Careful analysis of mediumistic communications and psychographics
Kardec, in the article “Exams of the mediumistic communications that they send us”, from the Spiritist Magazine of May 1863, demonstrates the care and seriousness that the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies had with the mediumistic communications that were sent to it. It is a true lesson in seriousness regarding spiritual science, which is why we reproduce it in full:…
“Many communications were sent to us by different groups, already asking for advice and judgment on their trends, already, like a few, in the hope of publication in Magazine. They were all sent to us with the right to dispose of them as we saw fit for the good of the cause. We have examined and classified them, and do not be surprised at the impossibility of publishing them all, when you know that in addition to those already published, there are more than three thousand and six hundred which, by themselves, would have absorbed five years complete from the Magazine, not counting a certain number of more or less voluminous manuscripts that we will talk about later. The summary of this exam will provide us with a topic for some reflections, which everyone can benefit from.
Among them we find some notoriously bad, in substance and in form, evidently the product of ignorant, obsessive or mystifying Spirits who swear by the more or less pompous names with which they sign them. Publishing them would have been giving weapons to critics. A noteworthy circumstance is that almost all communications in this category emanate from isolated individuals and not from groups. Only fascination could lead them to be taken seriously, and prevent them from seeing the ridiculous side. As we know, isolation favors fascination, while meetings find control in the plurality of opinions.
We recognize, however, with pleasure, that communications of this nature form, in the mass, a small minority. Most of the others contain good thoughts and excellent advice, but do not deny that they are all good for publication, for the reasons we will explain.
Good Spirits teach more or less the same thing everywhere, because everywhere there are the same vices to reform and the same virtues to preach, and this is one of the distinctive characteristics of Spiritism, as generally the difference is only in the greater or minor correction and elegance of style.
To appreciate communications aimed at advertising, you cannot analyze them from your point of view, but from the public's point of view. We understand the satisfaction one experiences when obtaining something good, especially when starting out, but beyond the fact that certain people may have illusions regarding intrinsic merit, one does not think that there are hundreds of other places where similar things can be obtained, and what is of powerful individual interest can be banality for the masses.
Furthermore, it is necessary to consider that over some time now communications have acquired, in all aspects, proportions and qualities that leave far behind those obtained a few years ago. What was admired then appears pale and mean next to what is obtained today. In most really serious centers, the teaching of Spirits grew with the understanding of Spiritism. Considering that more or less identical instructions are received everywhere, its publication may be of interest only on condition that it presents special qualities, both in form and instructive scope. It would therefore be an illusion to believe that every message must find numerous and enthusiastic readers. In the past, the smallest spiritist conversation was new and attracted attention. Today, when spiritists and mediums are countless, what was a rarity is an almost banal and habitual fact, and which has been distanced by the breadth and reach of current communications, just as school duties are by the work of adults.
We have before us the collection of a newspaper published at the beginning of the demonstrations, under the title of La Table Parlante, characteristic title of the time. It is said that the newspaper had 1,500 to 1,800 subscribers, an enormous figure for that time. It contained a lot of small family conversations and mediumistic facts that then had the enormous attraction of curiosity. Then we look in vain for something to reproduce in our Magazine. Whatever we had chosen, today it would be childish, of no interest. If this newspaper had not disappeared, due to circumstances that are irrelevant, it could only have lived with the condition of following the progress of Science, and if it reappeared now under the same conditions, it would not have fifty subscribers. Spiritists are immensely more numerous than then, it is true, but they are more enlightened and want more substantial teachings.
If communications emanated from a single center, readers would undoubtedly multiply due to the number of followers, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the sources that produce them number in the thousands, and that everywhere they are Once superior things are obtained, there can be no interest in what is weak and mediocre.
What we say is not to discourage publications. Far from it. But to show the need for rigorous choice, condition sine qua non of success. By elevating their teachings, the Spirits made them more difficult and even demanding for us. Local publications can be immensely useful, under a double aspect, that of spreading the teaching given in private to the masses, and then of showing the agreement that exists in this teaching on various points. We will always applaud this, and we will encourage you every time they are done under good conditions.
To begin with, it is worth discarding everything that, being of private interest, is of interest only to those who are interested in it, and then, everything that is vulgar in style and ideas, or puerile in subject matter.
A thing may be excellent in itself and very good for personal instruction, but what must be delivered to the public requires special conditions. Unfortunately, man is inclined to assume that whatever pleases him must please others. The most skillful can make a mistake. The essential thing is to make as little mistakes as possible. There are Spirits who take pleasure in feeding this illusion in certain mediums, so it would never be too much to recommend them not to trust their own judgment. This is where groups are useful, due to the multiplicity of opinions that can be collected. Anyone who, in this case, would reject the opinion of the majority, considering himself more enlightened than everyone else, would clearly prove the bad influence under which he finds himself.
Applying these principles of eclecticism to the communications sent to us, we will say that out of 3,600, there are more than 3,000 who are of irreproachable morality, and excellent as a background, but that of that number there are not 300 for publicity, and only one hundred of unquestionable merit. Considering that these communications came from many different points, we infer that the proportion must be more or less general. From this we can judge the need not to recklessly publish everything that comes from the Spirits, if we want to achieve the objective we propose, both from a material point of view and from the moral effect and the opinion that indifferent people may have about Spiritism.
It remains for us to say a few words about the manuscripts or impressive works that they sent us, among which, out of thirty, we found five or six of real value.
In the invisible world, as on Earth, there is no shortage of writers, but good ones are rare. Such a Spirit is able to dictate good isolated communication; to give excellent private advice, but is incapable of complete work that can stand an examination, whatever his intentions. On the other hand, the name with which he takes pleasure in disguising himself is not a guarantee. The louder the name, the more obliging. Now, it is easier to take a name than to justify it. This is why, alongside some good thoughts, there are sometimes eccentric ideas and the less equivocal traces of the most profound ignorance. It is in these types of mediumistic works that we have noticed more signs of obsession, of which one of the most frequent is the injunction on the part of the Spirit to have them printed, and more than one mistakenly thinks that such a recommendation is enough to find a publisher interested in the business. .
It is especially in such a case that a scrupulous examination becomes necessary, if we do not want to expose ourselves to learning at our own expense. Furthermore, it is the best way to ward off presumptuous and pseudo-wise Spirits, who invariably withdraw when they do not find docile instruments to make them accept their words as articles of faith. The intrusion of these Spirits into communications is ─ and this is a known fact ─ Spiritism's greatest obstacle. There are few precautions to avoid regrettable publications. In such cases, it is better to err on the side of caution, in the interests of the cause.
In short, by publishing communications worthy of interest, you do a useful thing. By publishing those that are weak, insignificant or bad, you do more harm than good.
A no less important consideration is that of opportunity. There are some whose publication is untimely, and therefore harmful. Each thing must come in its own time. Several of them addressed to us are in this case and, although very good, should be postponed. As for the others, they will find their place according to the circumstances and their objective.”
A psychography of Chico Xavier
Psychography of Chico Xavier: would it be possible to evoke and obtain responses from Spirits like those who animated Chico Xavier and Allan Kardec, among others?
It is a recognized fact in spiritist science that we can evoke Spirits and that, done with good purposes and with the knowledge that this science gives us, they come willingly, with a desire to dialogue with those who seek to learn from them. It would be a mistake to believe that only superior Spirits would qualify in this case, but it is correct to say that only good Spirits, of all elevations, would qualify, since the bad ones will come with bad intentions (unless when evoked with serious and useful purposes). ) and will only find resonance among those in whom they find the imperfections that they themselves carry. The evocation of Spirits like those of Chico Xavier and Allan Kardec is possible and very useful, and no one has a monopoly on them. But it is clear that these communications will depend on the intentions, knowledge and moral state of those who carry them out..
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Those who intend to have dominion over certain Spirits, as well as those who wish to place themselves under the dominion of a particular Spirit, who generally gives a pompous and influential name and who exalt their own pride, will not only be in serious error, ignoring all the wealth of knowledge formed by the dedicated studies of Allan Kardec, how they will be setting themselves on the bitter path that begins with fascination and inevitably leads to obsession and madness.
That said, we want to deal with the evocation of the Spirit of Chico Xavier, exposed on the website Digital Spiritist Magazine. This is a longer article, but we will focus on this Spirit. The highlights are ours:
About Jesus
Another Spirit evoked was Chico Xavier, who was asked the following questions:
1. Could you tell us about how you understood Jesus, when in the body, and how you understand him now, as a Spirit? 2. Did you see Jesus as soon as he left his physical body?
3. Do you see him in our midst now? If you do, could you tell us how you perceive it?
Here are the answers:
“I'm here again, friends, happy for this opportunity that God offers us.
When I was in the body, I saw Jesus as a star of the first magnitude, which illuminated men and Spirits, but which was thousands of light years away from us; this idea was taught to us in our last existence from an early age, through the religious teaching of the past, and after we began to dedicate ourselves to mediumship, Religious spirits came to reaffirm our prejudices regarding this point, which we did not question, because such ideas were settled in our soul.. I thought that Jesus loved humanity, but I didn't realize that he attributed to him some of the characteristics that we see in many of the powerful people on Earth: they are difficult for the average man to access; They appear to be very busy, and therefore we cannot relate to them directly except through a lot of effort and some intermediaries. In fact, I had not understood the lessons that are present in the evangelical tradition, especially that Jesus would not leave us orphans, as well as that he would always be with those who called him, as long as they did not forget to love their neighbors. ((“Wherever two or three people are gathered together in my name, there I will be with them.” (Matt. XVIII, 20). ))
Today, I still see Jesus as a star, but I understand that if there is a huge distance that separates us from his position in the hierarchy, it is not for this reason that he is distant, because, as you know, your perispiritual fluid expands and radiates with perfection, reaching Spirits and men with a range that I would not know exactly. I see him today, above all, as an older and more mature brother who wants to teach us how to walk towards the Father's house.
I didn't see Jesus right after I died because I didn't consider that possibility at all, but if prejudice hadn't been such a big obstacle, I would have immediately sought him out by thought. However, this meeting was postponed for some time, until I could review my preconceived ideas. I learned that we can all see him, touch him, learn from him, and that he never refuses to reach out and help us with our immense ignorance.
I see Jesus here, in our midst, watching over everyone; I glimpse an illuminated face, but I can't capture the nuances of its face. However, I can see your gaze, so tender and so sweet... Your eyes denote an unchanging serenity, and are more beautiful than the most dazzling sunset. Lights come from his spiritual body, which he transmits to all who desire good, communicating his virtue to them and ensuring that his seed reaches the deep soil of hearts of good will. The sight is beautiful, friends, and I must say that all of us who are here bow before him with love and recognition, because his presence inspires pity and deep reverence. May Jesus be the lighthouse where we can all rest our eyes, taking advantage of his lights to walk along the good path that he shows us.
Receive a hug from someone who is very grateful to be among you. I recognize that I am not up to the task of answering such serious questions with benefit, and therefore I ask that you disregard any mistake that I may have made so far.” ((The group had evoked this same Spirit several times to instruct themselves on some issues regarding mediumship, the perispirit and other subjects. This is what he refers to.))
The fact that it is a serious group, with knowledge of Spiritism and with good intentions, makes communication more reliable, although it must always be analyzed with caution, especially when the Spirit presents itself under a well-known and influential name. . In the case in question, it seems to me to be a language very similar to that of Chico in life, with characteristic signs. But what matters most is the background, which, instead of clashing with the Doctrine, confirms it in its nuances.
For example: “its perispiritual fluid expands and radiates with perfection, reaching Spirits and men with a range that I would not know exactly how to define”. This excerpt is in perfect agreement with the understanding left in Genesis and ends with a humble recognition of the inability to understand.
My only observation, then, is that this Spirit “materializes” the image of Christ, transmitting a human figure and, on this point, I would question, to be clear, since the predominant idea in the Spiritist Movement is linked precisely to this aspect of an excessive “materialization” of the world of Spirits. It may just be a figure of speech, as it may also be “the religious teaching of yesteryear”.
Let us keep this lesson in mind: we can and must resume practical Spiritism in our homes and small groups, treating it with the necessary seriousness. This cannot be made a source of mere curiosity or entertainment, which would place the participants of such responsibility on that previously mentioned ill-fated path... But, with good purpose and knowledge, communication with the Spirits is useful and beneficial, for both sides. , and does not need to be carried out only in the spiritist center.
I suggest reading the available PDFs in this link.
Spiritism and Science: overcoming modern challenges and errors
Spiritism, as a science with a philosophical aspect and moral consequences (Spiritism can only be seen as religion From a philosophical point of view, said Kardec, precisely based on the philosophy of the time, the Rational Spiritualism, from where Spiritism developed.)), formed through the scientific method, experiences challenges from all sides. Placed in a figure, it looks like the most beautiful flower, with the sweetest perfume and the greatest healing properties, smothered by thorns and weeds.
The most diverse difficulties arise from all sides, arising mainly from a lack of commitment, zeal and care. Under this nomenclature, they admit any type of ideas, coming from the mouth or mediumistic intermediation of individuals who have become unquestionable icons. As if that were not enough, lacking knowledge about what science and about the necessary scientific method, responsible precisely for the unassailable strength of the Doctrine born from the studies coordinated by Allan Kardec, most modern researchers promote, in the spiritist environment, new ideas, new theories, distracting themselves from the essential point: the evocations, producing teachings that agree with each other, so subjected to rational analysis, in the face of human science and in the face of what had already been constructed by the same method.
Scientific Method
Let us return for a moment to the question of the definition of scientific method, exemplified in the attached figure. For those who dedicated themselves to studying at least the first year of Revista Espírita (1858), it will be very easy to identify the same steps taken by Kardec:
the systematic and controlled observation of certain phenomena and, later, of evocations;
verification of identified facts;
the investigation of hypotheses, which form a theory, cohesive in itself, from which we obtain implications, conclusions and predictions;
carrying out experiments, through evocations, from which new observations are obtained, analyzed rationally and logically;
hence, the observation of new facts, which will or will not corroborate the theory;
finally, add the results of these observations to the scientific theory, if they corroborate it, or recycle hypotheses, making new observations and going through the same method again.
Exemplification of the scientific method
A very notable fact, which denotes Kardec's scientific rigor and his indissoluble commitment to true science, is that he Never clung to any idea in the study of Spiritism. Anyone who has studied the Spiritist Magazine of 1858 and 1859 already understands this very well. An example of this is the study treated mainly from the RE of July 1859, starting with the article O Zuavo de Magenta and concluded (at least for the moment) in the articles of the following month. We highlight the study in the article Materiality from Beyond the Grave.
And it is precisely at this point, that of attachment to ideas, added to the absence of the necessary method, that the vast majority of modern researchers of Spiritism make mistakes.
The error of the modern spiritualist movement
The big problem arises when, abandoning the essential scientific method for spiritist science, the Spiritist Movement began to admit theories contrary to the principles already solidified by the same method, such as the ideas of spiritual colonies, thresholds, etc., falling into the most basic error of the excited spiritist: blindly believe in the opinions of Spirits.
We do not say that Spiritism, studied by Kardec, has already observed everything there is to be observed. Of course not. What we say is that the modern spiritist movement has created a large set of theories that cannot face the scientific method, because they have not gone through it!
We very often find even those dedicated and willing researchers — we will not take this true impetus from them — who, however, cling to the most diverse ideas and who very quickly become irritated by the contradiction of what, scientifically, is part of the principles doctrinaires of Spiritism.
The basis of the indispensable methodology in Spiritism
Let us return here to what is highlighted on our home page – a quote from Allan Kardec in A Gênesis:
General concordance in teaching is the doctrine’s essential character, the condition even of its existence. It is evident that all principles which have not received the consecration of general agreement can only be considered as a fractional part of this same doctrine, merely as a simple, isolated opinion for which Spiritism cannot assume the responsibility.
It is the concordant, collective teaching of the spirits who have passed beyond which constitutes the logical criterion, giving strength to the spiritual doctrine and assuring to it perpetuity.
Allan Kardec — The Genesis
The statement highlighted above, made by Kardec, is not a mere result of a personal systematization. Quite the contrary: it represents the necessary scientific method for the study and development of Spiritism. It is not enough for the same principle to be consecrated by generality (which requires the use of evocations, because it is not enough that we just put ourselves in the role of listening and accepting what the spirits say); it is not necessary, furthermore, that this consenting collectivity of opinion of the spirits be passed through the criterion of logic, which means comparing it to human science and the scientific method, so that, only then, it can be taken as a principle of Spiritism.
Note, furthermore, the term “opinion” used by Kardec, not by chance: what the Spirits say, through mediumistic communications, are their own opinions, born from their knowledge and their own observations, when they are not the result of a deliberate intention to mystify, that is, to promote false ideas . It happens in the best groups. The opinions of spirits, like the opinions of human beings, can be loaded with beliefs, false ideas, little knowledge, illusions, etc. How, then, to analyze them scientifically? Through the psychological observation of these communications.
The nuances in a psychological science
Anyone who has studied at least the first two years of the Spiritist Magazine notes that, even at the end of the second year, Kardec continues to frequently question the communicating spirit how he got there, how he presents himself, how he sees other spirits, etc. If an answer disagrees with the scientific theory or brings new facts, it will be investigated through evocations and according to the scientific method — which is not done nowadays.
Kardec investigated, among many things, the issue of pain in the Spirit. There were those who claimed to feel cold or hot; pains; hunger; worms gnawing his body, &c. It was through dedicated study, through rational analysis of the psychological nuances of these communications, that Kardec arrived at several doctrinal scientific principles. An example of this is the communication from the Spirit of the assassin Lemaire in the RE of March 1858:
6. Immediately after your execution, were you aware of your new existence? — I was plunged into an immense disturbance, from which I still haven't emerged. I felt great pain; looks like my heart felt it. I saw something roll at the foot of the scaffold. I saw the blood flow and my pain became more acute.
Kardec could easily, were it not for his scientific rigor, admit that the Spirit materially suffered from a pain in the heart. But he investigates:
7. Was it a purely physical pain, similar to that caused by a serious injury, such as the amputation of a limb? — No. Imagine remorse, great moral pain.
We could cite a huge diversity of cases that illustrate this scientific principle, but we leave the purpose of studying the Doctrine that it embraces to the reader's healthy curiosity.
Spiritism needs defense
Leaving aside the scientific method is a big mistake on the part of most modern researchers of Spiritism, who aim to construct new doctrinal principles without going through this process, when they should not only be practicing evocations, given the dedicated study of the Spiritist Magazine, but also should be encouraging the spiritist movement to do so at all times.
By not doing so, they throw another shovel of lime on Spiritism, producing a bad impression and a false idea in the scientific world, which does not recognize it as something born of science, but as a mere superstitious belief or a religion. It is not uncommon for me to come across allegations from people who, having not had the chance to know what really be it Spiritism, they distanced themselves from it because they could not admit, for reason, that, for example, a Spirit has to take a flying bus to get around.
We have a lot to do and you must have realized that the first step is studying.
The scientific continuity of Spiritism
For a strange idea, we adopted the principle that we cannot evoke the Spirits, and that the only one who could do that was Kardec, because he had the permission or a very peculiar purpose.
In the light of knowledge, we need to correct this idea a little, because, in fact, the only ones who could make the evocations were the thousands of individuals and small groups, spread around the world, not only at the time of Kardec, but even before him, because , when Kardec became interested in the new science and even before giving himself the pseudonym of Allan Kardec, Spiritism was already practiced in many parts of the world.
Interesting, isn't it? Why is it that today, then, we cannot or should not evoke the Spirits? I do not know this law, nor have I ever seen it written anywhere, except in a sentence taken out of context, metaphorical by Chico Xavier: “the phone only rings from there to here”. Quite the contrary, when studying the works of Kardec, we will find the recommendation of the practice of Spiritism by small groups, a practice that consisted, in his view, a science: the constant investigation, together with the Spirits, of the laws that govern Creation.
For this very strange idea, we started to put mediums in the position of the old automatic telephone secretaries, whose only mission was to answer a call and record the message, and nothing else. Mediums have turned into this:
Not only that: Spiritist groups, which today practically do not exist outside of Spiritist centers, began to adopt an even stranger idea: they began to listen to “telephone recordings” without questioning them! That's right: the message given is not questioned, they are simply taken for the principle that they are always endowed with truth and wisdom, and with good intentions. This idea is very, very strange, because yesterday my mother received a message from someone who claimed to be me, and who wanted three thousand reais to pay an urgent bill. Imagine if my mother adopted the practice of many spiritualist groups and simply trusted the interlocutor!
The systems
By an even stranger principle, certain individuals began to create and defend systems built precisely on these passively received and unverified communications, wasting precious time and causing enormous difficulties to the spiritist movement, which stopped studying Kardec to trust these systems. Incongruously, the individuals who act in this way are often those who would be fully capable, due to their scientific knowledge, to investigate these issues.
But not only from unchecked spiritist communications does this sad scenario form. Many others erect true systems of ideas about metaphors used by Kardec in his studies, failing to understand that scientists, especially at that time, envisioning new scientific aspects that they had no way of understanding, created metaphors to try to give light to the idea they sought to express, entrusting the continuity of science with better explanations. All great scientists have done this, above all in the philosophical aspect and especially in the metaphysical scope of these ideas. Kardec did this, for example, when trying to explain the divine presence as an ocean, where everything would be immersed. One metaphor((Even today metaphors are used to give scientific explanations, with certain cosmologists going so far as to say that Space is like shampoo or cheese! Poor guy who builds a system on these metaphors!))!
But not only human science used metaphors. The Spirits also used them, often. Wise spirits used wise metaphors to explain ideas that, scientifically, we could not yet understand. Jesus used metaphors to explain principles of the spiritist science that the men of that time could not understand. Ignorant spirits used metaphors to explain causes and effects that even they could not understand in a scientific way, but that they knew existed and worked.
The whole question here is one:
METAPHORS
Just to be very clear and there is no doubt, let's define the meaning of the term: metaphor is the “figure of speech in which a word denoting one type of object or action is used in place of another, so as to suggest a similarity or analogy between them; translation (by metaphor it is said that a beautiful and delicate person is a flower, that a color capable of generating strong impressions is warm, or that something capable of opening paths is the key to the problem); symbol.”((MICHAELIS. Modern Portuguese – Search – Brazilian Portuguese – Metaphor. Available at: https://michaelis.uol.com.br/moderno-portugues/busca/portugues-brasileiro/metafora. Accessed on: May 29th. 2023.)). From Greek, metaphora.
They are true systems of ideas erected, many times, on nothing more than metaphors, taking them as if they were literal. In the scope of spiritist communications, the study of the Zuavo soldier's communication ("Magenta's Zouavo“), in the Spiritist Magazine of July 1858, gives us an interesting perspective, because, when asked about his spiritual appearance in that evocation (or perispiritual), he replies:
42. ─ If we could see you, how would we see you? - In a turban and breeches.
43. ─ Well done! Suppose you appeared to us in a turban and breeches. Where would you have gotten those clothes, since you left yours on the battlefield? ─ Well, well! I don't know how this is but I have a tailor who can get them for me.
44. ─ What are the turban and breeches you wear made of? Have you no idea? ─ No. That's right there with the ragpicker.
OBSERVATION: This issue of the clothing of the Spirits, as well as several other no less interesting ones, linked to the same principle, were completely elucidated by new observations made within the Society. We will report on this in the next issue. Our good Zouavo is not advanced enough to solve it alone. For that, we needed the concurrence of circumstances that fortuitously presented themselves and that put us on the right path.
Later, when asked about his general, who was also dead, he replied:
46. ─ Is it not for this same reason that you do not see the general in his uniform? ─ Yes, but he doesn't wear it every day.
47. ─ What days do you wear it? ─ Come on! When they call him to the palace ((The Spirits, ignorant of certain things, express themselves as best they can, and see the world of Spirits according to their ideas, just as a child, using mental images to describe something that he does not understand, talks about things which we impute only to the imagination, but which, deep down, has its meaning. The error here would be to take the “palace” as an expression of spiritual truth permanent.)).
We could take this communication as another support base for the system of spiritual cities. Kardec, however, acting in a scientific way, systematized about this idea, but just saw in it something very interesting to be researched. Hence, the hypothesis arose that, in the world of Spirits, terrestrial matter could have an “etheric double”. In the article “Furniture from beyond the grave”, in the Magazine of August 1859, he asks São Luis:
5. ─ Would there be an unfolding of inert matter? Would there be in the invisible world an essential matter, covering the form of the objects that we see? In a word, would these objects have their ethereal double in the invisible world, as men are represented there in Spirit?
─ It doesn't happen that way. The Spirit has a power over the material elements disseminated throughout space, in our atmosphere, that you are far from suspecting. He can, at will, concentrate these elements and give them an apparent form, suitable for his designs.
Not satisfied with the answer, he asks:
6. ─ I ask the question again categorically, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Are the clothes with which spirits are covered something? ─ It seems that my previous answer settles the question. Don't you know that the perispirit itself is something?
In the same article, just before, Kardec refers especially to the case of the Spirit of an incarnate person, who presented himself elsewhere, to a person, with the same characteristics of the physical body and carrying his tobacco box. We reproduce it, as it is self-explanatory:
3. ─ This snuffbox had the shape of the one he habitually uses, and which was in his house. What was this snuffbox in the hands of the Spirit? ─ Always looks. It was so that the circumstances would be noticed, as they were, and so that the apparition would not be taken for a hallucination produced by the state of health of the seer. Spirit wanted this lady to believe in the reality of her presence and took on all appearances of reality.
4. ─ You say that it is an appearance, but an appearance has nothing to do with reality; it's like an optical illusion. I would like to know if this snuffbox was nothing more than an unreal image, like, for example, that of an object reflected in a mirror.
(One of the members of the Society, Mr. Sanson, observes that there is something real in the image reproduced by the mirror. If the image does not remain in the mirror, it is because nothing fixes it, but if it is projected onto a daguerreotype plate, leaves an impression, clear proof that it is produced by some substance and that it is not just an optical illusion).
─ The observation of Mr. Sanson is perfectly fair. Would you be kind enough to tell us if there is any analogy with the tobacco box, that is, if there is anything material in that tobacco box?
─ Certainly. It is with the help of this material principle that the perispirit takes on the appearance of clothing similar to those that the Spirit wore when alive. OBSERVATION: Evidently the word appearance must be taken here in the sense of image, of imitation. The real tobacconist was not there. What Spirit had was just a reproduction. Compared to the original, it was but an appearance, though formed by a material principle.
Experience teaches us that we should not take certain expressions used by spirits literally. Interpreting them according to our ideas, we expose ourselves to great mistakes, so we must deepen the meaning of their words, whenever there is a minimum ambiguity. Here is a recommendation constantly made by the Spirits. Without the explanation that we provoke, the word appearance, repeated continuously in similar cases, could give rise to a false interpretation.
The mirror image is here taken as a metaphor. At that time, the physical principles of this image were not known, believing, in general, that it was something unreal, a “appearance“. The fair observation of Mr. Sanson demonstrates that the reflection in the mirror has something real, since, if instead of the mirror, it were a photosensitive plate, like that of the daguerreotype, that image would be recorded. They had no way to explain the phenomenon, so they used metaphors. The Spirit of São Luís responds with the accuracy confirmed by modern science: just as the reflection in the mirror and the recording of the photograph act as a result of the interaction with photons of light, the appearance that the perispirit takes results from the interaction of the Spirit's will on the element taken from the universal cosmic fluid. This is concluded in question nº 25:
25. - If the Spirit can take from the universal element the materials to make all these things and give them a temporary reality, with their properties, it can also take from there what is necessary to write. Consequently, this gives us the key to the phenomenon of direct writing. ─ You finally understand.
The purpose of this article
If the reader has followed us this far, he will understand that we are tracing a very clear line of reasoning: it is a mistake to build systems on metaphors. This is not scientific. Having put aside the spiritist science, modern spiritists have formed complex systems of ideas and principles that, many times, are fixed on a fragile stick stuck in the sand. The whole question is: do we we need resuming Spiritism as a science and, before demonstrating our view on it, let us make it very clear that, for this, one condition is essential: to study and know Spiritism and the principles of this science (therefore, it is logical, to study the works of Allan Kardec), as well as being focused on the subject you want to study.
The interesting point is that we have several people fully capable of taking up this science in the areas that interest them. We have great connoisseurs of Spiritism and the various human sciences, scattered around the world: physicists, biologists, philosophers, mathematicians, etc. The difference is that, at the time of Kardec, the sciences were all interconnected by metaphysics and that practically all scientists knew various areas of science ((Reading suggestion: Autonomy – The Untold Story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo)). Furthermore, it is interesting to highlight that the principle that governs a good scientist is detachment from pride. One can have a prior idea, as Kardec had; one can question answers that differ from this idea, defending it, as Kardec did; however, faced with undeniable evidence to the contrary, when there is no doubt that the previous idea is not sustainable, the good scientist must leave this idea aside, choosing to stick with what meets reason and logic.
It is on this point that the good scientist and the good experimental science diverge from the systematic scientists, who want to impose on Nature the adaptation to their own ideas, as if that were possible. It is the latter who, based on metaphors, distorted and twisted at their convenience, elaborate intricate systems that, not infrequently, dominate humanity for an expressive time. We saw this in several areas, and the spiritist science did not escape this problem.
Finally, we come to the crux of this article.
The resumption of spiritist science
Imbued with the purpose of resuming the study; interested in reestablishing the spiritist science; adherents to the purpose of abandoning or, at least, questioning the systems; aware of the fact that Kardec relegated to the future the continuity and elucidation of the questions that he could not deal with except in a metaphorical way, we will give our vision on what the recovery of spiritist research requires from the point of view of experimental science, holders of understanding that, yes, we can and should evoke spirits for this purpose. However, we will base our ideas on the true guide to the spiritist laboratory given by Allan Kardec: the Spiritist Magazine.
It is very easy to understand, with the study of the first years of the Spiritist Magazine, the basic principles necessary for the scientific research of Spiritism. Let's divide them into two sections: moral principles and practical principles.
Moral principles
Personal commitment to morals; detachment from one's own ideas.
Interest in the legitimate investigation of the truth
Humility and spirit of cooperation
Seriousness and responsibility in research
Formation of cohesive groups in ideas and principles
practical principles
Elaboration of research and study groups, where only people truly knowledgeable of Spiritism participate
Cooperation of mediums, preferably psychographers, with special interest in mechanical psychographers ((Because the control of the motor centers necessary for speech is more difficult and because “psychophonic” responses are more difficult to be analyzed in their independence in relation to the ideas of the individual medium.)), detached from their own personalities and their own interests in this work.
Careful organization of studies, ability to analyze and separate what is metaphorical from what is literal in communications
Research through evocations
Endowed with legitimate principles and the will to seriously research a given topic, the small groups – which must operate in an environment closed to the general public – will be led by one or more higher spirits, whose moral authority can be easily established if the group is really penetrated by the spiritist science. This Spirit, which, in the case of Kardec, would be São Luís, is the one who will take care of assisting in the spiritual part, forwarding communicating Spirits, complementing ideas, etc.
Research on a particular topic or principle should follow, then, the following steps, where GS is the guiding spirit of the group:
I dared to summarize in a flowchart the complexity of evocations for scientific research purposes, but it is clear that the diagram only exemplifies the steps that Allan Kardec himself demonstrated to take, without demonstrating all the complexity behind it, in the sense of the need for knowledge, seriousness , moral commitment, etc.
The flowchart is very simple and self-explanatory, just follow the directional arrows. It demonstrates the steps of preparing questions in advance, selecting the Spirits to evoke (because evoking Spirits without a serious purpose is the same as being available to any Spirit, and it can be even worse), checking the evocability and the usefulness of evoking that Spirit in particular, carrying out the evocation and carrying out the questions and recording the answers, before which, in the face of specific questions present, new questions can be asked for clarification, to the Spirit itself or to the guiding Spirit and, finally, the documentation and subsequent analysis of the answers given, with the creation of a “database” of the group and with the availability, when pertinent, of the evocation and study for other groups, who will be able to analyze them and seek confirmations or refutations in their own studies. The medium is not part of the flowchart, but it is clear that he also has a fundamental role, treated with dedication in The Book of Mediums, by Allan Kardec.
It is evident that each answer will need to be analyzed with great care by the group, considering Psychology and knowing that Spirits, simply because they are free from the body, do not instantly gain full light - hence, always, the recommendation of the study of the Revisa Espírita, which evidences the fact that Kardec never formed systems on incomplete ideas or on a single Spirit, which would have condemned Spiritism to mysticism, right in its first year of studies.
And what can we ask? With seriousness, honesty and knowledge of Spiritism, everything. That is: it is clear that, satisfying the express conditions, we will not carry out an evocation to ask for the prediction of the lottery, nor to do evil, this is evident. But, for example, we could evoke some Spirits to seek to understand these ideas of fluids more deeply, in light of the knowledge of modern physics. Why not? Perhaps this can be deepened or, who knows, we will receive an answer like “there is still a lack of knowledge for human beings to understand these concepts”.
the false ideas
It is a mistake to think that modern times will hinder this work, imagining that the ease of communication will “contaminate” ideas between groups. Spirits do not exclusively reveal knowledge, but rather spread it everywhere, where there are people able to study. If a false idea is accepted by a group and disseminated to others, if the others are serious groups, they will easily reject it, because they will see the Spirits demonstrating their error. The ease of communication, first, will facilitate this work, as long as there is seriousness in communicating groups.
It is also false to assume that the spiritist researcher has to be a blank canvas. No! The researcher will always start with one or more hypotheses, which he will need to test in a population – in this case, that of spirits. He may have a prior idea because, based on his knowledge, that is where his reason points, and he may see this idea confirmed or refuted in the practice of evocations. If the researcher is not attached to his own ideas, that is, if there is no pride, he will abandon them when reason points in another direction, for new facts and evidence.
Here, friends, is all that is necessary for resuming spiritist research. Instead of clinging to the ideas erected about metaphors and figures, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work, which should begin with the study and understanding of Kardec's work, in its context. Very soon, we believe, we will have even more complete material for this correct understanding. No running over, so let's take the first step and let's study((Remembering that, according to what the facts show us, the works Heaven and Hell and Genesis were tampered with in their respective 4th and 5th editions, which is why we recommend reading the publisher's recent editions FEAL, which bear the term “original version” on the cover and with precious explanatory notes by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and others)). What will come of this will be the consequence, as we know well that we are not left to our own devices.
the adulterations
Another important factor in this set is the adulteration of the works O Céu e o Inferno, from the 4th edition onwards, and A Gênese, from the 5th edition onwards. Those who want to turn evidence into proof can say what they like: for us, at this point, there is no other way of concluding than the adulteration of these works, since they do not match, in the altered editions, not even with what Kardec developed in the Revista Spiritist, in addition to introducing points that are disconnected from each other and that mutually contradict each other. Based on these editions, some systems were elaborated, one of the most harmful being the idea of paying debts through incarnation, as a punishment. The restoration of the original works, being carried out especially by Editora FEAL, was of substantial importance in this regard.
the main condition
For the doctrinal development to be resumed, it will be necessary to detach the personality, not only of the researcher and the medium, but also of the evoked spirit. The Doctrine demonstrates the collective condition of the Spirits and demonstrates that, by evoking, for example, Saint Louis, another Spirit can respond in his place. For this to be a good Spirit, which represents the same idea, it is necessary that the group be imbued with everything that we have demonstrated above, evoking the good Spirits and, under their tutelage, carrying out studies with Spirits that, by chance, are less elevated. In addition, for the resumption of Spiritism, in addition to the need to recover the Doctrine “in Kardec”, in a very well understood way (because the Spirits can only teach from true principles), it will be necessary for this to spread to different groups around the world, so that the conditions of universal agreement of the teaching can once again exist.
Exploring the Double Material Theory in the Spirit World with Allan Kardec
Spiritual manifestations have always been a crucial point in Spiritist Doctrine. It was through these manifestations and their better understanding that Kardec was able to establish his moral philosophy. Thus, we highlight this 1859 study exposed in the Revista Espirita of August 1859.
He follows.
We extract the following passage from a letter that a correspondent of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies sent us from the Jura department:
“…As I told you, sir, the spirits liked our old dwelling. Last October (1858), the Countess of C…, a close friend of my daughter, came with her 8-year-old son to spend a few days at our mansion. The child slept in the same room as her mother, and the connecting door to my daughter's room was left open, in order to prolong the hours of daylight and conversation. The boy would not sleep and would say to his mother: 'What are you going to do with that man who is sitting next to your bed? He is smoking a big pipe. See how it fills the room with smoke! Send him away, he's rattling the curtains.' “This vision lasted all night. The mother couldn't get the child to shut up, and no one could close their eyes. This circumstance did not surprise me or my daughter, as we know that there are spiritist manifestations. The mother, however, believed that the child was daydreaming or having fun.
RE 1859
Observation: The vision was mediumistic, so only the child saw it.
“Here is another fact that I witnessed personally and that happened to me in the same room, in May 1858. It is the case of the appearance of the Spirit of a living person, who was very surprised to have come to visit me. Here are the circumstances: I was very sick and had not slept for some time, when at ten o'clock at night I saw a friend of my family sitting next to my bed. I expressed my surprise at his visit at that hour. He said to me: “Do not speak, for I have come to watch over you; do not speak, for you must sleep,” and he stretched out his hand over my head. Several times I opened my eyes to see if he was still there, and each time he made a sign for me to close them and be quiet. He rolled the snuffbox between his fingers, and every now and then he took a pinch, as was his custom. Eventually I fell asleep, and when I woke up the vision was gone.
Idem
NOTE: Kardec briefly quotes the explanations on the facts of apparitions of incarnates and spirits (condensation of the perispirit or molecular modification).
He follows:
A molecular modification takes place in its texture, which makes it visible and even tangible, and which can give it, to a certain extent, the properties of solid bodies. We know that perfectly transparent bodies become opaque simply by changing the position of the molecules or by adding another body, equally transparent. We don't really know how spirits manage to make their ethereal body visible. Most of them do not even realize this, but, from the examples we have cited, we understand its physical possibility, which is enough to remove from the phenomenon what, at first sight, could seem supernatural. Therefore, the Spirit can do it, either by simple intimate modification, or by assimilating a portion of strange fluid that momentarily alters the appearance of its perispirit. It is, in fact, this last hypothesis that stands out from the explanations that have been given to us, and that we report when dealing with the subject (May, June and December).
So far no difficulty concerning the personality of the Spirit. We know, however, that they appear in clothes whose appearance changes at will; sometimes they even have certain toilet accessories, jewelry, etc. In the two apparitions mentioned at the beginning, one had a pipe and produced smoke; the other, a tobacco box and took pinches. Note, however, the fact that this spirit was from a living person and that his snuffbox was in everything similar to the one he usually used, and that he had stayed at home. What, then, do this tobacconist, this pipe, these clothes and these jewels mean? Would the material objects that exist on Earth have an ethereal representation in the invisible world? Does the condensed matter that forms such objects have a quintessential part, which escapes our senses?
OBSERVATION: Position of the true scientist, in search of the truth, without discarding anything.
This is an immense problem, the solution of which may provide the key to a number of things that have not yet been explained. It was this tobacco company that put us on the path, not only of the fact, but of the most extraordinary phenomenon of Spiritism: the phenomenon of pneumatography or direct writing, which we will talk about below.
All the theories that we present, regarding Spiritism, were provided to us by the Spirits, who many times contradicted our own ideas, as happened in the present case, proving that the answers were not a reflection of our thinking. But the way to obtain a solution is not unimportant.
We know from our own experience that it is not enough to ask abruptly for something to get it. The answers are not always quite explicit; it is necessary to develop the subject with certain precautions; arrive at the objective progressively and through a chain of deductions that require prior work. In principle, the way of formulating the questions, the order, the method and the clarity are things that cannot be neglected and that please serious spirits, because they see a serious objective in this.
NOTE: This means that, of course, the researcher can have a prior idea, but that, acting in good faith, he cannot stick to it. And also, of course, that the intent of the question is just as important.
Here is the conversation we had with Espírito de São Luís, regarding the tobacco shop, with a view to solving the problem of producing certain objects in the invisible world. (Society, June 24, 1859).
1. ─ In Mrs. R…'s report, it is about a child who saw a man smoking a large pipe near his mother's bed. It is understood that this Spirit could have taken on the appearance of a smoker; it seems, however, that he really smoked, for the boy saw the room full of smoke. What was that smoke?
─ A look produced for the boy.
2. ─ Mrs. R… also cites the case of an apparition, seen by her, of the spirit of a living person. This Spirit had a tobacconist and took snuff. Could he experience the feeling one gets from taking a pinch?
─ No.
3. ─ This snuffbox had the shape of the one he habitually uses, and which was in his house. What was this snuffbox in the hands of the Spirit?
─ Always looks. It was so that the circumstances would be noticed, as they were, and so that the apparition would not be taken for a hallucination produced by the state of health of the seer. Spirit wanted this lady to believe in the reality of her presence and took on all appearances of reality.
4.1 – You say that it is an appearance, but an appearance has nothing to do with reality; it's like an optical illusion. I would like to know if this snuffbox was nothing more than an unreal image, like, for example, that of an object reflected in a mirror.
NOTE from AK: One of the members of the Society, Mr. Sanson observes that there is something real in the image reproduced by the mirror. If the image does not remain in the mirror, it is because nothing fixes it, but if it is projected onto a daguerreotype plate, it leaves an impression, evident proof that it is produced by some substance and that it is not just an optical illusion.
4.2 – Mr. Sanson's observation is perfectly fair. Would you be kind enough to tell us if there is any analogy with the tobacco box, that is, if there is anything material in that tobacco box?
─ Certainly. It is with the help of this material principle that the perispirit takes on the appearance of clothing similar to those that the Spirit wore when alive.
NOTE from AK: Evidently the word appearance it must be taken here in the sense of image, of imitation. The real tobacconist was not there. What Spirit had was just a reproduction. Compared to the original, it was but an appearance, though formed by a material principle. Experience teaches us that we should not take certain expressions used by spirits literally. Interpreting them according to our ideas, we expose ourselves to great mistakes, so we must deepen the meaning of their words, whenever there is a minimum ambiguity. Here is a recommendation constantly made by the Spirits. Without the explanation we provoke, the word appearance, repeated continuously in analogous cases, could give rise to a false interpretation.
OBSERVATION: Today, we know the principle of the image reflected in a mirror and its fixation in a photograph: the behavior of waves. The light, as electromagnetic energy, reflects off the mirror and impresses the photography device, whatever it may be. It seems that it is to this same principle (of wave) that the Spirit refers.
5. ─ Would there be an unfolding of inert matter? Would there be, in the invisible world, an essential matter, covering the form of the objects that we see? In a word, would these objects have their ethereal double in the invisible world, as men are represented there in Spirit?
AK's NOTE: Here's a theory like any other, and it was our thinking. The Spirit, however, did not take it into account, which absolutely did not humiliate us, because its explanation seemed very logical to us and because it rests on a more general principle, of which we find many explanations. ─ It doesn't happen that way. The Spirit has a power over the material elements disseminated throughout space, in our atmosphere, that you are far from suspecting. He can, at will, concentrate these elements and give them an apparent form, suitable for his designs.
6. ─ I ask the question again categorically, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Are the clothes with which spirits are covered something?
─ It seems that my previous answer settles the question. Don't you know that the perispirit itself is something?
7. ─ It follows from this explanation that the Spirits make the etherized matter undergo transformations at will and that, therefore, in the case of the tobacconist, the Spirit did not find it perfectly finished; he made it himself at the moment he needed it, and then undid it. The same should happen with all other objects, such as clothing, jewelry, etc.
─ But it is obvious.
8. ─ That tobacco box was so clearly visible to Mrs. R… to the point of deceiving her. Could the Spirit have made it tangible?
─ It could.
9. ─ In that case, could Mrs. R… have taken it in her hands, thinking she was getting an authentic tobacco box?
─ Yes.
10. ─ If I had opened it, I would probably have found snuff. If she had taken it, would it have made her sneeze?
─ Yes.
11. ─ Can the Spirit not only give the form, but even special properties?
─ If you want; It is in virtue of this principle that I have answered affirmatively to the preceding questions. You will have proof of the powerful action that the Spirit exerts on matter and which, as I have already told you, you are far from suspecting.
NOTE: Kardec has never been so clear in his questions over the course of this 1 year and a half of Revista Espirita. He is evidently working on both the new enlarged edition of The Spirits' Book and then what would become The Mediums' Book, published a few years later.
12. ─ Let us then suppose that he wanted to make a poisonous substance and that a person had taken it. Could this have been poisoned?
─ I could, but I wouldn't have done it, because I wouldn't have been allowed to do it.
OBSERVATION: We know, today, that Creation is far from being “each for himself”, and that, in fact, it is “one for all and all for one”, with those most inferior are always “led” by the higher. The thoughts of the highest spirits are irresistible to the lowest. We tend to think of ourselves as abandoned to our own devices, but, more and more, I understand that this is not true. Superior Spirits “lead” us towards good, that is, they offer an irresistible attraction, through thought. It is possible to understand why imperfect Spirits, inclined to evil, are unable to break this Law to do evil.
“Everything is linked in the Universe”
13. ─ Could you have made a salutary substance suitable for healing in case of illness? Has there ever been such a case?
─ Yes; often.
14. ─ In the same way he could make a food substance; let's suppose he had made a fruit or some snack. Could someone eat it and feel fed? ─ Yes, yes. But do not look so hard to find that which is easy to understand. A ray of sunlight is enough to make your gross organs perceptible to those material particles that fill the space in which you live. Do you not know that the air contains water vapour? Condense it and you will bring it to a normal state. Deprive it of heat and behold, its impalpable and invisible molecules will become a solid and very solid body. There are other matters that will lead chemists to present you with even more astonishing marvels. Only the Spirit has instruments more perfect than yours: his own will and God's permission.
NOTE from AK: The issue of satiety is very important here. How can a substance that has only temporary and, in a sense, conventional existence and properties produce satiety? By its contact with the stomach, this substance produces the sensation of satiety, but not the satiety resulting from fullness. If such a substance can act on the organic economy and modify a morbid state, it can also act on the stomach and produce the sensation of satiety. However, we ask pharmacists and restaurant owners not to be jealous, nor to think that the Spirits will come to compete with them. These cases are rare and exceptional and never depend on the will. Otherwise, food and healing would be very cheap.
15. ─ Could the Spirit manufacture coins in the same way?
─ For the same reason.
16. ─ Once made tangible by the will of the Spirit, could these objects have a character of permanence and stability?
─ They could, but this is not done. It's outside the law.
17. ─ Do all spirits have the same degree of power?
─ No, no.
18. ─ Who have this power more particularly? ─ Those to whom God grants it, when this is useful.
19. ─ Does the elevation of a Spirit influence this case?
─ It is certain that the higher the spirit, the more easily it obtains this power. This, however, depends on the circumstances. Lesser spirits can also get it.
20. ─ Does the production of semi-material objects always result from an act of the Spirit's will, or does it sometimes exercise this power despite its own?
─ This often happens in spite of you.
21. ─ Would this power then be one of the attributes, one of the faculties inherent in the very nature of the Spirit? Would it be, in some way, one of the properties, like that of seeing and hearing?─ Certainly. But sometimes he himself ignores it. Then another exercises it for him, in spite of himself, when circumstances demand it. The Zouavo's tailor was precisely the spirit I just mentioned and to which he alluded in his joking language.
OBSERVATION: We find an example of this faculty in certain animals, as, for example, in the electric fish, which radiates electricity without knowing what it does, nor how, and who does not even know the mechanism that produces it. Don't we ourselves sometimes produce certain effects through spontaneous acts of which we are not aware? Thus, it seems very natural to us that the Spirit operates in this circumstance by a kind of instinct. He works of his own free will, without knowing how, just as we walk without calculating the forces we bring into play.
22. ─ We understand that in the two cases mentioned by Mrs. R.., one of the spirits wanted to have a pipe and the other a tobacco box to impress the vision of a living person. I ask, however, if it had not managed to make her see, could the Spirit think that he had these objects, creating an illusion for himself?
─ Not if he has a certain superiority, because he will be perfectly aware of his condition. The same is not true of inferior spirits.
AK'S OBSERVATION: That was, for example, the case of the queen of Oude, whose evocation appears in our issue of March 1858, who still thought she was covered in diamonds. (Click here for the article on Queen of Oude)
23. ─ Can two spirits recognize each other by the material appearance they had in life?
─ This is not how they recognize each other, as they will not assume that appearance for each other. If, however, under certain circumstances, they find themselves in the presence of each other, dressed in that appearance, why should they not recognize each other?
NOTE: this is important! In mediumistic novels, the fantastic world created is all material or materialistic, and the form, in these tales, is fundamental. Here, we have again the confirmation already made before that the form is not important for the Spirits in general, although it is predominant for the Spirits still very attached to the matter (that is, of very attached thought). It follows from this that it would make sense for a spirit in turmoil to “see itself” in a condition like that of André Luiz’s threshold, but the same could not happen when already detached from these ideas, which does not seem to be something so distant, according to the reports of several Spirits, given to Kardec.
24. ─ How can spirits recognize themselves in the midst of the crowd of other spirits, and above all how can they do it when one of them goes to look for in a distant place and often in other worlds, those we call?
─ This is a question whose answer would take a very long way. It is necessary to wait. You are not advanced enough. For the moment, content yourself with the certainty that this is so, for you have sufficient proof of this.
TO THINK ABOUT: I understand that he meant, at the end: “how can a Spirit recognize another who assumes another appearance, when visiting other worlds?”. IF we always forget that our world, where we live now, is material and needs eyes and light to see. in spirituality there is no need for appearance, much less do spirits have eyes to see. Is that it?
25. ─ If the Spirit can take from the universal element the materials to make all these things and give them a temporary reality, with its properties, it can also take from there what is necessary to write. Consequently, this gives us the key to the phenomenon of (( direct writing *Clarification: Direct writing happens when a Spirit, by will and with the utility of doing so, makes real writing appear on paper, sometimes in graphite, sometimes in ink, sometimes in print format. We recommend reading the following article, “Pneumatography or direct writing”, as well as the article with the same title, in May 1860, and also Chapter XII of The Book of Mediums — “On pneumatography or direct writing”. Pneuma: among the ancient Greek thinkers, especially the Stoics, designation of the spirit, animating breath or creative force, used by divine reason to vivify and direct all things. )) .
─ You finally understand.
26. ─ If the material used by the Spirit is not permanent, how come the traces of direct writing do not disappear?
─ Do not judge by the words. From the start I never said never. In the cases studied, these were bulky material objects; here we are dealing with signs that should be conserved and are conserved.
TO THINK ABOUT: This involves a profound question. Kardec had understood that the fluidic matter that the Spirits serve is always impermanent, since, in the mentioned cases, it always dissolves. However, cases of direct writing do not disappear. How could that be?
*Clarification: Direct writing happens when a Spirit, by will and with the utility of doing so, makes real writing appear on paper, sometimes in graphite, sometimes in ink, sometimes in print format. We recommend reading the following article, “Pneumatography or direct writing”, as well as the article with the same title, in May 1860, and also Chapter XII of The Book of Mediums — “On pneumatography or direct writing”. Pneuma: among the ancient Greek thinkers, especially the Stoics, designation of the spirit, animating breath or creative force, used by divine reason to vivify and direct all things.
The above theory can be summarized as follows: Spirit acts on matter; it takes from universal primitive matter the necessary elements to, at will, form objects with the appearance of the different bodies existing on Earth. He can also operate on elementary matter, at will, an intimate transformation that gives it certain properties. This faculty is inherent to the nature of the Spirit, which often exercises it, when necessary, as an instinctive act, which it does not realize.
The objects formed by the Spirits have a temporary existence, subordinated to their will or necessity. He can make and break them at will. In certain cases, in the eyes of living people, these objects can have all the appearances of reality, that is, become momentarily visible and even tangible. There is formation, but not creation, since the Spirit cannot bring anything out of nothing. (LM 130 and 131)
After evoking the Magenta Zouavo, Kardec evokes another officer from the same battle. In this case, he was one of their acquaintances, as we can see in question number 4,
1. - (Evocation).
─ Here I am.
2. ─ Could you say how you responded so promptly to our appeal?
─ I was aware of your desire.
3. ─ By whom were you warned?
─ By an emissary of Louis.
4. ─ Were you aware of the existence of our society?
─ You know.
NOTE OF AK: The official in question had actually helped the society to be registered.
5. ─ Under what point of view did you consider our society considerable, when you helped in its formation?
─ I was not entirely decided, but I was very inclined to believe. Without the events that happened, I would certainly have gone to learn in your circle.
6. ─ There are many great notables who share spiritist ideas, but do not confess it publicly. Would it be desirable for influential people to openly fly that flag?
─ Patience. God wills it, and this time the expression corresponds to the truth.
7. ─ From which influential class of society do you think the example should come from? ─ Of all classes. Initially some, then all.
8. ─ From the point of view of study, could you tell us, although he died more or less at the same time as the Zouavo who was here just now, if your ideas are more lucid than his?
─ A lot. What he was able to tell you by witnessing a certain elevation was blown to him. He's very good, but very ignorant, and a little frivolous.
9. Are you still interested in the success of our weapons?
─ Much more than ever, because today I know the goal.
10. ─ Can you define your thinking? Has the objective always been publicly confessed and, especially in your position, should you know it?
─ Do you know the objective established by God?
NOTE FROM AK: No one will ignore the gravity and depth of this answer. When alive, he knew the purpose of men, as a Spirit, he sees what is providential in events.
11. ─ Generally speaking, what do you think about the war?
─ My wish is that you progress quickly, so that it becomes as impossible as it is useless.
12. ─ Do you believe that the day will come when it will be impossible and useless?
─ I think so, and I don't doubt it. I can tell you that that moment is not as far away as you think, although I don't give you hope that you will see it.
13. ─ At the moment of death, did you immediately recognize yourself?
─ I recognized myself almost immediately, thanks to the vague notions I had of Spiritism.
14. ─ Can you say something about Mr… also killed in the last battle?
─ He is still in the networks of matter. There's more work to get rid of. His thoughts had not turned this way.
NOTE from AK: Thus, knowledge of Spiritism in life helps the soul to detach itself after death and shortens the period of disturbance that accompanies separation. This is understandable, as the Spirit knew in advance the world in which it finds itself.
To think about: If this knowledge is so important, how can we conceive that precisely when Spiritism was being scientifically studied, at the best possible time, nothing was said about this materiality that today dominates communications?
15. ─ Did you watch our troops enter Milan?
─ Yes, and with joy. I was enchanted by the ovation received by our troops, at first out of patriotism, then for the future that awaits them.
16. ─ As a spirit, can you exert some influence on strategic plans?
─ Do you believe that this has not been done from the beginning and do you find it difficult to imagine by whom?
17. ─ How did the Austrians abandon a stronghold like Pavia so quickly?
─ Out of fear.
NOTE: Sardinia was looking to expand its territory and establish a stronger position on the European political scene, while France saw the war as an opportunity to increase its influence in Italy and consolidate its position as a European power. In turn, the Austrian Empire sought to maintain its dominant position in the region and avoid the fragmentation of its empire.
18. ─ So they are demoralized?
─ Completely. Furthermore, if we act on ours in one sense, you must think that an influence of another nature acts on them.
NOTE from AK: Here, the intervention of the Spirits in events is unequivocal. They prepare the way for the realization of Providence's designs. The Ancients would have said it was the work of the Gods. We say that it is the work of the Spirits, by order of God.
19. ─ Can you give your opinion about General Giulay as a soldier, putting aside any nationalist feelings?
─ Poor, poor general!
NOTE: Ferenc Gyulai de Marosnémeti et Nádaska (1 September 1799, Plague – 1 September 1868, Vienna) was a Hungarian general in the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1849 he was appointed Minister of War by Emperor Francisco José I, but he would remain in office for only one year. As a soldier, he stood out for his participation in the invasion of Piedmont during the reunification of Italy. Commanding his troops, he crossed the Ticino River on April 29, 1859, invading Piedmontese territory. In this invasion he suffered two severe defeats: in the Battle of Montebello and in the Battle of Magenta, losing thousands of men in both and the war hanging in favor of the Italian side. After the defeat at Magenta he was removed from his post, returning to Austria-Hungary, where he died nine years later.
20. ─ Would you gladly return if we asked you to?
─ I am at your disposal and I promise to come, even without your call. You must believe that the sympathy I had for you cannot but increase. Goodbye.
Materiality from beyond the grave: the Zuavo of Magenta
We presented in the last LIVE one of the Conversations Beyond the Grave from the Spiritist Magazine of 1859, dealing with the theme of Materiality beyond the grave.
This time they talk to a soldier killed in battle.
The government allowed non-political newspapers to report on the war*. As, however, reports are abundant in all forms, it would be useless to repeat them here. The biggest news for our readers is a story from another world.
Although it is not taken from the Moniteur's official source, it is nonetheless of interest from the point of view of our studies. So we thought to interrogate some of the glorious victims of victory, presuming that we could extract some useful instruction from them. Similar subjects of study, and mainly of current affairs, do not appear at every step. Not personally knowing any of the participants in the last battle, we prayed to the spirits who assist us to send us someone. We came to think that the presence of a stranger would be preferable to that of friends or relatives overcome by emotion. Given an affirmative answer, we obtained the following communications.
RE 1859 The Zuavo of Magenta
This took place in the Second Italian War of Independence. The war took place in 1859, and was fought between the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by Camillo di Cavour, and France, led by Emperor Napoleon III, against the Austrian Empire. We will expose some excerpts from this long conversation beyond the grave.
1. ─ We pray to Almighty God to allow the spirit of a soldier killed in the battle of Magenta to come and communicate with us.
─ What do you want to know?
2. ─ Where were you when we called you?
─ I wouldn't know.
3. ─ Who told you that we wanted to talk to you?
─ Someone smarter than me.
4. ─ When in life was it doubtful that the dead could come and converse with the living?
─ Oh! Not that.
5. ─ What sensation do you experience by being here?
─ This gives me pleasure. I am told that you have great things to do.
6. ─ To which army corps did you belong? (Someone says in a low voice: From the language it looks like a “zuzu”)
─ Ah! Well you say!
7. ─ What was your position?
─ Everyone's.
8. ─ What was your name?
—Joseph Midard.
9. ─ How did you die?
─ Do you want to know everything without paying anything?
10. ─ I'm glad you haven't lost your joviality. Say, say; we will pay later. How did you die?
─ From a plum [projectile] I received.
11. ─ Were you upset by death?
─ No! I'm right here.
12. ─ At the moment of death, did you realize what happened?
─ No. I was so stunned I couldn't believe it.[note below]
NOTE from AK: This is in line with what we have observed in cases of violent death. Not realizing its situation immediately, the spirit does not think it is dead. This phenomenon is explained very easily. It is analogous to that of somnambulists, who do not believe they are sleeping. Indeed, for the somnambulist, the idea of sleep is synonymous with the suspension of intellectual faculties. Now, as he thinks, he does not believe that he sleeps. Only later is he convinced, when he becomes familiar with the meaning attached to this word. The same happens with a spirit surprised by a sudden death, when nothing is prepared for separation from the body. For him, death is synonymous with destruction, with annihilation. Well, since he lives, feels and thinks, he understands that he is not dead. It takes some time to recognize yourself.
13. ─ At the time of your death, the battle was not over. Did you follow their adventures?
─ Yes, because as I told you, I didn't think I was dead. I wanted to keep hitting the other dogs.
14. ─ What sensation did you experience then?
─ I was delighted, as I felt very light.
15. ─ Did you see the spirits of your comrades leaving their bodies?
─ I didn't even think about it, because I didn't believe I was dead.
16. ─ What was the multitude of Spirits who lost their lives in the tumult of battle transforming into at that moment? ─ I believe they were doing the same as me
17. ─ Finding themselves reunited in this world of the Spirits, what did those who fought the hardest think? Did they still throw themselves at each other?
─ Yes. For a while, and according to his character.
18. ─ Do you recognize yourself better now?
─ Without this, they wouldn't have sent me here.
19. ─ Could you tell us if among the spirits of soldiers who died a long time ago, there were still some interested in the outcome of the battle? (We beg Saint Louis to help him with the answers, so that, for our instruction, they are as explicit as possible).─ In large numbers. It is good for you to know that these combats and their consequences are prepared well in advance and that our opponents would not have become involved in crimes, as they did, if they had not been compelled to do so by reason of the future consequences, which you will soon learn about.
20. ─ There must have been spirits there who were interested in the success of the Austrians. Would there then be two battlegrounds between them?
─ Evidently.
OBSERVATION: Doesn't it seem that we are seeing Homer's gods taking sides here, some for the Greeks, others for the Trojans? Indeed, who were these gods of paganism, if not the Spirits that the Ancients had transformed into divinities? Are we not right when we say that Spiritism is a light that will clarify various mysteries, the key to numerous problems?
21. ─ Did they have any influence on the combatants?
─ Very considerable.
22. ─ Can you describe to us how they exerted such influence?
─ In the same way that all the influences of the Spirits are exerted on men. [by thought]
NOTE: It is a fact, as it becomes more and more evident, that the mentality of the Spirit creates scenarios of fluidic matter around it. Another thing could also be possible: they continue on the earthly battlefield, probably with some “fluidic additions”. All these must be indistinguishable at first when in the state of disturbance. However, it is not a rule, that is, it does not constitute a general truth for every soldier killed in war (see O Tambor de Beresina, RE, July 1858). The mistake is always to take the words of any spirits without analyzing their background, especially when the spirit is in post-death disturbance or is little enlightened, which is denoted by their own ideas. Here is Kardec's long work of Experimental Psychology!
23. ─ What do you hope to do now?
─ Study more than I did in my last stage.
24. ─ Are you going to return as a spectator to the battles yet to be fought?
─ I still don't know. I have affections that hold me for the moment. However, I hope from time to time to make a break for it, to amuse myself with the subsequent beatings.
25. ─ What kind of affection still holds you back?
─ A sick and suffering old mother, who cries for me.
26. ─ I ask you to forgive me for the bad thought that crossed my mind, regarding the affection that holds it.
─ It doesn't matter. I say silly things to make you laugh a little. It's natural that you don't take me for a big deal, considering the mediocre regiment to which I belonged. Don't worry, I only got involved because of that poor mother. I deserve a little that they sent me to you.
27. ─ When you were among the spirits, did you hear the rumor of battle? Did you see things as clearly as in life?
─ At first I lost sight of her, but after a while I saw much better, because I understood all the tricks. [is speaking in the sense of thoughts]
28. ─ I ask if you can hear the roar of the cannon.
─ Yes.
29. ─ At the moment of the action, did you think about death and what you would become if you were killed?
─ I thought about what would become of my mother.
30. ─ Was it the first time you were set on fire?
─ No, no. And Africa?
31. ─ Did you see the entry of the French into Milan?
─ No.
32. ─ Are you the only one who died in Italy?
─ Yes.
33. ─ Do you think that the war will last a long time?
─ No. It is easy and therefore not very meritorious to make such a prediction.
34. ─ When you see one of your leaders among the Spirits, do you still recognize him as your superior?
─ If he is, yes; if not, no. [note below]
NOTEfrom AK : In its simplicity and brevity, this answer is eminently profound and philosophical. In the Spiritist world, moral superiority is the only thing recognized. Whoever did not have it on Earth, whatever their position, does not, in fact, have any superiority. There the boss can be under the soldier and the boss under the server. What a lesson for our pride!
35. ─ Do you think about God's justice and are you worried about it?
─ Who wouldn't think of that? Fortunately, I don't have much to fear. I rescued, for some actions that God considered good, the few levities that I committed as “zuzu”, as you say.
36. ─ Watching a combat, could you protect one of your companions and deflect a fatal blow from him?
─ No. We can not do that. The time of death is set by God. If it has to happen, nothing will stop it, just as no one will be able to reach it if its time has not rung.
37. ─ Do you see General Espinasse?
─ I haven't seen him yet. But I hope to see you soon.
SECOND CONVERSATION
(JUNE 17, 1859)
38. (Evocation).
─ Gift! Firm! In front!
39. ─ Do you remember coming here eight days ago?
─ Why not?!
40. ─ You told us that you hadn't seen General Espinasse yet. How could you recognize him, since he didn't take his general's uniform with him?─ No, but I know him by sight. Besides, don't we have a lot of friends around us, ready to reveal the password to us? It's not like the barracks here. People are not afraid to bump into someone, and I assure you that only rogues are left alone.
41. ─ Under what guise do you find yourself here?
─ Zuavo.
42. ─ If we could see you, how would we see you?
- In a turban and breeches.
43. ─ Well done! Suppose you appeared to us in a turban and breeches. Where would you have gotten those clothes, since you left yours on the battlefield?
─ Well, well! I don't know how it is, but I have a tailor who fits them for me.
44. ─ What are the turban and breeches you wear made of? Have you no idea?
─ No. That's right there with the ragpicker.
NOTE from AK: This issue of the clothing of spirits, as well as several other no less interesting ones, linked to the same principle, were completely elucidated by new observations made within the Society. We will report on this in the next issue. Our good Zouavo is not advanced enough to solve it alone. For that, we needed the concurrence of circumstances that fortuitously presented themselves and that put us on the right path.
45. ─ Do you know why you see us, while we cannot see you?
─ I think your glasses are too weak.
46. ─ Is it not for this same reason that you do not see the general in his uniform?
─ Yes, but he doesn't wear it every day.
47. ─ What days do you wear it?
─ Now that! When they call him to the palace.
48. ─ Why are you here dressed as a Zouavo if we can't see you?─ Simply because I am still a Zouavo, even after about eight years, and because among Spirits we conserve that form for a long time. But that's just between us. You understand that when we go to a very different world, like the Moon or Jupiter, we don't take the trouble to do all that toileting.
OBSERVATION: This here is very interesting. What I understand is that he is referring to the fact that the Spirit adopts a perispiritual form according to the world where they go and according to the existence of a personality in that world, without even realizing it. If he had lived in a distant world, for example, an animal seller, when evoked there, he would present himself in this way.
49. ─ You speak of the Moon and Jupiter. Were you there after he died?
─ No. You are not understanding me. After death we find out about many things. Didn't they explain to us a lot of problems of our Earth? Don't we know God and other beings much better than we did a fortnight ago? With death, the Spirit undergoes a metamorphosis that you cannot understand.
50. ─ Did you search the body left on the battlefield?
─ Yes. He is not handsome.
51. ─ What impression did this view leave you with?
─ Of sadness.
52. ─ Are you aware of your previous existence?
─ Yes, but it is not glorious enough for me to strut.
53. ─ Just tell us the kind of life you led.
─ Simple merchant of wild animal skins.
54. ─ We thank you for your goodness in coming for the second time.
─ See you soon. It amuses and instructs me. Since I am well tolerated here, I will gladly return.
OBSERVATION: Tolerance is one of the consequences of charity. The Zouave felt “welcomed” in the communication.
THE next post will bring the evocation of the superior officer who was in the same battle as this zuavo.
an interesting dialogue
– Oh, are you a Spiritist? Cool. Do you go to a center?
– Yes, I go to one near my house.
– And what do you do there?
– Ah, we watch a lecture on the Gospel, then take a pass… Then we say a few prayers, and leave. There is also child evangelization.
– Aaah… So it’s like a Catholic church.
- No! Because Spiritism has no ritual.
- Huh?! But it's just the same. At church, you arrive, there was a sermon on the Gospel, then you receive the host, then you pray, and you leave. Children participate in catechism.
- No but…
- Admit it, it's the same. Even evangelization, which I know has a positive aspect, is done in this kind of imposing way, isn't it? But what surprises me is that I've already studied a little of Spiritism, but I've never attended a center... And, from what I've studied, there wasn't any of that in Spiritism. For example: do you evoke Spirits to help them?
– No, you cannot evoke Spirits, because you could end up obsessed.
- Our! Who told you that?
- Huh?! Everyone from the center! FEB itself says so!
– Ah, the FEB… But… If Kardec himself evoked Spirits to learn from them, Spirits even of suicides, and often ended up helping them to reflect?!
– Ah, but that was in a controlled group, and these Spirits were already calmer. And it was Kardec.
– It wasn't what I read. And it wasn't just Kardec who evoked. Did you know that, at that time, people practiced studies, with evocations even of disturbed spirits, in their homes, in small groups?
– Wow, and weren’t they obsessed, feeling bad, about these inferior Spirits?
– Look, we are all inferior in relation to the most advanced spirits. And no, they weren't obsessed or sick. In fact, they often helped these Spirits while learning from them.
There is an evocation, for example, of this suicide, which was just a few days after his death, and he appeared to be in full disarray. Kardec asked some questions, trying to understand what was going on with that Spirit, and with these questions, he understood something. Then he asked for prayers and said goodbye, because he didn't want to talk anymore. I agree that seriousness and control are needed, but Kardec never mentioned any of the mediums becoming obsessed while trying to learn, with the analysis of the situation of Spirits like this, and even murderers!
- Murderers?!
- Yes! There is an evocation of Assassin Lemaire, look for it in the Spiritist Magazine of 1858, it is very interesting.
– And you said they evoked DAYS after death?
– Yes. Sometimes, hours later!
– Hours?! But I've always heard that, in addition to not being able to evoke, you have to wait patiently for that Spirit to gain the light and come to communicate of its own accord.
- This is not true. It all depends on the purpose. As the intention was to analyze these Spirits psychologically, there was no problem. Furthermore, it is clear that they respected the will of the Spirits. Many times they did not want to talk about their sufferings. There is another problem there: Kardec has always shown that being available to any Spirit brings the danger of purposeless, often misleading, communications.
But then you don't do evocations in the center?
– No. There is even a meeting of mediums, but it is closed to the public.
– Oh, natural. But there they evoke, then, to learn and help?
- No no. They are available to any spirit that wants to communicate. These days, they received communication from the Apostle John!
– How do they know it was John, and not another? Did they later question the guiding Spirit of the group?
– Spirit guide? No, the Spirit SAID that he was John the apostle and spoke of Jesus and the need for much prayer because the deadline is coming.
– Ah… But… What if this Spirit was using the apostle’s name and beautiful words to pass on wrong teachings?
– Oh, but…
– And at home, do you practice Spiritism?
– What do you mean, practice?
– Study, evoke Spirits for learning purposes by analyzing their situations…
– If we don't evoke it even in the center, do you think we're going to evoke it at home? Get out! Will a Spirit decide to stay there?
– What do you mean, “stay there”? Spirits are everywhere. There are definitely some here right now.
– Good God!
- Yes of course! And they are attracted by affinity of thoughts. If the evocation is done with serious intent and with knowledge, there is no problem. The wrong thing is to evoke it as a joke or lightly. If the evocator is proud, for example, a frivolous spirit can appear and say things that feed that pride. There, without studying, and willing to cultivate his own pride, the subject enters the spirit and ends up fascinated. This is the danger, but this can happen even through intuition, indirectly.
– Wow, I didn’t know that. I had already heard that, if you evoke a disturbed Spirit, it “sticks” to you.
- No of course not. It depends on the intention and preparation. Well, but is there at least a study at this center? Like, studying the works of Kardec, the Revista Espírita…
– Spiritist Magazine? What's that? No, we study works by Chico and Divaldo, because we know that Kardec's works are outdated in many points, right?!
– Outdated? My friend, I know that there are even beautiful and correct things in these mediumistic works, but they were the result of uncontrolled communications. How, without studying Kardec, do they recommend the study of mediumistic works? Spiritism is science!
– Science? No! Spiritism is religion!
– That was not what Kardec demonstrated. Have you read Genesis?
– Wow, I already took a leaf, but very difficult and, as I said, outdated! Imagine they believed there was life on the moon!!
– But, my friend, that was part of the human science of the time. But there is the part of the spiritist science.
– Spiritist Science?
– Yes, what was developed by the methodological study of Kardec, with the use of reason and with the need for universal confirmation of the teachings of the Spirits. But then, if there is a group of mediums in the house, how did it form?
– Ah, they are very old mediums in the house, and the group is closed.
– But what about other people’s mediumship?
– Ah, if a “good” medium appears there, he has to take a 5-year course in Spiritism!
– But what course, if they don’t study Kardec?
– No, there, there, there are some FEB booklets, where Kardec is discussed…
– At least something!
– And then there is the complement with mediumistic works. Have you seen the works of Ramatis, about mediumship??
- My God…
- What?
– Friend, Ramatis is a pseudo-sage.
– Pseudo what?
– It means that he pretends to be a wise man, but there are several absurdities in these works. We don't even know, in fact, if it's just a Spirit, because anyone can use that name.
– But I've seen some of his things, they seemed coherent
– Consistent? Well, being a Spirit, it is clear that something or other will be true... But the problem is that they accept what this or these Spirits say without even reasoning! These works are mystic, not doctrinal.
– How are they not doctrinal? The same thing he says, many others also say. It's not that?
- Not only that. It is necessary to submit this to reason, which demands knowledge. What is already established by this process can only be undone by the same process, that is, it is not enough to say the same thing everywhere, when there is no control, no method, no rationality. For example: Ramatis talks about seven spiritual bodies, which is mystical – you know those things about biblical, kabbalistic numbers? Then!
Kardec has already demonstrated, through studies with the Spirits and in a scientific way, that what exists is the perispirit, formed by the universal cosmic fluid. Just that. This story of seven bodies, after all, is materialistic.
– Friend, I don’t understand anything anymore! You mean everything I've been told is wrong?
– Not all, but most of it. When Spiritism was disseminated in Brazil, the Spiritist Movement was already worn out and weakened, due to an adulteration of principles after Kardec's death.
Well, the question is this: do you want to study, or are you comfortable with what you experience in this center?
– Ah, I feel good, and it’s so difficult trying to understand Kardec!
– Really, there are things difficult to understand in Kardec. But the dedicated study of the Spiritist Magazine, from 1858 to 1864, helps to understand a lot! Also, there are many study groups, and I myself participate in one. But, you see, these are study groups. There is no professor, nor is it a course.
Give it a chance, study it, and your reason will lead you, with the intuition of good spirits, along the path that best suits you.
– Yeah... I'll think about it...
———————————————————-
I didn't want to title this text. We don't need to give exhaustive names. It is enough that we understand the distance that exists between the Spiritist Movement and Spiritism. This distance needs to be overcome through dialogue, through facts, but only by those open to dialogue and learning. It's no use fighting the recalcitrant.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW OF SPIRITIST PHENOMENA by Allan Kardec
SUMMARY OF THE LAW OF SPIRITIST PHENOMENA is one of Kardec's not-so-publicized works (Click here For download). It was written in 1864, and would be a summary of the summary of the Book of Spirits and Book of Mediums, I think. Because it is a compact work, only 20 pages, it conveys the very general concept of what the Spiritist Doctrine and the Spiritist Phenomena are.
It is divided into 5 parts: Preliminary Observations, On Spirits, Manifestations of Spirits, On Mediums, On Spiritist Meetings.
I highlight, as an example, one of the items he makes belongs to the “Manifestations of Spirits” part:
23. Spiritist evocations do not consist, as some imagine, in bringing back the dead with a gloomy aspect of the tomb. It is only in novels, in fantastic tales of ghosts and in the theater that one sees the emaciated dead emerge from their tombs dressed in sheets and making their bones crack. Spiritism, which has never performed miracles, this one as well as others, has never revived a dead body; when the body is in the grave, it is definitely there; but the spiritual, fluidic, intelligent being is not involved with its gross envelope; he separated from him at the moment of death, and once the separation has been effected, it no longer has anything in common with him.”
Summary of the Law of Spiritist Phenomena, page 12, A. Kardec
It is worth knowing it or simply sending it to that friend who wants to understand what Kardec's Spiritism is in a nutshell...
The distance between Spiritism and the Spiritist Movement
A correspondent asked about what would be this supposed distance, always affirmed by us, between the Spiritist Doctrine and the Spiritist Movement.
To her, we can answer in this way, to exemplify for everyone:
“B…, this is something that everyone really needs to study or seek information about, especially about the works mentioned ((
In the sense of doctrinal changes: The Legacy of Allan Kardec, by Simoni Privato; Neither Heaven Nor Hell, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo; Final Point, by Wilson Garcia
In the sense of knowledge about the doctrinal context: Autonomy: the never-told story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo;
In the real understanding of the Doctrine, in the essence proposed by Kardec, through the studies: Heaven and Hell and Genesis, both from the publisher FEAL, as the others are adulterated versions, still.)), because understanding and, hence, assuming new positioning, it needs to be a autonomous action. However, I can highlight some key differences between the Spiritist Doctrine (DE) and the current Spiritist Movement (SM):
Evocations of spirits: DE was formed on them and demonstrated the need to be carried out, with method, to continue their development; ME recommends not doing it, provoking a wave of mediums who are only “available”, therefore, without control or learning objective.
Generality of teaching: DE demonstrated the need to develop the spiritist study through the method of double control: universality and agreement of teaching and rational judgment; ME, infected by Roustaing, who saw a danger in this method (which would disprove her theories), started to take isolated communications as an expression of the truth, without reasoning.
Life of the Spirit in Erraticity: DE demonstrated that emotions and physical sensations only exist for the attached Spirit; ME began to teach a fully materialized spiritual world, thus creating ideas of attachment harmful to the Spirit who disincarnates.
Necessity of the incarnation: DE demonstrated that the incarnation is a necessity for the progress of the Spirit, in which he, even if involuntarily, plays his solidary role in creation. He removed the concepts of punishment and punishment as an arbitrary action of God, demonstrating that everything is the fruit of the conscious Spirit's choice; ME, under Roustainguist influence, inserted the false concepts of karma, redemption, law of action and reaction and law of return.
Heteronomy x autonomy: DE demonstrated, throughout it, that the Spirit develops autonomously, being the first, if not the only, author of its choices; ME, influenced by Roustaing, started to deal with life in a heteronomous way – if I suffer, it is because I am receiving the return; if I have joy it is because I have been blessed, &c.
Charity: DE demonstrated that charity is a disinterested action, fruit of the Spirit's duty, which consciously moves towards the good; ME started to treat charity as an external action, almost always only material. Due to the absence of DE studies, ME fails to do the good it could to help in the development of society through spiritist ideas.
Moral: DE demonstrated that, all created simple and ignorant, the Spirits develop wrong and right, through the incarnations, choosing between acting in this or that way. There is no duality between good and evil. Some choose to repeat the mistake, developing imperfections from which they will be very difficult to get rid of, through reincarnation work, in a conscious and autonomous action; ME, influenced by Roustaing, started to treat the incarnation as a punishment, as if all the spirits that incarnate were imperfect.
Method: DE has always demonstrated the way it would develop itself: through the study of human sciences, confronted, by reason, with the spiritist teachings, in the exchange of information with reputable groups spread all over the world; On the other hand, the ME practically does not study the fundamentals of DE, it has isolated itself in the centers in routines that include: monologues, almost always filled with all the errors mentioned above; passes, without knowledge of magnetism; and mediumistic sessions that, without method and without studies, lose the purpose and usefulness they could really have.
And so on.”
We see that the differences between the Spiritist Doctrine, in its origin, and what the Spiritist Movement professes or believes today, are profound and, almost always, harmful to the propagation of the Doctrine. Therefore, it is up to the voluntary effort of each one in honest and detached study, as well as in the fraternal and cooperative dissemination of knowledge.
Complementing the cited works, we cannot fail to point out the need to study the Spiritist Magazine, which demonstrates how the formation of the Spiritist Doctrine took place.
