We have talked a lot about suicide according to Spiritism and, perhaps, our positions have not always been absolutely clear and concise. Because of this, we believe it is necessary to adopt a new approach, in a succinct and clear way.

by Paulo Degering R. Jr.

Read to the end

the suicidal, as long as you're aware of what you're doing, he will have some moral suffering when he realizes the loss of time that was to interrupt his own life. He said "as long as you're aware of what you're doing” because sometimes there is no such awareness. Furthermore, he will almost always have a greater difficulty in detaching himself from the body, which, far from being weakened, was at the fullest of its strength.

Kardec expressed himself like this, in The Spirits' Book:

This effect is not general; but in no case is the suicidal person exempt from the consequences of his lack of courage, and sooner or later he atones, in one way or another, for the guilt he has incurred. This is how certain spirits, who were very unfortunate on Earth, said they had committed suicide in the previous existence and submitted voluntarily to new tests, to try to bear them with more resignation.

Note the highlighted word: voluntarily. The suicidal person can, in a new incarnation, choose rough trials in order to try to overcome them, learning to bear the vicissitudes with greater resignation.

But then they will tell you: read the book “Memoirs of a suicide”

The book “Memoirs of a suicide”

In this book, very briefly, a Spirit talks about his extreme suffering after death. It was there that the image of the “valley of suicides” was created, something like a “place” where suicidal Spirits would be “purging” their faults.

It turns out that Spirits don't look for locations. Spirits seek Spirits or situations, according to their beliefs and ideas — consciously or not. Spirits — all of them — attract each other by affinity and feelings, as, for example, by love or hate, but also by the same tune of thoughts. Spirits that judge themselves guilty often throw themselves into a real hell mental, in a situation that is often shared by other Spirits in a similar situation, who, then, together, can form true landscapes of suffering, through mental action on fluidic matter.

So Yvonne do Amaral Pereira wrong or lied?

Not necessarily. When it comes to Spirits, we know that they are like us — with the same virtues and imperfections. Thus, they can speak with real wisdom, or with false ideas, in which they believe. They can often even trick. We do not know who this Spirit was who psychographed through Yvonne. He was probably a suffering Spirit, with very limited ideas about the spiritual world. What we know is that, without a shadow of a doubt, we cannot disrespect the basic principle of spirit science: the universal agreement of the teaching of the Spirits. Kardec would say, in A Genesis, right in the first lines:

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.

The problems of false concepts in the Spiritist Movement

In spiritist circles, it is commonplace nowadays to hear statements such as “the suicide goes to the valley of suicides”, or “the suicide will encounter enormous suffering, as he will be trapped in his body and will feel the worms gnawing at him” or, even , “the suicide, in the next incarnation, will come with a defective body, to 'redeem' his faults”. None of this reflects the reality of suicide according to Spiritism, in a generic way.

The current spiritist movement began to adopt several false concepts and half-truths, obtained through individual and isolated reports from some Spirits, as if it were the unquestionable truth about all situations. A colleague of ours would say: modern spiritualists began to place a whole universe of variable possibilities in “little boxes”. For example: did you kill yourself? Go to the “box” in the suicide valley. Burned a person? It goes to the “death in fire in the next life” “box”. All this, as a general rule, it's not a truth.

Unfortunately, many of us - myself included - for lack of previous studies and, often, willingly, wanting to help, we release these phrases that often cause revolt and distance from people who come to seek, precisely in Spiritism, an answer different of what is being said out there.

It happens that, in the last year, after the beginning of our studies on the Spiritist Magazine, many concepts were clarified, others were replaced and many others were forgotten. Kardec, already in the first editions of RE, in 1858, makes evocations of at least three suicidal spirits, analyzing their individual cases. Others that were made on other occasions also appear in later issues, as well as in the book O Céu e o Inferno (from Editora FEAL, corresponding to the original, unadulterated). And, analyzing these communications, there is a very big lesson, which we will try to explain objectively below.

Rather, it is important to remember that Spiritism, as a Scientific Doctrine, does not stop man by imposing fear, because the brake of passions by this type of device is only temporary and without great results. No: Spiritism comes to present the truth based on the analysis of the facts, through the rational and concordant study of the communications of the Spirits given by all parts and for all times. When studying Spiritism, we are no longer guided by fear, but for the reason, and it is only when the Spirit enters the state of reason that it actually makes better and clearer decisions.

Well, well: on the subject of suicide, we repeat that, based on these studies, the results initially highlighted cannot be taken as a general rule. Yes, there are Spirits in enormous disturbance that believe being gnawed by worms, for his mind was still on the sight of the torn body. There are also those who find themselves in hellish places, because they believe that it should be so and because if throw themselves into hellish mental situations, where, alone or in a group, they create true diabolical or purgatorial scenarios. In addition to these, there are those who piously believe that death is the end of life and then fall into a more or less prolonged sleep, as there are also those rare who, after the fateful act, momentarily they see themselves freed from physical pain, believing themselves, then, to be free from moral pain, which they still do not know how to distinguish from the first.

Therefore, the situation of each one, after death by suicide, will vary much, on a case-by-case basis and according to the — degree of awareness of what they do. That is why a Spirit who takes his life in an impetus of despair almost always has a much lower degree of guilt - before his own conscience - than one who, knowing Spiritism and the doctrine of choice of proofs and expiations, after taking the life of his own body, he falls into a deep sense of guilt and heavy lamentations, for he regrets having given up the opportune proofs for his own advancement. Furthermore, it is important to say that, almost always, these acts cause pain in those who love us, which increases the bitterness of the Spirit when evaluating the extent of the results of their act.

What we seek to say, after all, is that the Spirit does not suffer materially, in any way. You may believe that you suffer and, mentally, create a false sense of physical pain, but in fact, suffering is moral and consistent with the degree of conscience and guilt you have, towards yourself, about the harm done to yourself. . We would say that, since suicide is the abandonment of the tests chosen by oneself, it will almost always accompany a lesser or greater moral suffering, but it will never represent an end in the opportunities granted by God for our evolution, nor will it, as a rule, cause a expiatory suffering in the next incarnation. Once again, depends on one's mindset, beliefs and knowledge.

But in the end, what's the point of killing yourself?

We know that, almost always, suicide is an attempt to escape from pain or despair that one does not know how to deal with. You see, however: the fact that that situation is happening is precisely an important learning opportunity, in order to deal with these situations. If we don't know how to deal with it, it's because we still have acquired imperfections or passions, that is, emotions that we still do not completely know how to deal with. Going to the extreme of taking life from the body will only prolong this state of ignorance or imperfection, with consequent suffering. moral, since we didn't win the test, that is, we didn't acquire experience and strength to overcome it.

Where, then, to find strength? Well, we are incarnated for a reason: to learn and to let go of possible imperfections created by ourselves. In the world of Spirits - Space - time does not exist, so that the Spirit who has developed imperfections is incessantly occupied with them, either in an illusion of pleasures, or in a self-persecution caused by remorse. Thus, if we have developed any imperfection, this imperfection will be, for us, the reason for worries that seem endless - this is the explanation why certain spirits, in a state of suffering, say that such a situation seems to them to have no end.

Well, I was talking about the reason for incarnation, which, far from the false idea of being a punishment, is, on the contrary, a divine blessing, as it offers an opportunity for common learning and detachment from acquired imperfections. Here, it is possible to put ourselves in contact with people of all kinds, carry out different activities, etc., everything that leads us to leave, or at least break the cycle, of these situations of moral suffering. What is, however, the first and greatest mistake that those who suffer morally usually make - also induced by imperfect spirits? isolate yourself. There is the first step towards the fall, because isolation will cause precisely this scenario of endless self-persecution. Do not make this mistake, and seek to help those who do, if possible following the reasoning above.

Faced with a difficult test, who says we have to go through it alone? Often, this thought of solitary confrontation also originates from false ideas or even from a certain pride, which turns into a shell, for fear of exposing yourself. Certainly we will not go out on the street telling anyone who passes by about our difficulties, but certainly, with the purpose of seeking help, you will find it, perhaps not in the first psychologist, perhaps not in the first friend, perhaps not in the first group of activities. any, but you will find it, because you are not alone: by your side, leading you towards good, there is a good Spirit, higher than you - your guardian angel or protective spirit. The important thing is not to isolate yourself, nor to isolate yourself. Seek. Look for a charity activity group, look for a morning walk group, look for, above all, be useful, and that will make you gravitate towards situations and people that can, slowly and progressively, help in its construction.

It is up to each of us to will to change or not, to learn or not, but this work is much favored by the development of reason — this is why we so defend the study of Spiritism. Through our modification, we will become stronger and advance several steps in a single life and, who knows, tomorrow we will not need to return to this same kind of painful situation, perhaps conquering the happiness of being able to live in better worlds or that, if here reincarnate, let us be much more strengthened and prepared.

I'm not talking lip service here: I'm talking about what I myself have lived and learned. I went through a kind of restlessness, I went through isolation, I went through self-persecution. I allowed myself, however, to be influenced by good spirits, and that moved me to various situations that, slowly and progressively, brought me here. One of these situations was very interesting: I decided to visit a nursing home close to my house, where I had contact with several elderly people who taught me a lot about perseverance; I was welcomed with great affection by a Catholic prayer group, whose leader was a medium and probably didn't know it; but the most interesting thing is that, on the shelf of that institution, where there was a predominance of Catholicism, there were, on the shelf in the common room, some copies of the Spiritist Magazine, which I got to pick up, I even leafed through, but I ended up not reading it at that time. I only came to know the Magazine about a year later. Evaluate for yourself the paths along which the good spirits lead us, leaving us the freedom to go ahead or not, open the door or keep it closed.

Remember, after all: no one can do us harm but ourselves. Interrupting your own life is a waste of time, which generates guilt and remorse and no stops the moral suffering caused by imperfections that may still exist in us ((Remembering that ignorance and imperfection are different things. Imperfection is acquired by the habit of repeating a mistake; ignorance can lead to error, but, as long as we overcome it, it's just a mistake)).

And if someone close to you is thinking about killing himself, bring that kind of thought to him. If someone has already taken their own life, in your prayers for that person, talk to this Spirit, so that he can leave the feeling of helplessness in the face of guilt, get up and resume the evolutionary path.

Let us study, precisely, in order to to throw, from people's minds and from the Spiritist movement, the false ideas that hinder more than help. A Spirit that does not want to leave the coffin, does so because it believes that only Jesus himself will come to take him by the hand, on the day of final judgment. Let us not act like those prisoners of conscience, let us not create false conceptions in people's thinking. Matter and sensations after death are not anything. All that matters is thought, will and reason. And finally, let's not take the opinion of isolated spirits as if they were the pure truth - regardless of the medium that made it possible.

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by Marco Milani
Text published in Spiritist Leader Magazine, ed. 188 – Mar/Apr 2022, p. 9-11

This article reinforces our recent observations regarding the Spiritist Movement, and demonstrates that we are not alone in this path.

Despite the different sizes and complexities of the services offered, all effectively Spiritist institutions have, as a common identity characteristic, the theoretical structuring of their principles and values in the teaching of Spirits organized and presented by Allan Kardec. Much more than the formal denomination displayed on its facade and documents, it is the internal culture guided by the content of Kardec's works that becomes the central element that makes any spiritist center recognized as such.

Historically, one can point to the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies (SPEE), founded on 04/01/1858, as the first spiritist center in the world and served as a reference for the constitution of numerous groups focused on the study and practice of Spiritism.

Although it was the model for the formation of other centers, SPEE's organizational culture was unique, as the set of practices, routines, norms, needs, concerns and expectations of its members is something that cannot be reproduced. Likewise, each spiritist institution, past or present, reflects particular aspects of its founders, maintainers and collaborators that give it a unique characteristic and subject to changes over time, but always distinct from other organizations.

It can, therefore, be said that the spiritist center has a common identity in Kardec, shared with other spiritist institutions, and its own microculture, resulting from the direct action of its participants, which differentiates it to a greater or lesser degree from the other centers.

The microcultural plurality is also determined by the doctrinal maturity of the leaders of each house.

A critical identity problem is generated when the institution's microculture conflicts with the common identity that would make it recognized as a spiritist. In other words, when the spiritist principles and values start to be reinterpreted and re-signified due to doctrinal immaturity and/or the particular interests of the leaders, the house moves away from the Kardecian direction and approaches it to a spiritualist context, but not a spiritist one.

Doctrinal dynamism, the need to add new knowledge and conceptual updating are often misused to justify the subversion or abandonment of the teaching of the Spirits in Kardec's work. Isolated opinions of disincarnated authors come to be assumed as new truths that legitimize themselves because they were revealed by supposed mediumistic communications and by infallible mediums. The universal control method adopted by Kardec is also rendered useless or distorted by the novices, devaluing the care necessary to accept information as valid.

It is not by chance that the relationship between power and culture in organizations is widely explored in the scientific literature in the area of Applied Social Sciences. The influence exerted by leaders, mainly charismatic ones, in institutions can change and consolidate the organizational culture in the long term and make the spiritist doctrinal references migrate from their Kardecian base to new theoretical frameworks, generally syncretic and mystical.

It was precisely the syncretism with Theosophy, Catholicism and Orientalism, in addition to superstitious hints, some of the factors that negatively impacted the development of the French Spiritist Movement after the disincarnation of Allan Kardec. The reflection of the cultural distortion was the dissemination of Roustainguism, for example, in some nascent groups, including Brazilians. Once the syncretic microculture is implemented, its harmful impact on the spiritist identity issue is visible.

Mistakenly, some more daring and distant from the careful analysis under sociological methods, confuse the countless organizational microcultures with their own common spiritist identity, leading them to suppose that there are “various spiritisms”. What exists, in fact, is an expected microcultural heterogeneity that does not represent, by itself, the Spiritist Doctrine, which is unique. Thus, there is only one Spiritism, but different degrees of doctrinal maturity of its adherents.

The more coherent with the teaching of the Spirits presented by Allan Kardec, the closer to the spiritist identity is the profiteer. The coder himself recognized and classified the different types of spiritists, signaling that there is no strict uniformity nor that the isolated thoughts and acts of those who declare themselves adept will necessarily characterize the doctrine.

In the book The Gospel According to Spiritism, in its chapter XVII, item 4, the characteristics of the true spiritist are explained, but even in this item the hasty reading prevents the real understanding of its deeper meaning. The following excerpt stands out:

“He who can rightly be qualified as a true and sincere spiritist is in a higher degree of moral advancement. The Spirit, who dominates matter more completely in him, gives him a clearer perception of the future; the principles of the Doctrine make you vibrate fibers that in others remain inert (emphasis mine). In short: he is touched in the heart, so his faith becomes unshakable. One is like a musician that a few chords are enough to move, while another only hears sounds. The true spiritist is recognized for his moral transformation and for the efforts he uses to tame his evil inclinations.”

               As can be seen, it is a limited interpretation to characterize the true spiritist only through moral transformation and efforts to tame bad inclinations, since these attitudes, although extremely positive and necessary, can be done by any human being, be it whatever your philosophical belief or orientation, including atheists. To be good, you don't have to be spiritual. That's why the maxim is outside charity (not Spiritism) there is no salvation. There are morally higher atheists than many religious people.

On the other hand, to be a spiritist, one must understand and experience the doctrinal principles and, for that, one must study and learn about the nature, origin and destiny of Spirits, as well as their relationship with the corporeal world, according to the Spiritism. Science has, therefore, a prominent role in the production and advancement of knowledge about the reality that surrounds us, even entering spiritualist proposals, even if it displeases researchers still trapped in materialism.

Considering that it is not enough to be good to be a true spiritist, a spiritist organization must imperatively be conducted according to doctrinal principles and values. Conceptual deviations incorporated in organizational microculture under the claim that the only thing that matters is striving to transform morally generate spaces for subtle or clear anti-doctrinal infiltrations.

In summary, the spiritist movement, composed of thousands of institutions and activists, expresses a rich microcultural diversity and degrees of doctrinal maturity, but Spiritism is unique, expressing the teaching of the Spirits that were validated by the method of universal control and march, side by side. , with scientific advances as long as they are properly validated, overcoming the hypothetical stage. The organizational culture of the true spiritist center has, therefore, Kardec as ballast, it distances syncretic, mystical and superstitious postures, and welcomes the invitation to dialogue based on facts and on reasoned faith for the production and advancement of knowledge, which do not occur due to mere psychic opinion.

This is an honest and open reflection. It so happens that, today, one only thinks about indoctrinate. We forget, however, that Spirits have a lot to teach us – even the most unhappy ones, because we can analyze their current state, the reasons for the complications in their lives and, from that, obtain a lot of important knowledge. Studying Kardec, we see that not only he, but also many groups distributed across Europe and North America carried out serious research on the subject through mediumistic communications – not just waiting for “the phone to ring from there to here”, but carrying out evocations with serious and useful purposes.

Furthermore, at that time, it was customary to annotate everything, generating large volumes of documents regarding these communications, which could then be studied independently by external researchers, through rationality, seeking to find agreement between them. It is practically what Kardec did, and it is what allowed the structuring of Spiritism as a Scientific Doctrine. Today this is rarely done, except in the production of “letters” from disembodied relatives (whose communications could be much better used). My point is: we will need to resume this methodology, after all, human science has advanced a lot, but Spiritism has practically stopped in time, and many concepts that are accepted today did not go through this necessary methodology. If, today, the various groups of studies or mediumistic practices spread out there resumed this task, taking care not to contaminate each other from the sharing of ideas not sanctioned by this method, we could once again have a large volume of production. of contents that, little by little, could be analyzed. This, however, requires at least the basic study of The Spirits' Book and The Mediums' Book.

Imagine, por exemplo, as controvérsias e falta de informações a respeito das “cidades espirituais”: não podemos, claro, perguntar ao Espírito, na sessão mediúnica: “Ei, você vive numa cidade espiritual? Onde fica?”. Isso provocaria, quase sempre, uma ideia contaminada como resposta. Antes, perguntaríamos: “poderia nos dizer como foi a sua chegada no plano espiritual? O que encontrou aí? Qual é a sua ocupação, hoje? Você se cansa? [Se sim] O que você faz para descansar?”

He understands? There is another very positive point: in addition to learning from such reports, with effects on ourselves, our thoughts and our attitudes, these communications are also very useful to Spirits, especially those in a state of disturbance, who, when contracted to the mediumistic connection, he focuses a little more, again and can, at that moment, reflect a lot on his condition, changing his life.

Anyway, that's it. It has to start over, somehow. We just cannot forget to study Kardec for this, in order to avoid the difficulties already known and dealt with very clearly by him.

The time for the lecture at the Spiritist Center hits. The speaker, apparently well-prepared and with eloquent language, rises to the rostrum and, in the midst of topics related to the current spiritist environment, begins to issue different opinions about a supposed purpose of Spiritism as the foundation of political movements.

Most likely you too, dear reader, have already witnessed such feats, or heard close reports. And, of course, such opinions – personal, we remember – arouse sympathies and antipathies, because, in the political field, there is a lot of clash and disagreement of ideologies.

We are not going to name sides, parties, ideologies or whatever. What we are going to defend here is that Spiritism is not and will never be a political movement. And those who involve the Doctrine in such matters, did not understand it in its depth and are based on a distorted understanding to base their own political ideological inclinations, keeping away from Spiritism people who do not agree with their way of thinking - almost always quite closed in a circle. specific to ideas.

Spiritism, we remember, is a moral science with a philosophical aspect, whose theory was born from the observation of spiritist facts - that is, from the manifestation of Spirits. Its essence, in its original clarity, is aimed at the reform of ideas, in the sense of how the human spirit faces its evolution, its trials, its difficulties and its opportunities. It is not by chance, by the way, that Allan Kardec was formed at the Castle of Yverdon, by the method of Pestalozzi: it is through the pedagogy of fraternity and love, and not through punishment, that the Spirit really acquires a real understanding about its potentialities and your imperfections, perfecting yourself and leaving your bad habits behind.

Why do we say all this? Because political ideologies, on all sides, have supporters – to the exclusion of those many only use politics for their own benefit – who aim at social improvement. When these adepts are spiritists, they are often led to believe, by a very shallow understanding, that spiritist ideas are allied to their political ideologies, and they start to spread such beliefs to the four winds, without caring about the antipathies they will arouse. By the way, we also need to remember: most political ideologies trample on individual freedoms of thought, and Spiritism does just the opposite.

And all this, I repeat, for a very shallow understanding, for not delving into the studies of the Doctrine to the point of understanding that the purpose of Spiritism is to re-educate the human Spirit and, allied to education from childhood, improve the way in which the Spirit faces material life, promoting in him a change of ideas about the difficulties of life and about the need to stifle his impetus of pride and selfishness and to act in a charitable way, as a moral obligation, respecting the free will that each one has.

This does change society, as it changes the way the individual sees life and others. Spiritism offers us common ground, being a science available to people of all beliefs and ideologies, as long as they understand that its real proposal is individual modification, through free conscience, and not by force of law.

In the same way that an individual who knocks on the door of the center looking for consolation but listens to the most diverse zucchinis is scared away, brothers are also scared away when involving political issues in the spiritist environment. Unfortunately, I see many spiritualists supporting ideas and individuals who, directly or indirectly, hurt or declaredly wish to hurt the first basic principle of divine law, supported by Spiritism, which is free will.

I don't want to say that I'm someone so worthy of being important for their presence or absence, but I think I'm not the only one to walk away because of this kind of bias that shouldn't, in my humble opinion, be part of Doctrine studies – thinking that, although we want to imprint our own personalities and ideas on groups, we have a lot of responsibility for others, in the same way that someone who “welcomes” the mother of a person with disabilities by saying that he is like that because he committed suicide in the family has a responsibility. past life and that, therefore, pushes it away.

Therefore, no, Spiritism can never be mixed with any political movements.

To finish, let's remember

Allan Kardec who, in Spiritist Magazine February 1862, gives an alert:

“I must also call attention to another tactic of our adversaries: that of seeking to compromise the spiritists, inducing them to move away from the true objective of the Doctrine, which is that of moral (emphasis ours), to address issues that are not within their competence and that could, with good reason, arouse susceptibility and distrust.

Don't let yourself fall into that trap either; carefully remove from your meetings all that pertains to politics and irritating issues, in which case discussions will lead to nothing and only cause embarrassment, while no one will question morals, when it is good.

Look for in Spiritism what can improve you; here's the essentials. When men are better, truly useful social reforms will follow naturally.”

[This article was originally created by the passage of Yellow September 2021, but extends to all possible moments]

In a century of despair, where society experiences materiality in an exaggerated way, perhaps like never before; where ancient dogmas and the imposition of fear no longer have any effect, discredited as they are by the development of science and reason; where, finally, the human being abandons life and its sufferings sweetened by the false conception that, after death, there is only “rest in peace”, Spiritism comes, once again, to show the essence of its doctrine, presenting, to individuals, the reality of life and a new way of facing it, with more determination and austerity. In the prevention of suicide, Spiritism is the most powerful tool in existence..

What is suicide in the understanding of Spiritism

Suicide, in itself, is just the extreme act, almost always desperate, often caused by human passions, led to the thoughtless act of crime against life itself. But it begins earlier, much earlier, with the first urges of giving up in the face of life's difficulties. We are still imperfect Spirits and, without a strong base, without a buoy to hold on to, we easily sink… And it is precisely this base that the Spiritist Doctrine comes to give us, no longer as an article of faith, as something imaginable, only, but by the evidence of the spiritist phenomena and the communications of themselves, the Spirits, already freed from the matter.

Where, then, will we find this lifebuoy, in the midst of the sea of pain?

Nothingness, dogma and reason

The Catholic dogmas of the time stated, on this subject, that the individual who committed suicide would suffer eternally in hell; now, between suffering here and suffering in hell, in the minds of many, the difference would not be great, since many already imagined themselves with a “foot in hell”, because they already believed themselves to be sinners. Taking one's own life wouldn't change much, they thought, but at least it would free them from their present pain. We see that dogma was no longer sufficient to fill the human void.

Materialism, on the other hand, claimed that man was just a biological machine, a slave to the senses and wills. Taking one's own life, then, to end any suffering, often without explanation, would be the best way out, from this point of view – a doctrine of terrible theories and disastrous consequences:

Every man feels the need to live, to enjoy life, to love, to be happy. To a person who knows that he is about to die, let it be said that he will still live, or that his time has been postponed. Tell yourself, above all, that she will be happier than ever, and her heart will flutter with joy. But what good would such aspirations of happiness be if a light breath could undo them?

[…]

Is there anything more desperate than the idea of absolute destruction? Sacred affections, intelligence, progress, knowledge laboriously acquired, all would be undone, all would be lost! What is the need for the effort to become better, to repress passions, to enrich our spirit, if we are not to reap any fruit from it, especially given the idea that tomorrow, perhaps, it will no longer serve us for anything? If that were so, man's lot would be a hundred times worse than that of the savage, who lives entirely in the present, in the satisfaction of his material appetites, without aspirations for the future. A secret intuition tells us that this is not possible.

Allan Kardec, Heaven and Hell

Before Spiritism, the afterlife was just a vague thing. We knew that we “had” a soul (better saying, we are a soul, linked to a body) but the kind of difficulties to be faced by it after death was something totally unknown, being treated only in a dogmatic way and, even when removed from the dogma, was more a philosophical than a factual concept.

The Spiritist Science comes to bring light through the rational study of the facts

With the birth of Spiritism, however, the concept of soul it was complemented and expanded through the study of the phenomena resulting from our relationship with the Spirits, who showed themselves to be human souls, but disconnected from the body.

This was a landmark that, one day, will be in human history, as it is already found, today, in the spiritist history, because it brought to man the certain that life does not really end in the tomb, nor does it begin at conception, but that it transcends the limits of matter, in successive incarnations, with the aim of learning and elevating itself, always, until it no longer needs matter, when the Spirit becomes pure or perfect.

Through communications with the Spirits, mediated by mediums, especially mechanical psychographers (see more about this in The Mediums' Book, in Part Two), Allan Kardec obtained the most valuable teachings about the future of the soul, after disincarnation. And that was how, after some years of studies, he formulated the work O Céu e o Inferno, where he deals in a philosophical way, in the first part, and in a practical way, in the second, about the biggest problem of humanity: who we are, where we came from and where are we going and why and what are we here for.

Heaven and Hell: the fate of the Spirit after the death of the body

In this work, impossible to be summarized, in the second part, we find some depositions of Spirits of various evolutionary shades - among them, that of some suicides. And reading, although difficult, is very important, because we learn from them about the effects of their actions. In Revista Espírita, from 1858 to 1869, we also find several reports of evocations of suicides, which tell us about their difficulties and the effects of their actions. From them we take the following extract:

Each situation is one, because each Spirit is one, with its intelligence, its evolution, its understanding, its conceptions and its moment. There are suicides who claim to suffer physical pain after death (which, in fact, is an externalized moral suffering, since the Spirit does not suffer materially); there are spirits who say they find themselves in a hellish situation, which can be just a mental picture as it can also be a “reality” lived with other suffering spirits, who are grouped by their mental state; there are spirits who realize that they made a mistake by taking their own life, in an unthinking act; and there are even, although they are rare, those who, at first, are content with having left life, only to later understand that this has been of no use to them and that they will have to reincarnate again, in the same kind of incarnation, in order to to continue their tests.

There is, therefore, this correlation that many make, that the suicidal person will suffer feeling the worms gnawing at his body or that in the next life they will be reincarnated in deformed bodies, nor that everyone will go to the famous “suicide valley”, which is nothing more. than one of the infinite groupings of Spirits in suffering and that, due to their disturbed mentality, create true infernal regions. Each case is different. The only certainty, I repeat, is that suicide will only prolong the state of suffering that is being imperfect and having to deal with these imperfections through reincarnations in gross matter and among Spirits as imperfect as we are, or more.

More than that, however, it is very important to understand the Spiritist Doctrine in its essence, from which we take the following:

In life, we have two kinds of suffering: those caused by ourselves, by our carelessness, by our impatience, by our addictions, and those that we do not cause in this life. The first can be avoided by an interior reform, by correcting our imperfections. The second, however, compose the types of difficulties that are part of a reincarnation planning, carried out by ourselves, with a view to making us learn, in difficult tests and, thus, to correct our imperfections, helping us to make less mistakes and to advance. more quickly.

So, so far, we have three very important points:

1. Killing the body does not kill the Spirit, nor does it eliminate pain. moral that make us suffer. It often increases it and always prolongs it.
2. Faced with the difficulties caused by ourselves, by our imperfections, only an internal correction will make us stop creating these difficulties that often bring us so much suffering.
3. Faced with the difficulties brought by life and which are not the result of our current actions, we need to understand that it is a very great opportunity for our learning, planned by ourselves, as Spirit, and that we need to get something good out of it, taking advantage of the opportunity sore to look inside ourselves and change ourselves with even more energy and persistence.

Life, after all, is not a punishment. We are not here to pay anything, but to develop ourselves., and it is only through the exercise of this development, of getting rid of our imperfections and of conquering virtues, that we will reach a real state of happiness, each time greater.

Suicide and our relationships with Spirits

We know, however, that we are not always ready to deal with the difficulties that come our way, so it is very easy to allow ourselves to get depressed. It is at this moment that we need to be very attentive, because, let us remember, this despondency does not usually come only from within us, but often – almost always – is fed and augmented by Spirits who do not wish our good.

We know that Spirits are around us all the time, and that they are attracted to us as we are in our raw, inner reality. So, because of our imperfections, which we often we like to cultivate, we start to attract inferior spirits who start to get attached to us and feed the cultivation of these imperfections. Over time, this relationship can become obsessive, to the point where we find ourselves subjugated by the will of one or more inferior spirits, who start to command our actions. This is a dangerous state that also leads us to have suicidal thoughts and, in extreme cases, can inactivate our ability to act on our own will, and a firm will is the main tool to overcome spiritual obsessions.

In these cases, it is important to seek external support, as we often find ourselves in a state of subjugation that takes away our ability to reason and have a firm will. This help can be found in several ways – see, at the end, the section “Tools for overcoming depression and thoughts of giving up“.

the passions

Here another important aspect arises in this matter: the question of passions, which Kardec always cited in his time, and which today can be understood as “feelings”.

By definition, passion is a term that designates a very strong feeling of attraction to a person, object or topic. Passion is intense, enveloping, an enthusiasm or a strong desire for something. The term is also often applied to designate a lively interest or admiration for an ideal, cause, or activity.

In the state of experiencing the passions, the individual is blind to rationality and, in this state, how many cases of suicide have been committed without thought? How many communications were there, with which we have already had contact, from the Spirit who, soon after performing the act, deeply regretted the thoughtlessness of what he had done? Taming the passions, therefore, is something of paramount importance. Kardec defines it like this, in A Genesis:

Instinct annihilates itself; passions can only be tamed by the effort of the will.

And today, finally, with access to the Spiritist Doctrine, we can strengthen the will through reason, that is, we can develop more firmness and calmness to go through the trials of life, knowing that our future happiness depends on it, and that interrupting our life before time will not end any moral suffering, but will only prolong it.

In this situation, therefore, let us seek help: let us seek a psychologist, let us seek the spiritist center, let us seek a good friend, let us seek prayer, calm music, reading and the practice of the Gospel, let us seek to visit a nursing home to talk to the elderly, in short, Let's look for something that makes us feel good, but let's look for it with determination and persistence.

But, above all, let us seek something very special and important: to study and practice Spiritism in our homes, together with our family, because while the individual is supposed to be a passive machine, hostage to body chemistry, without soul and, therefore, without free will, he will only respond mechanically to everything and, in the face of pain, he will find the only result that emanates from it, albeit false: the machine is turned off, the pain ends.

To understand Spiritism is to understand life

It is only with the return and development of the understanding of the concept of a soul that survives the death of the body and that it always advances towards perfection, improving and correcting itself through successive trials and opportunities, and away from the old and wrong concepts of sin. and punishment by a vengeful and cruel God, that suicide will cease to exist on the face of the earth.

Life does not end in the tomb and the soul, freed from the body, only finds its reality even more exacerbated. It is precisely this reality, which leads her to give up, that she needs to lean over, without ceasing, in order to strengthen herself; but, I repeat: this will never happen as long as, in the body, one assumes only a machine, a slave to the chemistry of the senses.

And let's not forget. God does not leave us abandoned in the difficulties of life and does not give us greater burdens than we can bear. It is because of our actions or the way we face these difficulties that we often increase the weight of this burden until we fall to the ground, under a weight beyond what was programmed. Still, it is possible to recover and move on if we want to: just ask God for help and it will come, in one form or another, to help us lessen the extra weight we carry. Let's be careful: this help comes through an unexpected contact, a gifted book, content that a friend suggests or even through a persistent thought so that we look for certain content on the Internet. It's the way God answers us, but we need to be open to it.

Finally, of course: if you notice someone by your side with the slightest traces of depression, constant sadness, discouragement, withdrawal, etc., be charitable and talk to her, with all the affection, all the fraternity and all the attention possible. Tell her about your certainty that life doesn't end at the grave. Tell her that she is not alone and that life's difficulties, which we all have, are necessary tests for our own learning, almost always requested by ourselves. This could save a life.

Tools for overcoming depression and thoughts of giving up

Here, we are going to list some tools that will be more or less useful for some and for others, according to the thinking and state of each one. Analyze and stick with what makes you feel good:

• Psychological help: This is substantial and necessary support in these cases. The professional therapist will be able to provide support that almost no one will be able to, helping you to understand content and pain that you don't even realize, but that are there, disturbing you.
• Gospel at Home: it is a practice that has been very prominent, and which aims to reflect, in the light of the Gospel According to Spiritism, on our own faults and imperfections, seeking to change ourselves. In this sense, a content that I really like and that has already helped me is the Gospel of the Spiritist Center Land of Ishmael.
• Study of Spiritism: acquiring knowledge is extremely important for our faith to be unshakable and for us to become more austere and decisive to face difficulties. Study Kardec's works!
• Attending a spiritist center: although the experience of Spiritism must be something internal, having the fraternal support of a spiritist center can be very important. Look for someone close and where you feel good and welcomed.
• Practice activities in order to socialize and disconnect a little from the disturbing thought or environment. Assistance activities, for example, help a lot, because when we do good to others, we do ourselves.
• Practice sports and try to seek a healthier life, as we cannot forget that, while incarnate, we are influenced by the body's ailments.
• Do general exams, verifying that you are not having health problems, including vitamin and hormonal deficiencies, which commonly cause states of shortage and depression.
• don't cover yourself too much, for this causes disappointment and bitterness. We know we need to improve ourselves, but it's no use wanting to become an angel overnight! Evolution is made in decisive and constant steps, but millimeter by millimeter. We will stumble many times in this process: so don't let yourself get discouraged. Recognize yourself as an imperfect Spirit, get up, beat the dust and get back on your way.
• Practice prayer at all times when you feel any anguish. Do not repeat words in a memorized way, however: make this prayer come from the bottom of your heart, connecting it to God, and don't forget that none of us are abandoned in life: on our side, seeking to help us, we always have our Spirits protectors or guardians.
• Be aware of the opportunities that “life” (the good spirits, in fact) present to you: a good book recommended by someone, an invitation to a study group, participation in a spiritist center, in short, the good opportunities that life offers us. presents and that it is up to us not to be resistant to them.