During 1858, Ermance Dufaux received some autobiographies mediumistic. Among them, the authors were the French kings Louis XI and Charles VIII. Allan Kardec praised the work of Ms. Dufaux and transcribed excerpts from the “Confessions of Louis XI” in the Spiritist Magazine. That same year, Kardec released three messages psychographed by the young sensitive.

This communication specifically doesn't seem to have much relevance to us at this point. They are historical facts, used to evidence the authenticity of the communicating Spirit. We emphasize that Louis XI no it is São Luís, the Spirit who always communicated as one of the “mentors” of Kardec's studies.

In addition to them, she received a mediumistic autobiography from Joan of Arc, already mentioned in the edition of January 1858 RE

For those who want to know more about Ms. Ermance Dufaux, Click here

In this article, Kardec demonstrates the usefulness of evoking Spirits of all kinds, from Spirits with a serious and constructive intention to those who committed heinous crimes, because “to know the customs of a people, it is necessary to study it in all its forms”. scale degrees”.

Therefore, there is always an impasse, because superior spirits have a lot to teach, but our distance from them is quite large. The more “bourgeois” spirits, that is, spirits like us, more common, still stuck to everyday concerns, present many important teachings, for making us able to see ourselves in their own actions and their effects. All of them show us the practical application of the great and sublime truths, whose theory the superior spirits teach us.

Another advantage of some evocations is to verify the identity of the Spirits in a more precise way. When a Spirit presents itself under a great name from the past, it is only possible to believe in words and judge its content on what is known. If the content meets the necessary criteria, we judge it a superior spirit, and that's enough. The name doesn't really matter.

However, when a spirit of lesser evolution presents itself and gives details that prove its identity, we will have, there, great examples that are very “palatable”: “it is the romance of the customs of the spiritist life without fiction”.

We also discussed our personal experiences regarding evocations of family and friends.

Particularly, we always have to be very careful about the content of the communicating Spirit, because he may not be who he says who he is. Some communications bring some comfort to us.

Next, 3 evocations of 3 different Spirits: the first is the Lemaire assassin (about a month after dismeat); The Queen of Oude (about a month after dismeat) and Dr. Xavier (Evocation after many months after disincarnation).

The Doctor. Xavier was a doctor of great talent and who had been very busy with magnetism, on which he had left a manuscript that he supposed would revolutionize Science. Before I died I read The Book of Spirits and wanted a contact with Allan Kardec, which he was unable to do. Months after his death, his evocation took place, at the request of the family, which was carried out in the presence of Kardec. He took care to exclude, in this publication, the questions and answers of a private nature.

After summoning, Dr. Xavier answered questions about the Spirit Doctrine, about the beginning of life, about the union of the Spirit to the new body, as well as the disunity of the Spirit at the end of the corporeal life.

Dr. Xavier said that the Spiritist Doctrine is a great work, and its worst enemy is religions, the beliefs of men. (Author's N.: So current... We can see that not much has changed since then... )

When Dr. Xaier was asked about the body retaining organic life for a few moments after separation from the soul, he said that the body feels what caused it to die only for a few moments.

At the time of separation, he said:

Question. 21 – How does the separation between the soul and the body occur at the time of the body’s death?

Reply. Doctor – Like a fluid that escapes from any vessel. 

Question. 22 – Is there a really clear line of demarcation between life and death?

ans. Dr. — These two states touch and confuse each other; in this way, the Spirit gradually detaches itself from its bonds; he unravels them, he does not break them.

Question. 23 – Does this detachment of the soul operate more readily in some than in others?

ans. Dr. – Yes: in those who in life have already risen above matter, because, then, their soul belongs more to the world of Spirits than to the terrestrial world.

Question. 23 – At what point does the union between the soul and the body occur in children?

Reply. Doctor – When the child breathes; as if it received the soul with the outside air.

RE March 1858, Dr. Xavier

Observation (Allan Kardec) – This opinion is a consequence of Catholic dogma. In fact, the Church teaches that the soul cannot be saved except by baptism; Now, as natural intrauterine death is very frequent, what would that soul become, deprived, according to her, of this only means of salvation, if it had existed in the body before birth? To be consistent, baptism would have to be performed, if not actually, then at least intentionally, from the moment of conception.

Our observation – The theory given by this Spirit about the moment of union between the soul and the body is not absolutely exact. The union begins from conception, that is, from the moment when the Spirit, without being incarnated, connects to the body by a fluidic bond, which is increasingly tightened until the moment the child sees the light. . The incarnation is only completed when the child breathes.

Follow the conversation with the Spirit of Dr. Xavier about intrauterine life, about spontaneous and induced abortion, about how the Spirit happens in these situations, in short, about the union of soul and body. This complete and very well explained understanding is in the Book of Spirits, by Allan Kardec, cap VII – From the return of the Spirit to Corporal Life, Union of the soul and the Body, from questions 344 to 360.

In addition to the passages cited from the Spirits' Book, we suggest consulting O Céu e o Inferno, Allan Kardec, Part Two: Examples, Chapter I. The Passage, Publisher Feal where there is an extensive explanation of what we discussed in the LIVE

The Queen of Oude has been summoned. She was an Indian Queen (her name was Malika Kishwar) who had visited England. On his return trip to India, he fell ill and died in Paris, in 1858. More details here queen of oude From now on, we'll call it Queen.

The queen appeared very disturbed, finding it difficult to understand what was happening to her. From their conversation, we could see their arrogance and pride. Several questions were asked about her opinion of her earthly life, the condition of women, the life of Indians, about Muhammad, God, Jesus, but she said that she was too powerful to be occupied with God.

She said that she missed life, that she hoped her subjects would come to serve her. She said more than once that she was always queen, even in other lifetimes. She was extremely arrogant.

The queen, in addition to being disturbed, seemed quite annoyed with the questions, which was questioned. She said she was forced to come:

question 22 ─ Why did you respond so quickly to our appeal?

ans. Queen: - I didn't want to do it, but they forced me. Do you think that I would deign to answer you? Who are you by my side?

Question. 23 – And who forced you to come?

Reply. Queen: – I don't know myself... since there shouldn't be anyone greater than me.

The Queen of Oude, RE March/1858

The conversation ended as soon as the Espírito de Sao Luis intervened:

question 32 ─ We only ask you to be kind enough to answer two or three more questions.

Reply. Saint Louis – ─ Leave her, poor misguided! Have mercy on your blindness. May she serve as an example to you! You do not know how much their pride suffers.

We thought we would find in this Spirit, if not philosophy, at least a truer feeling for reality and healthier ideas about earthly vanities and grandeur. Far from it, earthly ideas retained all their strength in her: it is pride, which loses nothing of its illusions.

This evocation description is also found in the book Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec, Second part, chap. VII – hardened spirits.

In this article, Kardec reports the case of a murderer named Lemaire. He was invoked after his execution on December 31, 1857 in Paris.

Lemaire was a young man of 23 – 24 years old. He was arrested several times for theft followed by murders more than once. Escaped from prison, was held back again. He was feared by society. here you go article in french about your life.

When invoked by Kardec, through Ms. Raquel, immediately spoke up for questions. In his words, there was a clear regret for his actions. Besides, he was embarrassed.

Lemaire said he found his victims he murdered and felt remorse. His moral pain was unbearable,

– Do they have hatred and a desire for revenge?

– Do not. Your prayers draw to me the atonement. You cannot appreciate what a horrible torture it is all due to the one who is hated.

In RE, Assassin Lemaire, question 20.

He added, through responses from his summoners, the following:

 ─ How do you plan to rescue crimes?

─ By further evidence, but it seems to me that Eternity is between me and them.

question 32

He was very upset, which must have made them want to be able to give some kind of comfort to the Spirit of Lemaire.

This evocation is also described in the book Heaven and hell by Allan Kardec, Second Part, chap. VI – Repentant criminals.

Maybe you who are reading, like me, have already asked that question: “God, why me?”

This questioning, quite natural when we still do not have a full understanding of the teachings of the superior spirits through Spiritism, still finds many inexact or even wrong explanations, precisely because of this lack of understanding, which is born from the lack of study.

Let's present some of these opinions incongruous with Spiritism:

• because God wants
• 'Cause I'm paying for a bad one
• 'Cause I'm being punished for a mistake from other lives
• because it's chance
• It's karma (or karma)
• It's the Law of Action and Reaction (which reflects a bad past)
• It’s “rescuing” other lives

All explanations, except the one that says it is the work of chance, basically reflect the same opinion: if I am suffering it is because God is subjecting me to a punishment, since I made a mistake. One opinion even goes further: God doesn't like me.

We need to detach ourselves a little more from these old conceptions, from a time when the human mentality was not ready to move a few steps forward and understand a God who is all kindness and love. In the past, we believed that God was a cruel, vengeful being, full of wrath and wrath, because we attributed our imperfections to Him, because we were unable to understand a being that did not have them. Today, however, it is no longer that way.

Allan Kardec, in The Spirits' Book, presents a face of God, obtained from the teachings of superior Spirits, never before known on the face of the Earth - at least not as a doctrine:

1. What is God?

“God is the supreme intelligence, primary cause of all things” *

2. What is to be understood by infinity?

“That which has neither beginning nor end; the unknown; all that is unknown is infinite.”

3. Could it be said that God is infinite?

“Incomplete definition. Poverty of the language of men, insufficient to define what is above their intelligence.”

[…]

13. When we say that God is eternal, infinite, immutable, immaterial, unique, omnipotent, sovereignly just and good, do we have a complete idea of his attributes?

“From your point of view, yes, because you believe that you encompass everything. Know, however, that there are things that are above the intelligence of the most intelligent man, which your language, restricted to your ideas and sensations, has no means of expressing. In fact, reason tells you that God must possess these perfections in a supreme degree, since if he lacked one, or were not infinite, he would no longer be superior to all, therefore he would not be God. To be above all things, God must find himself exempt from any vicissitude and from any imperfections that the imagination can conceive.”

Since our conception of God has evolved a lot, how then can we attribute to him the execution of punishments or demands, since he You know that the imperfections we have are only momentary and will disappear with our evolution?

But, we may object, facts are facts: if there is no chance, but I suffer, then there must be a reason for such sufferings. If it wasn't me who caused the suffering, then someone else is subjecting me to them, so it can only be God.

However, we need to analyze this chain of thoughts in a rational way, which is the invitation always made by Kardec in the face of any questions:

First of all, we need to understand that we are incarnate Spirits and while we are connected to the body, especially in such a dense state, we will be subject to the vicissitudes of matter, including the pain and suffering naturally caused by something like, for example, cold and heat.

Secondly, we need to learn to analyze and distinguish the types of suffering caused by ourselves, in the present incarnation, by our ways of acting and thinking. In this sense, Kardec calls us to reflect:

Going back to the origin of earthly evils, it will be recognized that many are a natural consequence of the character and course of those who suffer them.

How many men fall through their own fault! How many are victims of their improvidence, their pride and their ambition!

How many are ruined for lack of order, for perseverance, for bad behavior, or for not knowing how to limit their desires!

How many unfortunate unions, because they resulted from a calculation of interest or vanity and in which the heart took no part!

How many dissensions and fatal disputes would have been avoided with a little moderation and less susceptibility!

How many diseases and infirmities result from intemperance and excesses of every kind!

How many parents are unhappy with their children, because they have not fought their bad tendencies from the beginning! Out of weakness, or indifference, they allowed the seeds of pride, selfishness and foolish vanity to develop in them, which produce the dryness of the heart; then later, when they reap what they have sown, they marvel and grieve at the lack of deference with which they are treated and their ingratitude.

Coldly question their consciences all who are wounded in the heart by the vicissitudes and disappointments of life; go back step by step to the origin of the evils that torture you and check if, more often than not, you will not be able to say: If I had done, or not done, such a thing, I would not be in such a condition.

Allan Kardec – The Gospel According to Spiritism – chap. V

It is very evident that there are many sufferings that are born on account of our actions, even in thought, and about which we can only accuse ourselves.

But what about the sufferings we don't cause in this life? Where do they come from then? If it doesn't come from today, many will say, it is a reflection of other lives. I am just paying for past mistakes. But, we will reflect, if God does not charge or punish us, who is charging me for supposed debts? My victims of the past, some will say. We even suppose that, many times, our victims persecute us for more than one incarnation, seeking revenge. But would that be a rule? Aren't there the countless cases of spirits who forgive their tormentors and go on with their lives? Who, then, who would be charging and punishing us? Where would the court be?

There is, at this point, a very important teaching given by the superior spirits, quoted in The Spirits' Book:

621. Where is the law of God written?

“In conscience.”

This answer is so succinct, but so complete, that it amazes us. Now, we already understand that the Spirit only has free will when it enters the realm of consciousness. Before that, their actions are mechanical, responding only to instincts. When, consciously, however, he begins to have the free choice about his actions and, so to speak, between good and bad.

I am taking a very constructive line of exposition in order to elaborate the thought well: we understand, then, that, from the moment we develop conscience, the Law of God becomes effective in our own mind. So, finally, we come to the crucial answer: who pursues us are ourselves.

When we make an imperfection a habit, we start making mistakes that then make us unhappy. from the moment we become aware of them. When in the state of erraticity, then, we evaluate our actions and their consequences, on ourselves and on others, and to plan new incarnations with trials that we aim to help us learn and overcome these imperfections. Often, however, haunted by great guilt and still undeveloped in understanding, we come to the point of planning great and painful atonements, like the child who, not knowing how to deal with the guilt for some wrong committed, asks his father to punish him.

We see, therefore, that the difficulties and pains of our lives, when not arising from our present actions, are rich opportunities for learning and readjustment. Other times, tragedies and terrible pain are planned by the Spirit itself to seek to ease your conscience about something past. However, a very important lesson remains: as we understand more deeply the mechanics of spiritual evolution, we will make better plans for our incarnations.

We are still spirits very connected to these conceptions of sin and punishment, reaching the point of elaborating reincarnation plans linked to the “Law of Talion” – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But, as we understand that what really matters is to identify our imperfections transformed into bad habits and correct them, understanding that punishment itself teaches little or nothing, we will seek better ways to plan new opportunities, progressively disconnecting ourselves from the need for very brutes to then seek opportunities more linked to a basic spiritual education, from the first steps of material childhood, with a view to strengthening virtues and smothering imperfections.

After all, we want to say: the difficulties of this life, however bad they may seem, if they are not a negative effect of our present actions or of Nature itself, they are opportunities planned by ourselves for our elevation. Let us strive, therefore, to face these trials differently, seeking to learn from them, always relying on prayer and studies of Spiritism, which can do a lot to help change our conceptions even in this life.

To complement this reading, we suggest reading the article on Punishment and Reward, recently published.

Reading suggestions:

1. The case of Antonio B, in Heaven and Hell
2. our reflections about the article A Fatality and Presentiments, presented in the March edition of the Spiritist Magazine of 1858
3. The Lemaire Killer, in the Spiritist Magazine of March 1858

In this article, very connected to the previous one, Kardec, referring to the Spiritist Scale, makes some other conjectures about what a planet could be inhabited by Spirits of the ninth (tenth) class, the immense difficulties, the general state of crime, horror, of physical and moral suffering.

Then, he conjectures a planet inhabited by Spirits all of the third order – impure, frivolous, pseudo-wise and neutral spirits. There, evil would still dominate, although less and less present as those Spirits moved away from the ninth (tenth) class. Pride, selfishness, passions, enslavement and various other moral imperfections would still dominate there.

IN SUCH A SOCIETY, IF IT DOMINATES, THE IMPURE ELEMENT WILL CRUSH THE OTHER; OTHERWISE, THE LESS EVIL WILL SEEK TO DESTROY THEIR ADVERSARY; IN ANY CASE THERE WILL BE A FIGHT, A BLOODY FIGHT, OF EXTERMINATION, BECAUSE THEY ARE TWO ELEMENTS THAT HAVE OPPOSITE INTERESTS. TO PROTECT GOODS AND PEOPLE, LAWS WILL BE NECESSARY, BUT THESE WILL BE DICITED BY PERSONAL INTEREST AND NOT JUSTICE; WILL BE MADE BY THE STRONG, TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE WEAK

Next, Kardec invites us to imagine, in the midst of these Spirits, some of the second order: we would see, then, amidst the perversities, some virtues.

IF THE GOOD ARE A MINORITY, THEY WILL BE VICTIMS OF THE BAD; HOWEVER, AS ITS PREDOMINIUM RISES, LEGISLATION BECOME MORE HUMAN, MORE EQUITABLE AND CHRISTIAN CHARITY IS NO LONGER A DEAD LETTER FOR EVERYONE. FROM THAT SAME GOOD ANOTHER ADDICTION WILL BE BORN. DESPITE THE WAR WHICH THE BAD INCESSANTLY DECLARE TO THE GOOD, THEY CANNOT AVOID esteeming them in their intimate forum. SEEING THE ASCENDANT OF VIRTUE OVER ADDICTION AND NOT HAVING THE STRENGTH OR WILLING TO PRACTICE IT, THEY SEEK TO PARODIATE IT AND TAKE THE MASK OF IT. WHEN THE HYPOCRITES, SO NUMEROUS IN ALL SOCIETY WHERE CIVILIZATION IS STILL IMPERFECT.

After all, Kardec arrives, through imagination, to a whole world inhabited by spirits of the second order, to where, by simple reading, we would like to transport ourselves at this exact moment. Absolute equality does not reign there, since the second order still encompasses Spirits of various degrees of development. However, this inequality does not generate envy of the less advanced nor pride of the most advanced: everyone would be united in the purpose of learning and elevation.

THE CONSEQUENCES WE DRAW FROM THIS FRAMEWORK, ALTHOUGH HYPOTHETICALLY PRESENTED, ARE NO LESS RATIONAL, AND EVERYONE CAN DEDUCT THE SOCIAL STATE OF ANY WORLD, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROPORTION OF THE MORAL ELEMENTS OF WHICH WE SUPPOSE IT TO COMPOSE.

WE HAVE SEEN THAT, WITHOUT THE REVELATION OF THE SPIRITS, ALL PROBABILITIES ARE FOR THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. NOW, IT IS NO LESS RATIONAL TO THINK THAT NOT EVERYONE IS IN THE SAME DEGREE OF PERFECTION AND THAT, FOR THIS VERY REASON, OUR ASSUMPTIONS CAN PERFECTLY BE THE EXPRESSION OF REALITY.

We see, through this exercise, in which spiritual moment the Earth is and in which it has already found itself. Based on this thought and on the Spiritist Scale, we see which evils we still need to root out of our individualities in order to advance to better positions.

About some neighboring planets, Kardec informs that, according to the Spirits, Mars would be an even more backward planet than Earth, where would incarnate Spirits almost exclusively of the ninth (tenth) class. But, since we didn't find anything on Mars other than dust, should we imagine that the Spirits deceived Kardec? Why, no! just that this incarnation it must take place in a fluidic state, outside of our senses.

Follows Allan Kardec commenting on some teachings about other planets, the most interesting being those that talk about Jupiter, which would be a planet of much higher spiritual elevation than ours. There, according to the reports of the Spirits, only Spirits of the second order would incarnate. These spirits portray wonderful cities.

Will we one day land a probe there and see a civilization that is perceptible to our senses and devices? Maybe yes maybe no. Maybe one day we'll land there and find an icy, desert planet, how can we find some way of life. We don't know and, if the first case occurs, we can also assume that such cities and civilization are also constituted in ethereal matter, as we already know that even in the surroundings of our planet this fact occurs.

Anyway, they are conjectures of a past time that, although valid in many ways, maybe one day – when the methodological studies of the Spirits' communications can be resumed – revisited and complemented or corrected.

The science of Kardec's time is something quite different from what it is today. Many scientific advances were made and, while Kardec could only imagine what the neighboring planets and even the moon would be like, today we have visited the last celestial body several times, we have already landed at least 3 autonomous vehicles on Mars and, a little while ago, we made it reach the orbit of Mercury the first human probe. Huge revolution, compared to a time when you could only think through a telescope.

We started like this in order to place ourselves in Kardec's time, which is essential to understand his conjectures about nearby astral bodies. It is also very important to note that there are two distinct parts in the Spiritist Doctrine in this regard: human knowledge and conjectures and the knowledge taught by Spirits, in the way that man could understand at that time.

On the human side, Kardec, in this article, makes several conjectures about what other worlds would be like, based on what human science at that time had already been able to observe. It creates hypotheses, quite plausible for the knowledge of the time, about the atmospheric formations of these distant orbs, conjecturing, then, about the possible forms of life that could exist there, including those not detectable by our five senses, that is, those that could be in much more subtle states of matter.

But the intention of this article by Kardec is not only to make philosophical conjectures about life, seen in a scientific way, outside the Earth: it is also to make the reader reflect on the divine greatness, which does nothing by chance and that, also in this sense , would not have made planets just for our enjoyment. In fact, Kardec makes this approach based on the teachings of the Spirits, as we can see in The Spirits' Book:

55. ARE ALL THE GLOBS THAT MOVE IN SPACE inhabited?

“YES AND EARTHLY MAN IS FAR FROM BEING, AS YOU SUPPOSE, FIRST IN INTELLIGENCE, IN KINDNESS AND IN PERFECTION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE MEN WHO HAVE VERY STRONG SPIRITS AND WHO IMAGINE THE PRIVILEGE OF CONTAINING RATIONAL BEINGS TO BELONG TO THIS LITTLE GLOBE. PRIDE AND VANITY! THEY JUDGE THAT GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE ONLY FOR THEM.”

[…]

57. IF THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLDS IS NOT ONE FOR ALL, WILL THE BEINGS THAT inhabit them have different ORGANIZATIONS?

“NO DOUBT, IN THE SAME WAY THAT FISH ARE MADE TO LIVE IN WATER AND BIRDS IN THE AIR.”

Scientifically, at that time, it was already possible to verify that the Moon had no atmosphere, that Mercury would be very hot and that Saturn would be very cold. How, then, could there be life in these orbs? About this, we have two hypotheses, adopted by Allan Kardec:

1. The beings that live there, if they have a physical constitution of the same density as ours, could be adapted to these places, as on Earth there are living beings that survive extreme cold and heat or even chemical compounds that would kill us in a short time, as well as there are animals adapted to live their entire lives in water and others only on land.
2. The beings that live there are made up of ethereal matter, more subtle than our matter and, therefore, they live in conditions that are totally adverse to ours. About this, also in The Spirits' Book, there is an indication:

58. WILL THE WORLD FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN BE DEPRIVED OF LIGHT AND HEAT, BECAUSE THAT ASTRO IS SHOWN TO THEM WITH ONLY THE APPEARANCE OF A STAR?

“THEN DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE NO SOURCES OF LIGHT AND HEAT OTHER THAN THE SUN, AND IN NO WAY DO YOU THINK OF ELECTRICITY, WHICH, IN CERTAIN WORLDS, PLAYS A ROLE THAT YOU KNOW AND MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT HAS TO PLAY ON EARTH? FURTHERMORE, WE DO NOT SAY THAT ALL BEINGS ARE MADE OF THE SAME MATTER AS YOU OTHERS AND WITH ORGANS OF IDENTICAL CONFORMATION TO YOURS.”

What Kardec does in this article is, in possession of information obtained by human science and spirit science, reason, together with the reader, about the very natural possibility of there being life, in some way, in all existing orbs in space, and even in space, that is, in “empty” space. There is nothing wrong with this thinking.

However, we can think: “We have already arrived at the Moon and Mars and we have not found anything of what he imagined. Kardec, therefore, was wrong”. Now, by the second hypothesis, no, he was not wrong. There may exist beings in an ethereal state, as among us the Spirits live, walk and interact, through their perispirits, without us even noticing them (except when we have mediumistic faculties for such). Furthermore, we must remember that Kardec never claimed to be the owner of the ultimate truth: he only reasoned based on what science provided him.

It may be that one day we land on a nearby planet and there we find new forms of life, sensitive to our senses, or it may be that all the nearby planets are empty of biological life, perhaps even by divine wisdom that, who knows, understands that man it would only find reasons for wars if it found other living beings on nearby planets. Now, you see, it's just me guessing.

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.”

Today, October 10th, is International Mental Health Day. And, as a matter of such importance, we could not let it pass unnoticed.

We begin by stating that, as it is extremely important, the slightest signs of restlessness and imbalance, be they uncontrolled stress, melancholy/depression and other disorders, should always motivate the search for professional psychological support. Many of our concerns come not only from aspects deeply rooted within us, but also, many times, from organic imbalances. We are spirits incarnated in a body, and these are subject to the vicissitudes of matter.

That said, let's move on to the spiritual aspect of our mental health. For us spiritists and, globally, for every spiritualist, the brain is not just a chemical and organic reflection, but it is, rather, the organ of expression of the Spirit, although muffled in its real face. Therefore, the Spirit – or the soul – is the one who presides over the will, the choices and, in a word, the free will.

Recognizing ourselves, therefore, in a kind of duality between Spirit and matter, we understand that any treatment that addresses the mind should approach the individual in a holistic way, that is, integral, integrating body and Spirit. It is clear that a good professional psychological support will do a lot in this regard, but we cannot deny that, by encompassing the existing spiritual sphere, the treatment will always bring much more benefit in this regard.

What we are trying to do here is to demonstrate that, when it comes to mental health, we cannot see everything only from the spiritual aspect – especially regarding the probable spiritual obsessions – but also from the organic and physiological aspect of the issue. For example: we can think that a person who lives under stress and who has emotional out-of-control events is being the victim of a spiritual obsession, when, however, he just has pre-diabetes symptoms, which causes hypoglycemia, which leads to such out-of-control .

We cannot, therefore, as spiritists, in welcoming whoever and wherever it may be, treat everything as if it were a “spiritual problem”, which would be very irresponsible. It is always important to investigate what is going on with the individual, trying to find out if he is undergoing psychological follow-up, if he is being treated and, if not, seek to refer the brother for such treatment.

On the other hand, it is important to highlight that Spiritism has a very important facet in this aspect, as it enlightens the individual about the reasons for the difficulties of life and about our constant relationship with the spiritual world around us. Now, how many cases of madness are not also initiated by an open and unvigilant mind to the thoughts of Spirits of the third order? How many times are we not fed, because of our imperfections, in the most subtle processes of mental alienation that, slowly, are causing us manias, fears and various disorders?

Since we are Spirits incarnated in a body and our Spirit is in charge of our will, it is clear that the root of all our problems will always be in the Spirit – even in the case of pre-diabetics, since it is due to a bad habit in the food, provoked by “his Spirit”, that such an evil was installed. Therefore, in this sense too, the more the Spirit understands about the devices and purposes of life, the need to correct its imperfections, the benefit of prayer on the mind and the fact of mental association, with incarnated and disembodied beings, according to our inclinations mental health, the easier it will be for you to remain mentally balanced.

But, what in the case of an already installed imbalance process? Here, as we have already said, in the first instance we cannot dispense with professional psychological treatment. This is imperative. Secondly, through Spiritism and Magnetism, we can also offer a very beneficial treatment:

• Through prayer, seek to help the incarnate and the possible disincarnate in the improvement of their mental field;
• Through the magnetic pass, which can be done even by family members, we can seek to help reduce the disturbances and reflexes of such imbalances;
• After all, however, we cannot forget that the individual who is experiencing a serious mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, may have a need to experience it, even as part of a reincarnation plan, for reasons such as, for example, , to make him disconnect a little from old mental processes, which afflict him a lot. Therefore, pray and seek to help always, with faith, but not giving up before the complete cessation of the disease.

Finally, we would like to point out that differentiating pathological disorders from cases of mediumistic obsession is always very important, since, as Kardec already identified at that time, that in the latter case, medication can even be harmful:

let's not confuse the pathological madness with the obsession; this does not come from any brain injury, but from the subjugation that malevolent spirits exercise over certain individuals, and which, many times, has the appearance of madness itself. This condition, very frequent, is independent of any belief in Spiritism and has existed at all times. In this case, ordinary medication is impotent and even harmful.

Allan Kardec – What is Spiritism? 

Nor could we fail to quote, here, in full, the text “Suicide and madness”, by Allan Kardec, in chap. V of the Gospel According to Spiritism:

14. The calm and resignation derived from the way of considering earthly life and the confidence in the future give the spirit a serenity that is the best preservative against The madness and suicide. Indeed, it is certain that most cases of madness are due to the commotion produced by the vicissitudes that man does not have the courage to endure. Now, if looking at the things of this world in the way that Spiritism makes him consider them, man receives with indifference, even with joy, the setbacks and disappointments that have made him desperate in other circumstances, it becomes evident that this force, which it places him above events, preserves his reason from shocks, which, if it were not for that, would disturb it.

15. The same is true of suicide. Leaving aside those who give themselves up in a state of drunkenness and madness, which can be called unconscious, it is undeniable that he always has a cause of discontent, whatever the particular reasons that may be pointed out to him. Now, he who is sure that he is only unhappy for a day and that the days to come will be better, is easily filled with patience. He only despairs when there is no term for his sufferings. And what is human life, in relation to eternity, if not much less than a day? But for those who do not believe in eternity and think that everything ends with life, if misfortunes and afflictions overwhelm them, only in death do they see a solution to their bitterness. Expecting nothing, he finds it very natural, very logical, to abbreviate his miseries by suicide.

16. Incredulity, mere doubt about the future, materialistic ideas, in a word, are the greatest incitements to suicide; cause the moral cowardice. When men of science, supported by the authority of their knowledge, endeavor to prove to those who hear or read them that they have nothing to hope for after death, they are not in fact leading them to deduce that, if they are wretched, they are better off. what is left for them to do but kill themselves? What could they say to divert them from this consequence? What compensation can you offer them? What hope can you give them? None but nothing. Hence it must be concluded that, if nothingness is the only heroic remedy, the only perspective, it is better to seek it immediately and not later, in order to suffer for a shorter time.
The propagation of materialistic doctrines is, therefore, the poison that instills the idea of suicide in the majority of those who commit suicide, and those who constitute themselves as apostles of such doctrines assume tremendous responsibility. With Spiritism, once doubt is made impossible, the aspect of life changes. The believer knows that existence goes on indefinitely beyond the grave, but under very different conditions; hence the patience and resignation that very naturally keep him from thinking about suicide; where, in short, the moral courage.

17. In this aspect, Spiritism still produces another equally positive and perhaps more decisive result. It presents the suicides themselves informing us of the unfortunate situation in which they find themselves and proving that no one violates God's law with impunity, which forbids man to shorten his life. Among those who commit suicide, there are some whose sufferings, not because they are temporary and not eternal, are no less terrible and of a nature to make those who think of leaving here, before God has ordained, reflect. The spiritist has, therefore, several reasons against the idea of suicide: the certainty of a future life, in which, he knows, he will be all the more blissful, the more unfortunate and resigned he has been on Earth: the certainty that , shortening his days, arrives, precisely, at the opposite result to what he expected; who frees himself from an evil, in order to incur a worse, longer and more terrible evil; who deceives himself, imagining that, by killing himself, he goes faster to heaven; that suicide is an obstacle to his joining in the other world with those who were the objects of his affections and whom he hoped to find; hence the consequence that suicide, by bringing him only disappointments, is contrary to his own interests. For this very reason, the number of those who have been, by Spiritism, prevented from committing suicide is already considerable, and from there it can be concluded that, when all men are spiritists, there will no longer be conscious suicides. Comparing, then, the results that the materialist doctrines produce with those that derive from the Spiritist Doctrine, only from the point of view of suicide, it will be necessary to recognize that, while the logic of the first leads to it, the other one avoids it, a fact which experience confirms.