself, when circumstances demand it. The Zouavo's tailor was precisely the spirit I just mentioned and to which he alluded in his joking language..

OBSERVATION: We find an example of this faculty in certain animals, as, for example, in the electric fish, which radiates electricity without knowing what it does, nor how, and who does not even know the mechanism that produces it. Don't we ourselves sometimes produce certain effects through spontaneous acts of which we are not aware? Thus, it seems very natural to us that the Spirit operates in this circumstance by a kind of instinct. He works of his own free will, without knowing how, just as we walk without calculating the forces we bring into play.

NOTE: This was, for example, the case of the queen of Oude, whose evocation appears in our issue of March 1858, who still thought she was covered in diamonds.

23. ─ Can two spirits recognize each other by the material appearance they had in life?

─ This is not how they recognize each other, as they will not assume that appearance for each other. If, however, under certain circumstances, they find themselves in the presence of each other, dressed in that appearance, why should they not recognize each other?

[This is important! In mediumistic novels, the fantastic world created is all material or materialistic, and form, in these tales, is fundamental. Here, we have again the confirmation already made before that form is not important for Spirits in general, although it is predominant for Spirits still very attached to matter (that is, with very attached thoughts). It follows that it would make sense for a Spirit in disturbance to “see” itself in a condition like that of André Luiz's threshold, but the same could not happen when already detached from these ideas, which does not seem to be something that far away, according to the reports of several Spirits, given to Kardec.]

24. ─ How can spirits recognize themselves in the midst of the crowd of other spirits, and above all how can they do it when one of them goes to look for in a distant place and often in other worlds, those we call?

─ This is a question whose answer would take a very long way. It is necessary to wait.

You are not advanced enough. For the moment, content yourself with the certainty that this is so, for you have sufficient proof of this.

25. ─ If the Spirit can take from the universal element the materials to make all these things and give them a temporary reality, with its properties, it can also take from there what is necessary to write. Consequently, this gives us the key to the phenomenon of direct writing((Direct writing happens when a Spirit, by will and with the utility of doing so, makes real writing appear on paper, sometimes in graphite, sometimes in ink, sometimes in print format. We recommend reading the following article, “Pneumatography or direct writing”, as well as the article with the same title, in May 1860, and also Chapter XII of The Book of Mediums — “On pneumatography or direct writing”. 

Pneuma: among the ancient Greek thinkers, especially the Stoics, designation of the spirit, animating breath or creative force, used by divine reason to vivify and direct all things.)).

─ You finally understand.

[scientific maturation]

26. ─ If the material used by the Spirit is not permanent, how come the traces of direct writing do not disappear?

─ Do not judge by the words. From the start I never said never. In the cases studied, these were bulky material objects; here we are dealing with signs that should be conserved and are conserved.

[I understand that St. Louis states that this matter is not impermeable, and that it falls apart when it is “condensed” only by a temporary effect, by inferior Spirits. In the case of direct writing, if there is an interest in preserving it, it is preserved. Chapter VI – General Uranography – in Genesis, gives the key to this understanding.]

The above theory can be summarized as follows: Spirit acts on matter; it takes from universal primitive matter the necessary elements to, at will, form objects with the appearance of the different bodies existing on Earth. He can also operate on elementary matter, at will, an intimate transformation that gives it certain properties. This faculty is inherent to the nature of the Spirit, which often exercises it, when necessary, as an instinctive act, which it does not realize.

[It is important to note that, afterwards, it seems to be clear that this interaction on matter is never direct, but that it needs the perispiritual fluid of the incarnated person to happen..]

The objects formed by the Spirits have a temporary existence, subordinated to their will or necessity. He can make and break them at will. In certain cases, in the eyes of living people, these objects can have all the appearances of reality, that is, become momentarily visible and even tangible. There is formation, but not creation, since the Spirit cannot bring anything out of nothing. (The Book of Mediums, questions 130 and 131).

Mrs Mally's Guide

The article “A servant spirit”, from the same issue, presents the case of Mrs. Mally, where, around her, many interesting facts happen. From an early age he had the ability to see spirits. Sometimes he saw his guiding Spirit; others, he saw unpleasant apparitions, which were intended to call his attention to remain vigilant. There came to be the materialization of a Spirit (agenere).

“In 1856, Mrs Mally's third daughter, aged four, fell ill. It was in August. The child was continually immersed in a state of drowsiness, interrupted by seizures and convulsions. For eight days myself [the correspondent] I saw the child, who seemed to come out of her dejection, take on a smiling and happy expression, with half-closed eyes, without looking at those around her; extend your hand in a graceful gesture, as if to receive something; take it to your mouth and eat; then say thank you with a charming smile. During those eight days the girl was sustained by this invisible food and her body regained its usual appearance of freshness.”

[The article is interesting and we recommend reading it. Let's move on to the evocation of Mrs. mally.]

The evocation begins with the establishment of the Spirit's relationship with Mrs. Mally: they had an old friendly relationship. The Spirit was that of an eight-year-old boy who had died a long time ago. Kardec asks if he was always the one who appeared to her, and he says no, but asserts that it is he himself who produced certain material phenomena *:

13. ─ So you have the power to make yourself visible at will?

─ Yes, but I said it wasn't me.

14. ─ Don't you also have anything to do with the other material manifestations produced in her house?

─ Sorry! This yes. It was what I imposed on myself, together with her, as material work, but I do other work for her that is much more useful and much more serious.

* Kardec says, in the previous article: “By other manifestations he reveals his moral state. This Spirit has a non-serious character, however, alongside signs of levity, he has shown sensitivity and dedication.”

16. ─ Could you make yourself visible here, to one of us?

─ Yes, if you ask God for it to happen. I can, but I dare not.

17. ─ If you don't want to make yourself visible, could you at least give us a manifestation, such as bringing something onto this table?

─ Certainly, but what would be the use? For her this is how I witness my presence, but for you it would be useless, as we are talking.

18. ─ Wouldn't the obstacle be the lack of a medium, necessary to produce these manifestations?

─ No, this is a small obstacle. Don't you often see sudden apparitions to people without any mediumship?

19. ─ So everyone is able to see spontaneous apparitions?

─ Yes, because every human being is a medium.

20. ─ However, doesn't the Spirit find in the organism of certain people a greater facility to communicate?

─ Yes, but I told you ─ and you must know ─ that the Spirits have the power for themselves. The medium is nothing. Don't you have direct writing? Is a medium necessary for this? No, but only faith and a burning desire. And even sometimes this happens in spite of men, that is, without faith and without desire.

[Here, Kardec is deepening his studies. We cannot take this as conclusive, because, perhaps, what this Spirit says is not the truth, but only what he understands. However, it is not difficult to think that, if Matter is formed by the thought of pure Spirits, very simple material forms can be formed, under that influence and for its usefulness, by less elevated Spirits.]

21. ─ Do you think that manifestations, such as direct writing, for example, will become more common than they are today?

─ Certainly. How do you understand, then, the vulgarization of Spiritism?

22. ─ Can you explain to us what Mrs. Mally's daughter took in her hand and ate when she was sick?

─ Manna, a substance created by us, which contains the principle contained in ordinary manna and the sweetness of confectionery.

23. ─ Is this substance formed in the same way as clothes and other objects that spirits produce by their will and by the action they exert on matter?

─ Yes, but the elements are very different. The ingredients that make up the manna they are not the same ones I got to create wood or clothes.

[“We must not take certain expressions used by Spirits literally”. Let's go, before forming ideas]

24. ─ (To Saint Louis) Were the elements used by the Spirit to form his manna different from those he took to form other things? We have always been told that there is only one primitive universal element, of which the different bodies are mere modifications.

[Here, because there is doubt or inaccuracy in the response of that Spirit, Kardec questions São Luis, Spirit guide of the group. It is the principle we demonstrate in our recent article]

─ Yes. This means that this primitive element is in space, here in one form, there in another. That's what he means. He gets his manna from a part of that element, which he supposes different, but which is always the same.

25. ─ Is the magnetic action by which special properties can be given to a substance, such as water, for example, related to that of the Spirit that creates a substance?

─ The magnetizer employs nothing but his will. It is a Spirit who helps you, who is in charge of preparing the medicine.

---

Analysis of passage in “Our Home”

In Nosso Lar, we see the following passage. Let's analyze it:

The messenger of good fixed the painting, understood the gravity of the moment and added:

- We have no time to lose.

First of all, he applied comfort passes to the patient, isolating him from the dark shapes, which moved away as if by magic. Then he invited me decisively:

– Let's go to Nature.

I accompanied her without hesitation and she, noticing my strangeness, emphasized:

– Not only man can receive fluids and emit them. The natural forces do the same, in the different realms into which they are subdivided. In the case of our patient, we need trees. They will help us effectively.

Admired by the new lesson, I followed her silently. Arriving at a place where huge fronds were lined up, Narcissa called someone, with expressions that I could not understand.

[Of course, the spirits did not speak through their mouths. That's a figure of speech. The expression is of thought, and André Luiz could not understand these thoughts, yet.]

Moments later, eight spiritual entities answered his call. Immensely surprised, I saw her inquire about the existence of mango and eucalyptus trees. Duly informed by friends, who were complete strangers to me, the nurse explained:

– They are common servants of the plant kingdom, the brothers who attended to us.

[The highest, SERVE. They are not “elves”. They are Spirits, carrying out their activities in nature. They do not live in the middle of the forest, but they take care of this kingdom, as other Spirits will take care of others. They may not be more advanced than us, but they are more advanced than those who are still in the position of the Intelligent Principle. Therefore, they serve their purpose. Mediumistic works need, based on Spiritism, to be re-read and, if there is still doubt, these Spirits must be EVOKED!]

And, seeing my surprise, he concluded:

– As you can see, there is nothing useless in the House of Our Father. Everywhere, if there are those who need to learn, there are those who teach; and where difficulty appears, Providence appears. The only unfortunate person, in the divine work, is the unforeseen spirit, which has condemned itself to the darkness of evil.

[Here, she reinforces the teaching, asserting that the Spirit (therefore, conscious) who voluntarily condemned himself to darkness, that is, who voluntarily clung to imperfection, is the only one who moves away from the “path”, which is the constant relationship of Spirits, learning, cooperating and teaching, towards good.]

Narcissa manipulated, in a few moments, a certain substance with the emanations of the eucalyptus and the hose [“[the] primitive element is in space, here in one form, there in another”] and, throughout the night, we applied the medicine to the sick person , through common breathing and absorption through the pores.

---

Continuing: Mrs Mally's Guide

26. ─ (To the guide) Some time ago we reported curious facts about manifestations of a Spirit designated by us with the name Duende de Bayonne. Do you know this Spirit?

─ Not particularly, but I followed what you did about him and that was how I came to know about him.

27. ─ Is he a spirit of a lower order?

─ Does inferior mean bad? No. I mean, simply: not entirely good, not very advanced? Yes.

[Inferior spirit is not synonymous with imperfect spirit, because imperfection is something acquired by habit and will. On the Spiritist Scale, this is clear.

All of this is fantastic! Being able to verify, in the RE, the confirmation, given everywhere, of what is concluded in the final works. Little do the resistant know the richness that exists in this study!]

28. ─ We thank you for your kindness in coming and for the explanations you gave us.

─ At your orders.

OBSERVATION: This communication offers us a complement to what we said in the two previous articles about the formation of certain bodies by spirits. The substance given to the child during illness was evidently prepared by them and was intended to restore health. Where did they get their principles from? From the universal element, transformed for the desired use. The very strange phenomenon of properties transmitted by magnetic action, a hitherto unexplained problem, and over which unbelievers have been amused, is now solved. Indeed, we know that it is not only the spirits of the dead who act, but that those of the living also have their share of action in the invisible world. The tobacconist gives us proof of this. What, then, is admirable in that a person's will, acting for the good [Law], can operate a transformation of primitive matter and give it certain properties? In our opinion, this is the key to many supposedly supernatural effects, of which we will have the opportunity to speak.

This is how, through observation, we come to perceive things that are part of reality and the marvelous. But who says this theory is true? Go there! It has at least the merit of being rational and of perfectly agreeing with observed facts. If any human brain finds another more logical than the one given by the Spirits, let them be compared. One day perhaps they will thank us for opening the way to the rational study of Spiritism.

One day someone said to us: “I would very much like to have a servant Spirit at my command, even if I had to endure some pranks that he did to me.”

It is a satisfaction that we enjoy without realizing it, because not all the Spirits who assist us manifest themselves in an ostensive way, but that does not stop them from being by our side and, due to the fact that they are occult, their influence is no less real.

The Genesis (FEAL) > Nature and Property of Fluids

As has already been demonstrated, the universal cosmic fluid is the primitive elementary matter of which the modifications and transformations constitute the innumerable variety of bodies in nature. As an elementary principle of the Universe, it presents two distinct states: that of etherealization or weightlessness, which can be considered as the primitive state, and that of materialization or weightlessness, which becomes, in some way, its consequence. The intermediate point is the transformation of the fluid into tangible matter. But even there, there is no sudden transition, as our imponderable fluids can be considered as an intermediate point between the two states ((To understand Allan Kardec's statements, it is essential to consider that there was in his time, in Physics, the theory of that matter would be made up of two classes: common matter, tangible or ponderable, and imponderable matter or atoms representing light, electricity, heat, etc. (these are luminous, electrical, caloric fluids, etc.). Psychic fluids or spiritual (theme of this chapter) would then be even more subtle states of the universal cosmic fluid than those imponderable fluids accepted at the time. There would then be, in a sequence from greater to lesser subtleties: common matter, imponderable matter, psychic matter. Currently we know that the hypothesis of the imponderable substance is false, and these phenomena are explained as electromagnetic waves.Transposing Kardec's reasoning to Modern Physics, we could conclude that psychic or spiritual matter would be above light. But this hypothesis leads to more complex questions and implications in the current scientific paradigm for which we do not have in this work the developments that allow us to resolve them. (N. do E.) )).

Spirits act on spiritual fluids, not manipulating them as men manipulate gases, but with the help of thought and will, which are, for the Spirit, what the hand is for man. By thought they impress this or that direction on the fluid; they agglomerate, combine or disperse them and form sets with a certain appearance, shape, color; they change their properties, as a chemist changes those of a gas or other bodies, by combining them according to certain laws. It is the great workshop or laboratory of the spiritual life.

Sometimes these transformations are the result of an intention, but often they are the product of an unconscious thought, because the Spirit just thinks about something for it to be done.

This is how, for example, a spirit appears to an incarnate spirit, endowed with spiritual vision, under the appearance he had when he was alive, at the time he met him, although he has already had several other incarnations. He presents himself with clothes, external signs, diseases, scars, amputated limbs, etc. who had; a beheaded one will present himself without his head. I do not say that they preserved such appearances; no, certainly, because, as a Spirit, he is neither lame nor one-armed, nor one-eyed nor decapitated. But his thought, referring to the time when it was like that, his perispirit instantly takes on this appearance, which also changes instantly. If he had been once black and once white, he will present himself as either black or white, according to which of the two incarnations he is evoked and where his thoughts go.

By an analogous effect, the thought of the Spirit fluidly creates the objects it was used to using. A miser will handle gold; a soldier will have his weapons and his uniform; a smoker, his pipe; a workman, his plow and his oxen; an old woman, her distaff.

These fluidic objects are as real for the Spirit as they would be in the material state for the incarnated man. But, due to the fact that they are created by thought, their existence is as ephemeral as it is [here Kardec refers to the article discussed earlier, furniture from beyond the grave].

our observations

• The Spirit materializes, by the action of thought, the fluids, according to its elevation, its attachments and its ideas. This materialization can range from simple objects to, probably, large scenarios, formed in a group.
• Spirits that are sometimes less elevated, but already detached from material attachments, demonstrate that they are not involved in that materiality, so prevalent in others.
• Unenlightened spirits form mental images to describe something they don't understand, just as children can do. The role of a psychology student, in both cases, is to go beyond the images and figures to understand the background of what they say. 
• The mistake is in taking the word literally.
• Far from discarding it as nonsense, we will need to be ready, with a resumption of scientific Spiritism, to know how to filter the various atavisms that Spirits, dominated by these widely disseminated ideas, will be able to use.
• As we highlighted in recent article, it is a serious mistake to form systems on metaphors, taken out of context and not understood correctly. To get rid of these errors, it will be necessary to resume Spiritism scientifically, in the same way that Kardec did.
• The “coding” presents all the elements to understand that the materiality of the spiritual world is directly linked to the materialism of the Spirits. Those who are more “spiritualized”, not necessarily enlightened, do not present it, while those who are in a state of disturbance, caused by imperfections, often present ideas of attachment to matter. These examples are plentiful. We ask: how, precisely at the most important moment of Spiritism, this supposed reality of cities and colonies, which would be so important, since it would be immediate to our death, was not clearly established for Kardec? We have already addressed these issues in recent article, and we will not repeat it.

Life is all about choices. Sometimes, they are lucid choices, that is, we know well that something is correct or not; other times, they are “ignorant” choices, that is, we don’t know enough to assume the results. From these, we can collect errors or successes and, in the case of error, there is no “sin”, as error is part of evolution. As long as you don’t get attached to it, “everything is fine”. Just move on and don't repeat the mistake. There is no condemnation, nor was there any intention of evil.

The big question is when the choice for what is wrong happens more consciously — and here I do not consider full conscience, because, if it existed, the bad choice would not be made. The individual, endowed with conscience and intelligence, acts in favor of attachment to what is wrong or that brings bad results. Yes, he acts enveloped in a confusion of ideas, which were born in the first place from his urge to satisfy himself in some respect — hence the assertiveness in saying that selfishness and pride are the mothers of all other imperfections — and, often, not even thinks of doing evil, but of satisfying his own desires or [false] needs. This is the problematic point of bad choices, where the individual condemns himself to a whirlwind of bad effects in which the cause is himself and no one else, and where he distances himself from the Good, which is the path, to take a detour that lasts forever. feathers will cost you to resume, as it requires the exercise of detachment.

That said, many will wonder: in both cases, but especially in the second, so how to make less mistakes? How can we better judge our own actions? How to avoid occasional mistakes and how to exercise detachment before a certain habit becomes a terrible imperfection?

Briefly, the answer is a rhetorical question: why do you think that the spirits of previously incarnated individuals — wise spirits and ignorant spirits; Kind spirits and evil spirits; Happy spirits and suffering spirits — did they take the time to tell us about their own adventures? Why do you think that an individual of sciences, dedicated philosopher of education and connoisseur of so many other sciences, having glimpsed something in these communications, dedicated, to exhaustion, about 14 years of his life, his finances, his joys, and your health in studying and disseminating this knowledge, which formed what we know as Spiritism or Spiritist Doctrine? WHY?

When the child sees his brother suffer a burn by putting his hand on hot coals, he will most likely think twice before doing the same. Imagine what an adult, full of his brain capabilities, can do with this knowledge?! And yet, how many people, going through years and years of foolishly cultivated suffering, CHOOSE to keep these works closed on the shelves, forgotten in their virtual places?

The passage of Zacchaeus, who, seeing Jesus pass by his door, climbed a tree to try to see him, without letting himself be seen interested by the citizens of the city, can be our same: just be interested. The difference is that we don't have to hide from anyone to read a book, except when WE CHOOSE our hiding from OURSELVES, out of a foolish fear of, seeing ourselves discovered by ourselves, having to carry out the correction movement. Well, at this point, if you act like that, I can already ask you: why do you like unhappiness so much?

Salvation is knowledge. Healing is done by yourself. And it's all as close as you want PLEASE. That's the message: to make better choices, you need to TO UNDERSTAND how the law works.

Happy new days to you.

For a strange idea, we adopted the principle that we cannot evoke the Spirits, and that the only one who could do that was Kardec, because he had the permission or a very peculiar purpose.

In the light of knowledge, we need to correct this idea a little, because, in fact, the only ones who could make the evocations were the thousands of individuals and small groups, spread around the world, not only at the time of Kardec, but even before him, because , when Kardec became interested in the new science and even before giving himself the pseudonym of Allan Kardec, Spiritism was already practiced in many parts of the world.

Interesting, isn't it? Why is it that today, then, we cannot or should not evoke the Spirits? I do not know this law, nor have I ever seen it written anywhere, except in a sentence taken out of context, metaphorical by Chico Xavier: “the phone only rings from there to here”. Quite the contrary, when studying the works of Kardec, we will find the recommendation of the practice of Spiritism by small groups, a practice that consisted, in his view, a science: the constant investigation, together with the Spirits, of the laws that govern Creation.

For this very strange idea, we started to put mediums in the position of the old automatic telephone secretaries, whose only mission was to answer a call and record the message, and nothing else. Mediums have turned into this:

Not only that: Spiritist groups, which today practically do not exist outside of Spiritist centers, began to adopt an even stranger idea: they began to listen to “telephone recordings” without questioning them! That's right: the message given is not questioned, they are simply taken for the principle that they are always endowed with truth and wisdom, and with good intentions. This idea is very, very strange, because yesterday my mother received a message from someone who claimed to be me, and who wanted three thousand reais to pay an urgent bill. Imagine if my mother adopted the practice of many spiritualist groups and simply trusted the interlocutor!

The systems

By an even stranger principle, certain individuals began to create and defend systems built precisely on these passively received and unverified communications, wasting precious time and causing enormous difficulties to the spiritist movement, which stopped studying Kardec to trust these systems. Incongruously, the individuals who act in this way are often those who would be fully capable, due to their scientific knowledge, to investigate these issues.

But not only from unchecked spiritist communications does this sad scenario form. Many others erect true systems of ideas about metaphors used by Kardec in his studies, failing to understand that scientists, especially at that time, envisioning new scientific aspects that they had no way of understanding, created metaphors to try to give light to the idea they sought to express, entrusting the continuity of science with better explanations. All great scientists have done this, above all in the philosophical aspect and especially in the metaphysical scope of these ideas. Kardec did this, for example, when trying to explain the divine presence as an ocean, where everything would be immersed. One metaphor((Even today metaphors are used to give scientific explanations, with certain cosmologists going so far as to say that Space is like shampoo or cheese! Poor guy who builds a system on these metaphors!))!

But not only human science used metaphors. The Spirits also used them, often. Wise spirits used wise metaphors to explain ideas that, scientifically, we could not yet understand. Jesus used metaphors to explain principles of the spiritist science that the men of that time could not understand. Ignorant spirits used metaphors to explain causes and effects that even they could not understand in a scientific way, but that they knew existed and worked.

The whole question here is one:

METAPHORS

Just to be very clear and there is no doubt, let's define the meaning of the term: metaphor is the “figure of speech in which a word denoting one type of object or action is used in place of another, so as to suggest a similarity or analogy between them; translation (by metaphor it is said that a beautiful and delicate person is a flower, that a color capable of generating strong impressions is warm, or that something capable of opening paths is the key to the problem); symbol.”((MICHAELIS. Modern Portuguese – Search – Brazilian Portuguese – Metaphor. Available at: https://michaelis.uol.com.br/moderno-portugues/busca/portugues-brasileiro/metafora. Accessed on: May 29th. 2023.)). From Greek, metaphora.

They are true systems of ideas erected, many times, on nothing more than metaphors, taking them as if they were literal. In the scope of spiritist communications, the study of the Zuavo soldier's communication ("Magenta's Zouavo“), in the Spiritist Magazine of July 1858, gives us an interesting perspective, because, when asked about his spiritual appearance in that evocation (or perispiritual), he replies:

42. ─ If we could see you, how would we see you?
- In a turban and breeches.

43. ─ Well done! Suppose you appeared to us in a turban and breeches. Where would you have gotten those clothes, since you left yours on the battlefield?
─ Well, well! I don't know how this is but I have a tailor who can get them for me.

44. ─ What are the turban and breeches you wear made of? Have you no idea?
─ No. That's right there with the ragpicker.

OBSERVATION: This issue of the clothing of the Spirits, as well as several other no less interesting ones, linked to the same principle, were completely elucidated by new observations made within the Society. We will report on this in the next issue. Our good Zouavo is not advanced enough to solve it alone. For that, we needed the concurrence of circumstances that fortuitously presented themselves and that put us on the right path.

Later, when asked about his general, who was also dead, he replied:

46. ─ Is it not for this same reason that you do not see the general in his uniform?
─ Yes, but he doesn't wear it every day.

47. ─ What days do you wear it?
─ Come on! When they call him to the palace ((The Spirits, ignorant of certain things, express themselves as best they can, and see the world of Spirits according to their ideas, just as a child, using mental images to describe something that he does not understand, talks about things which we impute only to the imagination, but which, deep down, has its meaning. The error here would be to take the “palace” as an expression of spiritual truth permanent.)).

We could take this communication as another support base for the system of spiritual cities. Kardec, however, acting in a scientific way, systematized about this idea, but just saw in it something very interesting to be researched. Hence, the hypothesis arose that, in the world of Spirits, terrestrial matter could have an “etheric double”. In the article “Furniture from beyond the grave”, in the Magazine of August 1859, he asks São Luis:

5. ─ Would there be an unfolding of inert matter? Would there be in the invisible world an essential matter, covering the form of the objects that we see? In a word, would these objects have their ethereal double in the invisible world, as men are represented there in Spirit?

─ It doesn't happen that way. The Spirit has a power over the material elements disseminated throughout space, in our atmosphere, that you are far from suspecting. He can, at will, concentrate these elements and give them an apparent form, suitable for his designs.

Not satisfied with the answer, he asks:

6. ─ I ask the question again categorically, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Are the clothes with which spirits are covered something?
─ It seems that my previous answer settles the question. Don't you know that the perispirit itself is something?

In the same article, just before, Kardec refers especially to the case of the Spirit of an incarnate person, who presented himself elsewhere, to a person, with the same characteristics of the physical body and carrying his tobacco box. We reproduce it, as it is self-explanatory:

3. ─ This snuffbox had the shape of the one he habitually uses, and which was in his house. What was this snuffbox in the hands of the Spirit?
─ Always looks. It was so that the circumstances would be noticed, as they were, and so that the apparition would not be taken for a hallucination produced by the state of health of the seer. Spirit wanted this lady to believe in the reality of her presence and took on all appearances of reality.

4. ─ You say that it is an appearance, but an appearance has nothing to do with reality; it's like an optical illusion. I would like to know if this snuffbox was nothing more than an unreal image, like, for example, that of an object reflected in a mirror.

(One of the members of the Society, Mr. Sanson, observes that there is something real in the image reproduced by the mirror. If the image does not remain in the mirror, it is because nothing fixes it, but if it is projected onto a daguerreotype plate, leaves an impression, clear proof that it is produced by some substance and that it is not just an optical illusion).

─ The observation of Mr. Sanson is perfectly fair. Would you be kind enough to tell us if there is any analogy with the tobacco box, that is, if there is anything material in that tobacco box?

─ Certainly. It is with the help of this material principle that the perispirit takes on the appearance of clothing similar to those that the Spirit wore when alive. OBSERVATION: Evidently the word appearance must be taken here in the sense of image, of imitation. The real tobacconist was not there. What Spirit had was just a reproduction. Compared to the original, it was but an appearance, though formed by a material principle.

Experience teaches us that we should not take certain expressions used by spirits literally. Interpreting them according to our ideas, we expose ourselves to great mistakes, so we must deepen the meaning of their words, whenever there is a minimum ambiguity. Here is a recommendation constantly made by the Spirits. Without the explanation that we provoke, the word appearance, repeated continuously in similar cases, could give rise to a false interpretation.

The mirror image is here taken as a metaphor. At that time, the physical principles of this image were not known, believing, in general, that it was something unreal, a “appearance“. The fair observation of Mr. Sanson demonstrates that the reflection in the mirror has something real, since, if instead of the mirror, it were a photosensitive plate, like that of the daguerreotype, that image would be recorded. They had no way to explain the phenomenon, so they used metaphors. The Spirit of São Luís responds with the accuracy confirmed by modern science: just as the reflection in the mirror and the recording of the photograph act as a result of the interaction with photons of light, the appearance that the perispirit takes results from the interaction of the Spirit's will on the element taken from the universal cosmic fluid. This is concluded in question nº 25:

25. - If the Spirit can take from the universal element the materials to make all these things and give them a temporary reality, with their properties, it can also take from there what is necessary to write. Consequently, this gives us the key to the phenomenon of direct writing.
─ You finally understand.

The purpose of this article

If the reader has followed us this far, he will understand that we are tracing a very clear line of reasoning: it is a mistake to build systems on metaphors. This is not scientific. Having put aside the spiritist science, modern spiritists have formed complex systems of ideas and principles that, many times, are fixed on a fragile stick stuck in the sand. The whole question is: do we we need resuming Spiritism as a science and, before demonstrating our view on it, let us make it very clear that, for this, one condition is essential: to study and know Spiritism and the principles of this science (therefore, it is logical, to study the works of Allan Kardec), as well as being focused on the subject you want to study.

The interesting point is that we have several people fully capable of taking up this science in the areas that interest them. We have great connoisseurs of Spiritism and the various human sciences, scattered around the world: physicists, biologists, philosophers, mathematicians, etc. The difference is that, at the time of Kardec, the sciences were all interconnected by metaphysics and that practically all scientists knew various areas of science ((Reading suggestion: Autonomy – The Untold Story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo)). Furthermore, it is interesting to highlight that the principle that governs a good scientist is detachment from pride. One can have a prior idea, as Kardec had; one can question answers that differ from this idea, defending it, as Kardec did; however, faced with undeniable evidence to the contrary, when there is no doubt that the previous idea is not sustainable, the good scientist must leave this idea aside, choosing to stick with what meets reason and logic.

It is on this point that the good scientist and the good experimental science diverge from the systematic scientists, who want to impose on Nature the adaptation to their own ideas, as if that were possible. It is the latter who, based on metaphors, distorted and twisted at their convenience, elaborate intricate systems that, not infrequently, dominate humanity for an expressive time. We saw this in several areas, and the spiritist science did not escape this problem.

Finally, we come to the crux of this article.

The resumption of spiritist science

Imbued with the purpose of resuming the study; interested in reestablishing the spiritist science; adherents to the purpose of abandoning or, at least, questioning the systems; aware of the fact that Kardec relegated to the future the continuity and elucidation of the questions that he could not deal with except in a metaphorical way, we will give our vision on what the recovery of spiritist research requires from the point of view of experimental science, holders of understanding that, yes, we can and should evoke spirits for this purpose. However, we will base our ideas on the true guide to the spiritist laboratory given by Allan Kardec: the Spiritist Magazine.

It is very easy to understand, with the study of the first years of the Spiritist Magazine, the basic principles necessary for the scientific research of Spiritism. Let's divide them into two sections: moral principles and practical principles.

Moral principles

• Personal commitment to morals; detachment from one's own ideas.
• Interest in the legitimate investigation of the truth
• Humility and spirit of cooperation
• Seriousness and responsibility in research
• Formation of cohesive groups in ideas and principles

practical principles

• Elaboration of research and study groups, where only people truly knowledgeable of Spiritism participate
• Cooperation of mediums, preferably psychographers, with special interest in mechanical psychographers ((Because the control of the motor centers necessary for speech is more difficult and because “psychophonic” responses are more difficult to be analyzed in their independence in relation to the ideas of the individual medium.)), detached from their own personalities and their own interests in this work.
• Careful organization of studies, ability to analyze and separate what is metaphorical from what is literal in communications

Research through evocations

Endowed with legitimate principles and the will to seriously research a given topic, the small groups – which must operate in an environment closed to the general public – will be led by one or more higher spirits, whose moral authority can be easily established if the group is really penetrated by the spiritist science. This Spirit, which, in the case of Kardec, would be São Luís, is the one who will take care of assisting in the spiritual part, forwarding communicating Spirits, complementing ideas, etc.

Research on a particular topic or principle should follow, then, the following steps, where GS is the guiding spirit of the group:

I dared to summarize in a flowchart the complexity of evocations for scientific research purposes, but it is clear that the diagram only exemplifies the steps that Allan Kardec himself demonstrated to take, without demonstrating all the complexity behind it, in the sense of the need for knowledge, seriousness , moral commitment, etc.

The flowchart is very simple and self-explanatory, just follow the directional arrows. It demonstrates the steps of preparing questions in advance, selecting the Spirits to evoke (because evoking Spirits without a serious purpose is the same as being available to any Spirit, and it can be even worse), checking the evocability and the usefulness of evoking that Spirit in particular, carrying out the evocation and carrying out the questions and recording the answers, before which, in the face of specific questions present, new questions can be asked for clarification, to the Spirit itself or to the guiding Spirit and, finally, the documentation and subsequent analysis of the answers given, with the creation of a “database” of the group and with the availability, when pertinent, of the evocation and study for other groups, who will be able to analyze them and seek confirmations or refutations in their own studies. The medium is not part of the flowchart, but it is clear that he also has a fundamental role, treated with dedication in The Book of Mediums, by Allan Kardec.

It is evident that each answer will need to be analyzed with great care by the group, considering Psychology and knowing that Spirits, simply because they are free from the body, do not instantly gain full light - hence, always, the recommendation of the study of the Revisa Espírita, which evidences the fact that Kardec never formed systems on incomplete ideas or on a single Spirit, which would have condemned Spiritism to mysticism, right in its first year of studies.

And what can we ask? With seriousness, honesty and knowledge of Spiritism, everything. That is: it is clear that, satisfying the express conditions, we will not carry out an evocation to ask for the prediction of the lottery, nor to do evil, this is evident. But, for example, we could evoke some Spirits to seek to understand these ideas of fluids more deeply, in light of the knowledge of modern physics. Why not? Perhaps this can be deepened or, who knows, we will receive an answer like “there is still a lack of knowledge for human beings to understand these concepts”.

the false ideas

It is a mistake to think that modern times will hinder this work, imagining that the ease of communication will “contaminate” ideas between groups. Spirits do not exclusively reveal knowledge, but rather spread it everywhere, where there are people able to study. If a false idea is accepted by a group and disseminated to others, if the others are serious groups, they will easily reject it, because they will see the Spirits demonstrating their error. The ease of communication, first, will facilitate this work, as long as there is seriousness in communicating groups.

It is also false to assume that the spiritist researcher has to be a blank canvas. No! The researcher will always start with one or more hypotheses, which he will need to test in a population – in this case, that of spirits. He may have a prior idea because, based on his knowledge, that is where his reason points, and he may see this idea confirmed or refuted in the practice of evocations. If the researcher is not attached to his own ideas, that is, if there is no pride, he will abandon them when reason points in another direction, for new facts and evidence.

Here, friends, is all that is necessary for resuming spiritist research. Instead of clinging to the ideas erected about metaphors and figures, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work, which should begin with the study and understanding of Kardec's work, in its context. Very soon, we believe, we will have even more complete material for this correct understanding. No running over, so let's take the first step and let's study((Remembering that, according to what the facts show us, the works Heaven and Hell and Genesis were tampered with in their respective 4th and 5th editions, which is why we recommend reading the publisher's recent editions FEAL, which bear the term “original version” on the cover and with precious explanatory notes by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and others)). What will come of this will be the consequence, as we know well that we are not left to our own devices.

the adulterations

Another important factor in this set is the adulteration of the works O Céu e o Inferno, from the 4th edition onwards, and A Gênese, from the 5th edition onwards. Those who want to turn evidence into proof can say what they like: for us, at this point, there is no other way of concluding than the adulteration of these works, since they do not match, in the altered editions, not even with what Kardec developed in the Revista Spiritist, in addition to introducing points that are disconnected from each other and that mutually contradict each other. Based on these editions, some systems were elaborated, one of the most harmful being the idea of paying debts through incarnation, as a punishment. The restoration of the original works, being carried out especially by Editora FEAL, was of substantial importance in this regard.

the main condition

For the doctrinal development to be resumed, it will be necessary to detach the personality, not only of the researcher and the medium, but also of the evoked spirit. The Doctrine demonstrates the collective condition of the Spirits and demonstrates that, by evoking, for example, Saint Louis, another Spirit can respond in his place. For this to be a good Spirit, which represents the same idea, it is necessary that the group be imbued with everything that we have demonstrated above, evoking the good Spirits and, under their tutelage, carrying out studies with Spirits that, by chance, are less elevated. In addition, for the resumption of Spiritism, in addition to the need to recover the Doctrine “in Kardec”, in a very well understood way (because the Spirits can only teach from true principles), it will be necessary for this to spread to different groups around the world, so that the conditions of universal agreement of the teaching can once again exist.

We are here, encouraging this process.

Remember of register your group contact in our directory, or if you have questions or want to talk, just get in touch!

Spiritual manifestations have always been a crucial point in Spiritist Doctrine. It was through these manifestations and their better understanding that Kardec was able to establish his moral philosophy. Thus, we highlight this 1859 study exposed in the Revista Espirita of August 1859.

He follows.

We extract the following passage from a letter that a correspondent of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies sent us from the Jura department:

“…As I told you, sir, the spirits liked our old dwelling. Last October (1858), the Countess of C…, a close friend of my daughter, came with her 8-year-old son to spend a few days at our mansion. The child slept in the same room as her mother, and the connecting door to my daughter's room was left open, in order to prolong the hours of daylight and conversation. The boy would not sleep and would say to his mother: 'What are you going to do with that man who is sitting next to your bed? He is smoking a big pipe. See how it fills the room with smoke! Send him away, he's rattling the curtains.'
“This vision lasted all night. The mother couldn't get the child to shut up, and no one could close their eyes. This circumstance did not surprise me or my daughter, as we know that there are spiritist manifestations. The mother, however, believed that the child was daydreaming or having fun.

RE 1859

Observation: The vision was mediumistic, so only the child saw it.

“Here is another fact that I witnessed personally and that happened to me in the same room, in May 1858. It is the case of the appearance of the Spirit of a living person, who was very surprised to have come to visit me. Here are the circumstances: I was very sick and had not slept for some time, when at ten o'clock at night I saw a friend of my family sitting next to my bed. I expressed my surprise at his visit at that hour. He said to me: “Do not speak, for I have come to watch over you; do not speak, for you must sleep,” and he stretched out his hand over my head. Several times I opened my eyes to see if he was still there, and each time he made a sign for me to close them and be quiet. He rolled the snuffbox between his fingers, and every now and then he took a pinch, as was his custom. Eventually I fell asleep, and when I woke up the vision was gone.

Idem

NOTE: Kardec briefly quotes the explanations on the facts of apparitions of incarnates and spirits (condensation of the perispirit or molecular modification).

He follows:

A molecular modification takes place in its texture, which makes it visible and even tangible, and which can give it, to a certain extent, the properties of solid bodies. We know that perfectly transparent bodies become opaque simply by changing the position of the molecules or by adding another body, equally transparent. We don't really know how spirits manage to make their ethereal body visible. Most of them do not even realize this, but, from the examples we have cited, we understand its physical possibility, which is enough to remove from the phenomenon what, at first sight, could seem supernatural. Therefore, the Spirit can do it, either by simple intimate modification, or by assimilating a portion of strange fluid that momentarily alters the appearance of its perispirit. It is, in fact, this last hypothesis that stands out from the explanations that have been given to us, and that we report when dealing with the subject (May, June and December).

So far no difficulty concerning the personality of the Spirit. We know, however, that they appear in clothes whose appearance changes at will; sometimes they even have certain toilet accessories, jewelry, etc. In the two apparitions mentioned at the beginning, one had a pipe and produced smoke; the other, a tobacco box and took pinches. Note, however, the fact that this spirit was from a living person and that his snuffbox was in everything similar to the one he usually used, and that he had stayed at home. What, then, do this tobacconist, this pipe, these clothes and these jewels mean? Would the material objects that exist on Earth have an ethereal representation in the invisible world? Does the condensed matter that forms such objects have a quintessential part, which escapes our senses?

OBSERVATION: Position of the true scientist, in search of the truth, without discarding anything.

This is an immense problem, the solution of which may provide the key to a number of things that have not yet been explained. It was this tobacco company that put us on the path, not only of the fact, but of the most extraordinary phenomenon of Spiritism: the phenomenon of pneumatography or direct writing, which we will talk about below.

All the theories that we present, regarding Spiritism, were provided to us by the Spirits, who many times contradicted our own ideas, as happened in the present case, proving that the answers were not a reflection of our thinking. But the way to obtain a solution is not unimportant. 

We know from our own experience that it is not enough to ask abruptly for something to get it. The answers are not always quite explicit; it is necessary to develop the subject with certain precautions; arrive at the objective progressively and through a chain of deductions that require prior work. In principle, the way of formulating the questions, the order, the method and the clarity are things that cannot be neglected and that please serious spirits, because they see a serious objective in this.

NOTE: This means that, of course, the researcher can have a prior idea, but that, acting in good faith, he cannot stick to it. And also, of course, that the intent of the question is just as important.

Here is the conversation we had with Espírito de São Luís, regarding the tobacco shop, with a view to solving the problem of producing certain objects in the invisible world. (Society, June 24, 1859).

1. ─ In Mrs. R…'s report, it is about a child who saw a man smoking a large pipe near his mother's bed. It is understood that this Spirit could have taken on the appearance of a smoker; it seems, however, that he really smoked, for the boy saw the room full of smoke. What was that smoke?

─ A look produced for the boy.

2. ─ Mrs. R… also cites the case of an apparition, seen by her, of the spirit of a living person. This Spirit had a tobacconist and took snuff. Could he experience the feeling one gets from taking a pinch?

─ No.

3. ─ This snuffbox had the shape of the one he habitually uses, and which was in his house. What was this snuffbox in the hands of the Spirit?

─ Always looks. It was so that the circumstances would be noticed, as they were, and so that the apparition would not be taken for a hallucination produced by the state of health of the seer. Spirit wanted this lady to believe in the reality of her presence and took on all appearances of reality.

4.1 – You say that it is an appearance, but an appearance has nothing to do with reality; it's like an optical illusion. I would like to know if this snuffbox was nothing more than an unreal image, like, for example, that of an object reflected in a mirror.

NOTE from AK: One of the members of the Society, Mr. Sanson observes that there is something real in the image reproduced by the mirror. If the image does not remain in the mirror, it is because nothing fixes it, but if it is projected onto a daguerreotype plate, it leaves an impression, evident proof that it is produced by some substance and that it is not just an optical illusion.

4.2 – Mr. Sanson's observation is perfectly fair. Would you be kind enough to tell us if there is any analogy with the tobacco box, that is, if there is anything material in that tobacco box?

─ Certainly. It is with the help of this material principle that the perispirit takes on the appearance of clothing similar to those that the Spirit wore when alive. 

NOTE from AK: Evidently the word appearance it must be taken here in the sense of image, of imitation. The real tobacconist was not there. What Spirit had was just a reproduction. Compared to the original, it was but an appearance, though formed by a material principle.
Experience teaches us that we should not take certain expressions used by spirits literally. Interpreting them according to our ideas, we expose ourselves to great mistakes, so we must deepen the meaning of their words, whenever there is a minimum ambiguity. Here is a recommendation constantly made by the Spirits. Without the explanation we provoke, the word appearance, repeated continuously in analogous cases, could give rise to a false interpretation.

OBSERVATION: Today, we know the principle of the image reflected in a mirror and its fixation in a photograph: the behavior of waves. The light, as electromagnetic energy, reflects off the mirror and impresses the photography device, whatever it may be. It seems that it is to this same principle (of wave) that the Spirit refers.

5. ─ Would there be an unfolding of inert matter? Would there be, in the invisible world, an essential matter, covering the form of the objects that we see? In a word, would these objects have their ethereal double in the invisible world, as men are represented there in Spirit?

AK's NOTE: Here's a theory like any other, and it was our thinking. The Spirit, however, did not take it into account, which absolutely did not humiliate us, because its explanation seemed very logical to us and because it rests on a more general principle, of which we find many explanations.
─ It doesn't happen that way. The Spirit has a power over the material elements disseminated throughout space, in our atmosphere, that you are far from suspecting. He can, at will, concentrate these elements and give them an apparent form, suitable for his designs.

6. ─ I ask the question again categorically, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Are the clothes with which spirits are covered something?

─ It seems that my previous answer settles the question. Don't you know that the perispirit itself is something?

7. ─ It follows from this explanation that the Spirits make the etherized matter undergo transformations at will and that, therefore, in the case of the tobacconist, the Spirit did not find it perfectly finished; he made it himself at the moment he needed it, and then undid it. The same should happen with all other objects, such as clothing, jewelry, etc.

─ But it is obvious.

8. ─ That tobacco box was so clearly visible to Mrs. R… to the point of deceiving her. Could the Spirit have made it tangible?

─ It could.

9. ─ In that case, could Mrs. R… have taken it in her hands, thinking she was getting an authentic tobacco box?

─ Yes.

10. ─ If I had opened it, I would probably have found snuff. If she had taken it, would it have made her sneeze?

─ Yes.

11. ─ Can the Spirit not only give the form, but even special properties?

─ If you want; It is in virtue of this principle that I have answered affirmatively to the preceding questions. You will have proof of the powerful action that the Spirit exerts on matter and which, as I have already told you, you are far from suspecting.

NOTE: Kardec has never been so clear in his questions over the course of this 1 year and a half of Revista Espirita. He is evidently working on both the new enlarged edition of The Spirits' Book and then what would become The Mediums' Book, published a few years later.

12. ─ Let us then suppose that he wanted to make a poisonous substance and that a person had taken it. Could this have been poisoned?

─ I could, but I wouldn't have done it, because I wouldn't have been allowed to do it.

OBSERVATION: We know, today, that Creation is far from being “each for himself”, and that, in fact, it is “one for all and all for one”, with those most inferior are always “led” by the higher. The thoughts of the highest spirits are irresistible to the lowest. We tend to think of ourselves as abandoned to our own devices, but, more and more, I understand that this is not true. Superior Spirits “lead” us towards good, that is, they offer an irresistible attraction, through thought. It is possible to understand why imperfect Spirits, inclined to evil, are unable to break this Law to do evil.

“Everything is linked in the Universe”

13. ─ Could you have made a salutary substance suitable for healing in case of illness? Has there ever been such a case?

─ Yes; often.

14. ─ In the same way he could make a food substance; let's suppose he had made a fruit or some snack. Could someone eat it and feel fed?
─ Yes, yes. But do not look so hard to find that which is easy to understand. A ray of sunlight is enough to make your gross organs perceptible to those material particles that fill the space in which you live. Do you not know that the air contains water vapour? Condense it and you will bring it to a normal state. Deprive it of heat and behold, its impalpable and invisible molecules will become a solid and very solid body. There are other matters that will lead chemists to present you with even more astonishing marvels. Only the Spirit has instruments more perfect than yours: his own will and God's permission.

NOTE from AK: The issue of satiety is very important here. How can a substance that has only temporary and, in a sense, conventional existence and properties produce satiety? By its contact with the stomach, this substance produces the sensation of satiety, but not the satiety resulting from fullness. If such a substance can act on the organic economy and modify a morbid state, it can also act on the stomach and produce the sensation of satiety. However, we ask pharmacists and restaurant owners not to be jealous, nor to think that the Spirits will come to compete with them. These cases are rare and exceptional and never depend on the will. Otherwise, food and healing would be very cheap.

15. ─ Could the Spirit manufacture coins in the same way?

─ For the same reason.

16. ─ Once made tangible by the will of the Spirit, could these objects have a character of permanence and stability?

─ They could, but this is not done. It's outside the law.

17. ─ Do all spirits have the same degree of power?

─ No, no.

18. ─ Who have this power more particularly? ─ Those to whom God grants it, when this is useful.

19. ─ Does the elevation of a Spirit influence this case?

─ It is certain that the higher the spirit, the more easily it obtains this power. This, however, depends on the circumstances. Lesser spirits can also get it.

OBSERVATION: And, in this case, they are supplied by the assistance of superior spirits, often without even knowing it. To see The Book of Mediums or Guide for Mediums and Evokers > Second Part — On Spiritist Manifestations > Chapter V — On Spontaneous Physical Manifestations > Throwing Objects.

20. ─ Does the production of semi-material objects always result from an act of the Spirit's will, or does it sometimes exercise this power despite its own?

─ This often happens in spite of you.

21. ─ Would this power then be one of the attributes, one of the faculties inherent in the very nature of the Spirit? Would it be, in some way, one of the properties, like that of seeing and hearing?─ Certainly. But sometimes he himself ignores it. Then another exercises it for him, in spite of himself, when circumstances demand it. The Zouavo's tailor was precisely the spirit I just mentioned and to which he alluded in his joking language.

OBSERVATION: We find an example of this faculty in certain animals, as, for example, in the electric fish, which radiates electricity without knowing what it does, nor how, and who does not even know the mechanism that produces it. Don't we ourselves sometimes produce certain effects through spontaneous acts of which we are not aware? Thus, it seems very natural to us that the Spirit operates in this circumstance by a kind of instinct. He works of his own free will, without knowing how, just as we walk without calculating the forces we bring into play.

22. ─ We understand that in the two cases mentioned by Mrs. R.., one of the spirits wanted to have a pipe and the other a tobacco box to impress the vision of a living person. I ask, however, if it had not managed to make her see, could the Spirit think that he had these objects, creating an illusion for himself?

─ Not if he has a certain superiority, because he will be perfectly aware of his condition. The same is not true of inferior spirits. 

AK'S OBSERVATION: That was, for example, the case of the queen of Oude, whose evocation appears in our issue of March 1858, who still thought she was covered in diamonds. (Click here for the article on Queen of Oude)

23. ─ Can two spirits recognize each other by the material appearance they had in life?

─ This is not how they recognize each other, as they will not assume that appearance for each other. If, however, under certain circumstances, they find themselves in the presence of each other, dressed in that appearance, why should they not recognize each other?

NOTE: this is important! In mediumistic novels, the fantastic world created is all material or materialistic, and the form, in these tales, is fundamental. Here, we have again the confirmation already made before that the form is not important for the Spirits in general, although it is predominant for the Spirits still very attached to the matter (that is, of very attached thought). It follows from this that it would make sense for a spirit in turmoil to “see itself” in a condition like that of André Luiz’s threshold, but the same could not happen when already detached from these ideas, which does not seem to be something so distant, according to the reports of several Spirits, given to Kardec.

24. ─ How can spirits recognize themselves in the midst of the crowd of other spirits, and above all how can they do it when one of them goes to look for in a distant place and often in other worlds, those we call?

─ This is a question whose answer would take a very long way. It is necessary to wait. You are not advanced enough. For the moment, content yourself with the certainty that this is so, for you have sufficient proof of this.

TO THINK ABOUT: I understand that he meant, at the end: “how can a Spirit recognize another who assumes another appearance, when visiting other worlds?”. IF we always forget that our world, where we live now, is material and needs eyes and light to see. in spirituality there is no need for appearance, much less do spirits have eyes to see. Is that it?

25. ─ If the Spirit can take from the universal element the materials to make all these things and give them a temporary reality, with its properties, it can also take from there what is necessary to write. Consequently, this gives us the key to the phenomenon of (( direct writing *Clarification: Direct writing happens when a Spirit, by will and with the utility of doing so, makes real writing appear on paper, sometimes in graphite, sometimes in ink, sometimes in print format. We recommend reading the following article, “Pneumatography or direct writing”, as well as the article with the same title, in May 1860, and also Chapter XII of The Book of Mediums — “On pneumatography or direct writing”.  Pneuma: among the ancient Greek thinkers, especially the Stoics, designation of the spirit, animating breath or creative force, used by divine reason to vivify and direct all things. )) .

─ You finally understand.

26. ─ If the material used by the Spirit is not permanent, how come the traces of direct writing do not disappear?

─ Do not judge by the words. From the start I never said never. In the cases studied, these were bulky material objects; here we are dealing with signs that should be conserved and are conserved.

TO THINK ABOUT: This involves a profound question. Kardec had understood that the fluidic matter that the Spirits serve is always impermanent, since, in the mentioned cases, it always dissolves. However, cases of direct writing do not disappear. How could that be?

*Clarification: Direct writing happens when a Spirit, by will and with the utility of doing so, makes real writing appear on paper, sometimes in graphite, sometimes in ink, sometimes in print format. We recommend reading the following article, “Pneumatography or direct writing”, as well as the article with the same title, in May 1860, and also Chapter XII of The Book of Mediums — “On pneumatography or direct writing”.  Pneuma: among the ancient Greek thinkers, especially the Stoics, designation of the spirit, animating breath or creative force, used by divine reason to vivify and direct all things.

The above theory can be summarized as follows: Spirit acts on matter; it takes from universal primitive matter the necessary elements to, at will, form objects with the appearance of the different bodies existing on Earth. He can also operate on elementary matter, at will, an intimate transformation that gives it certain properties. This faculty is inherent to the nature of the Spirit, which often exercises it, when necessary, as an instinctive act, which it does not realize.

The objects formed by the Spirits have a temporary existence, subordinated to their will or necessity. He can make and break them at will. In certain cases, in the eyes of living people, these objects can have all the appearances of reality, that is, become momentarily visible and even tangible. There is formation, but not creation, since the Spirit cannot bring anything out of nothing. (LM 130 and 131)

This article is continuation OF THIS ARTICLE

After evoking the Magenta Zouavo, Kardec evokes another officer from the same battle. In this case, he was one of their acquaintances, as we can see in question number 4,

1. - (Evocation).

─ Here I am.

2. ─ Could you say how you responded so promptly to our appeal?

─ I was aware of your desire.

3. ─ By whom were you warned?

─ By an emissary of Louis.

4. ─ Were you aware of the existence of our society?

─ You know.

NOTE OF AK: The official in question had actually helped the society to be registered.

5. ─ Under what point of view did you consider our society considerable, when you helped in its formation?

─ I was not entirely decided, but I was very inclined to believe. Without the events that happened, I would certainly have gone to learn in your circle.

6. ─ There are many great notables who share spiritist ideas, but do not confess it publicly. Would it be desirable for influential people to openly fly that flag?

─ Patience. God wills it, and this time the expression corresponds to the truth.

7. ─ From which influential class of society do you think the example should come from? ─ Of all classes. Initially some, then all.

8. ─ From the point of view of study, could you tell us, although he died more or less at the same time as the Zouavo who was here just now, if your ideas are more lucid than his?

─ A lot. What he was able to tell you by witnessing a certain elevation was blown to him. He's very good, but very ignorant, and a little frivolous.

9. Are you still interested in the success of our weapons?

─ Much more than ever, because today I know the goal.

10. ─ Can you define your thinking? Has the objective always been publicly confessed and, especially in your position, should you know it?

─ Do you know the objective established by God?

NOTE FROM AK: No one will ignore the gravity and depth of this answer. When alive, he knew the purpose of men, as a Spirit, he sees what is providential in events.

11. ─ Generally speaking, what do you think about the war?

─ My wish is that you progress quickly, so that it becomes as impossible as it is useless.

12. ─ Do you believe that the day will come when it will be impossible and useless?

─ I think so, and I don't doubt it. I can tell you that that moment is not as far away as you think, although I don't give you hope that you will see it.

13. ─ At the moment of death, did you immediately recognize yourself?

─ I recognized myself almost immediately, thanks to the vague notions I had of Spiritism.

14. ─ Can you say something about Mr… also killed in the last battle?

─ He is still in the networks of matter. There's more work to get rid of. His thoughts had not turned this way.

NOTE from AK: Thus, knowledge of Spiritism in life helps the soul to detach itself after death and shortens the period of disturbance that accompanies separation. This is understandable, as the Spirit knew in advance the world in which it finds itself.

To think about: If this knowledge is so important, how can we conceive that precisely when Spiritism was being scientifically studied, at the best possible time, nothing was said about this materiality that today dominates communications?

15. ─ Did you watch our troops enter Milan?

─ Yes, and with joy. I was enchanted by the ovation received by our troops, at first out of patriotism, then for the future that awaits them.

16. ─ As a spirit, can you exert some influence on strategic plans?

─ Do you believe that this has not been done from the beginning and do you find it difficult to imagine by whom?

17. ─ How did the Austrians abandon a stronghold like Pavia so quickly?

─ Out of fear.

NOTE: Sardinia was looking to expand its territory and establish a stronger position on the European political scene, while France saw the war as an opportunity to increase its influence in Italy and consolidate its position as a European power. In turn, the Austrian Empire sought to maintain its dominant position in the region and avoid the fragmentation of its empire.

18. ─ So they are demoralized?

─ Completely. Furthermore, if we act on ours in one sense, you must think that an influence of another nature acts on them.

NOTE from AK: Here, the intervention of the Spirits in events is unequivocal. They prepare the way for the realization of Providence's designs. The Ancients would have said it was the work of the Gods. We say that it is the work of the Spirits, by order of God.

19. ─ Can you give your opinion about General Giulay as a soldier, putting aside any nationalist feelings?

─ Poor, poor general!

NOTE: Ferenc Gyulai de Marosnémeti et Nádaska (1 September 1799, Plague – 1 September 1868, Vienna) was a Hungarian general in the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1849 he was appointed Minister of War by Emperor Francisco José I, but he would remain in office for only one year. As a soldier, he stood out for his participation in the invasion of Piedmont during the reunification of Italy. Commanding his troops, he crossed the Ticino River on April 29, 1859, invading Piedmontese territory. In this invasion he suffered two severe defeats: in the Battle of Montebello and in the Battle of Magenta, losing thousands of men in both and the war hanging in favor of the Italian side. After the defeat at Magenta he was removed from his post, returning to Austria-Hungary, where he died nine years later.

20. ─ Would you gladly return if we asked you to?

─ I am at your disposal and I promise to come, even without your call. You must believe that the sympathy I had for you cannot but increase. Goodbye.