To achieve dominance over others, the strategy is often used to make them believe that the error or failure lies in not obeying, therefore deserving punishment. At the same time, the illusion is propagated that obeying will bring rewards. This is the trap of evil, known as heteronomy. Those who submit are then controlled through conditioning, and this is where the true violence of evil lies.
Evil acts through violence and lies. She proclaims: “You must obey! If you don’t obey, you will receive punishment!” Then she states: “This is the only way to deal with those who refuse to obey.” This is an inversion of values.
Evil manifests itself in the false idea that distorts divine law, seeking the satisfaction of interests and personal joy at the expense of the submission of the simplest, sacrificing their tranquility and happiness. However, we must not be fooled into thinking that we are superior because we have knowledge. And do you know the error of the one who knows? Indifference! Having values and not using values for good.
In this sense, our duty, which you already know, intensifies! The responsibility of those who have knowledge goes beyond simply helping those who are less educated; they must also serve. Reflect: The duty of those who know is to serve the simplest!
We should not think about taking advantage of our knowledge, but rather about cooperating. We must use our efforts to disseminate this knowledge and make many people understand it. The future of the world lies in cooperation, not competition.
Any new value, such as COOPERATION instead of competition, must be shared across the world so that everyone can benefit.
This article was prepared based on a lecture given by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo. Click here to meet her.
Several times in his works, Kardec mentions Passive obedience and blind faith. Now let us reflect on why they are the principles of False Idea.
The false prophets, in order to conquer through passive obedience, needed to prevent the masses from learning through their own efforts without the experience of trial and error to learn. They, the false prophets, condemned error, as if error were the cause of evil in the world.
However, we all know that You can only learn when you try. From trying, errors and successes are produced. From there, we evaluate and understand the best way to act. And God does not condemn error, because error is part of learning. Think about it: it's very different to make mistakes unconsciously than to persist in making mistakes consciously.
“To rise, man must be tested. Preventing their action and putting an obstacle to their free will would be going against God and in this case the tests would become useless, because the Spirits would not commit faults.. The Spirit was created simple and ignorant. To reach happy spheres, it is necessary for him to progress and rise in knowledge and wisdom, and it is only in adversity that he acquires an elevated heart and better understands the greatness of God.”
Allan Kardec. Spiritist Magazine — Journal of Psychological Studies — 1858 – November
At the same time, when someone does something, whether at work or in everyday life, they have to know what they are doing and what the results of what they are doing are. So, this someone may be doing evil without knowing it or even participating in evil without being aware of the evil. Therefore, the ideal would be to never carry out an activity without understanding it.
The good thing is to try to act with conscience, understanding.
The false idea, through the two principles of passive obedience and blind faith, leads us to believe that the error is evil. Consequently, error generates fear. Is it better to obey without understanding and have faith?
Since ancient times, priests have determined people's behavior, as they themselves claim that God chose them to determine His Law. Priests created the false teaching that the right thing is to obey God to receive divine rewards and be saved. They also propagate that error represents action inspired by the devil, who attacks man to take possession of him. Kardec shows this understanding in A Genesis:
Religion was, at that time, a powerful brake on governing. The people voluntarily bowed before the invisible powers, in the name of which they were subjugated and whose rulers claimed to possess their dominion, when they did not pretend to be equivalent to these powers. To give more strength to religion, it was necessary to present it as absolute, infallible and immutable, without which it would have lost its ascendancy over these almost primitive beings, just initiated towards rationality. It could not be discussed, just like the orders of a sovereign. This resulted in the principle of blind faith and passive obedience, which had, in origin, its reason for being and its usefulness. The veneration of sacred books, almost always considered to have come down from heaven, or inspired by divinity, prohibited any examination65.
Allan Kardec. GENESIS – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism (Portuguese Edition) . chapter IV, item 2. Kindle edition. ((Genesis – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism: https://amzn.to/3RM91hF ))
What is the thesis of the priests: if you do what we tell you, you will do what God tells you, then you will do right and you will be saved. If you do things differently using your own reason and conscience, you will not do the same as God, so you will do things wrong. The consequence is that the person will stop thinking. You will only obey. For priests, evil is not obeying. The good thing is to obey.
Whoever disobeys or does not repent will be handed over to the devil, suffering punishment, vicissitudes and pain. Through this false idea, the priests conditioned the masses to believe without reasoning — Blind Faith — claiming that reason does not understand the divine will. Obeying without understanding — Passive Obedience.
What are the instruments to make a person submissive? Believing without reasoning!Obey without understanding! Any understanding that starts from these two principles is a False Idea!
Blind faith and passive obedience occur in any area of activity: science, philosophy, religion, at work, at home, in relationships. In the Middle Ages, the religious dogma to guide actions. Today we use the materialistic dogma. In this way, it's like the middle ages of science!
If a person believes that their work is not and cannot be spiritualized, they are excluded from the environment. Exclusion is the same instrument that the church used, with condemnation, excommunication, persecution, etc. It is true that the church's condemnation led to death, but today exclusion by society is practically dying, becoming marginalized. There are graduates of higher education (or even technical education) who tend to believe in materialism; the others are the excluded. And the fight of the superior versus inferior. Spiritualism is the devil of science! And Materialism is the god of science!
Finally, currently, due to the false idea, those who think differently, whether from other countries or other religions, are enemies, they are controlled by the Devil, and must be fought and destroyed. Those who obey are protected by Good God. Thus, they create exclusivism and war. It is a MATERIALIST exclusivism!
Spiritism is not exclusivist. Spiritism is an idea. And it is through this idea that he will transform the world.
This article was prepared based on a lecture given by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo. Click here to meet her.
Ego Sum Via Veritas et Vita (I am the Way, the Truth and the Life) pixabay – didgeman
For a time, they despised Kardec's message, bringing false ideas into their doctrine. His concluding works had their best adulterated ideas. A persistent disclosure of false principles by refractors (( “22. Alongside the materialists strictly speaking, there is a third class of unbelievers who, although spiritualists, at least in name, are no less refractory to Spiritism: they are the unwilling unbelievers. These do not want to believe, because it gives them it would disturb the enjoyment of pleasures. They fear finding condemnation of their ambition, their selfishness and the human vanities in which they delight. They close their eyes so as not to see and cover their ears so as not to hear them. .” A. Kardec, The Books of Mediums, Preliminary Notions, chapter III Method)), implanted the lie among many spiritists, causing division.
However, in an increasing sequence, Allan Kardec's original documents, facts and ideas returned to light. His works were recovered, like the works Heaven and hell from 1865 and The Genesis of 1868 in their translations of their original versions. The contents presented are extremely important, as they are ideas that are much more in-depth by Kardec.
New times are already upon us, reforming ideas are spreading around the world. It is interesting to note how through study enlightened by sincere and disinterested dedication, the spiritist message, which is that of Jesus, will reach everyone. And the Spiritism will be the lever of the moral revolution, which will regenerate humanity, paving the way for a happy world.
Evil in the world represents the false mentality, which divides the world in order to justify the pride and selfishness of those who consider themselves superior and privileged. In this way, they manage to dominate and, even worse, abuse the masses. They consider her inferior and impure. The good, the good news or true mentality aims to awaken duty through reason and freedom, choosing solidarity through cooperation and mutual support, aiming for the happiness of all humanity, at all levels. By the guidance and direction of the good spirits, who are ministers of God. Everyone follows the path of good that leads to God. Spiritism, finally, explains and develops the idea of Jesus, a true mentality or good news. Like all revelations, it faces opposition from the proud and selfish who defend the false mentality.
What is the idea of false mindset? Falsely spreading that we have 2 Gods in the world, God and the Devil; spread the idea that the spiritual world is divided into 2 parts, heaven and hell; that people are divided into pure and impure, superior and inferior, etc. This is the FALSE IDEA.
In order for us to overcome the false idea, we cannot use the “same weapons” as the false idea. It uses imposition, violence, division, lies, the chosen who understand the teachings as non-existent intellectual superiority: it says that if you don't understand you are inferior, only superiors understand
THE TRUE IDEA It depends on everyone's effort! Each of us needs to understand the true idea!!
You just have to be indifferent and you help maintain the False Idea!
There is a very interesting article from 1859 that we will highlight some points regarding this idea of Jesus also described by Spiritism:
“Thus, Spiritism is based on general principles independent of any dogmatic issue. It is true that it has moral consequences, like all philosophical sciences. These consequences are compatible with Christianity, because Christianity is, of all doctrines, the most enlightened, the purest, which is why, of all the religious sects in the world, the Christian ones are the most capable of understanding Spiritism in its true essence.
A. Kardec, Revista Espirita, 1859 – Refutation of an article by “L 'Univers” ((https://kardecpedia.com/roteiro-de-estudos/893/revista-espirita-jornal-de-estudos-psicologicos-1859 /4547/may/refutation-of-an-article-from-l-univers ))
Spiritism is not, therefore, a religion. (…) Spiritism is concerned with observing facts and not the particularities of this or that belief; researching the causes; of the explanation that facts can give of known phenomena, both in the moral and physical order, and does not impose any cult on its supporters, in the same way that Astronomy does not impose the cult of the stars, nor Pyrotechnics the cult of fire. (…)
Today, thanks to the lights of Christianity, we can judge it with more certainty. He puts us on our guard against wrong systems, the fruits of ignorance. And religion itself can draw from it tangible proof of many truths contested by certain opinions. This is why, contrary to most philosophical sciences, one of its effects is to return to religious ideas those who have strayed into exaggerated skepticism.
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.
O artigo presente, “Deus não se vinga”, foi extraído textualmente de Revista espírita — Jornal de estudos psicológicos — 1865 > Maio > Dissertações espíritas.
I – Preconceived ideas
We have told you many times to examine the communications that are given to you, subjecting them to the analysis of reason, and not to take without examination the inspirations that come to stir your spirit, under the influence of causes that are sometimes very difficult to verify by the incarnated, subjected to countless distractions.
The pure ideas that, so to speak, float in space (according to the Platonic idea), carried by the Spirits, cannot always lodge alone and isolated in the brain of your mediums. They often find the place occupied by preconceived ideas that flow with the jet of inspiration, which disturb and transform it unconsciously, it is true, but sometimes profoundly enough for the spiritual idea to be thus entirely denatured. .
Inspiration contains two elements: thought and the fluidic heat destined to warm the spirit of the medium, giving him what you call the verve of the composition. If inspiration finds the place occupied by a preconceived idea, from which the medium cannot or does not want to detach himself, our thought is left without an interpreter, and the fluidic heat is wasted in heating a thought that is not ours. How many times, in your selfish and passionate world, have we seen the heat and the idea! You disdain the idea, which your conscience should make you recognize, and you seize the heat for the benefit of your earthly passions, thus at times squandering the good of God for the benefit of evil. Thus, how many accounts will one day have to pay all lawyers in lost causes!
No doubt it would be desirable for good inspirations to always be able to dominate preconceived ideas, but then we would impede the free will of man's will, and the latter would thus escape the responsibility that belongs to him. But if we are only Humanity's auxiliary advisors, how many times do we have to congratulate ourselves when our idea, knocking at the door of a straight conscience, triumphs over the preconceived idea and modifies the conviction of the inspired! However, it should not be believed that our misused help does not betray a little the misuse that can be made of it. Sincere conviction finds accents that, starting from the heart, reach the heart; the simulated conviction may satisfy passionate convictions, vibrating in unison with the first, but it carries a particular chill, which leaves the conscience unsatisfied and denotes a doubtful origin.
Do you want to know where the two elements of mediumistic inspiration come from? The answer is easy: the idea comes from the extraterrestrial world, it is the Spirit's own inspiration. As for the fluidic heat of inspiration, we found it and took it from you; it is the quintessential part of the emanating vital fluid. Sometimes we take it from the inspired person, when he is endowed with a certain fluidic power (or mediumistic, as you say); most of the time we take him in his environment, in the emanation of benevolence with which he is more or less surrounded. This is why it can rightly be said that sympathy makes eloquent.
If you carefully reflect on these causes, you will find the explanation of many facts that at first cause admiration, but of which everyone has a certain intuition. The idea alone would not be enough for man if he were not given the strength to express it. Heat is to the idea what the perispirit is to the Spirit, what your body is to the soul. Without the body, the soul would be powerless to stir up matter; without heat, the idea would be powerless to move hearts.
The conclusion of this communication is that you must never abdicate your reason, in the examination of the inspirations that are submitted to you. The more acquired ideas the medium has, the more he is susceptible to preconceived ideas; he must also make a clean slate of his own thoughts, deposit the influences that agitate him and give his conscience the necessary abnegation for good communication.
II – God does not take revenge
The foregoing is just a preamble intended to serve as an introduction to other ideas. I have spoken of preconceived ideas, but there are others besides those which come from the inclinations of the inspired; there are those that are the result of an erroneous instruction, of an interpretation believed over a more or less long time, which had their raison d'être at a time when human reason was insufficiently developed and which, passed into a chronic state, cannot be modified unless by heroic efforts, especially when they have the authority of religious teaching and reserved books. One such idea is this: God takes revenge. That a man, wounded in his pride, in his person or in his interests, takes revenge, this is conceivable. This revenge, although culpable, is within the limits of human imperfections, but a father who takes revenge on his children raises general indignation, because everyone feels that a father, with the task of forming his children, can redirect them in their mistakes. and correct his defects by all the means at his disposal, but that revenge is forbidden to him, under pain of becoming a stranger to all the rights of fatherhood.
Under the name of public revenge, the Society that is disappearing took revenge on the culprits; the punishment inflicted, often cruel, was the revenge she took on the wicked man. She had not the slightest concern for this man's rehabilitation and left it up to God to punish or forgive him. It was enough for him to strike with terror, which he thought salutary, the future culprits. The Society they came from no longer thinks like that; if she still does not act with a view to amending the culprit, she at least understands what hateful revenge contains in itself; safeguarding the Society against the attacks of a criminal is enough for him, aided by the fear of a miscarriage of justice. Capital punishment will soon disappear from your codes.
If today Society feels too great before a guilty party to let itself go into anger and take revenge on him, how do you want God, sharing your weaknesses, to become irascible and strike out of revenge a sinner called to repentance ? Believing in God's wrath is a pride of Humanity, which imagines having a great weight in the divine scales. If the plant in your garden does badly, if it goes astray, will you get angry and take revenge on it? No; you will straighten it out if you can, you will give it support, you will force its bad tendencies by obstacles, if necessary you will transplant it, but you will not take revenge. So does God.
God take revenge, what a blasphemy! What a diminution of divine greatness! What ignorance of the infinite distance that separates creation from its creature! What forgetfulness of his goodness and justice!
God would come, in an existence in which you have no memory of your past mistakes, to make you pay dearly for the faults you may have committed in an era erased in your being! No no! God doesn't act like that. It checks the impulse of a disastrous passion, it corrects innate pride by a forced humility, it straightens out the selfishness of the past by the urgency of a present need that leads to the desire for the existence of a feeling that man has neither known nor experienced. As a father, he corrects, but also as a father, God does not take revenge.
Beware of these preconceived ideas of heavenly vengeance, scattered remnants of an ancient error. Beware of those fatalistic tendencies, whose door is open to your new doctrines, and which would lead you directly to eastern quietism. Man's share of freedom is no longer large enough to dwarf it further by erroneous beliefs. The more you feel your freedom, the greater your responsibility will undoubtedly be, and the more the efforts of your will will lead you forward, on the path of progress.
Easter
The crystalline gem, overshadowed by carelessness
To the spiritist beginner, a colleague said:
– Comece pelas obras do Kardec. Depois Chico Xavier com André Luiz! Os livros do Luiz Sérgio também possuem grandes informações do mundo espiritual.
To which I reply:
– If the “start with Kardec” is carried out with a serious study, for years on end, including the Spiritist Magazine, great, because that way the individual will be able to understand and identify the errors brought in isolated communications, to the point of, for example, understand that Vale dos Suicidas, Umbral and Nosso Lar are nothing more than an illusion or a creation of disturbed spirits. You will also be able to verify that, despite many successes, André Luiz's work has errors, and that the book Brasil, Coração do Mundo was dictated by one or more Spirits with the clear intention of causing damage to the Doctrine.
As it is very difficult for the spiritist neophyte to take this path full of studies, I, today, completely abstain from indicating anything outside the “codification”, preferring to recommend that they NOT be read, unless after the mentioned process.
The Doctrine has suffered a lot due to the lack of commitment and care of those who claim to profess it, so that, today, something that used to be a science, easy to be understood by those of good will, has become a jewel covered with innumerable layers of coal and rocks, represented by mysticism and errors of opinion, which need to be removed for a mere acceptance to dedicate oneself to studying it.
Sorry, but that's it. We had a dilapidated piece of jewelry, but due to lack of care and commitment, we chose to cover it up again, to the point where its shine is almost no longer visible.
The dear colleague replies:
– I understand your opinion, but I have studied these works a lot and what I see is that one work proves the veracity of others! But I know that there is a legion of inferior spirits influencing and trying to put an end to religion! When I say Kardec, I mean the Pentateuch!
To which I reply:
– Be careful, because the agreement of the Spirits is not the only factor to build the Doctrine. Many Spirits can start to share the same wrong idea, when they are still in the range of attachment to matter. In addition, we have the problem of ideas gradually fixed in the Spiritist milieu and in mediums, who begin to translate the Spirit's ideas according to their own.
We are not talking about religion either, but about spiritist science. Therefore, the need for care, which is not part of my opinion, but from the facts exhaustively demonstrated by Kardec.
Spiritist Magazine, dear friend: there is an understanding of the formation of the Doctrine, of the steps taken by Kardec, of his observations on the psychology of the Spirits... few dozens or hundreds were usable.
This science is very serious, as it holds the key to the moral advancement of humanity. Currently, this key is quite rusty, due to carelessness.
And I prove this point to you, in Kardec. Tonight we will study Humboldt's evocation of the Spirit, presented in the RE of June 1859. At one point we have the following:
39. ─ Will Geology find one day the material traces of man's existence on Earth before the Adamic period?
─ Geology, no; common sense, yes.
This Spirit, who was an explorer, a scientist, did not yet have information that human fossils dating back millions of years existed. This is because the Spirit does not gain wisdom and knowledge not previously acquired, simply by disincarnating. Thus, if his words were taken as a rule, we would be, today, denying the existence of these fossils.
And that Spirit was quite enlightened, humble and at peace with himself. Imagine if he were in a state of disarray, attached to certain imperfections and atavisms. Imagine the kind of idea and illusion he could say. Imagine, finally, by means of what words he would do it.
Spiritism cannot be built without a rational investigation methodology. This is the problem we have always warned about, remembering what Kardec demonstrated in practice.
Kardec did not imagine, did not assume, did not presuppose, did not seek opinions on how the Spirits acted and the care that would be necessary in communicating with them. No: he learned in practice, and left this learning recorded for all who want to learn, in the Spiritist Magazine, from 1858 to 1869.
Kardec did not even assume the existence of spirits after the death of the body. It was the investigation of the facts, which he was reluctant to undertake, that led him to this conclusion. How, then, to probe something that cannot be seen or heard directly? Through the methodology. It was through careful investigation that Kardec found that reincarnation, the idea of which he was reluctant to accept, was a fundamental principle, and it was through the same investigation that he found that the Spirit that leaves matter does not gain wisdom and knowledge that it did not possess. I repeat: found.
found, in the same way, that spirits can lie, they can talk about what they think they know, without really knowing it, they can talk about their illusions that disturb them, they can talk about what they really know, however limited it may be, and they can talk, when they are really superior, of superior wisdom, which is attested by agreement, logic and reason.
The Spiritist Movement is collapsing and, in this process, causing great obstacles to the propagation of Spiritism, precisely for not observing this more than fundamental point of spiritist psychology! It is an entire building built on pillars supported by clay, which, as it cracks and sinks, compromises the soil below.
Each one has the freedom, guaranteed by God, to believe and conclude according to the reason that suits him, or even according to the attachments he chooses to cultivate. However, by sharing wrong information about something so serious, he becomes responsible for the effect of his actions, especially when not knowing is due to a resistance to studying and finding himself wrong.
It is past time to change this stagnant, petty and selfish mindset. Do we want to do good? So, if we have, within our reach, the opportunity to know, let us know, because, if we can apologize, before our own conscience, for producing evil by impossibility of access to knowledge, we can no longer do the same when that knowledge is constantly presented in our path and, many times out of vanity and pride, we choose not knowing, to continue speaking based on our own opinions.
And this resistance, how is it going?
So, my friend, how is this resistance going? Yes, the same one, from diving on Kardec. We won't lie: it's not easy. But who said learning is easy? It takes time and effort, yes. Oh, lack of time? Is it really missing? And that time you must be spending watching videos on Facebook or Instagram? No, by no means are we saying that relaxing with an “empty” mind is not important, especially after a long day at work… But could it not be possible to fit in a reading before bed? Half an hour, whatever, helps a lot. Oh, you learn better by listening? Solved: Today, apps like Google Books and Amazon Alexa do instant voice reading for you.
Não, de forma alguma nos colocamos na condição do aluno exemplar. Longe disso. Tem gente que está muito mais à frente, muito mais envolvida, muito mais dedicada. Mas cada um faz o que pode. A questão é que o “não posso”, muitas vezes, simplesmente dá lugar à ocupação inútil do tempo… E você já conhece aquele ditado: “mente vazia é oficina do diabo”. Não do diabo, propriamente, mas vai saber o tipo de companhia que nos rodeia quando nossa mente está apenas mergulhada nessa materialidade do dia-a-dia…
Could it be that, deep down, what exists is not a resistance? Analyze yourself—you don't have to tell anyone. Could it be that what exists is not an accommodation, because it is easier to believe in the little that is known — in the lights themselves, Kardec would say — or in what they tell you? Well, here's some bad news: Creation is based on autonomy, and there's only one being in the universal space capable of making you progress — and it's not God: it's yourself. Progress, however, is made of two components: intelligence and morale. For the Spirit to progress in morals, it is necessary to have intelligence — not that intelligence of an Einstein, but the intelligence that reasons, based on knowledge. And behold, the Spiritist Doctrine, formed by the scientific study of Kardec (yes, scientific) brought us an incredibly deep and transformative knowledge.
Yes, I know: reading novels and stories about fantastic places is very enjoyable and activates the imagination. But could it be that the absence of Kardec's studies, preferring novels, is not also due to resistance on his part, linked, who knows, to a little bit of pride in imagining that he holds the truth — especially when this "truth" was studied for decades on end?
Yeah, I know it too: it sucks to be wrong. No one likes to find themselves in error. But hey, that's the way it is: evolution is based on trial and error, or success. “To err is human”. The problem is getting attached to the mistake. And, another bad news: when studying Kardec, yes, we will see that we are, many times, attached to a series of flagrant errors. Yes, it's annoying to see that we spend long decades learning Spiritism the wrong way, but, well, who doesn't? Furthermore, it is very unlikely that we will err by will. Often, the very force of circumstances leads us to this: we grow up in the environment, which also learned the wrong way. What we had within our reach was the product of that culture. Okay, it happens.
No, the purpose of Spiritism is not mediumship, especially that mediumship that only serves as a telephone waiting for a call, nor is it to analyze other people's lives to identify whether someone is going through such difficulty because they have, as many assume, " kicked dog” in past life. No.
So, coming to this point, I again ask: what about this resistance? Why this resistance? The superior spirits themselves — yes, I am also sorry to say this, but we are right there at the end of the line, right on the first step of the conscious evolutionary scale — they themselves dedicate a very great effort, out of disinterested charity, out of moral duty, to help us. to understand. And the codification it's there for that. But—jeez, another bad news! — it is not enough to read The Spirits' Book as a sacred code, or to open The Gospel According to Spiritism at random, following the communications of the Spirits as a plank of salvation, without reasoning. No, I'm sorry to say. Spiritism is science and, as a science, it is progressive.
– Quer dizer que os Espíritos não deram algo pronto para seguirmos?
No, not at all, never. And this is very well demonstrated in that publication that you have certainly heard of, but still resist studying: the Spiritist Magazine. So it is. This monthly publication, from 1858 to 1869, was prepared by Kardec with a very wise purpose: after The Spirits' Book, he needed a way to disseminate knowledge, at the same time that he could establish correspondence with people from all over, receiving Thus, from everywhere, the confirmations or denials of communications given separately by the Spirits. The Spiritist Magazine was Kardec's laboratory, where we can understand very well the formation of the Spiritist Doctrine, culminating, finally, in his two final works — O Céu e o Inferno and A Gênese.
Then again, why the resistance to studying it? Yes, I already said it: I know it's not easy, especially if it's alone, but today we have the facility of instant communication over the Internet. Is it really that impossible to find a little time a week for group study? Reflects. But I'm already advancing: there is no teacher of Spiritism. Everyone is free to draw rational conclusions about what they know, without, however, giving final words about what is not established. This would be nothing more than opinion, and opinion is not science, nor does it build anything other than religious errors, in the sense here addressed.
But is this resistance fear? Afraid of seeing yourself in error? Afraid of realizing you've said the wrong things to other people? Afraid, perhaps, of noticing that he acted wrongly and alienated people from the Doctrine, for expressing wrong things? Perhaps? Well, fear of being caught in error is attachment, and it's a protective cover for something much deeper: pride. We've said it before: everyone makes mistakes. For our part, you have no idea how much we've made mistakes! But, for our part, we can say: how good it is to realize the error in time, recognize it and, who knows, resume contact with these people, saying: “I was wrong, and everything or almost everything I told you about Spiritism was false. See, this is reality.”
On the path of evolution, there will always be time. It will never be late. But attachment makes us live longer away from happiness. Were we taught that we are here to pay debts, as if the incarnation were a punishment? Well, if Spiritism not only says, but demonstrates the opposite, great! We were taught about a fully material life in the spirit world, but does Spiritism prove this to be an illusion of the attached Spirit? Well then, I don't want to develop that attachment! We were taught that we cannot evoke, but only wait for communication from the Spirits, which we take for the truth, but does Spiritism demonstrate that this is not how it works? Good, then let's fix it and get us on track again. We were taught that Spiritism is only practiced at the center, but does Kardec demonstrate a totally opposite reality — safeguarding the need for seriousness, knowledge and purpose for this? Well, let's pursue this reality.
We can say of ourselves: we are not afraid to prove our ignorance. In fact, what has unfolded in front of us about Spiritism, for us, who can hardly call ourselves diligent students, is wonderful, it is exciting, it removes the supernatural, it overthrows mysticism and it shows that Spiritism has a depth never before understood .
Let's study? We are here to help with whatever we can! Want tips? Want to study with us? Do you want to create a channel for questions and debates about what each group studies? Want suggestions on how and where to start? We're here. We are far from having the ideal model that can be applied to any situation, but we have already gone through some learning in these almost two years of studies. Count on us.
The study of the Spiritist Magazine, right in the first year, deconstructs many errors inserted in the Spiritist milieu, the most serious and present of which is the habit of blindly guiding us by the opinions of isolated Spirits, but it also shows us many previously unknown truths, in addition to leave with many doubts about other things, doubts that will only be answered with the continued study of this work. Therefore, the recommendation that nobody put yourself in the position of having the final word, or jumping to conclusions. Conjecturing, based on prior knowledge, is not prohibited. Reaching different conclusions is also not prohibited. What matters is to seek the joint construction of understanding, in cooperation, not in dispute. The important thing is that the only way to get to know Spiritism is this: studying Kardec, preferably in possession of knowledge of the scientific context in which the Spiritist Doctrine was developed (see Recommended Works).
Have you ever stopped to reflect on missed opportunities? In everyday life, we tend to forget that we are not forgotten, and that there is a good Spirit often inspiring us. How many times has he not taken you in contact with important studies, and how many times has he not passed up this opportunity? We say this on our own behalf.
So, enough resistance, enough blaming what is external, and shall we study?
Ps: it doesn't hurt to say that, in the illustration on the cover, the little devil is our own attachment, which leads us to evil, and not just any external figure. In the same way that we choose, by our own will, not to listen to the good advice of the superior Spirits, we choose to listen or not to listen to the bad advice of the imperfect Spirits who love us because of our attachments.
Does Spiritism have prejudice against Umbanda?
Perhaps many spiritists have it, in the same way that many Umbandistas do, in relation to Spiritism, and in the same way that practically every human being can have prejudices. Pointing out and defining “sides” is definitely something that doesn’t help much with human progress. In any case, I would like to take this opportunity to remember the following: Firstly,…
Firstly, it is necessary to separate what Spiritism is from what the “Spiritist Movement” is. The first is a solid and scientific, rational doctrine, based on the agreed teaching of the Spirits, given everywhere and for all times. The second is the group of people who consider themselves attracted by the ideas of this Doctrine and who, however, do not always act in accordance with its postulates – unfortunately this is what most happens nowadays.
Spiritism, as a Scientific Doctrine, does not force anything on anyone: it presents its conclusions and leaves everyone the freedom to accept them or not. However, many people, called spiritualists, even though they are aware of the existence of this Doctrine, choose not to inform themselves about it, judging the book by its cover, that is, acting prejudiced about it, saying that it is just another religion, or that it is just another opinion, or that The Spirits' Book – the basic work of this Doctrine – is just another book, written by Kardec, according to his own ideas.
How many people get into difficulties with regard to contact with the Spirits, and who, when invited to study the Spiritist Doctrine (which is called that because it belongs to the Spirits, and not to a single man or group) prefer to continue in their old conceptions, resisting to seek new knowledge?
It is said that Umbanda was born from a split within a Spiritist center, when the participants of that group did not accept the communication of an “old black man” in that environment. Now, if it is true, they are no less culpable than other individuals, who insist on considering the basis of Spiritist Science as a “dead and outdated letter”.
From all of this, there is a lesson to be learned: to understand Spiritism, being it a science, born, in fact, as a development of Rational Spiritualism, which was also a scientific doctrine that included the study of psychology, metaphysics and morals, one cannot do without the study of his basic works, as well as, in order to understand Physics, he does not do without the study of Isaac Newton and Einstein. Just as Physics presents its postulates, but many people insist on ignoring it to say that the gravitational force does not exist, the same is done about Spiritism, which is not a “higher religion”, where the “only truths” exist. , but that is, yes, the only Scientific Doctrine, until today, dedicated to the rational study of our relations with the Spirits.
In fact, those who study Spiritism know that it, compared to other religions, comes to demonstrate the truth about everything that has always existed, but that has not always been well understood, in the same way that it shows errors, fruits of non-observance of reason or even of ignorance of certain information that, in time, began to be taught. They are the other individuals who, out of pride or personal interests, often cannot bear to see a dogma denied, and choose to attack back to the Spiritist Doctrine. Let's reflect. Instead of choosing sides, let's understand: Spiritism, as a science, can be studied by all modern spiritualists, as well as Magnetism, a sister science of the first. But, without studying and understanding, everything will remain the same: spiritists creating false concepts about spiritist (spiritual) communications in different religions and different religions failing to absorb knowledge as liberating, consoling and progressive as that of Spiritism.
Spiritualism and Mental Health
Today, October 10th, is International Mental Health Day. And, as a matter of such importance, we could not let it pass unnoticed.
We begin by stating that, as it is extremely important, the slightest signs of restlessness and imbalance, be they uncontrolled stress, melancholy/depression and other disorders, should always motivate the search for professional psychological support. Many of our concerns come not only from aspects deeply rooted within us, but also, many times, from organic imbalances. We are spirits incarnated in a body, and these are subject to the vicissitudes of matter.
That said, let's move on to the spiritual aspect of our mental health. For us spiritists and, globally, for every spiritualist, the brain is not just a chemical and organic reflection, but it is, rather, the organ of expression of the Spirit, although muffled in its real face. Therefore, the Spirit – or the soul – is the one who presides over the will, the choices and, in a word, the free will.
Recognizing ourselves, therefore, in a kind of duality between Spirit and matter, we understand that any treatment that addresses the mind should approach the individual in a holistic way, that is, integral, integrating body and Spirit. It is clear that a good professional psychological support will do a lot in this regard, but we cannot deny that, by encompassing the existing spiritual sphere, the treatment will always bring much more benefit in this regard.
What we are trying to do here is to demonstrate that, when it comes to mental health, we cannot see everything only from the spiritual aspect – especially regarding the probable spiritual obsessions – but also from the organic and physiological aspect of the issue. For example: we can think that a person who lives under stress and who has emotional out-of-control events is being the victim of a spiritual obsession, when, however, he just has pre-diabetes symptoms, which causes hypoglycemia, which leads to such out-of-control .
We cannot, therefore, as spiritists, in welcoming whoever and wherever it may be, treat everything as if it were a “spiritual problem”, which would be very irresponsible. It is always important to investigate what is going on with the individual, trying to find out if he is undergoing psychological follow-up, if he is being treated and, if not, seek to refer the brother for such treatment.
On the other hand, it is important to highlight that Spiritism has a very important facet in this aspect, as it enlightens the individual about the reasons for the difficulties of life and about our constant relationship with the spiritual world around us. Now, how many cases of madness are not also initiated by an open and unvigilant mind to the thoughts of Spirits of the third order? How many times are we not fed, because of our imperfections, in the most subtle processes of mental alienation that, slowly, are causing us manias, fears and various disorders?
Since we are Spirits incarnated in a body and our Spirit is in charge of our will, it is clear that the root of all our problems will always be in the Spirit – even in the case of pre-diabetics, since it is due to a bad habit in the food, provoked by “his Spirit”, that such an evil was installed. Therefore, in this sense too, the more the Spirit understands about the devices and purposes of life, the need to correct its imperfections, the benefit of prayer on the mind and the fact of mental association, with incarnated and disembodied beings, according to our inclinations mental health, the easier it will be for you to remain mentally balanced.
But, what in the case of an already installed imbalance process? Here, as we have already said, in the first instance we cannot dispense with professional psychological treatment. This is imperative. Secondly, through Spiritism and Magnetism, we can also offer a very beneficial treatment:
Through prayer, seek to help the incarnate and the possible disincarnate in the improvement of their mental field;
Through the magnetic pass, which can be done even by family members, we can seek to help reduce the disturbances and reflexes of such imbalances;
After all, however, we cannot forget that the individual who is experiencing a serious mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, may have a need to experience it, even as part of a reincarnation plan, for reasons such as, for example, , to make him disconnect a little from old mental processes, which afflict him a lot. Therefore, pray and seek to help always, with faith, but not giving up before the complete cessation of the disease.
Finally, we would like to point out that differentiating pathological disorders from cases of mediumistic obsession is always very important, since, as Kardec already identified at that time, that in the latter case, medication can even be harmful:
let's not confuse the pathological madness with the obsession; this does not come from any brain injury, but from the subjugation that malevolent spirits exercise over certain individuals, and which, many times, has the appearance of madness itself. This condition, very frequent, is independent of any belief in Spiritism and has existed at all times. In this case, ordinary medication is impotent and even harmful.
Allan Kardec – What is Spiritism?
Nor could we fail to quote, here, in full, the text “Suicide and madness”, by Allan Kardec, in chap. V of the Gospel According to Spiritism:
14. The calm and resignation derived from the way of considering earthly life and the confidence in the future give the spirit a serenity that is the best preservative against The madness and suicide. Indeed, it is certain that most cases of madness are due to the commotion produced by the vicissitudes that man does not have the courage to endure. Now, if looking at the things of this world in the way that Spiritism makes him consider them, man receives with indifference, even with joy, the setbacks and disappointments that have made him desperate in other circumstances, it becomes evident that this force, which it places him above events, preserves his reason from shocks, which, if it were not for that, would disturb it.
15. The same is true of suicide. Leaving aside those who give themselves up in a state of drunkenness and madness, which can be called unconscious, it is undeniable that he always has a cause of discontent, whatever the particular reasons that may be pointed out to him. Now, he who is sure that he is only unhappy for a day and that the days to come will be better, is easily filled with patience. He only despairs when there is no term for his sufferings. And what is human life, in relation to eternity, if not much less than a day? But for those who do not believe in eternity and think that everything ends with life, if misfortunes and afflictions overwhelm them, only in death do they see a solution to their bitterness. Expecting nothing, he finds it very natural, very logical, to abbreviate his miseries by suicide.
16. Incredulity, mere doubt about the future, materialistic ideas, in a word, are the greatest incitements to suicide; cause the moral cowardice. When men of science, supported by the authority of their knowledge, endeavor to prove to those who hear or read them that they have nothing to hope for after death, they are not in fact leading them to deduce that, if they are wretched, they are better off. what is left for them to do but kill themselves? What could they say to divert them from this consequence? What compensation can you offer them? What hope can you give them? None but nothing. Hence it must be concluded that, if nothingness is the only heroic remedy, the only perspective, it is better to seek it immediately and not later, in order to suffer for a shorter time. The propagation of materialistic doctrines is, therefore, the poison that instills the idea of suicide in the majority of those who commit suicide, and those who constitute themselves as apostles of such doctrines assume tremendous responsibility. With Spiritism, once doubt is made impossible, the aspect of life changes. The believer knows that existence goes on indefinitely beyond the grave, but under very different conditions; hence the patience and resignation that very naturally keep him from thinking about suicide; where, in short, the moral courage.
17. In this aspect, Spiritism still produces another equally positive and perhaps more decisive result. It presents the suicides themselves informing us of the unfortunate situation in which they find themselves and proving that no one violates God's law with impunity, which forbids man to shorten his life. Among those who commit suicide, there are some whose sufferings, not because they are temporary and not eternal, are no less terrible and of a nature to make those who think of leaving here, before God has ordained, reflect. The spiritist has, therefore, several reasons against the idea of suicide: the certainty of a future life, in which, he knows, he will be all the more blissful, the more unfortunate and resigned he has been on Earth: the certainty that , shortening his days, arrives, precisely, at the opposite result to what he expected; who frees himself from an evil, in order to incur a worse, longer and more terrible evil; who deceives himself, imagining that, by killing himself, he goes faster to heaven; that suicide is an obstacle to his joining in the other world with those who were the objects of his affections and whom he hoped to find; hence the consequence that suicide, by bringing him only disappointments, is contrary to his own interests. For this very reason, the number of those who have been, by Spiritism, prevented from committing suicide is already considerable, and from there it can be concluded that, when all men are spiritists, there will no longer be conscious suicides. Comparing, then, the results that the materialist doctrines produce with those that derive from the Spiritist Doctrine, only from the point of view of suicide, it will be necessary to recognize that, while the logic of the first leads to it, the other one avoids it, a fact which experience confirms.
