Spiritist Knowledge

The reason for the antipathies we suffer on Earth

2024-09-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

Laughing Fool, J. Cornelisz van Oostsanen (circa 1500). Source: Wikipedia.

(...) A wrong-doing, misguided spirit feels hostile towards anyone who can see into its inner nature. When it meets such a person for the first time, it unconsciouly anticipates that person's disapproaval. Its aversion then changes into hatred or jealously and inspires it with a desire to do that person harm. A good spirit, on the other hand, feels discomfort and the need to keep a certain distance, knowing it will be met with contempt because of the difference in feelings and attitudes. But strong in its own superiority, it will neither hate nor feel jealously towards the other. It will feel compassion for the person. (A. Kardec, "The Spirits Book" [1], answer to Question 391.)

Translation from the original post in Portuguese: A razão das antipatias que sofremos na Terra. Link (2024): https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-razao-das-antipatias-que-sofremos-na.html

Spiritist knowledge encompasses more than only the study of spiritist manifestations or the mechanisms that connect the spirit and the perispirit. This study, which is still in its early stages, allows us to objectively grasp a variety of effects, both positive and negative, that we encounter throughout our lives.

This knowledge is founded on the new vision that revelation provides, particularly of the true reason for human life. True, modern psychology provides processes and makes recommendations on how we should behave mentally in our daily lives. However, the revelation of the Spirits provides additional components that allow us to absorb these recommendations more sensibly. Every psychological treatment is evidently rational in the sense that it aims to improve life and restore happiness and calm. However, any and all new teachings that contribute to this goal should be similarly encouraged. Knowing your reason for existing and your ultimate goal is the most important life lesson you can learn.

The causes of the sympathies, but mainly, antipathies that we face in life are well described in Chapter VII of the 2nd Part of "The Spirits' Book". Still inspired by the difficulties of the "Return of the Spirit to Bodily Life" (Chapter VII), an entire section is dedicated to "earthly sympathy and antipathy." It is vital to note that there is nothing intrinsically bad or good about two Spirits feeling, say, reciprocal hostility. This is extremely evident in the response to Question 390:

Spirits do not necessarily have bad natures because they are not well attuned. The antipathy may spring from a dissimilarity in their way of thinking. But as the spirits evolve, these differences fade away; and aversions disappear.

As a result of this independence, antipathy does not originate initially in the spirit of lower nature: "It may begin simultaneously on the part of both" states the beginning of question 391, the second part of which we can read at the beginning of this post. Although the antipathy is mutual, it produces various responses in each Spirit.

In the lower spirit, it exacerbates pre-existing feelings of envy, wrath, and the "desire to do evil". As a result, even though the feeling is reciprocal, the lowest part almost always takes the lead in regrettable behavior, persecution, insult, or slander, acts that, if not restrained, are the root cause of many crimes that we see every day in many newspapers.

"My mother doesn't like me" or dislikes in the family.

A superficial reading of the issue we study here could lead us to believe that the spirits were merely referring to 'fortuitous' antipathies we meet in our lives, such as difficulties between friends or at work. However, the hardest lesson for incarnated spirits is having to endure hostility within their own family. Because, as a result of the spirits' teaching, a mother, father, or children have no intrinsic or genetic responsibility to love each other if they are unsympathetic spirits.

Many may be shocked by these conclusions, but the sense of revolt is, in fact, a result of cultural preconceptions and what is considered 'normal', rather than the hidden reality of the greater life that is well demonstrated in specific cases. In fact, the rules of affinity between spirits and their past lives explain many of the conflicts that occur among families. Many people ask why, but the explanation is well given. We emphasize that such spirits can be antipathetic toward each other but not necessarily wicked.

However, it makes no difference what color, culture, familial ties, or education a person has if they engage in acts such as racism, bullying, systematic persecution for useless reasons, and so on. They will always be proof of their spirits' inferior nature, which will be corrected in the future. On the other hand, it is far preferable for parents and children to adhere to the values of respect and fairness despite their personal animosities.

It is also incorrect to believe that our animosity for someone close or distant in our family is exclusively based on past lives. This is frequently claimed among Spiritists, but a close reading of the part we reviewed here in [1] yields this logical conclusion, which also applies to affinities:

Two spirits who have affinity may naturally gravitate toe each other, without prior acquaintance as incarnate beings. (Question 387)

Once mutual distaste is acknowledged, each person must strive to prevent disagreements and build a culture of mutual respect. This occurs more naturally among people whose spirits are more developed morally. When antipathy is identified, aversion against the circumstance arises, as does a desire to flee or distance from the other. According to the spirits, this is entirely natural, and the situation fits under the category of "vicissitudes" of life, which are tests that spirits must go through to better control their emotions and develop their personalities.

There is no specific question in "The Spirits' Book" about what occurs when two Spirits achieve equal levels of enlightenment but are antipathetic. However, the response is clearly a logical consequence of the stated premises. Furthermore, the answer to Question 390 states that truly great spirits do not preserve antipathies since they are no longer influenced by inferior passions. Thus, when they grow up spiritually, "antipathy will cease to exist." This is not to say that they do not have antipathies while on a mission on Earth. In fact, this is what happens most of the time since their nature is so distinct from their surroundings.

Antipathies among the less developed spirits

However, there is still the extremely difficult challenge of dealing with the hostility that develops between spirits of lower nature. As long as reason does not intervene and persuade both parties that maintaining the necessary distance is in their best interests, the relationship almost always descends into a downward spiral of feelings, beginning with the abusive practice of unjustified persecution, which can lead to crimes, some of which are hideous. They instigate each other since they can't figure out what's causing the animosity. They thus accumulate debts that can only be repaid in later lives, usually always in even more severe circumstances. Many people who share common lives around these spirits suffer greatly or develop into actual adversarial groups or avowed foes.

Detail of "Christ carrying the cross" by Hieronymus Bosch (1490).

Unable to understand the source of the concealed antipathy - whether due to a lack of natural affinity or shared acknowledgment of causes in the past - the escalation of evil that fuels spirits' antipathies can only be counterbalanced by forgiveness of offenses. This is the most difficult lesson that spirits still attached to evil must learn: forgive the faults and failings of those who show themselves as opponents.

It's probable to imagine that they'll keep fighting until they reach the stage of discernment. Personal interests bind them together in the crucible of frivolous feelings. They are unable to forgive, so they punish their opponents. By doing so they reap disappointments and sorrow for an extended amount of time while experiencing brief happiness that fires their sensations at the time even more. There is no turning back until the anguish caused by this corrodes all courage to do evil and gives birth to light in the soul. Repentance precedes forgiveness since the spirit gradually realizes that the old method of acting does not satisfy it anymore. The spirit's inner being becomes a vast field of regeneration. Here and there, however, it will still encounter its antipathies, from which, now redeemed, it will try to evade in peace.

This will continue until the spirit is totally changed in its psychological structure and becomes so morally solid that nothing can upset it. Then it will have attained true salvation.

Societies, like spirits, evolve by recognizing the source of evil and systematically rejecting it. But that's a topic for a future post.

Reference

[1] A. Kardec. The Spirit's Book. Citations in this texts follow the published version by: Allan Kardec Educational Society. (1996). ISBN 0-9649907-0-9

Near-death experiences: considerations on recent conventional explanations

2024-07-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

In the ecstatic state, the obliteration of the physical body is almost complete. The body no longer possesses anything beyond organic life. The soul is held by a single thread, which would rupture forever with only a small effort. In such a state, all earthly thoughts disappear, replaced by perceptions that constitute the very essence of the immaterial being. Absorbed completely in this sublime contemplation, the soul views earthly life as only a temporary stay. The successes and misfortunes of the material world, its gross joys and afflictions, appear as so many trifling incidents on a journey, the end of which the soul feels lucky to glimpse.

(A. Kardec, "The Spirit's Book, Chapter IX, "The liberation of the soul".)

Translation from the original post in Portuguese: Experiências de quase-morte: considerações sobre explicações convencionais recentes.. Link (2024): https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2022/09/experiencias-de-quase-morte.html

We received a proposal to publicize more recent NDEs (or "near-death experiences"). What has changed since our first texts [1] on the subject? Many such experiences were reported throughout time. Readers can visit websites like the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), its specialized Journal of Near-Death Studies, or the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF). These sites are dedicated to collecting and studying near-death experience stories systematically.

From 2012 to 2022, what did the academic community say about the subject? The term "academic community" might refer to people who do not agree with some of the pioneering researchers on the subject, such as R. Moody, S. Parnia [3], or Dr. Bruce Greyson [4]. These researchers contributed to the mainstream media's coverage of these events. They highlight the atypical nature of NDE reports, including the fact that they "suggest" the continuation of life after death.

A discussion has naturally developed between advocates of the "survivalist" hypothesis (suggesting the experiences reveal a deeper reality beyond life) and others who deny this. Examples of opinions in this last direction can be found in [2], [2b], [5], [6], and [7]. This is apparently reasonable because there is no comprehensive theory of consciousness, which is seen as a result of brain activity. According to the majority of academics, NDEs are simply normal brain reactions in times of life's perils, similar to the phenomenon of "thanatosis" in insects.

The lack of a theory of consciousness

Problems begin with the appropriate definitions of "brain death." This definition is fundamental to understanding the phenomenon since everyone who reported the experience survived. In other words, the brain was not actually "dead", despite the cardiac arrest.

To gain an understanding of the current uncertainty, we must evaluate considerable research mapping brain areas and their associations with core cognitive functions. Such functions are considered to be "generated" or "processed" in highly specific regions of the brain. This is equivalent to arguing that the brain tissue in these locations is responsible for cognitive operations. This idea, however, is undercut by the concept of "brain plasticity" in patients who have severe damage to specific sections of the brain yet have little effect on their cognitive behavior. Plasticity is described as the "capacity of the brain to alter its structure and function" [8]. Given this, what actually drives cognitive functions? Instead of focusing on specific regions and tissues, the explanation requires acknowledging that the brain as a whole is the source, rendering mapping somewhat unnecessary from a fundamental standpoint. In summary: the phenomenon itself is regarded as the cause.

The "complexity" of the connections between the billions and billions of neurons that make up the brain makes it even more difficult to identify the root cause. This complexity would be the source, according to the current explanation, with the variety, richness, and multiplicity of conscious experiences the result of an organization that is inaccessible on a tiny scale. Any explanation is possible, but such an idea may impose severe obstacles to the correct understanding of NDE.

These methodological challenges can be seen in one of the first studies to appear to fully record brain activity following a death. As detailed in [9], it was only completed in 2022. There are obvious practical and ethical challenges, such as securing family permission to do scientific research on a loved member who has been diagnosed with an irreversible clinical disease and is about to die.

Current conventional opinion

Reference [2b] summarizes the mood among defenders of conventional explanations. The author considers:

I accept the reality of these intensely felt experiences. They are as authentic as any other subjective feeling or perception. As a scientist, however, I operate under the hypothesis that all our thoughts, memories, percepts and experiences are an ineluctable consequence of the natural causal powers of our brain rather than of any supernatural ones. That premise has served science and its handmaiden, technology, extremely well over the past few centuries. Unless there is extraordinary, compelling, objective evidence to the contrary, I see no reason to abandon this assumption.

There is certainly a problem with the perception of causation here. Survival is described as a "supernatural experience" without clarifying what this entails: would a break from the natural order be required in the survival theory? Furthermore, it is obvious that the brain filters all NDE experiences, just as it does with normal cognitive experiences. Nonetheless, the latter are given the property of "reality" that exists independently of brain "recreation". However, standard brain explanations fail to explain how this is possible. It makes no difference, neurologically speaking, whether "the brain sees an external light bulb on" or "imagines seeing a light bulb" (the same brain regions are involved in perceiving and imagining something).

This passage in [2] summarizes the usual explanation, which lacks any reference information from external reality:

Not surprisingly, many have seized on NDEs as evidence of life after death, heaven and the existence of god. The descriptions of leaving the body and blissful unity with the universal seem almost scripted from religious beliefs about souls leaving the body at death and ascending toward heavenly bliss. But these experiences are shared across a broad range of cultures and religions so it’s not likely that they are all reflections of specific religious expectations. Instead, that commonality suggests that NDEs might arise from something more fundamental than religious or cultural expectations. Perhaps NDEs reflect changes in how the brain functions as we approach death.

In short, the consistency and uniformity of reports are linked to a "generalized religious belief" that is the result of common events in the brain. The universality of experience stems from the universal biology of what happens in the dying brain.

The objectivity, and convincingness of NDEs must be sought in the character of the independent "external reality" that some reports demonstrate and which defies conventional explanations.

The link between NDEs and external reality

It is quite clear that if NDEs continue to be "meaningful, lived experiences" for those who experience them, nevertheless, they will remain as indistinguishable as "normal" fantasy states as well. This significant and profound feature is irrelevant to the conventional view of the mind as a product of the brain. Whatever you imagine or experience will always be a private experience, and hence a fantasy created by brain neurons.

But is it exactly what NDEs report? The current interest of neuroscientists in NDE cases often goes far away from previous reports in the specialized literature on "true NDEs" [10]. This term refers to NDEs in which patients describe exterior world events that they would be unable to know in their current state and body position. There are other recorded examples, one of which has already been described here [10b]. However, it is often the case many academic opinions simply dismiss such examples as "pure fiction".

Stripp argues in a recent paper [11] that the academic community purposely ignores accounts of authentic NDEs in conformity with the mainstream "reductionist bias". Stripp accurately considers the "ontological and epistemological fallacies" linked with NDEs [12]:

Such a statement is based on ontological materialistic assumptions. These are assumptions that the authors fail to mention or discuss, leading to a circular reasoning fallacy: since everything is only biology, NDEs have a biological purpose. I am not arguing against a commonality among all humans but suggesting that commonality may not necessarily amass solely to the biological components constituting the human body. We simply do not know all that ties us together. Furthermore, pure objectivity is, in many views, impossible, as there will always be some subjectivity and human decision in all research. Also, this subjectivity introduces a bias that one should reflect critically upon. Even the most common axioms of science are human constructs and should be treated as such.

In other words, when truly veridic evidence is supplied, the reports are not deemed sufficiently "objective" to warrant "academic credit" under the ostensible need for objectivity. However, this is irreconcilable with the very nature of the phenomenon being examined.

This lack of deference is carefully chosen so that only narratives that fit the dominant materialist viewpoint are reported to make sense. Many conventional methodologies, as a result, wind up focusing just on parts of the phenomenon that appear to be well explained by what researchers believe from the start. For example, reducing NDEs to "drug-induced hallucinations" is one strategy for deconstructing the reports' rich phenomenology [12]. Some researchers [13] have condemned this approach, which cannot be called scientific.

This situation, in our opinion, is regrettable from a "scientific" viewpoint, but completely understandable. It will be impossible to promote a change in academic thought without doing comprehensive studies on NDE experiences. In fact, what will be most "extraordinary" to accomplish is a complete shift of thinking about the subject. Because these are data that must be "collected in passing" (as Kardec would say), it will be extremely difficult to establish any form of rigorous control over their frequency, occurrence, and assessment. It would be analogous to attempting to fully understand sporadic events that occur on a huge scale in nature in closed laboratories. Despite attempts to fit NDE events into preconceived notions and mental disorders, they present and will always supply very persuasive evidence of the truth of life's survival.

References

[1] Reflexões sobre o contexto de experiências de quase-morte: artigo de Michael Nahm (2011). https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2012/11/reflexoes-sobre-o-contexto-de.html

[2] R. Martone (2019). "New Clues Found in Understanding Near-Death Experiences".https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-clues-found-in-understanding-near-death-experiences/

[2b] C. Koch (2020). What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about the Brain. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-near-death-experiences-reveal-about-the-brain/

[3] What Happens When We Die (Dr. Sam Parnia): https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2011/11/livro-iii-o-que-acontece-quando.html

[4] Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/our-research/near-death-experiences-ndes/

[5] Evrard, R., Pratte, E., & Rabeyron, T. (2022). Sawing the branch of near‐death experience research: A critical analysis of Parnia et al.’s paper. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[6] Hannah Flynn (2022). When are we really dead? New study sheds light. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/when-are-we-really-dead-new-study-sheds-light

[7] Martial, C., Gosseries, O., Cassol, H., & Kondziella, D. (2022). Studying death and near-death experiences requires neuroscientific expertise. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/293819/1/comment%20on%20parnia%20et%20al_final.pdf

[8] Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. Q. (1998). Brain plasticity and behavior. Annual review of psychology, 49(1), 43-64.

[9] Vicente, R., Rizzuto, M., Sarica, C., Yamamoto, K., Sadr, M., Khajuria, T., ... & Zemmar, A. (2022). Enhanced interplay of neuronal coherence and coupling in the dying human brain. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 80.

[10] Ring, K., & Lawrence, M. (1993). Further evidence for veridical perception during near-death experiences. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 11(4), 223-229.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Madelaine-Lawrence/publication/226754118_Further_evidence_for_veridical_perception_during_near-death_experiences/links/0fcfd513923c05c0e5000000/Further-evidence-for-veridical-perception-during-near-death-experiences.pdf

[10b] Experimentum crucis: EQMs em pessoas cegas.https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2013/04/experimentum-crucis-eqms-em-pessoas.html

[11] Stripp, T. K. (2022). Near-death experiences and the importance of transparency in subjectivity, ontology and epistemology. Brain Communications, 4(1), fcab304.

[12] Van Lommel, P. (2011). Near‐death experiences: the experience of the self as real and not as an illusion. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1234(1), 19-28.

[13] Moreira-Almeida, A., Costa, M. D. A., & Coelho, H. S. (2022). Cultural Barriers to a Fair Examination of the Available Evidence for Survival. In Science of Life After Death (pp. 73-77). Springer, Cham.

The mediumship of Orlando Noronha

2024-06-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” – Albus Dumbledore

Psychography is a phenomenon of extraordinary versatility. As Kardec [1] points out, this variety of mediumshp:

It is definitely the simplest, easiest, and most comfortable mode of communication because it requires no preparation and, like regular writing, lends itself to the most comprehensive advances...

This versatility has yet to be fully explored. The tremendous amount of information gleaned from mediumship writings of mediums like Chico Xavier and Divaldo Franco is proof of this statement. If other types of mediumship had nearly vanished (as in the case of physical effects, materializations, and so on), psychography would not face the same fate, fulfilling Kardec's prediction. Orlando Noronha Carneiro is an example of a modern medium that has been able to "channel" (as many would say) hundreds of psychographed letters containing private messages. "Private letters" differ from general-purpose psychographic essays. The latter provides general information that is of interest to the majority. In the former, however, the material is usually directed toward individuals and their private interests. The purpose of these letters channeled by mediums such as Divaldo, Chico, and Orlando is to alleviate family members' grieving by providing information that only close relatives can identify. These family members promptly identify the deceased in the letters, and their suffering is significantly alleviated.

Orlando Noronha.

Orlando is from Osasco (State of S. Paulo/Brazil) and started his voluntary work in the Spiritist Movement around 1980. During visits to the medium Chico Xavier, he informed Orlando that he would continue the work of writing family letters through mediumship. Most information about Orlando's psychographic letters can be obtained on various YouTube channels, the most important one is Mensagens de Luz (Messages of Light) [2], which posts videos of hundreds of messages read by the medium in front of the bereaved family. A recent interview with the medium can be found here [3].

The Portas do Amor (Gates of Love) website (https://www.portasdoamor.com.br/) provides information and Orlando's in-person agenda for the year. Videos from this site can also be watched on YouTube at [5].

Gabriel's case

The videos made available to this date (2024) are amazing in terms of quantity and quality, providing relatives with very relevant content. They also represent an important demonstration of how details are given, both in terms of variety and quantity.

The most important information transmitted in the letters is hidden in the pragmatic content (i.e., context-dependent information), which is only understandable to close relatives and is not publicly available. Drawings (particularly in letters of young diseased authors) and signatures are also present. There are numerous quotations of names, including of deceased relatives who are described as receiving the deceased in the hereafter and, in many cases, assisting him in writing the letter (as in the case of children).

Orlando reads Gabriel's message before his parents.

In a 2018 video [4], the parents of Gabriel, who passed away in May 2018, talk about the letter they received. We summarize their opinion about this as follows: "Everything matched...Everything that was described belongs to Gabriel". According to the parents, the letter revealed facts about their son, including simple family occurrences that were only known to them. Already during their first visit to the medium, the parents were surprised when the medium asked a singer in the psychographic room to sing a song that Gabriel loved.

The letter translated into English [7] is reproduced below along with some of the relevant information, which are numbered:

Daddy friend Ivan, mommy Rose:

With much celebration, I came to tell you that the rainbow (1) is more than just beautiful; it is a bridge that connects heaven and Earth.

The person who greeted me here identified herself as my great-grandmother Joana (2); she is a very nice lady and a grandma from the heart. When I opened my eyes here, I saw the light (3) of this little grandma and followed her into her arms.

I will be eternally grateful to the community who fought alongside me while I was in the ICU. I hadn't come before (4). You are aware that I completed my stage alongside you and my brother Eduardo. Every prayer I received from the community brought me a breeze of peace that calmed me.

Dad and mom, you are the best; you battled beside me. But I had to bring a backpack (5), not for a journey with you, but to climb another mountain, on the side I live on today. I've already chased birds that fly happily around here.

Mom, you are so beatiful (6), you are everything to me, to dad and Eduardo... Follow in faith, no sadness, and jumping and jumping (7) on the rope of life. I'll come back later, but that is all for today. I am fine. Grandma Joana helps me, okay? Kisses for my grandparents. No jealousy, grandpa Luis (8) is my hand extended to all of my grandparents.

Okay? Thank you! From the happy and much better son,

Gabriel Lima Silva.

As can be seen, to an outsider, the initial reading of the letter does not appear to reveal anything relevant (the narrated facts are quite ordinary, aren't they?), but this drastically changes in the eyes of the deceased's parents:

Before Gabriel became ill, the family saw a rainbow in the sky at home, and Gabriel even painted a picture of a rainbow, which his parents kept in the boy's room.
Joana, the name of Gabriel's father's grandmother (deceased a long time ago).
Shortly before Gabriel passed away, Gabriel's father suggested to the boy, on his deathbed, that he should "follow the light".
In her prayers, the mother asked God if her son had gone before his time.
Gabriel's father bought him a backpack the week he got sick. Gabriel commented that the backpack actually looked like a suitcase for a trip.
Gabriel repeated this phrase to his mother at home all the time before his death.
Gabriel loved the trampoline and wanted to practice parkour.
This is the name of Rose's father, Gabriel's grandfather.

Thus, we can say that the message is encoded in the letter and can only be decoded by those who share pragmatic or contextual knowledge as family members. There appear to be hundreds of such letters, each with an equal degree of detail, addressed to mourning parents and other relatives. At the end of the sittings, the letters are delivered to these relatives, however, their content may be heard in the referenced videos which help to keep the interest in these "anomalous" letters alive.

The final picture, along with the impression on the faces and sayings of these relatives, attests to the truth of the messages' origins and, as a result, to the survival of life after death.

Kardec on the importance of private messages

It is always relevant to review what Kardec says about the "utility of private evocations", which is in Chapter 25 of "The Book of Mediums" [6]:

Now, the superior spirits are the luminaries of the spirit world; their very elevation places them so far above us that we are frightened by the distance that separates us from them. More bourgeois spirits (allow us this expression) make the circumstances of the new existence in which they find themselves more palpable. In them, the connection between corporeal life and spiritual life is more intimate, we understand it better, because it touches us more closely. By learning with them what they have become, what they think, what men of all conditions and of all characters feel, the good men and the vicious as well, the great and the small, the happy and the unhappy of the century, in a word the men who lived among us, whom we have seen and known, whose real life, virtues and failings we know, we understand their joys and their sufferings, we connect with them and we draw from them a moral teaching all the more profitable as the relationships between them and us are more intimate. We can more easily put ourselves in the shoes of those who have been our equals than of those we only view through the haze of celestial glory.

A strong scenario emerges as the letters accumulate. We may apply an analogy here. In the first episode of "Harry Potter" (Philosopher's Stone, 1997) written by British writer J.K. Rowling, Harry, the main character, is invited to initiate himself as a wizard at Hogwarts School via a letter sent by special mail employing owls. It turns out that his jealous relatives intercepted the messages. Many missives were intercepted in an attempt to prevent Harry from fulfilling his destiny. But the retaliation that followed from the wizarding world was devastating: thousands of letters piled up at Harry's nasty family's home before he could read at least one.

This is how private psychographed letters work: if a few messages aren't enough to persuade us of the great truth of life beyond death, what can we say about thousands? Nothing can prevent them from continuing to arrive and pilling up through the hands of dedicated mediums to comfort people mourning their loved ones temporarily moved to the hereafter.

References

All references as available in 2024.

1 - A. Kardec. Practical Instructions on Spiritist Manifestations, Chapter IV – Different modes of communication, Psychography. Translated from the Portuguese version available at www.ipeak.net. Original in French:

De tous les moyens de communication, c'est, sans contredit, le plus simple, le plus facile et le plus commode, parce qu'il n'exige aucune préparation et qu'il se prête, comme l'écriture courante, aux développements les plus étendus. Nous y reviendrons en parlant des médiums.

2 - https://www.youtube.com/@MensagensdeLuz-Oficial/videos

3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2cynPgcbUM

4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFoPSfAEuw&t=41s

5 - https://www.youtube.com/@PortasdoAmorOrlandoNC

6 - A. Kardec. The Medium's Book. Second part - Spiritist manifestations, Chapter XXV - Evocations. The usefulness of particular evocations. Translated from the original in French available at www.ipeak.net:

Or, les Esprits supérieurs sont les sommités du monde spirite; leur élévation même les place tellement au-dessus de nous que nous sommes effrayés de la distance qui nous en sépare. Des Esprits plus bourgeois (qu'on nous passe cette expression), nous rendent plus palpables les circonstances de leur nouvelle existence. Chez eux, la liaison entre la vie corporelle et la vie spirite est plus intime, nous la comprenons mieux, parce qu'elle nous touche de plus près. En apprenant par eux-mêmes ce que sont devenus, ce que pensent, ce qu'éprouvent les hommes de toutes conditions et de tous les caractères, les hommes de bien comme les vicieux, les grands et les petits, les heureux et les malheureux du siècle, en un mot les hommes qui ont vécu parmi nous, que nous avons vus et connus, dont nous connaissons la vie réelle, les vertus et les travers, nous comprenons leurs joies et leurs souffrances, nous nous y associons et nous y puisons un enseignement moral d'autant plus profitable que les rapports entre eux et nous sont plus intimes. Nous nous mettons plus facilement à la place de celui qui a été notre égal que de celui que nous ne voyons qu'à travers le mirage d'une gloire céleste.

7- Translated from the original in Portuguese:

Papai amigo Ivan, mamãe Rose:
Com muita festa, chego aqui para lhes dizer que o arco-íris não é só belo, é uma ponte que liga o céu e a Terra.
Quem me recebeu aqui é aquela que se identificou como sendo a minha bisavó Joana, ela é uma senhora boa demais, e uma avozinha do coração. Quando eu abri os olhos aqui, vi a luz dessa avozinha e a segui nos seus braços.
Sou eternamente grato pela comunidade que lutou comigo, enquanto eu lutava lá na UTI. Não vim antes não. Vocês sabem que cumpri a minha etapa ao lado de vocês e de meu irmão Eduardo. Cada oração que recebi da comunidade foi uma brisa de paz que me acalmava.
Pai e mãe, voces são o máximo, lutaram comigo. Mas eu tinha que pegar uma mochila, não para uma viagem com vocês, mas para subir uma outra montanha, que é o lado em que vivo hoje aqui. Eu já corri atrás de pássaros aqui que voam felizes.
Mão você é linda, meu tudo, do pai e do Eduardo. Sigam na fé, nada de tristeza, pular e pular, com a corda da vida. Volto depois, mas hoje é isso. Está tudo bem comigo. Bisa Joana me ajuda, tá? Beijão para os meus avós. Sem ciumera que o vô Luis seja a minha mão enviada para todos os meus avós.
Tá certo? Valeu. O Filho feliz e bem melhor,
Gabriel Lima Silva.

Why are environmental education and ecology relevant to the Spiritist movement?

2024-05-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Andre Luiz and Aniceto. Scene of the movie "The Messengers".

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8, 19:21)

Translation from the original post in Portuguese: Por que educação ambiental e ecologia são relevantes para o movimento espírita? (Parte II). Link (2024): https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2024/04/por-que-educacao-ambiental-e-ecologia.html

Aniceto's environmental class

Environmental education and ecology are practical duties of the Spiritist (and Spiritualist) movement and not merely a fact of intellectual interest. It is the product of Spiritist ethics applied not just to our fellow humans and our relationship with the Higher Power, but also to creatures that appear lesser than us. To this day, we believe we can dispose of and destroy these beings because they are "our property." Given that the law of love cannot yet be imposed on the hearts of most men, we must educate ourselves about it. We should start by learning about how we view all of the creatures and natural resources around us. Repeated thousands of times by reason and comprehended by the intellect, this law may find refuge in our hearts one day.

But, are there explicit references in Spiritist literature about the need to preserve the environment? The subject was too new for Kardec in the 19th century. There are, however, some indirect references in it, like Kardec's work Genesis according to Spiritism [1]:

Everything in the Universe is connected, everything is linked, and everything is subject to the great and harmonious law of unity.

Question 750 of The Spirits' Book (read online here: https://www.febnet.org.br/portal/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-spiritis-book.pdf) is another example of this requirement, but it is still formulated as a lesson that challenges the reader to determine whose side he should take in the debate over environmental preservation. We are aware of the argument that Spiritism's goal is not to interfere with any material part of existence, but rather to provide teachings that aid the soul's moral evolution.

Other more recent works have already treated the importance of ecology. André Trigueiro, for example, has recently written Spiritism and Ecology [4], which is an important resource for this consciousness awakening. Other researchers emphasized the importance of the theme to the Spiritist Movement [5]. In Emmanuel's O Consolador [6], an entire section "Biology" (First Part) is dedicated to Nature, with special emphasis on questions 27, 28, and 29.

The Spirit Aniceto's 1944 lecture on "The Gospel in the Rural Environment" in Chapter 42 of Os Mensageiros ("The Messengers") [3] is sometimes overlooked, yet it is a more direct approach. The Messagers is the second book written by the medium Francisco C. Xavier by automatic writing. I'm not sure if the passage was explored in this new movie release The Messengers based on the same book, because I didn't see the movie. Here, I study a piece directly from this book that provides numerous topics for reflection.

After quoting a passage of the Epistle to the Romans (8:19-21, at the beginning of this post), Anicetus begins his comments:

For millennia, nature has waited for human understanding. She has not only eaten on hope, but he also lives in ardent expectation, waiting for the insight and assistance of the Spirits incarnated on Earth, who are more correctly referred to as children of God. However, natural forces continue to be oppressed by all human vanity. This, my friends, happens because the Lord also hopes for the liberation of the beings enslaved in the Earth crust, so that freedom can be seen in the splendor of man. (My emphasis)

This demonstrates that there is a bond of fraternity that connects Humanity to all beings of Nature and that this collective of beings (and non-biotic resources) awaits our consideration as childrens of God. For now, she is still subjected to the "oppression of all human vanities."

I know your sacrifices firsthand, devoted spiritual workers of the earthy soil! Many of you remain here, and in other parts of the world as well, assisting other incarnates who are trapped by the illusions of material greed. How many times has your aid resulted in low-level exploitation in the realm of worldly affairs? (My emphasis)

It is a reference to the assistance of Spirits in human actions (question 459 of The Spirits' Book), which has been distorted by "low exploitation" in Earth's affairs. The lecture proceeds even more vigorously:

The majority of land cultivators wants everything without offering anything back. While you carefully watch over the maintenance of the foundations of life, you have seen civilization function as a vigorous grinding machine, converting men, our brothers, into little Moloches of bread, meat, and wine, completely immersed in the addiction of feelings and excesses of food, unconcerned about the enormous debt to loving and generous Nature. (My emphasis)

This is an explicit reference to exploitative farming methods and the nearly unquenchable human desires that fuel this unsustainable exploitation. Despite technical improvement, civilization continues to dispose of natural resources as a "grinding machine." "Moloches of bread, meat, and wine" is an image and reference to the god Moloch from the Old Testament, a well-known terrible entity who demanded child sacrifice. Aniceto therefore accuses modern society of "addiction to feelings and excesses of food," as well as a disregard for "the loving and generous Nature."

They oppress inferior creatures, harm the benevolent forces of life, are ungrateful to the sources of good, serve rural industries more out of vanity and ambition to earn than out of love and usefulness, and are nothing more than unhappy servants of wild passions. They create false wealth programs that lead to their demise; they write economic policy treaties that lead to destructive war; they develop the trade in undue gain, reaping the international complications that cause misery; and they dominate and exploit the weakest, only to awaken later among the monsters of hatred! (My emphasis)

Even though it was written in 1944, this appears to be a pretty accurate assessment of the current situation. Since then, environmental conditions have only deteriorated, and our globe is now facing potential unforeseen climate disruptions. The corruption that causes pollution and environmental imbalance is the product of these lesser forces seeking "undue gain". In this paragraph, Aniceto also discusses the repercussions of the "compulsory harvest" to which unrestrained exploiters of natural forces are vulnerable to exploitation without due regard for Nature's resources.

Finally, Aniceto describes the spiritual destiny of the "sacrificed beings":

The Lord reserves sublime evolutionary values for sacrificed beings. He will never forget the useful tree, the killed animal, or the humble being that was eaten for the sake of another creature!

I believe these are the most direct remarks ever made in Spiritist literature about environmental preservation and reverence for natural resources.

Final remarks

The formal property relationship as a right, even if transitory, carries with it the duty of preservation. Preserving the environment and living sustainably are thus manifestations of the law of love applied to the "weakest".

In the same way that the current generation suffers the result of previous faulty environmental acts as seen in climate change, the Spirit incarnated or not, will be unable to live up to a better home in the future if these new principles are ignored. Just as there is a "law of cause and effect" in human interactions and affairs, the same law applies to the environment.

If we may attribute some of our past ignorance to a lack of understanding of environmental responsibility, this is no longer possible today. And this is achieved by both accessing the scientific proofs of the consequences of unrestrained material exploitation and denying materialism, which overlooks the affinity relationship that links all beings.

If Spiritism's aim is to eradicate materialism, it is also its mission to explain why it is critical to respect all creatures and natural resources by reducing addiction to unrestrained feelings and excessive food consumption. For the materialist, preservation is important for present survival; for the spiritualist, it is a chance for fresh opportunities on Earth beyond death that demonstrate the brotherhood and links among all things and living creatures.

References

[1] Kardec A. La Genese selon le spiritisme (Genesis according to Spiritism). See version in English here: https://www.oconsolador.com.br/linkfixo/bibliotecavirtual/ingles/Genesis.pdf

[2] FEB (2023). O Espiritismo e a consciência ecológica (Spiritism and ecology consciousness). Acessado conforme disponível em março de 2024: https://www.febnet.org.br/portal/2023/04/22/o-espiritismo-e-a-consciencia-ecologica/

[3] Xavier F. C. (2023). Os Mensageiros (The Messengers), Ed. FEB. 47a Edição.

[4] Trigueiro A. (2022). Espiritismo e Ecologia (Spiritism and ecology). FEB Editora; 5ª edição.ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-6555704372

[5] Miguel S. H. (2023). Espiritismo e desenvolvimento sustentável: caminhos para a sustentabilidade (Spiritism and sustainable development: sustainability paths). Revista Brasileira de História das Religiões. ANPUH, Ano XV, n. 45

[6] Xavier F. C (1940). O Consolador. 4a Edition, FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation).

EVP III (Electronic mediumship)

2023-07-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Broadly speaking, mediumship can be defined as a person's ability to get in touch with the spirits. This concept follows very closely a famous definition made by A. Kardec in his treatise on mediumship, published in the heyday of Spiritualism. At the time, it was clear that mediumship manifestations could make use of external objects (as in the case of the celebrated "table-turning" or more generally in the haunting phenomena) or simply transmit elaborate information through the so-called "intellectual mediums".

It is understandable that the invention of electronic communication systems (as new manifestation media) prompted the emergence of new effects under the action of corresponding electronic mediums. As in every mediumship, the new ability can be understood as a more or less developed human skill to communicate with spirits through electronic equipment. "Development'' refers to the observed level of elaboration in the communicated message, or how complex or well-presented the transmitted information appears to the external world.

Kardec proposed a 4-dimensional characterization of the mediumship faculty based on traits of:

Passivity: characterizing the extent to which the medium can influence the content of a communication. The extremes of this dimension are complete passivity (e. g., clairvoyance) and active mediums (who have an active role in conveying information as in certain non-mechanical psychography mediums).
Awareness: or how aware the person is of his or her role as a medium. Awareness is split into two classes: unconscious versus conscious mediums. In the first case, also known as involuntary or natural mediums by Kardec, the person is completely unaware of the ability. This variety is highly frequent among children and teenagers. In the second case (facultative mediums) there is complete awareness of the ability to produce or suppress phenomena through the will.
Tangibility: referring to the intellectual versus "material'' effect produced by the mediumship. Physical effect mediums produce tangible phenomena (movement of objects, sounds such as raps and noises, healing etc). On the other hand, intellectual mediums produce intelligent, informative, or artistic communications (for example, painting mediums etc).
Spontaneity: involuntary mediums cannot control the onset, end, duration, and content of the manifestation. The majority of recorded psychic effects throughout history are of this type. On the other hand, some mediums are able to control (or at least suppress) the manifestation.

According to such a scheme, one can conceive electronic mediumship as a kind of psychic faculty capable of producing tangible effects (signals in the form of noise or voices) through electronic media almost exclusively. We say "almost exclusively" because it is uncertain if electronic mediums are able to manifest other mediumship types (for example, intellectual effects). EVP are tangible and mostly spontaneous, but the medium is seldom aware he/she is responsible for them. The manifestations are apparently spontaneous mainly in the early stages and remain uncontrollable throughout the medium's life.

No mediumship ability can be dissociated from “animism” which is the manifestation of the spirit of the medium through its own body. In other words, electronic mediums can subtly modify the content of EVP messages. This is true even for purely "mechanical mediums" as pointed out in on the medium's influence in the content of spirit communications:

Do these explanations imply that the spirit of the medium is never completely passive?
“It is passive when it does not mix its own ideas with those of the communicating spirit, but it is never completely nullified. Its cooperation is indispensable as an intermediary, even in so-called mechanical mediums''. (Question 10 of Paragraph 223 of "The Mediums' book").

Thus, the content of many EVP recorded by K. Raudive, a mixture of words many times uttered in different languages Raudive knew very well, might be explained as the result of this influence, despite the unintentional (and unconscious) character. This does not mean that the message content is familiar to the medium, or cannot be attributed to the spirits.

The most distinguished dimension of electronic mediumship is its unconscious character. It does not seem to require mental concentration, no "trance" is necessary. This principle was put forward by the spirits themselves to Kardec:

Can a spirit act without resorting to a medium?
"It can act without the medium being aware of it; in other words, many persons help spirits to produce certain phenomena without even suspecting it(*). These persons are like fountains from which spirits draw the animal fluid they need. Consequently, the conscious participation of a medium, as you know, is not always necessary, especially with spontaneous phenomena.'' (my emphasis, Part II, ``The action of spirits upon matter'', Paragraph 74, Question 15 of "The Mediums' book.)

Therefore, the presence of a nearby but unknown electronic medium might explain many eventual recordings.

By relying on special mediums the phenomenon is thus more prevalent in the presence of certain people than among the majority. This explains the futility of trying to "replicate" EVP when an electronic medium is missing. On the other hand, granted their presence, EVP can be replicated although no control over the message length, frequency, and content seems possible.

Notes

(*) Original in French: "beaucoup de personnes servent d'auxiliaires aux Esprits pour certains phénomènes, sans s'en douter".

Next post: EVP IV (Intention and physical interface)

EVP II (Electronic Voice Phenomena)

2023-06-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

Fig. 1 One of the earliest EVP reports published in the XX century: "Voices from the beyond on the telephone. New and admirable system of communication. Spirits talk on the telephone''.

As in XK's karaoke recordings, the Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP (*) gained notoriety when F. Jürgenson (1903-1987), a Swedish artist and singer, was recording birdsongs in 1959. At first, he believed voices were interference sources coming from radio stations operating nearby. Since the voices replied unmistakably to “callings”, and other anomalous answers were obtained even when the equipment was shielded in Faraday cages (to block external electromagnetic radiation), Jürgenson was convinced of their paranormal origin. Since then, names like Konstantin Raudive (1909-1974) and Hans O. König are linked to the history of EVP as relevant researchers who recorded many clear voices which cannot be explained away easily. In what appeared to be an acceptance of something already known, some Vatican authorities supported EVP experiments and claimed the voices came from Purgatory.

In fact, the interest in contacting spirits with electronic equipment is as old as the invention of wireless communication. It soon became clear to technical celebrities such as Thomas Edison (1847-1931), Oliver Lodge (1851-1940), and Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) that it might be possible to use the recently invented radio or some sort of electric circuit to communicate with the dead. Edison exchanged correspondence with William Crookes (1832-1919) about the possibility of obtaining images of spirits. In an interview for Scientific American in 1920, (an unthinkable interview given the publication standards of this journal today), Edison trustfully stated:

I have been thinking for some time of a machine or apparatus which could be operated by personalities that have passed on to another existence or sphere.

After declaring he knew nothing about the subject of “our personality passing on to another existence or sphere”, Edison continued:

But I do claim that it is possible to construct an apparatus that will be so delicate that if there are personalities in another existence or sphere who wish to get in touch with us in this existence or sphere, this apparatus will at least give them a better opportunity to express themselves than the tilting tables and raps and ouija boards and mediums and the other crude methods now purported to be the only means of communication.

He proposed to build a highly sensitive instrument in which electric currents could be manipulated by the dead provided they existed in “another sphere”. It did not occur to Edison that the human ear is such a sensitive machine. As it is known, at the threshold of human audition (~1 pW/m2), the ear can detect oscillations in air molecules as small as 1/10 the size of an atom!

Zarrelli stated properly that the “spirit phone” was Edison’s most fruitless invention. This failure should be attributed to Edison's disregard for the conditions under which the phenomenon occurs. Just having any apparatus, no matter how sensitive, is not enough. But Edison’s reasoning is very much alive these days. In a recent article, the same conclusions were drawn for the super-ultra-sensitive LHC collider in the context of detecting “other dimensions” including “ghosts”.

Communication by electronic media was possible since the widespread use of wired telephony. Predating Raymond Bayless experiments in 195, Oscar D’Argonnel published in 1925 Vozes do Além pelo Telephone (“Voices from the beyond on the telephone”, see Figure 1). This book reports D’Argonnel’s experiences with spirit communication a decade before its publication in Brazil. Recent research unveiled a curious Brazilian patent filled by the Portuguese Augusto de Oliveira Cambraia in 1909. Named Telegrapho Vocativo, its purpose was to transmit information through the air by using “souls and spirits floating in the atmosphere”. However, today it is hard to know what Cambraia meant by “souls and spirits” (it seems an improper reference to radio waves). Such scattered accounts of anomalous communication by wired phones at the beginning of the XX century can be linked to EVP reports using tape recorders much later.

Because no theory was ever available to explain how the voices could be picked up anomalously (or more generally speaking “signals” in the case of ITC – instrumental transcommunication), the EVP research took a purely empirical path since Jürgenson’s first recordings. Several technical arrangements for obtaining EVP were invented: using a simple tape recorder, with a recorder and a shortwave radio, with a recorder and a noise generator, using computers converted into digital recorders and noise generators, using a single or several radios as a noise source and a digital recorder and many others.

Since Edison's time, enthusiasts have supported the thesis of EVP as a non-mediumistic phenomenon par excellence. Provided a refined method existed in the future, they believe EVP could become the most trustworthy way of communicating with the beyond. After all, the information would come directly from the source (the spirits) to the equipment with no human influence. Perhaps many officials of the Catholic Church supported EVP in this non-mediumistic sense because the idea undermined any non-Catholic explanation implied by the medium’s presence.

But such non-mediumistic nature attributed to EVP is a naïve oversimplification of what may really happen during the voice recordings. In 1925, D'Argonnel emphasized the need for special mediums in his telephonic experiences. Clear phrases were obtained by a few researchers in the past and today. Others have recorded utterances as noise modulations which could be interpreted as acceptable answers to proposed questions. In fact, many EVP messages are barely lengthier than a couple of words forming short phrases. The majority of EVP enthusiasts have recorded barely understandable words feeding pareidolia-based explanations by skeptics. The frequency and quality of EVP messages are definitely correlated to the presence of certain people.

Notes

(*) EVP acronym is used for both phenomenon (sing.) or phenomena (plural).

Next post: EVP III (Electronic Mediumship)

EVP I (A haunted Karaoke)

2023-05-14T15:08:00.001-07:00

Fig. 1 Spectrogram of the first recording showing the audio feedback at about 1KHz and the anomalous voice (AV1) after 11 seconds. The number of audio samples for each FFT segment is 256.

But, soft: behold! lo where it comes again!

I'll cross it, though it blast me. - Stay, illusion!

If thou hast any sound, or use a voice.

Speak to me!

W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1.1

My nephew XK lives in the US and is a young American who speaks both Portuguese and English. Driven by his love for singing, he was alone at home recording songs with a Karaoke system. Careless about one of his recordings, he left the recorder on a little longer. To his surprise, he noticed an unexpected voice at the end of one of the files. After inquiring the unseen to give him and his mother a reply, the unusual voice appeared a second time. Fearing the invisible, he abandoned his karaoke sessions since then.

Fig.2 Filtered waveforms of AV1 in the indicated interval showing the anomalous voice.

My sister sent me two of the raw MP4 files sampled at 48KHz. The first recording was obtained on June 18 2019 at 4:03 pm and the second one about one hour later. The total recording time length of samples 1 and 2 is 13.76s and 17.62 s, respectively. In the first sample, the Karaoke speaker was on and the characteristic audio feedback is clearly heard. In the second file, registered with the speaker off, no feedback is present, but the output volume is much lower.

Fig. 3 Spectrogram of the second recording showing the presence of the anomalous voice (AV2) after 14 seconds following an initial ``invocation''. The number of audio samples for each FFT segment is 256.

It is possible to visually analyze sounds by calculating and displaying their spectrograms. These are frequency-time diagrams showing the time distribution of intensity amplitudes of each tone that compose the original sound. Spectrograms are the result of applying the famous “Fast Fourier Transformation” method (FFT in short) to the sampled audio signal. The first recording spectrogram is seen in Fig. 1. The “anomalous voice” (AV1) is present after about 11 seconds with a spectrum distribution between 1-8 KHz above the characteristic audio feedback (in the range 0.75-1.3KHz and 2.8-3.1KHz). By applying a 76dB flat filter in these ranges, the audio noise is reduced significantly. The filtered anomalous signal waveform in the time interval [11.6,12.75] is seen in Fig. 2. AV1 sounds like a whispering male voice pronouncing “I see”.

Fig. 4 Audio waveforms of AV2 ("yes") in the indicated interval showing the anomalous voice modulation.

Fig. 3 is the corresponding spectrogram of the second sample where other features are indicated. In particular, there is an initial "invocation'' in Portuguese that can be translated as "tell something to mom'' in the interval 1-2 s. Cracking sounds can be heard between 10-14 s. After 14.5 s, the silence is broken by an unmistakable but very low “yes” distributed mostly in the frequency range 1-2KHz, and whispered by the same male voice of the first recording. A zoomed view of the AV2 audio signal is seen in Fig. 4 in the time interval [14.75, 15.6] s.

The original single-channel versions were converted to WAV format, and can be listened here (1) and here (2). The complete filtered file can be accessed here.

Next post: EVP II (Electronic Voice Phenomena).

The spiritist interpretation of dreams

2019-03-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

"The dream" by Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes, 1883. Source: Wikipedia.

"Poor human beings! how little do you know of the commonest phenomena of your life! You

fancy yourselves to be very learned, and you are puzzled by the most ordinary things. To

questions that any child might ask, 'What do we do when we are asleep?' 'What are dreams?'

you are incapable of replying." (1)

“One day it will have to be officially admitted

that what we have christened reality is

an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.” ― Salvador Dali

We sleep a considerable portion of our lives, more precisely, about one-third of our incarnate lives. What happens in this state? It is easy to understand the need for sleep - so natural that we hardly question its importance - however, how do we justify dreams? What does the understanding of the dual nature of the human being, allowed by the Spiritist knowledge, help us to understand the mechanism of dreaming?

The dream experience is quite different from the ordinary experiences of the waking state. The latter admits "witnesses", who share these experiences publicly. If I travel with my family to a tourist destination, the experiences I had there are the same my relatives had. In dreams, however, this does not apply. Thus, if I dream about going to a distant place with my relatives, they will not confirm the same experience if I question them about their dreams. In principle, the whole experience of dreaming is private, that is, lived only in the "first person", by myself exclusively. Such a striking difference makes dreams to be considered mental experiences par excellence, that is, experiences created solely by the dreamer's mind.

Another distinguishing feature of dreams (I have already experienced this myself) is the apparent lack of causal connection among events within a dream. What happens at a particular moment - even though the apparent cause is declared in the dream - is not related causally to the following dream action. I remember a dream when I parked a car in a certain place. After other facts in the dream, when I return to get the car, it was no longer there or, at least, I could not remember where I had left the car in the dream... But I also remember dreams in which I was aware I was dreaming and could also keep the details of previous dreams connected to the last one I was having. In these cases, I was just finishing an adventure of a few nights before (someone told me in the dream): a situation best described as a "lucid dream".

The dream as a mnemonic synthesis of past experiences of the soul during sleep.

Dreams are the remembrance of what your spirit has seen during sleep, but you must remark that you do not always dream, because you do not always remember what you have seen, or all that you have seen. Your dreams do not always reflect the action of your soul in its full development; for they are often only the reflex of the confusion that accompanies your departure or your return, mingled with the vague remembrance of what you have done, or of what has occupied your thoughts, in your waking state. (1)

As already described in Question #402 in The Spirit's Book (1), dreams do not reduce themselves simply to the state of the soul freed from the body. If this were so, the experience, although private, should be consistent, in other words, dreams would be indistinguishable from "out-of-the-body" experiences. Dreams may be described rather as a kind of mnemonic synthesis of what occurs during sleep which is meaningful to the spirit; a re-construction or assembly, greatly affected by memories of past experiences, of what is important to the mind during sleep. Although the mechanism is fully unknown, this synthesis or composite is constructed from almost everything relevant to the individual at the moment of awakening: desires, fears, the reinterpreted experience of the previous day, memories of the present and past lives, and even past experiences the spirit has had recently, that is, the very memories of other dreams.

For me, the immense majority of people (including myself) cannot perfectly retain, through the "prism of the brain", the memories acquired by the senses of the soul during the dreaming state. The events of the dream are therefore recreated from a "bank of memories", almost entirely based on previous experiences of the waking state. It is like creating a new movie using a sequence of edited scenes from old films. In this "editing" process, the memory bank is accessed and its symbols, scenes or poses are used to "synthesize" a memory of the actual experience. Thus, after waking up, most recollected sequences are often erratic or does not fit into a rational or logic arrangement.

For example, imagine that I, in spirit state, was in contact with other people during sleep. When I awake, the remembrance process will most likely substitute the personality whom I have been in contact with by other people I recognize in the vigil state: sometimes a friend I know later was indeed awakened, or another person whom I have long forgotten and so on. It is even possible that the dream is filled out with an image of a discarnate relative. And so we usually wake up with the impression of having been in contact with that dead relative, but in fact, that was not true. It was rather a recreation because in no way my physical brain is able to sustain faithfully the images of my actual experience as a spirit in the dream. Only the script is more or less similar. The mnemonic assembly is necessary to give a meaning of those experiences lived in the dream to my consciousness in the awakened state. We should remember that the experiences of the dream do not reach the soul through the common pathways of the material senses (the nervous system). Therefore, they are reinterpreted when they finally reach the brain when we awake.

So, those were not the ones I have been in contact with when I dreamed about my deceased mother, father or any other relative? Not necessarily. A somewhat different situation occurs in the already mentioned lucid dreams, which are a category of rare and peculiar dreams. In them, the dreamer knows he/she is dreaming or is having the experience. In the dreams I had with my deceased mother, I had a distinct impression that she came to visit me. Amazingly, the dream environment was the bed I was lying - somehow I know it - and the dream finished when I woke up in tears. These particular dreams differ greatly from the immense majority of banal, meaningless dreams we have often because they are full of meaning to us.

The idea of dreams as a process of re-creation of experience of the soul during sleep by assembling preexisting memories allows us to explain the so-called "premonitory dreams". In fact, these can also be recreated from previous images, but they deal with future events based on the experience of the soul in the Beyond regarding these facts. Trying to interpret them may be a frustrating practice because they only make sense to the dreamer who preserves their real meaning unconsciously. Moreover, premonition dreamers might not be competent in conveying or communicating the true meaning in time, which is a source of countless confusions.

In summary, we can divide the impressions caused by the dreams in three levels of meanings:

The deep meaning, ultimately existing only for the soul, that is, as an unconscious "memory" impressed to the incarnate being, an "unfelt awareness". The sense can be recapitulated in other dreams or invoked in lucid dreams. It certainly survives physical death as the heritage of the soul experience,
The fragmented vigil meaning, recreated on the base of preexisting images or memories of the vigil state, the materialized meaning for the waking being, perhaps to be forgotten with physical death,
The sense conveyed to others, depending on our ability to communicate the dream experience to others in the incarnate world. This meaning can cause a very different impression, making their "interpretation" difficult, although in some anomalous case, the meaning is very clear.

"Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream" (Genesis cap 41, 14-36),
The Phillip Medhurst Picture Torah 199. Source: Wikipedia.

The importance of anomalous dreams

Presently, most of the theoretical impasse regarding the most popular conceptions of the mind is due to their exclusive reference to the events taking place with the immense majority of people. I understand the reason from a practical point of view. Statistically, it makes sense to devote research effort to what happens most of the time. By doing this, however, we sacrifice the understanding of the deeper causes in detriment of what is more frequent. Thus the anomalies that occur with only a few are swept under the rug by explanations seemingly applicable to what is general. It is reasonable to ask if the truest theory is the one fitting the majority of the facts or the one leaving no fact aside. In medicine, one does not learn anything about diseases by studying only healthy people. Therefore, anomalies should be regarded since they are a way to establish correlations and to explain the exceptions beyond the rule.

The so-called "anomalous dreams" represent precisely this situation. Unlike ordinary dreams, they resemble lucid dreams by bringing meaningful messages containing "anomalous content". An elucidating work about anomalous dreams is due to S. Krippner and L. Faith entitled "Exotic dreams: A cross-cultural study" (2). In this work, the authors identified (from a set of about 1700 dream reports), nearly 185 (or 8%) considered "exotic". Such reports were then classified according to several types: healing dreams, lucid dreams, creative dreams, dreams with out-of-body experiences, shared dreams, dreams within dreams (as I had), dreams of past lives, visitation dreams, etc.

The so-called "shared dreams" are particularly interesting. These are reports of people who experience mutual dreams or dreams whose content is partially shared among individuals. Thus, the "first person" character of dreams may be weakened (3).

In creative dreams, Krippner and Faith reported dream narratives in which people were aided in dreams to solve problems of everyday life.

In a visitation dream, a painter from Japan reported having been advised by her father, who died in World War II, to choose her paintings and even on how to use the brush. The experience was highly significative and helped to improve the painter professional performance.

According to the authors in (2), dreams about tragedies (precognitive dreams) do not always end in a fatal way. They usually manifest themselves as the announcement of diseases or vulnerable situations of people at a distance.

Finally, the authors in (2) suggest a correlation between the incidence of anomalous dreams and the cultural environment in which they occur. In fact, this correlation is expected, considering that dreams are interpreted in terms of previous mental baggage. Therefore, the greater the individual' awareness about spiritual realities, the clearer will be their representation in exotic or peculiar dreams.

As for lucid dreams, it is possible that most people have already experienced - at least once in life - this kind of dream which would be more expected in cultures which value spirituality.

Conclusions

In this note, I have listed some relevant aspects to our understanding of the genesis and unfolding of dreams. A suitable explanation of the mechanism of dreams must both explain the dynamics with the vast majority of people, and the peculiar cases occurring with specific groups as well. Such anomalous experiences may also manifest at least once in people's life.

It is not possible to understand dreams without appealing to the dual nature of the human being, a simple reality that is able to explain both the reported exceptions and everyday life dreams. What we call dreams are, in fact, memories of events taking place during sleep, memories that are reconstructed out of other perceptions of facts lived by the person in the awaken state. This explanation agrees with the idea that, in the dream state, the spirit cannot excite the body directly (that is, the brain), because it is partially detached from it. In the process of "reassembling" the experience as a meaningful narrative to the vigil state, experiences of the present life (everyday facts, known people etc) are used, just as "extraordinary" memories (e. g., of previous lives, or other dreams etc).

The random, erratic or senseless impression of most dreams is a consequence of such reassembly of memories from a bank of internal fragments. In general, the meaning of dreams only exists unconsciously for the person who experiences it. It is very difficult to interpret dreams correctly, although this might be possible exceptionally.

The understanding that dreams are memories of the spiritual life allows us to explain a great variety of accounts considered "anomalous", which are then important sources confirming the proposed mechanism behind dreams. Without proper attention to such anomalous accounts, dreams are often considered merely as "hallucinations" or "fantasies" of the brain, showing no correlation with the true and hidden reality.

In addition to dividing dreams between "ordinary" and "peculiar" types, for most people, dreams may be further subdivided into "ordinary/common" and "lucid" dreams. In the last case, the dreamer knows he/she is dreaming and, therefore, can "control" the dream in principle. Apparently, such control is subjected to training (4).

It seems evident that dreaming is an important stage in the progress of the incarnate soul. By countless repetitions, the spirit liberates itself from the physical world and recalls its disembodied life. In a certain sense, dreaming is a training process for the ultimate physical deliverance that we call death.

References

(1) Question 402, "The Spirit's Book" (A. Kardec). Translated from French by Anne Blackwell. Online version here: http://geeaknorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Spiritsbook.pdf (March 2019).

(2) Krippner, S., & Faith, L. (2001). "Exotic dreams: A cross-cultural study". Dreaming, 11(2), 73-82.

(3) Another work related to shared dreams is Davis, W. J., & Frank, M. (1994). "Dream sharing: A case study". The Journal of Psychology, 128 (2), 133-147.

(4) See, e. g., May E. C & LaBerge S. (1991) "Anomalous Cognition in Lucid Dreams". Science Applications International Corporation. In March 2019, this work can be downloaded here:

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00789r003100140001-2

Draft of a spiritist explanation of sleep paralysis

2018-03-22T09:20:00.002-07:00

"Nightmare" by Johann Heirich Füssli (1741-1825).

To know the effects of this unseen force that dominates and subjugates us despite our will would mean possessing the key to many issues, as well as answers for many ignored occurrences. If the consequences can be terrible, isn't recognizing the source of evil a way to protect ourselves from it, just as understanding the qualities of electricity gave us the ability to mitigate the disastrous effects of lightning? (A. Kardec, [6])

The scene is one of a delightful Saturday afternoon. I seek afternoon repose to recoup from the week's exhaustion. Sleep, however, does not come in the usual way. Just before waking up, I begin to notice everything around me. Through half-closed eyes, I observe the room's familiar decor. Panic and despair overtake me, and I am unable to rise. I hear the voices of distant family members who are aware I am asleep. I try to turn my head, but what a horrible surprise! It is made of lead. I try to raise my arm over my abdomen, but it seems like it's turned to concrete. I tried to turn my arm and torso as if I manipulated tools, not a body. How long did I stay in this state? I can't say, but when I finally wake up, for reasons I don't understand, I feel like I've returned to my own body, which gives me a sense of comfort. I just had sleep paralysis.

How many times have I experienced it? Probably three times in my life I guess. The so-called "sleep paralysis" is an uncommon event in a person's life, but it is relatively common in the population. My personal experience described above is by no means typical. In addition to the sense of powerlessness caused by being unable to "adjust" to the body, there are tales of presences, anomalous perceptions, or intrusive figures in the scene of people desperately attempting to awaken. The stories are similar and describe a common sensation: that the personality stays intact, aware of its surroundings, but for some reason, it is unable to adjust to the body and ends up perceiving what appears to be a combination of "reality" and "hallucinations".

Hallucinations. Reports of anomalous occurrences during sleep paralysis.

The term "hallucination" is something recent in the specialized literature. It was created by J. Étienne Esquirol [1] in 1845. Before that, the term used for such occurrences was "apparition". It is noteworthy that, in the works of A. Kardec, the former is used in the sense that has become dominant, while the latter has taken on another meaning. In cases of sleep paralysis, it is common to use the terms "hypnagogic" and "hypnopompic" hallucinations, which should not be frightening, as these names are not used to "explain", but only to classify or designate something. The first term represents hallucinations that occur when falling asleep, while the latter designates those that occur when waking up. Such names were created by the spiritualist philologist Frederic Meyers (1843 – 1901).

Before outlining a Spiritist explanation for the expanded sensitivity that occurs during sleep paralysis, it is worth reading some reports. These were taken from comments on the website www.nosleeplessnights.com (3, accessed September 2015), but similar ones can be found in specialized literature (4):

Margaux de Bokay (September 22, 2015 / 8:02 AM): Hi my name Margaux, and I just experienced a Sleep Paralysis last night. But this one was different. My past experiences of sleep paralysis, I usually find myself in company of a black entity, demon or maleficent form. It doesn’t hold me down, it just stares at me and watch me struggle to move my body or cry for help. I usually fight so hard to get the control of my body back. Try to open my eyes to really see the shape or face of the entity. Try to touch it, feel it. And after fighting that hard, convincing myself I am in control of my own body, I am finally relieved, and the entity floats away. (my emphasis)

Bailey (September 17, 2015 at 3:50 am): I have these experiences a few times over the course of a few months.They have been happening since I was young. Tonight was probably one of the scariest times I’ve had with the thing. I am 3 months pregnant, and very tired a lot of the time. I had dozed off in my bed a few hours ago and suddenly I couldn’t move, I could hear a noise in my right ear like a woman talking, but she was speaking so fast I couldn’t make out the words. She sounded wrong to me, almost evil. I knew what was going on having experienced it before; but it was still terrifying. I thought maybe I opened my eyes and saw a group of shadows on my ceiling standing around me. They were quiet other than the woman talking. I could feel my hand on my lower abdomen and instantly I was scared for my developing baby. I kept trying to focus my mind on something positive. I am not religious, but my head went to singing Jesus loves me. And suddenly the woman stopped talking and said “there is no love" and went on babbling. I was shocked and freaked out by the response. I came out of it sweating and freaked out in my dark room by myself. I really wish there was a way to stop these episodes from happening; they concern me. (my emphasis)

Kevin A (September 9, 2015 / 11:29 PM): I have had experiences like this for around 9-10 years now. Not too frequently but still more times than i would like. Every time, i am lying in bed, just woke up randomly in the middle of the night and i can’t move at all. Depending on the time depended on which side of the bed out was on. But there is always a pitch black figure that was darker than the pitch black room, about 7 foot tall in a black robe with extremely long fingers/fingernails (can’t see details well without contacts so i don’t know which) and it’s face is even blacker, there’s nothing where it’s face is supposed to be and then it raises it’s hands and points one of its fingers at me. In one of them he had glowing red eyes and a scythe but not in the rest. In one of them i started repeating the Lord’s prayer and he/it growled at me and another demon looking thing appeared in my face before disappearing and i woke up. In another i just focused on moving so i could fight it and woke up/got released. I don’t know which side of things to believe but i believe that science and religion can be together to come to a logical explanation hopefully not involving demons/malevolent spirits. (my emphasis)

Perhaps the occurrence of sleep paralysis accounts for the abundance of descriptions of "incubi" and "succubi" in ancient literature. This idea has been investigated in several works (see [8]) and allows for the description of certain cultural myths [9].

Draft of a Spiritist explanation

Hallucinations cannot be explained because no modern theory still integrates consciousness perceptions with information reception by the brain - despite numerous conceptual proposals - even though correlations exist between drug influence and nervous system nonconformities (some mental illnesses). These correlations do not imply causation. However, in cases of sleep paralysis, it is unknown whether the patient is under the effects of drugs or is mentally sick. Although it affects between 3% and 6% of the population, it is a rare incident in a person's life, usually classified as an "uncontrollable" event. However, as previously indicated, simply referring to the phenomena with a specific term or complicated designation does not provide an explanation.

However, reports of a "malignant presence" are so frequent that scholars have sought to provide an explanation. One that mixes neurology and evolutionism was proposed by Cheyne [4] (see abstract):

It is argued that the sensed presence during sleep paralysis arises because of REM-related endogenous activation of a hypervigilant and biased attentive state, the normal function of which is to resolve ambiguities inherent in biologically relevant threat cues. Given the lack of disambiguating environmental cues, however, the feeling of presence persists as a protracted experience that is both numinous and ominous. This experience, in turn, shapes the elaboration and integration of the concurrent hallucinations that often take on supernatural and daemonic qualities. The sense of presence considered here is an ‘other’ that is radically different from, and hence more than a mere projection of the self. Such a numinous sense of otherness may constitute a primordial core consciousness of the animate and sentient in the world around us. (my emphasis)

Therefore, these figures are seen as "mind constructions" that work more than "mere projections of the self". In other words and in any way, according to [4] they are live hallucinations. However, this explanation does not appear to be consistent with reports of the paralyzed individual's interaction with the entity, with others describing various presences [5], or even with my own experience (in my case, I did not see any "mysterious threat" - in fact, most sleep paralysis experiences do not include these presences). Other interpretations for the thesis of the "mind that confabulates with itself" as a self-protection mechanism can be found elsewhere [7].

Some observations of the facts narrated during these experiences are:

They occur more frequently when waking up (only 10% occur when going asleep, they are often classified as "hypnopompic hallucinations'').
The incidents appear to primarily impact young adults [4].
The subject is not under the influence of medications.
The subject is not mentally ill (although as already suggested, see [4], mental disorders may be associated with some occurrences).
Some experiences report breathing difficulties.
The episodes are uncontrollable. There is no way to predict or provoke them, nor an infallible method of ending the paralysis.
The feeling of body control loss, hence the name "paralysis". It is vital to note that consciousness is functioning during the occurrence - it is not in a dream state - while feeling displaced or disconnected from its paralyzed body.
The room or place where the person is resting is always present in the experience. This is referred to as the "realistic perception of the environment" [8]. In other words, most of what the individuals see during sleep paralysis corresponds to the sole "reality" that they believe in.
Some accounts (approximately 1/4 of instances, see 4) nearly always describe the presence of a malignant entity or "thing" that is watching the person in their agony to regain possession of the body.
A few accounts describe complete out-of-body experiences.

Spiritism (as a dualist doctrine) holds that the brain does not create consciousness, but rather serves as an interface for its manifestation. As stated by W. James (1842 - 1910) [8b], the brain is a "transmissive medium", through which consciousness flows. As a result, while physiological causes for sleep paralysis can be identified, its genesis cannot be separated from the human being's dual nature. In this way, all hallucinations, as objects tangible only to the mind, originate in the spiritual element, whether from the incarnated person who observes them (as a result of his mental activity) or from other spirit sources. Some mediumistic narratives (such as those by spirit author André Luiz) describe Spirits experiencing hallucinations, meaning that the problem does not terminate with physical death because it originates in the spirit mind, which cannot be destroyed.

"Achilles Searching for the Shade of Patrocles". Johann Heirich Füssli (1803). Source: Wikipedia.

From the Spiritist point-of-view, two main factors should be taken into account to explain sleep paralysis:

The dual nature of the human being: the (biological) evolution of humans predicts experiences that begin to prepare us for a split life - between the two planes of existence (dreams being one of them). This means that sleep paralysis could be viewed as routine occurrences of "training" of the incarnated Spirit within its body. Such interconnected experiences cannot be dissociated during human existence.
"Spirits are everywhere" [6b]. Many experiences of unusual presences, most of which are associated with negative sensations, are most likely created by disembodied entities (Bailey's instance recounted above may be indicative of an interaction with a disembodied person in a less happy condition).

As a consequence of these principles, some remarks are possible:

Many people who experience sleep paralysis identify as agnostic or have no religious beliefs. However, during the occurrence, they ask for God's protection (or recall having asked for protection). This may indicate that the individual is in a state close to the spirit realm where he/she thinks as a spirit rather than an incarnated person. The frequent accounts that one thinks differently than when awake, even though the state of awareness is equivalent to being awake, reveals something about such dual nature of the human mind, or the frontier between the mind (spirit) and the brain.
Sleep paralysis can be described as an "incomplete/partial OBE" (out-of-body experience), a threshold zone between the onset of sleep and the waking state in which typical disembodied spirit faculties operate jointly or in a disturbed manner with the sensory faculties of the incarnated state. In it, the individual begins to see or interpret the presence of spirits, which are constantly present.
We do not believe that sleep paralysis implies the concomitant action of obsessions (systematic spiritual evil influence) or that it should be referred to as an obsessive process/state. Obsessions rarely limit their activity to midnight/sleep events; those who suffer from obsessions also have their daytime hours affected since the subject is always under the influence of the obsessive spirit. On the contrary, obsessed subjects may experience sleep paralysis more frequently than spiritually balanced individuals.
Nonetheless, perceptions of hearing something or someone "breathing" nearby, feeling weight on the body, and so on can be attributed to the spirit's inability to link with its own body.
Certain medical or psychological conditions, such as stress, depression, or trauma, facilitate the influence of ill-intentioned spirits, which is referred to as 'spirit attraction/fascination' in the Spiritist literature. The psychological state of the stressed individual mind simply attracts such discarnate spirits without more serious consequences. As a result, during sleep paralysis, these spirits may be perceived by the paralyzed, which is the cause for the link between these psychological conditions and the onset of sleep paralysis.
There are several videos on YouTube with recommendations on how to get rid of sleep paralysis, but they seem suspicious to me because they ignore the spiritual character of the experiences (which makes them random) and many anomalous details. In summary: they are incomplete because they rely too heavily on "neurological explanations" or materialistic views.

How to reduce unpleasant presence during sleep paralysis.

The Spiritist explanation has one advantage: it allows us to deduce procedures that, in theory, can reduce the stress of sleep paralysis (and there are reports to support this). Given that the paralysis may be described as a "partial OBE" phenomenon, we believe that mental control and adopting a positive stance with requests for protection - which must include praying - can significantly reduce ill-intentioned influences, even if the paralysis during sleep cannot be eliminated completely (remember, it is part of Human nature). Because the individual is "awake" in the paralyzed state, he can and should request this protection. Kardec seems to have summarized this point in the following passage:

Our studies teach that the invisible world that surrounds us constantly reacts on the visible world and shows us that it is one of the forces of Nature. To know the effects of this unseen force that dominates and subjugates us despite our will would mean possessing the key to many issues, as well as answers for many ignored occurrences. If the consequences can be terrible, isn't recognizing the source of evil a way to protect ourselves from it, just as understanding the qualities of electricity gave us the ability to mitigate the disastrous effects of lightning? If we succumb, we will only be able to complain about ourselves, because ignorance is not an excuse. The risk is in the empire that bad Spirits have over people, which is not only disastrous in terms of the errors of principle that they can promote, but also in terms of material life's interests. [6]

Prayer frees oneself from oppressive influence, reduces or even eliminates the action of evil-intentioned Spirits, and serves to strengthen (positively predispose) the spirit experiencing the paralysis. We will only have an effective treatment for sleep paralysis when all of the causes (physical and spiritual) are thoroughly understood. Clearly, the spiritist contribution cannot be overlooked.

References

1 - Blom, J. D. (2009). A dictionary of hallucinations. Springer Science & Business Media.

2 - Kardec, A. See: "The book on Mediums", 2nd Part, "On spirit manifestations", Cap. VI - On visual manifestation. "Theory of hallucination ".

3 - Link (2024): https://www.nosleeplessnights.com/sleep-paralysis-stories-intruder-demon-or-delusion/comment-page-11/?mode=list

4 - Cheyne, J. A. (2001). The ominous numinous. Sensed presence and 'other' hallucinations. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8(5-6), 133-150.

Link (2024): http://cabinet.auriol.free.fr/Documents/ParalysieSommeil/cheyne.pdf

5 - Terrillon, J. C., & Marques-Bonham, S. (2001). Does recurrent isolated sleep paralysis involve more than cognitive neurosciences. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 15(1), 97-123. Link (2024): ResearchGate.

6 - Original in French:

Nos études nous apprennent que le monde invisible qui nous entoure réagit constamment sur le monde visible ; elles nous le montrent comme une des puissances de la nature ; connaître les effets de cette puissance occulte qui nous domine et nous subjugue à notre insu, n'est-ce pas avoir la clef de plus d'un problème, l'explication d'une foule de faits qui passent inaperçus ? Si ces effets peuvent être funestes, connaître la cause du mal, n'est-ce pas avoir le moyen de s'en préserver, comme la connaissance des propriétés de l'électricité nous a donné le moyen d'atténuer les effets désastreux de la foudre ? Si nous succombons alors, nous ne pourrons nous en prendre qu'à nous-mêmes, car nous n'aurons pas l'ignorance pour excuse. Le danger est dans l'empire que les mauvais Esprits prennent sur les individus, et cet empire n'est pas seulement funeste au point de vue des erreurs de principes qu'ils peuvent propager, il l'est encore au point de vue des intérêts de la vie matérielle.

As found in: Kardec, A. "Revue Spirite - Journal D'Étude Psychologique". July 1859. Closing speech of the social year 1858-1859.

Link (2024): https://www.oconsolador.com.br/linkfixo/bibliotecavirtual/frances/revue-spirite-1859.pdf (in French)

6b - Kardec A. "The Medium's book". First Part - Preliminary observations, Chapter I - Are there spirits? Translated by Darrel W. Kimble and Marcia M. Saiz.

Link to the English version (2024 by FEB): https://www.febnet.org.br/portal/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-mediums-book.pdf

7 - McNamara P (2011) Sleep Paralysis - when you wake up but can't move. Psychology Today. Disponível em: (acesso outubro de 2015)

Link (20204): https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dream-catcher/201112/sleep-paralysis

8 - Adler, S. R. (2011). Sleep paralysis: Night-mares, nocebos, and the mind-body connection. Rutgers University Press.

8b - Taylor S. (2019). The Genius of William James. Link (2024): Psychology Today.

9 - Some myths and tales around the world that can be explained as caused by sleep paralysis (see [8] for more examples):

In Portugal, the word "pesadelo" (nightmare) might be linked to the feeling of a weight (peso) on the body caused by the inability to move during sleep paralysis.
The phenomenon of the pressing ghost in Hong Kong;
Kanashibari (金縛り) in Japan;
Dab Tsog (the oppressing demon) - Hmong;
Ogun Oru (night guerilla) in Iorubá (southwest Nigéria);
Ga-ui Nool-lim (가위눌림, the pressing nighmare) - Korea.

The moral crisis (by Leon Denis) and the Spiritist answer

2017-10-04T16:35:00.004-07:00

The present hour is a time of crisis and renewal. The world is in fermentation, corruption is in the ascendant: the mighty shadow spreads and the peril is great, but behind the shadow we perceive the light, and behind the peril, salvation. Society cannot perish: if it bears within it the germs of decomposition, there likewise are those of transformation and redemption. Decomposition confirms death, but it also heralds the new birth. It is the prelude of another life.

And whence will proceed this light, this salvation, this redemption? Surely not from the Church, which is incapable of regenerating the human mind. Not from science, which cares neither for conscience nor for character, but only for that which concerns the senses: devotion, virtue, justice, love all that enters into the making of noble characters and wholesome societies - none of these appertain to the domain of the senses.

That the moral level should be raised, that the two streams of superstition and skepticism, which terminate in a sea of sterility, may be checked, a fresh conception of life and of the universe is indispensable. One which, based upon the study of nature and conscience, upon the observation of facts and the principles of reason, may at last determine the aim of our life and regulate our onward progression. What we require is a belief which affords an incentive for improvement, a moral sanction and a strong conviction as to our ultimate fate.

But this conception and this teaching we already have: and daily are they becoming better known. Above the din of the disputes, above the divergences of philosophical schools, a voice has made itself heard - the voice of the Dead. The Dead have revealed themselves from beyond the grave, more alive than when they stood amongst us in the flesh. In the light of their revelations the veil has fallen, which hid from us the future life. Their precepts will conciliate all conflicting creeds, and will cause a new flame to arise from the ashes of the past. In the philosophy of Spiritism, we find again that secret doctrine which ran like a golden vein through the quartz of the ages, but renovated and now cleansed of its dross. Its shattered remnants have been gathered and bound together by a powerful cement, and even now frame an edifice vast enough to accommodate all nations and all civilizations. That the strength of its foundations might be beyond suspicion, the new edifice has been erected upon the rock of direct experience and constantly renewed faith. Thanks to it, the certainty of immortality is being made manifest to all men, together with the innumerable existence and the unceasing progress that await us in the successive cycles of eternity.

Such doctrine is bound to transform all the nations and classes of the world: conveying light where all is dark: melting, with its heat, the icy selfishness that lies at the heart of man: revealing to all men the laws that unite them with the bonds of a close solidarity. Its unification will be compounded of peace and harmony. Through it we shall learn the act with one heart and with one mind. Conscious of his strength, man will be able to advance with an assured tread towards his splendid destiny.

Leon Denis. From "Here and Hereafter", First Part, "The Moral Crisis". Translated by George Fleurot. Willian Rider and Son Limited. 2nd Edition. 1910.

Principles of spiritual healing 1: introduction

2017-09-13T04:16:00.001-07:00

Fig 1 Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus. Gustave Doré (1832-1883).

In a sequence of several short texts, we will introduce and discuss here several aspects related to "spiritual healing" from the spiritist point of view. The subject is surely relevant, given the complex nature of healing process and the perspective of new treatments. In this introductory post, we will present some of the recent findings in the field and the spiritist interpretation of them, emphasizing the multiple sides of the phenomenon.

One should first give precise meaning to the words used to the notion of "healing" and "spiritual". The word "spiritual" is linked to "spirit" - in fact it is rooted in this word. The notion of spirit many times is in opposition to "matter" or the material part of the human being. Surely, if there is any recovery and it involves the body, "spiritual healing" can only refer to the process of obtaining the cure without the use of any material help, in a "spiritual way". Sometimes one also hears about "spirit healing" which seems to emphasize the spirit nature of the healing process. However, if there is a cure, it must involve certain material transformations, that is, they end up related to the body. Therefore, there must have a link, a channel or way between the purely "mental" or "spirit" side to the bodily "stuff". Understand this way or mechanism is presently one of the most challenging tasks since it involves the so-called "mind-body" interaction problem to which Spiritism may contribute.

From the spiritist viewpoint, since life is eternal and the body is only a cloth - which is permanently dispensed after death - the real cure is a process attached to the spirit nature of human beings. Therefore, one can speak about the "true remedy" as a process which starts during the incarnate period but may only terminate after death. In fact, death may be part of the healing process from the viewpoint of the spirit life - hence the existence of terminal diseases. In this respect, to understand the true state of health one should also understand the hidden reason behind the existence of diseases affecting humans. According to the spirits, they are caused by deep unbalances in the human soul. Hence, although many physical causes may be identified as associated to a given body malfunction, there will only be true cure after important transformations take place in the human spirit so as to render it "clean" from the conditions leading to the disease state. However, this is not the whole story. According to the spirits, in many situations, before reincarnation, the spirit asks for certain diseases in its future life in order to avoid the repetition of past mistakes:

Before reincarnation, in the possession of full understanding as spirits, we analyzed the susceptible points of our souls and pleaded the issuing of physical hindrances at proper time in our own favor to immunize ourselves against the repetition of past mistakes we are still attached to. (Emmanuel, "Leis do Amor", F. C. Xavier, medium)

The law of "cause and effect" applied to the soul must be thoroughly investigated in order to fully understand the reason behind the occurrence of diseases. In fact, the very condition of an incarnate in this planet is a sign of our still imperfect nature as spirits (spirits say these imperfections are all related to the way we relate to ourselves, to God and our incarnate fellow). Otherwise, we should already have gained access to the superior worlds where diseases are not known - at least as they are on Earth. As a first conclusion, we should never miss this important point: my transitory life is just a brief moment in my true spirit existence and the diseases offer me important temporal opportunities of improvement of my soul.

First works

fig. 2 "La Revue Spirite", or "Spiritist Magazine"

founded by Allan Kardec, discussed the existence

of healing mediums in its March 1860 issue..

Having said that, it is also appropriate to say that people can be attained cure of the body right now, both by undertaking the many treatments science has discovered by medicine and through "spiritual healing" as well. This is not in contradiction to what was written before. It is simply the end tip of the improvement process when the body no longer reflects the spirit unbalances because the soul is now straightened. The time is now ripe for the full recovery because we are worthy of it. The existence of "nonphysical" process of healing was discussed by Allan Kardec already in 1860 in the "Revue Spirite" (in the March issue, 1) under the title "Un médium guérisseur" ("A healing medium"). Part of the teachings put forward by the spirits to Kardec about "healing mediums" can be read in "The Book on Mediums" (2), Chapter 14, "Of mediums", when Kardec presents the many types of mediums. In Paragraph 175, one can read:

We shall say only that this kind of mediumship consists principally in the gift possessed by some persons of healing by the simple touch, by the look, even by the gesture, without the help of any medication. It will, doubtless, be said, that it is nothing but magnetism. It is evident the magnetic fluid here plays a great part; but this phenomenon is carefully examined, it is easily seen that there is something more (2).

The word in italics "magnetism" is of considerable importance here in order to understand Kardec's statement. This word has nothing to do with "magnetism" in the physical sense, the property of natural or artificial magnets. To understand this word in Kardec's context, we should go back to F. A. Mesmer (1734-1815) who coined the expression "animal magnetism" (3) as an analogue to "natural magnetism" to explain the many cures obtained by him (4). The idea is that a kind of fluid - called magnetic fluid - was exchanged between healer and the ill person. Since Mesmer theory had considerable influence at the time, it was natural to Kardec to adopt it - it was in fact accepted by many influential scholars. Later, Mesmer ideas were academically surpassed by the alternative idea of hypnosis which came as a kind of "official" explanation to the healing mystery.

Fig. 3 Illustration from Baron Du Potet's 1863 work

on "mesmerism" depicting the idea of magnetic

"effluvia" from healer to the patient as a possible

explanation of healing process.

However, how much hypnotism can explain the many cures obtained by spiritual healers around the world today is a measure of the magnitude of the mistake of associating Mesmer's achievements with a purely hypnotic action. Surely Mesmer's flamboyant and theatrical personality did not contribute to his fame among scholars who were jealous of his miracles. Mainstream medicine today denies the existence of spiritual healing in much the same way it denied Mesmer's works in the past. In any way, the presence of a kind of "invisible matter" exchanged between healer and the ill is still a useful principle and has survived in our days in the many references to a kind of "healing energy" responsible for the cures as we will see in a future post.

Spirits account of the process of spiritual healing

After realizing hypnotism as a kind of "alternative explanation" put forward by scholars to explain away a phenomena originally discovered by Mesmer and reinforced by the existence of healing mediums and their associated phenomena, we can understand the explanation advanced by the spirits in Paragraph 176 of (2) on spiritual healing, (spirit answers and some original French words used by Kardec - neologisms in English - are written in italics below). We reproduced some parts of this paragraph here given its importance and return later with some comments.

1. Can persons endowed with magnetic power (puissance magnétique) be considered as forming a variety of mediums?

You cannot doubt it.

2. Yet the medium is an intermediary between the spirits and man; but the magnetizer (magnétiseur), drawing his strength from within himself, seems not to be the intermediary of any foreign power.

It is an error: the magnetic power resides, doubtless, in the man; but it is augmented by the action of the spirits he calls to his aid. If you magnetize with a view to healing, for instance, and you invoke a good spirit, who interest himself in you and your patient, he augments your strength and your will; he directs your fluid , and gives in the necessary qualities.

3. But there are very good magnetizers who do not believe in spirits.

Do you think that spirits act only on those who believe in them? Those who magnetize for good purposes are seconded by good spirits every man who has a desire to do good undoubtedly calls them; the same as by the desire of evil, and evil intentions, he calls the evil.

4. Would he who has the power acct more efficaciously, should he believe in the intervention of spirits?

He would do things you would look upon as miracles.

5. Have some persons truly the gift of healing by the simple touch, without employing magnetic passes (passes magnétiques) ?

Assuredly; have you not numerous examples of it?

6. In this case is the magnetic action, or only influence of spirits?

Both; these persons are veritable mediums, because they can act under the influence of spirits; but that is not to say they would be writing mediums as you would understand it.

One of the most important contributions of the spirititst teachings to the understanding of the true human nature and destiny is the role played by the spirits in the many human affairs. Accordingly, it is impossible to appreciate the phenomenon of spiritual healing without taking into account the spirits. They are not only responsible for the uncontrollable aspect of the healing process, but also by its full performance. No matter how one designates the invisible matter exchanged during the healing session - carried out in the presence of a healer - the recovery itself is mediated by the spirits who catalyze the whole healing action.

There is a strong dependence of the healing success on the force of the illness (how serious it affects the organism), since, for certain diseases, even the ill person has the power of cure himself, as can be seen in experiments exploring the placebo effect. In the questions above, Kardec confirms the healing action of people at his time known as "magnetizers" (nowadays, this term is no longer used), but emphasizes an important element in the presence and action of the spirits, no matter the healing power. To provide such action, the healer not even needs to believe in their existence, but this belief can greatly magnify the effect. The mental action exercised by the desire of attaining the cure works as a kind of "invocation" that is sufficient to call the attention of spirits and improve the process.

The idea of healing mediumship should however not be confused with intellectual mediumship when information from the spirit world is "channeled" through a medium. However, the characterization of spiritual healing as the result of a kind of "mediumship" is legitimate given the role played by the spirits in the process. In a future post, we will search the recent literature of modern experiments using healers and find more evidence in support of a possible spirit intervention. We will also see how prayer can affect the recovery of a given disease.

References

1 - You can the original article by Kardec in French here:

http://spirite.free.fr/ouvrages/revue1860/RS60.htm

2 - See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_on_Mediums for a short introduction to this fundamental work. Anna Blackwell translation - "The Medium's Book'"- is found here:

http://www.oconsolador.com.br/linkfixo/bibliotecavirtual/ingles/Mediums.pdf

The quote is acccording to Emma Wood translation: A. Kardec (1970). The Book on Mediums. Ed. Samuel Weiser, Inc. The original book in French can be read here:

http://www.spirite.be/livres/fr/allankardec-mediums.pdf

3 - For an incomplete e possibly biased account on Mesmer life see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Mesmer

4 - In fact, the word "fluid" was used to describe many natural phenomena and not only magnetism. The "electric fluid" was conceived as responsible for all phenomena of electricity - including dynamic electricity, the idea of "electric current" was still in its infancy at the beginning of the XIX century. The same idea was applied to natural magnets which were viewed as possessing a kind of virtue in the form of magnetic fluid - exchanged through magnetic induction, for example, a kind of "action at distance". It was not difficult for Mesmer to conclude for the existence of a new type of fluid, this time associated to animals and human beings, carrying the "virtues of health" and which was also viewed as a kind of action at distance, as represented in Fig. 3.

Mediumship and art: Florêncio Anton psychic paintings

2017-01-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

Painter or drawer mediums are people who "paint or draw under the influence of the spirits" (1). They are rarer than other notable kinds of mediumship (as psychography, for example), however, their artistic works can be impressive, mainly if they paint or draw under very particular circumstances. We already presented here the mediumship of Luiz Antônio Gasparetto, however, other Brazilian mediums followed him and are presently active. An interesting case is Florêncio Anton (2).

Florencio Anton was born in November 1973 in the city of Salvador (Bahia). Since his first childhood, he was in contact with spirits. One of this entities used to warn him on his misdoings and helped him as a family guide. When he was 14 he was initiated to Spiritism after a battle to understand the many phenomena that took place in his presence. He looked for answers to clairvoyance, out of the body experiences, physical effects and other occurrences he was associated with since they always happened around him. At the time, he participated in many activities of GFLM (Grupo da Fraternidade Leopoldo Machado) and was in contact with the thoughts of Allan Kardec, Leon Denis, Emmanuel and many other spiritist authors.

His psychic gifts quickly arose at special seances of psychography, psychophony, and clairvoyance. His first artistic manifestation occurred on December 21 1990 and was conducted by Manoel M. Canuto Oliveira, a civil engineer and expert in psychic phenomena. At night, the spirits invited him to concentrate and pray before several posters and pencils, which were used to produced good quality sketches. However, in the normal state, Florencio has never shown any ability to draw. His mediumship then improved considerably and is today entirely dedicated to painting. His public demonstrations include special ‘painting seances’ performed not only in Brazil but in many other countries such as Belgium, France, England, Italy, Spain, Germany, and others. He often paints with closed eyes and, depending on the picture size, theme and author, Florencio finished a painting between 3 to 20 minutes. He also already painted using his feet, in darkness, with two hands at the same time and two canvas at inverted positions. More than 30000 paintings were produced by him since 1990 under the control of more than 110 disembodied authors of distinct nationalities.

The social purpose of Anton’s works

Florencio Anton supports charitable works at the city of Salvador using the income generated by the paintings. Grupo Espírita Scheilla (GES) is the spiritist foundation started by Florencio in 1999 (together with Sidney Rocha and Ana M. Lima) hosting a variety of pedagogical and psychological free services to help poor families and children of Salvador. Being a spiritist institution, GES manages Comunidade Maria de Nazaré (CMAN or Mary of Nazareth Community) whose site may be reached at (4). As remarked in (2), "it should be mentioned that Florencio supports himself solely by his job as a teacher and Regression Therapist since he, as a spiritualist, is not able to use the money generated through the sale of the paintings for his own use." As a matter of fact, as a spiritist, he is not allowed to use the income generated by the paintings to himself, otherwise, spirits would quickly abandon him. His gift is dependent upon the good use he makes of it.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Franklin Santana Santos for sending me some references about Florencio Antono works.

Gallery

This one is from my private collection...

More painting reproductions can be seen at (5).

References

1 - Kardec. A. "The book on mediums". 2nd Part - On spirit manifestation, Chapter XVI - On special mediums. Translated excerpt from a Portuguese version.

2 - http://af8366.wixsite.com/florencio (access December 2016)

3 - http://www.idagron.com/the_medium and the video https://vimeo.com/164405063

4 - http://www.cman.org.br/

5 - http://www.cman.org.br/pintura-mediunica/

The musical mediumship of Jorge Rizzini

2016-12-11T08:41:00.002-08:00

Jorge Rizzini (1924-2008).

The different varieties of mediums rest upon special faculties whose principle are still unknown to us. At first sight and to those who haven't made a systematic study of this science yet, it seems easier for a medium to write prose than verses. One would say - mainly if one deals with a mechanical medium - a spirit can both make the medium write in a foreign language and make him sketch or write music. However, that is not so. Although at every moment one can see sketches, verses and music made by mediums who, in the normal state, are not draftsmen, poets nor musicians, it is certain that not all them are able to produce such things. In spite of their lack of knowledge, they have an intuitive faculty and flexibility which transform them into gentle instruments. That is what Bernard Palissy said when he was asked about his choice of Mr. Victorien Sardou, who couldn't draw, to make his admirable sketches (Revue Spirit, April/August 1858). "It is because he is the most flexible one", he replied. The same happens with other skills. And - what an amazing thing! - we have seen spirits refused to write verses using mediums knowing poetry, while dictated lovely poems to others lacking the knowledge of poetic rules. This fact proves once again that spirits have free-will and that futile are our attempts to submit them to our whims. (A. Kardec (1859). Revue Spirite, March, "Study about mediums".)

Musical mediumship is the psychic capability of "execute, compose or write music, under the influence of the spirits." (1). One shoul, however, distinguish between "mediums of musical effects" who "obtain the playing of certain instruments without human contact" and musical mediums. The first ones are much rarer than musical mediums because the action of playing instruments requires "telekinetic" ability as displayed, for example, by the famous Scottish medium D. D. Home (1833-1886). The most extraordinary musical medium of modern times was Rosemary Brown (2) who produced musical pieces of nearly 400 spirit authors.

In Brazil, there are still some musical mediums, the most notorious one was surely Jorge Rizzini (1924-2008). Rizzini was born in São Paulo in a Spiritist family (3) and worked as writer, jornalist, radio broadcaster and advertiser. From 1950 on, Rizzini was actively involved with the Spiritist movement in Brazil, having helped to promote Spiritism alongside spiritist celebrities such as Chico Xavier, Herculano Pires, Yvonne Pereira and Deolindo Amorim. Rizzini launched the first Spiritist TV programm in the Brazil at TV Cultura channel. His greatest heritage is however his musics as a consequence of his ability to write music in trance while not knowing music at all.

Back cover of a rare EME album from 1995 containing psychic compositions by
Jorge Rizzini after the first psychic music festival in São Paulo in 1982.

Rizzini was able to reproduce a wide repertoire of styles ranging from opera to samba as illustrated by two pieces presented below. His spirit contributors include names such as Lamartine Babo (1904-1963), Ataulfo Alves (1909-1969), Ary Barroso (1903-1964), Francisco Alves (1898-1952), Noel Rosa (1910-1937), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), Carlos Gardel, (1890-1935) Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and John Philips Sousa (1854-1932). As for his previous musical knowledge he said

"I never studied music; I don't play any instrument, not even by ear, I don't know to write music, I don't sing and worse of all, I'm tuneless!" (3)

Like Rosemary Brown, Rizzini was flexible enough to the spirits, in spite of lack of musical knowledge. As an communication man, Rizzini organized several musical festivals, inviting professional musicians to play his psychic works. These were known as "Spiritist music meetings" with the aim of spreading the truth of immortality as some of his music lyrics suggest:

Caminhar é uma opção. Walking is an option

De quem quer chegar. Of those wanting to come.

É falar ao coração It is speaking to the heart

De quem quer escutar...Of those who want to listen...

Vamos dar as boas vindas. Let's welcome

Pra quem vem nos assistir. The ones coming to watch us

E cantar com alegria! And sing with joy!

Porque estamos aqui, Because we are here,

Fazendo o nosso show! To give the concert!

Cantando de verdade Really singing

Que a vida continua. That life goes on.

Que felicidade! What a happiness!

E você que está me ouvindo, And you listening to me,

Caia na real! Get real!

Ninguém acaba com a morte Death destroys no one

Pois voltamos do astral. Because we are back from the astral

A nossa ponte é Our bridge is

A mediunidade! Mediumship!

Abençoada oportunidade! Blessed opportunity!

Even so, Brazilian spiritists scarcely supported Rizzini efforts. There is a local tendency to hide prominent mediums fearing misinterpretations. As a consequence, music mediumship is rarely highlighted in spiritit art meetings. Many of Rizzini's works are not available in digital form; although part of the material has been reedited recently (5), past works survive today only through old vinyl records. Overall even Rizzini's life poorly documented as compared to the richness of his mediumship, and Ref. (3) is surely the best source.

Some Examples of widely different styles

Ary Barroso.

1 - By the Brazilian composer Ary Barroso (who in life made musics to artists such as Carmen Miranda and is the author of "Aquarela do Brasil"), Rizzini-Barroso piece "Brasil luz" (1982) is an interesting reproduction of Barroso pre bossa nova style.

2 - By the famous Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini, "Dolce Maria" with lyrics in Italian. I couldn't find any information about the composition year or further details on this piece, which is however quite beautiful as our readers can judge by themselves.

"Brasil Luz", by Ary Barroso, under Rizzini's mediumship (1982).

"Dolce Maria" by G. Puccini under Rizzini's mediumship.

Final remark

It is important to study and monitor the work of past and future musical mediums for a variety of reasons, the most important one is to better understand the origin, nature and mechanism of pure mediumship. Musical mediumship hosts a special place in the pantheon of psychic abilities because, being a communication process by excellence, this kind of mediumship attains a high level of expression as derived by the character of music as an universal language. Also, it seems fair to ask to what point human musical creativity is influenced by the spirits. If, on one hand, psychic flexibility is the source of musical mediumship, on the other, one can ask what someone with musical background and some psychic ability could get in this field. It is thus understandable to view artistic creativity as a kind of cooperation between two planes of life rather than a purely human capability.

References

1 - A Kardec. (1986) The Medium's Book. 2nd Edition by FEB. Transl by A. Blackwell. Cap. XVI, "Special Mediums" P. 189, 190.

2 - See the previous posts:

3 - The text of this post is based on http://jorge-rizzini.blogspot.com.br/

4 - See "Compositores do Além" (2006), a DVD launched by Versátil Home video. Directed by Jorge Rizzini and Edson Audi.

How can some animals find their way back to home?

2016-06-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

It is presently a mystery how some lost animals - usually cats and dogs - find their way home. A recent case was Pero (1), a four-year sheepdog which was back to home 15 days later after its scape. Somehow Pero was able to find its home 240 miles (~400 km) away. Many other "anecdotes" accumulate, narrated by many families and now Pero's case seems to have confirmed this surprising ability.

According to the present scientific knowledge, animals are endowed with a multitude of "sensors" (2) used to provide accurate information and supporting the notion that they are able to guide themselves through long distances. Such sensor are not only far superior than the human versions (dogs, for example, have acute smell and hearing, cats see very well in the dark etc), but represent perhaps other sense modes as, for example, magnetic sensing. Birds and bees have their own inner "compasses". Magnetic substances have been found in the retina of many animals, including dogs (see the case of Cryptochrome 1 in Ref. 3). Could dogs and other higher mammals guide themselves using magnetic fields? These are some of the ideas and conjectures, but even if it were absolutely proved that animals do in fact use the north-south line in a complex path, much more is in fact needed in order to completely explain Pero's case. To see that, just imagine yourself lost in a distant place, unable to speak and understand anyone, but having a compass and a sensible scent detector...

Another conjecture added by Spiritism

In an essay entitled "The mediumship of animals" in "The Medium's Book" (4), A. Kardec published a text by Erastus motivated by some discussions in the Paris Spiritist Society as well as several letters received by Kardec on the question of animals and their mediumship. This text was originally published in the Revue Spirit (The Spiritist Magazine) in August 1861 under the title "Animal mediums". Essentially, in the original meaning, mediumship is a human ability so that one cannot talk about an equivalent notion for animals. Mediumship is a complex phenomena, requiring a certain ressonance between two minds of the same status, that is, two spirits of the same "evolutionaly rank". Hence, for the sake of clarity, one cannot truly speak about "animal mediums" and some of the strange phenomena related to animals need another explanation.

However, this does not mean animals cannot detect the presence or, perhaps, receive information from the Spirits (4):

Spirits can render themselves visible and tangible to animals and the sudden terror with which the latter are sometimes seized, and for which you can perceive no reason, is caused by their seeing one or several spirits bearing ill-will towards their owners, or towards some of the persons present. You frequently see horses that will neither go forwards nor backwards, or that rear or shy at some obstacle unseen by you, and which is often a spirit, or a group of spirits, terrifying the animal, out of malice, or by way of a joke. Remember how Balaam's ass, seeing an angel before her, and frightened at his flaming sword, stood obstinately still ; the angel, before making himself visible to Balaam, having appeared first to the animal only. But, though we can render ourselves visible to animals, we cannot medianimise them any more than we can medianimise inert matter ; the conscious or unconscious co-operation of a human medium is always a necessary condition of our intercommunication with men, because, for this, we require the union of similar fluids, which do not exist either in the animals or in inert matter.

The episode of Ballam's ass as narrated in Numbers 22:23 and cited by Erastus in (4).

According to this quote, animals can sense Spirits through the presence of mediums, who are always humans. These mediums may not even know they are acting as intermediaries (that is, the phenomenon is spontaneous). During these episodes, Spirits may remain invisible to humans, however, they are perceived by animals which use their far improved senses.

As a conclusion, Spirits may be involved in Pero's case and many others involving lost animals which find their way home so easily. At least, we should see this explanation as a plausible mechanism, since even with the help of improved senses, it is hard to imagine how animals can do the work. To do so, animals must have many friends among the "invisibles".

Notes and references

1 - See (accessed in june 2016)

2 - http://www.sciencealert.com/how-dogs-find-their-way-home-without-a-gps

3 - Ver http://www.nature.com/articles/srep21848

4 - Kardec A (1986). The Medium's Book. 2nd Edition. Brasília: FEB. Available at: http://www.allankardec.com/Allan_Kardec/Le_livre_des_esprits/lesp_us.pdf (accessed on june 2016).

Historical files of old Spiritualist journals

2016-02-29T07:16:00.000-08:00

Image of "Almanaque del Espiritismo" (or "The Spiritist Almanac"),
an edition of 1873 (first year). Edited in Madrid (1), Spain. Source: Spanish National Library.

The IAPSOP (International Association for the Preservation of Spiritualist and Occcult Periodicals, 2) has recently uploaded a page with many images of old and rare Spiritualist journals (the files are not transcribed but can be read either using OCR or any other method).

You can easily acess this material at:

http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/index.html (access february 2016)

Among the precious works one can find:

"Revue Spirite": http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/revue_spirite/
"Light": http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/light/
"The Spiritual Telegraph": http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/spiritual_telegraph/
"Proceedings of and Journal of the Society for Psychical Research": http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/spr_proceedings/

Such references are rich resources for many researchers and constitute an important memory, in particular for the Spiritualist and Spiritist movements of the XIX and XX centuries.

I thank Chrystiann Lavarini for sending me the link.

References

1 -See
http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/almanaque_del_espiritismo/almanaque_del_espiritismo_1873.pdf
2 - http://www.iapsop.com/ (access february 2016)

The most important text in the "Gospel according to Spiritism".

2015-12-06T04:16:00.002-08:00

"The Helper...He will teach you all things.

And He will help you remember everything

that I have told you." (John, 14:26)

What man destroys and kills, God's Law

(which is Nature's law) recreates and rebuilds elsewhere.

What is the most important text in the Gospel According to Spiritism? By "importance" we understand a relevance degree that is surely dependent on the moment we live. Here we suggest a good reading motivated not only by present-day terrorist attacks in the name of Religion but also by the everlasting human problem of survival and life meaning.

Launched by Allan Kardec in 1864 as a new interpretation of the Gospels, the Gospel According to Spiritism (1), GAS (in French L'Évangile Selon le Spiritisme) is a compendium of the maxims of Christ in accordance to spirit teachings both within the contexts of the Spiritist and Spiritualist movements that appeared in Europe in the last half of the XIX century.

But here we have a curious situation. Spirit teachings were always rejected by the immense majority of Christian denominations (Protestant and Catholics alike) on the base of their very implications (the acceptance of reincarnation, for example, is completely ruled out in these creeds) and the Old Testament prohibition to invoke Spirits. If Spirits cannot be invoked it is because they exist, but the prohibition was kept as a dogma that contrasts with many other commandments long abandoned by modern society. Moreover, Internet has further complicated the situation because now we can get in contact with many people in the world, cultures which surely hold diverse ideas about Religion.

Rather, the spirit teachings expose the ridicule and error in present-day interpretations of the teachings of Christ and many other dogmatic religions that came afterward. Spiritualism is the "new comforter", the "Helper" that came to teach all things and remember what Christ had told us but was long forgotten. The advancement of Science has made topics such as psychic and reincarnation research accepted possibilities to continually threat established religions of dogmatic nature. Which religious view can update dogmatic thought in face of such scientific achievements? Which new doctrine could provide solid grounds for the much deviated interpretations of Christian teachings? Let the spirits answer...

Chapter 2: My Kingdom is not of this word. "A point of view".

In the Section that opens Chapter 2 ("My Kingdom is not of this World"), "The Future Life", Kardec points out why the subject of Chapter 2 is of utmost importance:

Therefore it has been placed as the first item in this work. It must be the point to be most closely looked at, as it is the only one that justifies the anomalies and irregularities of earthly life and also shows itself to be in accordance with the justice of God.

To accept and understand well the future life is the crucial point, the "bifurcation" of thought about to change Humankind altogether. Regardless the lack of worldwide acceptance (both in the way described by the spirits and in the number of people to hold this view), survival is the only possibility in accordance with God's justice ("Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven", GAS Chapter 4, Fig. 1). The other option is materialism and eternal nonexistence. If certainty in the future life - as well as the details of their reality (a "clear and precise idea" as Kardec says) - can be provided in a scientific way, Humankind would reach a new level, a new understanding of life and its purpose.

Fig. 1 The notion of reincarnation is a key ingredient to restore the original meaning of Christ teachings and to sustain the basic idea of God's justice, regardless the consequence to the established dogma. See the GAS, Chapter 4: "Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven". What man destroys and kills, God's Law (which is Nature's law) recreates and rebuilds elsewhere.

The text below entitled "A Point of View" was written by Kardec and represents a brilliant argumentation summarizing the consequences and the logical implications of survival. Remember, this text was written prior to 1864, well before the foundation of the "Society for Psychical Research" in London by the founding fathers of Psychic Research or the Theosophic movement. This extract of the GAS testifies the deepness of thought Kardec already had in the 3rd quarter of the XIX century as a conclusion of his own psychic research.

The clear and precise idea which can be formed of a future life provides an unshakable faith in what is to come. This faith places enormous consequences upon the moralization of Man because it completely changes the point of view as to how life on Earth is regarded. For those who place themselves by means of thought in the spiritual life, which is undefined, bodily life becomes a mere temporary stay in an ungrateful country. The vicissitudes and tribulations of this life become nothing more than incidents, which can be supported with patience as they are known to be of short duration and will be followed by a more amenable state. Death no longer has terror attached to it; it ceases to be a door opening on to nothingness and becomes a door that opens to liberation, through which the exile enters into a well-blessed mansion, and there finds peace. Knowing that the place where we find ourselves at the moment is only temporary and not definite, makes us pay less attention to the preoccupations of life, resulting in less bitterness and a more peaceful Spirit.

Simply by doubting the existence of a future life, Man directs all his thoughts to earthly existence. Without any certainly of what is to come he gives everything to the present. With the mistaken idea that there is nothing more precious than earthly things, Man behaves as a child who can see only his toys and is prepared to go to any length to obtain the only possessions he judges to be solid. The loss of even the least of these causes pungent hurt. A mistake, a deception, an unsatisfied ambition, an injustice to which the person has fallen victim, hurt pride or vanity, to name but a few, are just some of the torments which turn existence into an eternal agony, so in this manner causing self-inflicted torture at every step. From the point of view of earthly life, in whose centre we place ourselves, everything around us begins to assume vast proportions. The harm that reaches us, as well as the good that touches others, takes on a great importance in our eyes. It is like the man, who, when in the middle of a great city sees everything on a large scale, but who, when looking down from a mountain top sees things in only minute form.

This is what happens when we look at life from the point of view of a future existence Humanity, just as the stars in space, loses itself in the great immensity. We begin to see that great and small things are confounded, as ants on top of an ant hill, that proletarians and potentates are the same stature. We lament that so many short-lived creatures give themselves over to so much labour in order to conquer a place which will do so little to elevate them, and which they will occupy for so short a time. From this it follows that the value given to earthly things is completely in reverse to that which comes from a firm belief in a future life.

But "if everybody thought in that manner, it could be argued that everything on Earth would be endangered because no one would bother about anything" continues Kardec as if foreseeing an opponent counter argumentation in the form of a modern diving into a new "age of darkness" after worldwide acceptance of survival. Against this reasoning Kardec regards:

But Man instinctively looks after his own well-being, so even if he knew it was but for a short while, be would still do his best. There is no one who, when finding a thorn in his hand, will not take it out so as not to suffer. Well then, the desire for comfort forces Man to better all things, seeing that be is impelled by the instinct of progress and conservation which are part of the Laws of Nature. Therefore, be works not only through necessity but because he wants to, and because of a sense of duty, so obeying the designs of Providence which placed him an Earth for that purpose. Only a person who occupies themselves more with the future can give relative importance to the present. This person is easily consoled in all his failings and misfortunes by thinking of the destiny that awaits him. (Paragraph 6)

Besides Kardec's defense of man's well-being as cited above, we could add the importance of understanding well the condition of operation of the future life. For it is not a state freely obtained, it cannot be equated to entering into a paradise or be forever separated from eternal good as the old Christian conceptions still believe. The continuous effort the soul has to undertake in order to progress makes every second spent in this material life a blessing and an opportunity not to be lost. For spirits that are still evolving - the condition of almost the entire Humankind - the future life is, in a certain sense, the assurance of continuous return to the material life so that the more the being dedicates to improve itself by helping its equals, the more rapid it will be able to detach itself from this world. On the opposite side, the more a person sustain progress by destroying, killing or harnessing his neighbors, the slower will be his ability to cope with his future: he will have to restore everything he has destroyed because Nature's law demands it.

There is no instantaneous upgrade of the soul, no easy attainment of "eternal glory", and this is, quite understandably, fiercely resisted by traditional Christian thought. However, it is very clear that future life understood in these terms will hardly impose Humankind a return to a new age of unconcern with the material life. Rather, moral evolution requires care and attention to present life in all its aspects, both moral and material.

References

(1) A. Kardec. "The Gospel According to Spiritism". An English translation by H. Duncan (1987) of L'Évangile Selon le Spiritisme can be found here:

http://www.ssbaltimore.org/PDF/Gospel.pdf

(2) A paper version can be found at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Spiritism-Allan-Kardec/dp/8598161705/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449241225&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gospel+according+to+spiritism

The 'spirit' side of pyschic phenomena: toward a spiritist explanation of psi events

2015-10-27T08:12:00.001-07:00

If every effect has a cause, every intelligent effect

must have an intelligent cause.

(A. Kardec, "Spiritism in its simplest expression", History of Spiritism.)

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed

about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight,

and the sin which doth so easily beset us,

and let us run with patience

the race that is set before us. (Paul, Heb. 12:1,KJV)

Recent debates about the nature and cause of many psychic phenomena have been polarized between two antagonistic explanations. On one side, the so-called "super-psi" supporters seek to explain all events by hypothesizing the existence of yet unknown human "superpowers" which would be responsible for all events. On the other hand, proponents of human-spirit interaction explain many facts as an interplay between an unknown force of Nature - the Spirits - and the human mind. Moreover, the existence of Spirits is directly linked to the idea of survival, therefore, modern spiritualists and spiritist are naturally called "survivalists".

Much of what we read about super-psi was laid out during the onset of "Metapsychics" (1) as a rejection of spiritualist explanations in terms of spirit influence. At that time, psychic researchers were seeking scientific acceptance (that is, to be accepted by the academic mainstream), so that they avoided at all cost what is still today regarded a "non-naturalistic" explanation: the existence of Spirits. However, the idea of a "super mind" poses a simple but often neglected consequence: the lack of modern versions of old outbreaks such as table turning, raps, materializations and even less impressive occurrences such as somnambulism clairvoyance (which was studied by A. Kardec in the XIX century and many other pioneers) and mesmerism. If super-psi really exists, we need to explain the lack of super-psi minds nowadays given the fact that population has grown since the XIX century.

It is easier to recognize a need for an external and independent cause necessary to initiate and feed the phenomena. This cause was correctly found in the Spirits. Many say that the idea of independent minds floating around us and providing the "hardware" for life after death still needs d to be proven. However, since they are really subtle forces, we should proceed more scientifically and admit the existence of Spirits beforehand and see the consequences.

Virtual particles and information carriers

In physics, the idea of "mediating particles" or "force carriers" are invoked to explain many of Nature's forces. The so called "virtual particles" (3) are not directly observable but are important elements believed to exist in many physical events involving the fundamental forces. There is no distinction between "real" and "virtual" particles except that the later have a much shorter lifetime than the former. However, the unique features of the quantum world allow "virtual particles" to behave in ways that are not permitted to the real ones - for example - as interpretations of the theory say, virtual particles can travel backward in time. Virtual particles are incessantly created and destroyed in vacuum. This comparison is just an imaginable metaphor to explain the role of spirit in psychic events: they are the mediating ingredients necessary for the onset and maintenance of all physic phenomena. Spirits are the information "carriers" for certain humans who are able to get in contact with them.

Feynman diagram showing the exchange of a virtual photon in an electron-electron interaction. The idea of "virtual particles" is a metaphor for the role played by Spirit in psychic phenomena as information "carriers" for many psi-events.

Part of the "super-psi" features associated to events as near death (NDE) or "out-of-body" (OBE) experiences are entirely due to our very spirit nature. Therefore, the interplay between the spirit nature of the human being and the external spirit forces is surely the best starting hypothesis for the variety and intensity of psychic experience in general. Some examples are commented below.

Examples

Psychic readings. The unconventional or controversial characters of many descriptions reporting, for instance, photograph "readings" can be explained by assuming Spirits directly assisting mediums. It is necessary to admit we are surrounded by a "cloud of witnesses" or, as we can read in (4):

Spirits are everywhere, on our side, they jostle us and watch us constantly. By their incessant presence, they are the agents of several phenomena, playing an important role in the moral world and, to a certain degree, in the physical one. They represent, so to say, one of nature's forces.

Hence the mysterious power certain mediums can have of peering into the future or of knowing the circumstances of a murder, the character of a dead person etc. However, much still needs to be known about the mechanism of medium acknowledgement: Spirits access the internal memories of mediums in order to build symbolic messages which are reinterpreted by the medium's mind (also a spirit) often with several distortions. This is the source of frequent inaccuracies in medium's readings.

Psi-tracking of distant spots. Although OBE are invoked to explain the access to hidden information from distant places, we should not disregard the important "guiding" role played by Spirits. Some Brazilian mediums (e. g. Yvonne Pereira) reported being allowed to visit certain places only under the supervision of their spirit guides. Therefore, many mediums cannot control where they go: the uncontrollable character of the psi experience is directly related to the spirit (external) influence.

No more raps or table turnings (6). In the past, the table turning phenomena triggered the Spiritualist movement. Raps and other physical effects were historically reported in the United States (1848) from which the phenomena spread to the world. This was described as an "organized invasion" (5) so common were the events. Why the silence today? Again the explanation is found in the Spirits. The conditions for the existence of such organized invasion no longer exist, they ceased to support the phenomena although some scattered events appear from time to time (7), mainly in the form of the so called "poltergeist". These are again quite uncontrollable phenomena which show up as suddenly as go away, but some form of "benign" physical effects are still alive today in the form of healing manifestations.

Failure to replicate telepathy and other tests in parapsychology. Since the human mind is not an isolated system, but suffers the influence of both physical and spiritual surroundings, Spirits are behind the many failures to replicate parapsychology tests. We should not limit the Spirit influence to well recognized mediums. In fact, every person may be influenced by Spirits to a certain degree. Those who have the highest level of influence are called mediums or psychics. Since Spirits are independent, they may accept to collaborate with a given experiment (in spite of researcher's ignorance of that influence) in which case the scores will be high. Add to this, the need of tuning between Spirits and the participants: the simple presence of Spirits in the physical environment of the experiment does not warrant success.

Telepathy is often seen as a case of "mind-to-mind" interaction. However, given the spirit nature of man, one cannot disregard the important role played by Spirits in many telepathy experiments. As "information carriers" they may enhance or undermine the level of information exchanged among experiment's participants.

Final remarks

The two causes, spirit nature of the human mind and the Spirit's influence, cannot be separated when an explanation for the many psychic phenomena should be given. In fact, they are complementary: the mediums ability to perform a given psychic act is much enhanced by the presence and spirit intervention. Not only that, Spirits apply direct control despite the medium's will to the contrary. Although it is possible to find instances in which the event is probably caused by the mediums ability (for example, during NDE or OBE), in many of these cases guiding Spirits may be under control. In summary, psychic events are maximized every time the following ingredients are present (7):

A person able to get in contact with the Spirits (medium or psychic);
The presence of one or many spirits;
An ideal "tuning" between the person and the Spirit(s);
If maximum control is required, an agreement with the Spirit(s) should be obtained first in which case replication will be easily achieved.

Experimenter intention and presence (the so called "Experimenter effect", 8) may be ultimately associated to the Spirits. Negative or positive intentions require a constant positive and negative mind state which acts like "spirit evocations", therefore, the environment becomes naturally favourable or detrimental to a given experimental result in many parapsychology tests.

Control theory requires that all causes necessary and sufficient for a given phenomenon should be acknowledged and properly managed. Therefore, replicability or reproducibility of psi experiments will only happen when Spirits are taken into account as necessary causes.

This text is based in part on many spirit teachings about the subject as available in the Spiritist literature (Kardec's and other sources in Portuguese).

References

(1) See C. Richet (1923) "Mediums and Metapsychics" published in Charles Richet's "Thirty Years of Psychical Research", London: W. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. and available at http://www.survivalafterdeath.info/articles/richet/mediums.htm

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_carrier

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_particle

(4) Kardec A. "What is Spiritism?", Chapter II - Elementary notions of Spiritism: On Spirits.

(5) Doyle A. C. (2007). The history of Spiritualism. Book Tree.

(6) Colborn, M.L.C. (2007). The decline effect in spontaneous and experimental psychical research. JSPR 71, 1-22

(6) A recent report occurred in Brazil. Several ones are described (in Portuguese) here.

(7) To know more, read "The mediums' Book", by A. Kardec. An online version can be accessed here.

(8) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer-expectancy_effect

Crisis and its meaning

2015-08-09T10:36:00.003-07:00

It is not to be thought, however, that all suffering in this world denotes the existence of a

determined shortcoming. Many times it is simply an ordeal requested by the Spirit, which will help

it towards purification and active progress. So atonement is always a test,
but a test is not always an atonement.

(A. Kardec, "The Gospel According to Spiritism", Chap. 5,

"Blessed are the afflicted", Paragraph 9, see ref. 1)

A crisis always reveals the consequence of something not properly done in the past or an action erroneously undertaken. We suffer the effect of the past living in us because we are its product. We are informed by the spirits that our actions today have two goals: to solve life's problems and to act upon current events resulting in either moral gains or losses, just as to influence the future when we will sistematically reap gains or losses again.

As a result, if we fail to act today towards the future, we will hardly harvest or gain anything. A condition for a crisis then emerges. Modern spiritualist literature adopted the word "karma" to denote the conjunction of past action giving rise to present day negative conditions. However, the word used by Kardec was "expiation". Their meaning are somewhat equivalent, keeping in mind the changes in the original term in Sanskrit.

A broadened undestanding of life portrays our existence as a "continuum" of two major streams: on the material side, a flow of events rooted in our actions and, on the spiritual side, a corresponding flow of consequences for our future life. Since we are immersed in both realities, any material action imparts the spirit side just as any spiritual influence acts upon the material side. It is however unfortunate that the vast majority of incarnated people, for a variety of reasons, remain illiterate on regard to the interplay between these two life aspects and thus go through crises. People at most feel the flow of time before them but are incapable of inferring any conclusion about the phenomenon. But the most extraordinary fact about such higher law of life is that its existence may be somewhat ignored: regulation is attained through the dynamics of crises.

The spirit Emmanuel in the book "Study and live" (Ed. FEB) defines the condition for the emergence of a "painless crisis" characterized by the onset of a situation not necessarily linked to heath impairment or disease:

We suffer however regrettable painless crises that are hidden beneath superficial safeness:

Every time we accommodate ourselves on the excuse of excessive work.

When we demand others to become our support by playing the game of usury and ambition.

At any time when we demand to become allegedly superior to others.

At any time when we regard ourselves infallible while enjoying the most elevated positions among men.

Every time we supposedly believe to be so wise and virtuous that we are dispensed of any warnings or corrections at the position we may occupy.

In such cases, therefore, the onset of a crisis is almost exclusively related to a moral issue. Such situations greatly characterize what was left behind poorly done. Our attachments and illusions give rise to obstacles binding us to the past and prevent renewal. But renewal relentlessly comes and becomes manifest today as a crisis from which we try to escape. During the crises, negative balances in the spiritual side are settled since new prospects are generated for the future. True life is all about the spiritual flow hence nothing lost in matter will cause a loss in the spiritual side. This knowledge should satisfy those endowed with superior understanding of life. However, physical reality is too strong and affect us in such way that, many times, we neglect the higher teachings.

We should regard crises as answers of the situation, of the "Universe" or of the environment where we live. Many could argue we unfairly suffer in life without doing anything. However, "do anything" is also a kind of action and of a negative type. Whoever longs for not suffering by not acting will almost surely be hurt. The higher laws wait for our right actions, the ones given rise to the right harvest. Consequently, those who waste money and fortune will lack money; those who excessively save money will be compelled to face situations rarely solved by using wages; those defying health will face disease and those who do nothing will muddle through to survive. But it is not always the case a past action can be found when we suffer. The Universe pushes us forward every time we face a new situation either as a result of the past or not. Past actions instead engender specific situations that are deeply rooted in the way we used to be. On account of past obligations new lessons are accumulated. Therefore we must always fight.

References

1 - Original title ‘L’Évangile Selon le Spiritisme’ first published in France, 1864. 1st Edition of this translation 1987 Translated by J. A. Duncan, 1987. ISBN 947823 09 3. Freely available at http://www.ssbaltimore.org/PDF/Gospel.pdf

Divaldo Franco and Rabindranath Tagore

2015-06-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

This life is the crossing of a sea,

where we meet in the same narrow ship.

In death we reach the shore

and go to different worlds.

(R. Tagore, in Stray Birds, 1916 (4))

So I will sing and mine will be poems and songs of immortal kind.

(R. Tagore, psychography Divaldo Franco, Pássaros Livres, 1990 (5)).

Certain things had happened to me

when alone in my room which convinced me

that there are spiritual intelligences

which can warn us and advise us.

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939).

According to A. Kardec, mediumship, as the faculty of "people who can serve as intermediaries between the spirits and men" (1), is not simply a hability to communicate and exchange information. Psychography in particular is the ability that mediums have to lend their minds so that spirits can use them for writing including for manifesting artistic content. In this process, the spirit mentally induces ideas and concepts to the medium who can then either write with his own words what he perceives or use entire semantical expressions suggested by the spirit author. In this sense, we conceive the existence of a scale of mental transparency between the medium and the spirit author so that some mediums may faithfully replicate what the author intends to write while others only poorly transmit what they mentally listen or see. The use of poetic language, however, is a good indication of an efficient "channeling" process between the discarnate and the medium because subtle elements of identification may be transmitted. Automatic writing is the name given to a very specific kind of mediumship. The term "psychography" encompass a much broader kind of writing experience than automatic writing. Therefore the preference for this term by spiritists.

An example of such phenomenon is Divaldo P. Franco (1927-) (2) collaboration with Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). According to Divaldo, he never heard about Tagore when he was first visited by his spirit in the year 1949. The episode is described by Divaldo himself as quoted in the book Semeador das Estrelas (3)

In the year of the first psychographic works by Marco Prisco in 1949, I was lying on the bed a certain night when I heard a music of indefinable beauty played by a kind of zither. With the sound of such mournful and plangent music, I had a beautiful vision of grassy and flowered gardens severed by a brook of clear water on which a boat was sliding. On the boat a honorable entity dressing a white robe with a dark skin showed me a face with large, black and bright eyes and a blanched beard where silver threads could be seen. - "I'm Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet and wanted you to write some of my thoughts", said the spirit. I woke up immediately and got some material for the psychography, entering psychic trance after a while. I could still hear the beautiful and pervasive melody while I was writing. I confess that I never heard about that name before, nor had read anything on that spirit. From that night on, for a certain period, Tagore dictated several messages that were gathered in a book only published in 1965 entitled Filigranas de luz.

The author of "Stray Birds" (4) returned to sing new birds in books like Pássaros Livres ("Free Birds", 5) and Estesia ("Aesthesia"), after the first cited work Filigranas de Luz ("Watermarks of Light") in 1965. There are no English translations for the verses or texts (prose) in these books so I decided to provide rather sketchy versions from some excerpts below.

It has been said that Tagore works in English do not faithfully represent their original beauty in Bengali (6). The famous Irish poet W. Butler Yeats (1865-1939) said "Tagore does not know English, no Indian knows English" (6 and 7). Is it then possible that, by writing through Divaldo's mind, Tagore managed to convey his thoughts better than if he had used Bengali and then an English translator? Anyway, the original language here is Portuguese and is very probable that some noise exist in the Tagore-Franco "mental link" as in the poor translation that I provide. However, we can imagine the potential use of mediumship in the future when the great discarnate artist of the past could be back to transmit new works in the medium's own language.

For that aim, they need only a faithful medium instrument.

Free Birds

My singings are songs that the heart unfasten with rapture thrill.
My songs are melodies that tenderness liberates from my soul's depths and launches toward travelling winds to reach far distances.
My sensibility is sharpen by love and I release the sweet music of hope standing on the tiny window of my pettiness.
I spread through the air the scores of a pentagram chanted by life from the bottom of my being.
By searching my King and my Lord, I modulate my word, I call, I sing and implore.
Like free birds dressed in light they fly to reach open space toward the infinite.
During either the heavy monsoons or droughts, my birds in the same way sing in freedom, enhancing the landscape with sound and beauty.
My birds are living poems of love that liberate themselves from the narrow cage of emotion where they are born to earn the vastness, like birds of happiness.
Take my songs my Lord and convert them into peace carrying birds heralding the eternal springtime for all the unfortunate ones in the world.
So I will sing and mine will be poems and songs of immortal kind.

R. Tagore (Divaldo Franco's psychography. Original in Portuguese, Pássaros Livres, in Pássaros Livres, 5)

Place of love

In everyone there is
A bare, unfathomed
Soundless, deep
Spotless hedge.

In every being there remains
A holly and ignored
Never encroached,
Enriched of tenderness,
Watchful world.

In the abyss of every soul there is
A rock,
A place, an isle,
A paradise
A corner of wonder
To be discovered.

In every heart
Dawn takes an open space,
A wide field
To be worked on,
Land of God,
Place of dream,
A haven for the future.

In every life
There is place for more lives,
As on every happiness,
A sweet gloom hovers
Presaging distress.

There is a place in me however,
In the isle of my undisclosed feelings,
An abyss of longing,
An ocean of hapiness,
A cosmos of fantasy,
To offer you
My Lord!

Come my beloved
King and Lord
Master my mistress,
Lead me on the way
Of redemption.

And take this odd and lone land,
To reign and cast your heavenly lights upon it
And happily will I move forward
Until the end of my forces
Bound to your redeeming duty.

Come my King
Into my nook
And make my life
A hymn of service
And for you an everlasting
Song of love.

R. Tagore (Divaldo Franco psychography. Original in Portuguese, Lugar de Amor, in Pássaros Livres, 5)

Birds of recollections

My recollections reach the depth that my memory allows.

They are like migrating birds which often run away from past winter, searching for the pleasant heat of current summer and hovering on greyish landscapes so difficult to be rebuilt.

In the time of the ever fleeting today, they become the hallmark of permanence, covering the distances created by the relentless passage of time.

Your presence shade me either with the sadness of commited mistakes or with the lights of ennobled actions like a magic kaleidoscope of returns and evasions.

Tears of regret run down my eyes that a hot kiss of happiness wipes out when the birds of my recollections arrive.

Yet, your presence reaches me up as much as the cage of my memories permits, setting them free.

R. Tagore (Divaldo Franco's psychography. Original in Portuguese, Os pássaros das recordações, in Pássaros Livres)

Far away reality

I dreamed of a dream...

Where all was cheerfull and sweet fascination

Where pain, suffering, sadness and evil were diluted

like soap bubbles in the air of a singing spring.

Cascading rivers were coloured by rays of a long lasting light

and men, in chattering groups,

Celebrated love.

Unsuspected communion was everywhere

and the work was voluntary.

The poetry of the good declaimed touching verses

that creatures used to better understand and complete themselves.

I recalled war and hate, plagues and punishments.

But nobody answered me,

when I asked the happy citizens of the paradise.

Young and wise they were all at their conquered ages,

beyond conquered times...

Neither shadows nor stains could I find

and I realized that the pervading and flickering glare

was born here and there,

never extinguished in a night of lying victory.

I dreamed about a dream of a future,

when the carriage of the King of Youth and Peace

will tear a road in the infinite toward the never end.

Beloved king, whom I wish so much, I always dream of you,

However, today I dreamed about a dream...

Reality came and woke me up,

and told me a song of hope:

Love and wait!

Tomorrow you will no longer dream

because your dream will ever be.

R. Tagore (Divaldo Franco's psychography. Original in Portuguese, Realidade distante, in Estesia)

When I left

When I left wishing to earn the world but never loosing peace, you said: "Go my son, I will be with you".
I was then very young. I strived to conquer everything...
At the door of a lodge adorned with orange blossoms I asked you: "Will you write me, my mother?"
And you replied: "I will send you my news, because I will always be with you".
I took infinite routes of time and waited for your letter that never arrived.
My hands became callous.
My feet bleeded.
My body bent down with the weight of time but your words never reached me.

Pouring monsoons came dozens of times and the burning of land killed the orchad dozen occasions.

I eagerly stood before the gate of hope, waiting for your news.

Now when the snow of the years decorates my head and my sight fades away with the glazing light, I came to realize that I am the letter and message you delivered to the world, my mother, so that hope and beauty never miss in the hearts.

R. Tagore (Divaldo Franco's psychography. In Pássaros Livres)

References

(1) A. Kardec (1861) "The Medium's book", Spiritist Vocabulary. Chapter 32.

(2) http://www.divaldofranco.net/

(3) S. C. Schubert (1989). O Semeador de Estrelas, "The Sower of Stars", 4th Ed., Published by Livraria Espírita Alvorada.

(4) http://www.kkoworld.com/kitablar/Rabindranat_Taqor_Kocheri_qushlar_eng.pdf (access May 2015)

(5) D. Franco (1990). Pássaros Livres. 2nd Edition. Ed. Livraria Espírita Alvorada.

(6) See Amartya Sen opinion cited in Wikipedia: "anyone who knows Tagore's poems in their original Bengali cannot feel satisfied with any of the translations (made with or without Yeats's help). Even the translations of his prose works suffer, to some extent, from distortion." Originaly cited work: Sen, A. (1997), "Tagore and His India", The New York Review of Books.

(7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore.

What death really is (by Andrew J. Davis)

2015-05-12T08:45:00.003-07:00

"I do not promise to believe tomorrow exactly

what I believe today, and I do not believe today exactly

what I believed yesterday. I expect to make, as I have made,

some honest progress within every

succeeding twenty-four hours." A. J. Davis

Beyond the Valley (1885) p. 134.

Andrew Jackson Davis (1826 – 1910) was a prominent American medium (1), regarded as "John the Baptist" of Spiritualism. We present an interesting text (2) by him below (extracted from his book "The Temple"), a report of his sights at the instant of death of a person. Obviously, his description below is not valid for every person and all types of deaths (he explains some conditions for this death in his text). Even so, his vision transforms death into a glorious moment in the life of those who lived well to deserve it.

Death is the word used to signify "the end of life", spoken by persons who see not that seeming death is really ‘the beginning of life,’ and the opening of the sacred volume of eternity. But let us peer through the seeming, into that which is within the veil.

The person is now dying; and it is to be a rapid death. Observe something about temperature. The feet are cold; the hands hot and white; a coldness pervades the entire cuticle. See? What is that accumulating in the atmosphere just over the pillowed head? It is an ethereal emanation – a golden magnetic halo – a throbbing, almost self-conscious atmosphere.

The bodily temperature is now lowering rapidly. The coldness has extended upward from the toes to the knees, and from the fingertips to the elbows; while, in exactly the same ratio, the emanation has ascended higher over the head. The arms are now cold to the shoulders, and legs to the hips; and the emanation, although not higher in the air, is more expanded, with a compact white center, resembling the bright nucleus of a miniature sun. This brilliant central spot, is, in very truth, the brain of the new spiritual organism now forthcoming.

The death-cold steals over the heaving breast, and around on either side the temperature is greatly diminished. Look now! The psychic emanation contains some proportion of every principle composing the soul – motion, life sensation, ethers; essences, vital magnetism, vital electricity, instincts – and, much enlarged by accessions, it has floated up in a compact mass, and now occupies a higher altitude near the ceiling.

Now the lungs have ceased to breathe, the pulse is still, the physical heart is motionless; while the brain cells, the corpus callosum, the medulla, and the spinal cord and ganglia, are ablaze with contractive and expansive energies, which gently pulsate and seem to direct and govern themselves by a kind of automatic self-consciousness. See! The negative (gray) substance of the brain is interiorly throbbing – a slow, measured, profoundly deep throb – not painful, but massive and harmonious like the deep heart-beat of the sea.

Look up! The exalted emanation, obedient to its own changeless laws, is now elongated, and has attained a position at right angles with the horizontal body below. Behold! See how the outline of a beautiful human form is being fashioned within that emanation. Beneath it is still tied by a white life-cord to the medulla and the corpus callosum within the brain.

You observe that a very fine vitalic thread still connects the vortices and central fibers of the dying brain with the lower extremities of the exalted outlined human being in the atmosphere. Notwithstanding the existence of this life thread, which acts like a telegraphic conductor – conveying messages in opposite directions at the same moment – you observe that the shadowy image enveloped in a golden emanation, continues almost imperceptibly to ascend skyward.

There! What do I now see? A symmetrically shaped human head rising above the mass – slowly, beautifully rising out of the golden cloud of substantial principles. And now appear the outlines of a spiritual countenance – a quiet face and full of beauty, surpassing the power of words to delineate. Look again! behold emerging the fair neck and beautiful shoulders; and see! as we gaze, out come one after the other, in a rapid succession, as if influenced and directed by the wand of a magician, all the parts of a new body – a bright, natural looking, yet spiritual image – only a little less than the deserted physical body, a perfect re-appearance of the person in the immediate heavens, prepared to accompany the celestial group of superintending intelligences to the Summerland.

What was that? In the twinkling of an eye the vitalic electrical telegraphic thread was snapped – the yet lingering particles and principles were suddenly attracted upward and absorbed into the spiritual body – and lo! the new organization is free of terrestrial gravitations, is instantly and absolutely independent of the weights and cares that chained it firmly imprisoned to earth. (Those only are free at death who have lived righteously. Any enthralling passion, the least feeling of duty undischarged, of injustice committed, holds the spirit to earth, as a ship is fastened by a heavy anchor. Only the pure are free.)

Here now behold a true, substantial, immortal, spiritual body. It was sown in darkness and dishonor; it is raised in beauty and brightness. Behold the contrast – the vastly wide difference – between the interior and outward. Cast your eyes around the room. There are many friends, aged relatives, and little children, in the death chamber; they mourn, without the comfort even of blind faith; they grieve, with only the whisperings of hope to the doubting ear; they gather around the prostrate, cold body; they press together the lids of the sightless eyes; in silence and in sorrow they withdraw from the scene; and now other hands commence those final preparations with which the living consecrate the dead.

But let us open our brighter eyes – the eyes that we shall all have when clothed with the deathless garment of immortality. See! The newly organized spiritual body – surrounded by a group of guardian angels – moves gracefully off in the direction of celestial shores. The arisen personality follows a vibrating thread of magnetic attraction, which while the dying mutations were in process we noticed penetrating the apartment and fastening itself to the earthly brain of the resurrected. It comes floating down from the sensorium of superior intelligences – a golden fibrillous stream of telegraphic light – sent from on high, to greet with love and guide with wisdom the newly arisen. The thought-laden love-thread tranquilly draws the new born higher up and farther away.

Over the velvet lands and flower fields of the celestial country the bending bow of eternal promise is visible, filling with indescribable beauty the boundless ocean of world-laden skies, which cover the infinite loveliness the immeasurable zone-lands of the Hereafter.”

References

(1) http://www.andrewjacksondavis.com/
(2) http://whitecrowbooks.com/michaeltymn/entry/the_death_process_as_described_by_andrew_jackson_davis

Music sheets in video of discarnated composers (medium Rosemary Brown)

2015-03-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

An unintentional search on the web made me find someone on youtube who has recently posted "video music sheets" by famous discarnated composers under the mediumship of Rosemary Brown. As many people might know, we have already posted a text on her medium (1) who can be safely regarded as the most relevant manifestation of musical mediumship ever, a strangely and extremely rare kind of psychic ability.

These are the works I could find according to the spirit composer:

1) By Brahms:

Waltz in b-moll, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPlRGLqeHwY

2) By Rachmaninoff:

Lyric in h-moll, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bxuRekN0b0

3) By Debussy:

Danse Exotique in Fis-dur, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpZ1gBAxFWY

4) By Chopin:

Nocturne in As-dur, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JqnJ5qgDZI
Impromptu in f-moll, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-CzCd4AJyQ
Impromptu in Es-dur, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UT8dqabdf0

5) By Liszt:

Lament in e-moll, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBhYgZoQpak
Waltz in b-moll, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPlRGLqeHwY

Grübelei in Fis-dur, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h35zHcNz3I

Jesus Walking on the Water, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdPQj4pXovQ

7) By Schubert (and played by Leslie Howard):

Sonata in f-moll, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN3R_xwj1Rs

Schubert's sonata in particular called my attention because it is a complete work (not simply a "piece" as many Mrs. Brown's communications are presented). According to Wikipedia:

Sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century (the early Classical period).

The simplest sonata pattern has three phases: an exposition, a development and a recapitulation. The same reference explains:

The standard definition focuses on the thematic and harmonic organization of tonal materials that are presented in an exposition, elaborated and contrasted in a development and then resolved harmonically and thematically in a recapitulation. In addition, the standard definition recognizes that an introduction and a coda may be present. Each of the sections is often further divided or characterized by the particular means by which it accomplishes its function in the form.

Regarding such Schubert sonata, it would be interesting to make a detailed musicological study in order to identify potential composer's signatures. Such study would remarkably demonstrate the influence of the discarnate mind, its intention and operational methods besides serving remarkable as new evidences of immortality.

References

(1) E. Bomfim (2014) Rosemary Brown and Psychic art, https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzdGM5lC6GhJRUY4R09UamxtSWM/edit?pli=1

The case for reincarnation (by Brian Foster)

2015-02-27T14:19:00.001-08:00

The last one hundred and fifty years

has commenced a quiet revolution,

which is only beginning. The full extent has still

not been revealed. The material disseminated so far

is just the first push, to rebalance the equilibrium

between materialism and spiritualism. For English

speakers only a small percentage is yet translated.

Hence, as each books is translated, new facets

of spirit life and methods come to light.

Brian Foster, "The Case for Reincarnation - your path to perfection", Chapter 28, "Last Words")

Brian Foster has just published his book "The Case for Reincarnation - your path to perfection" deserving some comments. Brian Foster is an American Spiritist who has been active in publishing several texts for the "Spiritist Knowledge" (1) blog, our repository of Spiritist articles. He is also the author of NWSpiritism (2) containing many illuminating articles about Spiritist books and fundamental concepts. Such fine analyses contribute to explain Spiritism to a wider audience in English speaking countries and, for this reason B. Foster is probably the American who best know Spiritism nowadays.

The book scope is to answer some "easy" questions such as:

Why do we reincarnate;
How reincarnation works;
How many reincarnation we must have;
What memories are retained after reincarnation;
What kind of control do we have over the process;
Why suffering is necessary;
How to insure a better next life;
How many one must progress to become a perfect spirit.

Answers are given far from current controversies still existing in the Spiritualist movement and in such a way that they are one step ahead of present tentative explorations that only regard reincarnation as a hypothetical mechanism for anomalistic memories in children or in past life therapy reports. Foster has captured the inherent rational competence of Spiritist principles in explaining hidden aspects of the world around us - an ability requiring the recognition of what should be questioned first. Accordingly, only those who deeply know the principles can make the right questions in order to grasp and understand the true answers.

Foster analysis are interesting because they show how the Spiritist knowledge can be assimilated worldwide, despite pessimistic views. According to some opinions, Spiritism was able to influence only a very restricted place in the world, namely, Latin America and, in particular, Brazil. The common argument is to invoke the adaptation of Spiritism - popular recognized as a religion - to the cultural Brazilian environment. This reasoning is however flawed because Spiritism is established upon solid philosophical (and not religious) basis. Therefore, Spiritism principles can be appreciated by any serious person, group of people or country, regardless the culture.

Book Chapters

Brian's book is written as a manual of easy reading for the general audience. Some chapters, however, are even shorter in length than others.

Reincarnation - Why is it important?
Why believe in Reincarnation.
How do we tie our spirit to our body?
Preparation for birth.
Childhood.
How you map out your trials on Earth.
Why we must go through multiple trials.
Interlude 1 - The past lives of Camilo Castelo Branco
Why are some burdened with disabilities.
Interlude 2 - The life of Amadeu Ferrari.
Reincarnation and families
Why are there difficult people in your life.
Interlude 3 - The past life of Joseph Mery.
How the process of reincarnation improves us.
Introduction to Spiritism
The power of thought.
The difference between anger and indignation.
Interlude 4 - The past life of Alfred and Ismalia.
How to ascend.
Types of trials which are not due to past wrongs.
Interlude 5 - Beggar Woman found by Prince Galetzin.
Trials of the rich.
Trials of the poor.
Trials of the middle class
Interlude 6 - Two lifes - Souria-Omar and Epaminondas de Vigo
Suicide - An undesirable method to escape your trial.
Reincarnation - What have we learned.
Last Words.

Chapter 24 was logically included by Brian since the world today is no longer divided between the "rich" and the "poor", there is fast-growing middle class. Also interesting are the "Interludes" where several practical cases are studied, providing a rich content for further discussions. Many of the chapter titles explain why the book may be considered a "practical guide".

References used by Foster are taken from the fundamental codification works by A. Kardec besides L. Denis (see "Bibliography"). The author also knows quite a lot about André Luiz whose works are cited in the book. Although the book scope is restricted to reincarnation, the book also touches other subjects of Spiritist interest and may be regarded as an introduction to Spiritism (See Chapter 15). What drew my attention the most was the peculiar way the author explains his understanding about the proposed questions.

One can feel Brian Foster enthusiasm in his words cited in the beginning of this review once each new Spiritist book is translated into English. Far from confirming the thesis of immiscible cultural environments, the little impact Spiritim may have today on English speaking countries is probably cause by the lack of information transport: as new books are translated, a new world confirming and restating the reality of an American born movement and philosophical doctrine as Spiritualism is revealed (3).

Such Knowledge together with recent Near Death reports and research on reincarnation will feed a very favorable future environment for a worldwide dissemination of Spiritist/Spiritualist principles - in line with the highest plans of moral reformation of our planet. This will take a lot of time, but the first steps were taken as revealed by Foster's book.

Where to find the book

Here is the link for the Kindle version (Amazon): http://www.amazon.com/Case-Reincarnation-Your-Path-Perfection-ebook/dp/B00O6CDV4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413127158&sr=8-1&keywords=the+case+for+reincarnation (February 2015)

Author's page on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Brian-Foster/e/B00O6JBO0G/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Notes

(1) See: "Principles of Good Government as implied by the Spirit World" e "On the way to the light: the spiritist story of Earth as told by Emmanuel".
(2) See also: https://www.facebook.com/nwspiritism

(3) On the other side, the "new world" is described in the peculiar way this knowledge is represented and assimilated in the Spiritist movement in Brazil. The principles are however, exactly the same of Spiritualism.

God and his causes III: unfolding a new image of the Universe.

2015-01-15T09:16:00.001-08:00

In a series of previous posts, we saw that the Creation and the idea of God as described in "The Spirit's Book" (1) is significantly distinct from the commonly accepted notion of a personal God (according to most religions). The Spiritist notion is an alternative for those ideas in which God is not necessary (Atheism, for example), since the notion of God as a person - which make him an image of the human nature - is not accepted by Spiritism. We explored the meaning in the concept of "primary cause" that can be applied even to the simplest phenomenon. Very often, the scope of scientific theories is the treatment of causes directly linked to phenomena, but scientific development can also lead to the discovery of more fundamental causes that should be regarded as primary ones.

The existence of a fundamentally distinct element in the Universe (the intelligent principle) has a complementary and paramount rule to play in the understanding of many phenomena around us, that are not directly accessible to our senses (see question #7 in (1)). The existence of such a principle was foresaw in question #23 of (1) as reproduced below:

23.What is spirit ?

"The intelligent principle of the universe."

a) What is the essential nature of spirit ?

"This is impossible to explain in human language. For you, the spirit is nothing because it isn't tangible. For us, it's an objective reality as substantial as the body is to you. Know however: there is no such a thing as nothingness."

The more the spirit's existence and independence of matter are summarily ignored, the harder is to move forward, since in vain the causes of intelligent phenomena in Nature will be emulated by artificial and clever arrangements of matter. These simulations do not show that information can be generated by matter alone, but only that human intelligence is necessary to the task.

On the other hand, a new way of understanding such totality - the base for future scientific development - will become apparent with the tacit acceptance of the intelligent principle as a fundamental and irreducible cause in Nature.

Some comments about the Spiritist image of Creation

Fig. 1

Let us compare Fig. 1 with the equivalent image of the first post that invokes the Big Ban as the primary cause. Science has postulated the Big Bang as the primary cause of all that exist in accordance to the present scientific idea of "all". This cause not only generated the material principal (which is recognized as the only existent), but also the Universal laws at a very special moment of time. For the presently accepted cosmological theories, creation was well determined process in "time" and "space" - in fact the Big Bang signaled the very creation of space-time.

However, the Big Bang is only an intermediary cause in creation. The origin of all is God, the true primary cause. Moreover, this creation is incessant (question #21, 1). Below God, there are three main causes that can be taken as "secondary": the material principle, the intelligent principle and Nature's laws. We saw that Nature's laws are also part of physical theories and by themselves they constitute a challenge for human understanding since not only an origin for matter is necessary but an origin for these laws must be found.

But, just as Nature's laws exist governing the relations among material ingredients in the Universe, there is also specific laws for the intelligent principle. Such laws dictate how this principle relates to other elements and how it evolves in time. Presently, we are incapable of speculating about the inner nature of this principle, but we know it exists. The attention of future science will be to study these new rules and to explain the spirit phenomena that derive from them. So, in the Fig. 1, we trace a parallel between how the laws relate to the material principle - resulting in purely material phenomena - and equivalent spirit laws that relate to the spirit principle and, therefore, cause the spirit phenomena.

In our present understanding level (2), Universal laws not only determine the relation among the principles, but how they interact. Therefore, we can foresaw an interface between spirit and mater that is governed by specific principles (see fluids, question #27,1). This interface is full of rich phenomena and their own laws.

The primordial source of information in the Universe.

Acting on a higher level in relation to the principles that regulate matter, the intelligent principle is responsible for the perennial creation of information in the Universe. This information is transferred through a special language and a peculiar communication process convenient to this principle. In constant interaction with matter, which serves as sensory element, the intelligent principle evolves through a process we still do not dare to understand. After billions of years, this principle differentiated itself and became a Spirit, owner of a consciousness, personality and mental cosmos.

Endowed with a conscience, the spirit starts to ask about its own existence. In an Universe of magnificent effects and infinite little causes, we find ourselves as part of Creation and, at the same time, creators at a microscopic scale. What secrets does Nature still hides from us on regard to our origin? On our level, we still grope in the darkness of our ignorance, but we can foresee our true heritage, the reason and destiny of our life - as far as we can know - an unreproducible act of love beyond any limits.

References and notes

1 - 'A. Kardec (1857), "The Spirit's Book";

2 - We say "Nature's laws govern certain phenomena", however this is only a way to describe what we observe around according to our present level of understanding and sensory habilities. Very likely, there is a deep relation between the primary cause (God) and all things created so that "Nature's laws" are the way we apprehend tangibly the reality on our level of existence. In our "little world", everything happens as if "God were absent" since we have no special organs to sense him directly. (question #10, 1)

3 - God and his causes I - http://spiritistknowledge.blogspot.com.br/2014/07/god-ans-his-causes-i.html

4 - God and his causes II - Primary and secondary causes - http://spiritistknowledge.blogspot.com.br/2014/07/god-ans-his-causes-i.html

Academic study about the mediumship of Chico Xavier

2014-12-01T10:43:00.001-08:00

The journal Explore (1) has recently published an article by Alexandre Caroli Rocha, Denise Paraná, Elizabeth Schmitt Freire, Francisco Lotufo Neto and Alexander Moreira-Almeida containing an interesting study about the mediumship of Chico Xavier.

Entitled "Investigating the Fit and Accuracy of Alleged Mediumistic Writing: A Case Study of Chico Xavier’s Letters", the work performed an analysis of 13 psychographic letters and searched for the degree of information accuracy in each of them against the chance of "normal" access by the medium to that information. The article abstract reads:

We identified 99 items of verifiable information conveyed in these 13 letters; 98% of these items were rated as “Clear and Precise Fit” and no item was rated as “no Fit.” We concluded that normal explanations for accuracy of the information (i.e., fraud, chance, information leakage, and cold reading) were only remotely plausible. These results seem to provide empirical support for non-reductionist theories of consciousness.

The complete article can be reached here: http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(14)00108-6/abstract. The work was supported by FAPESP (see 2, process #2010/11047-0).

References

(1) http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(14)00108-6/abstract
(2) São Paulo Research Foundation: http://www.fapesp.br/en/

Spirit Messages: Studies on Reincarnation (The Spiritit Magazine, February 1864)

2014-11-19T07:48:00.002-08:00

The Spiritist Magazine, February 1864, Spiritist dissertations.

Spiritist Society of Paris, Medium: Mrs: A. C.

Limits of reincarnation

Reincarnation is necessary when matter dominates the spirit. But, from the moment the spirit has mastered matter and annulated its effects on moral, reincarnation has neither use nor reason to exist. In effect, the body serves the spirit in his progressive work, until he learns to manage the body, and project his will upon matter when the work is accomplished. Then another field of action is necessary for the spirit advancement toward the infinite way. Another circle of study is required, where gross matter of inferior spheres is unknown. Having purged and experimented all sensation on Earth or on similar worlds, the spirit is mature enough for a spiritual life and other studies. Having elevated himself above all bodily sensations, the spirit is free from all desires or necessities applicable to bodiliness: it is a spirit and lives only spiritual sensations that are infinitely more delightful than the most delicious bodily feelings.

Reincarnation and the aspirations of man

The soul's aspirations drive themselves to their realization which is accomplished during reincarnation, while the spirit is occupied with the material work. I explain. Let us take the spirit in the beginning of its human career. Foolish and unintelligent, he feels, however, the divine spark in himself, since he adores a material god in accordance to his bodiliness. In this being, still very close to animality, there is an almost unconscious instinctive aspiration toward a less inferior state. It starts by satisfying his material appetites and by envying those in a better situation. Then, in a following life, the spirit chooses by himself or is better pushed toward an improved body and always wishes, after every existence, a material improvement. Never feeling fully satisfied, the spirit wants to go up always, because the ambition for happiness is the great drive of progress.

As his bodily sensations increase in intensity and become more refined, his spiritual sentiments also awake and grow. Then, the moral work starts and the soul's urge for improvement follows the bodily aspirations to reach a superior state.

This state of equilibrium between body and spirit desires does not last very much, since the spirit will very soon elevate himself above matter and his wishes can no longer be satisfied. The spirit needs more, longs for something better; but then, having the body reached its sensitive perfection, it no longer can follow the spirit, which now dominates the body from which it increasingly detaches, as if dropping a useless instrument. The spirit then drives all its aspirations and longs for a superior state, he feels that material aspirations - a former source of happiness and amusement - are now a cause of annoyance and decadence, a sad demand from which the spirit hopes to set himsel free in order to enjoy, unimpeded, all spiritual luckiness he can now presages.

Action of fluids during reincarnation

Once the fluids are the agents of movement in their corporeal instrument, they are also the elements of our aspirations, since there are bodily and spiritual fluids and all must raise and join fluids of the same nature. These fluids compose the spiritual body of the spirit which, in the incarnated state, uses them to act upon the human machinery that the spirit is called to improve, since everything is a work of Creation and compete to general advancement.

The spirit has free-will and looks for what pleases and satisfies him. If he is a material and inferior spirit, he tries to satisfy himself in materiality when he boosts the material fluids which will dominate him, but make the spirit grow and improve materially. So, the desires of this incarnate will be material and, after returning to the spirit state, he will look for another incarnation in which he will satisfy his needs and material desires, since, note, the bodily aspiration cannot lead, as a realization, to anything different of a new materiality. But spiritual aspirations instead will only bind to the sensations of the spirit. This will be requested by the fluids that the spirit allow to materialize, and since in the act of reincarnation the fluids act to attract the spirit to the body that is formed, occurring then fluid attraction and fusion, the reincarnation takes place in accordance to conditions that satisfy the aspirations of the spirit's former existence.

However, when the spiritual has conquered the material, the spirit, which judges everything differently, will choose or is attracted to distinct sympathies. Since it needs depuration, which is only reached through work, the selected incarnations are progressively more grievous than the former ones, since, after the state of matter and fluid dominance, the spirit will fight to master the material. Therefore we see these painful existences that seem to be unfairly administered to such good and intelligent spirits. They are on the last corporeal phase and will enter, after leaving this world, the superior spheres where the high aspirations will finally be fulfilled.

Earthly affections and reincarnation

The dogma of indefinite reincarnations finds opposition in the incarnated and loving heart because, in the presence of infinite existences, each one producing bounds, he wonders with scare what would become the particular affections; if they would not melt in a single general love, destroying the persistence of individual relations. He wonders if these individual affections are only a way of advancement, and then despondency takes hold of his soul, because true affection expects the need of an eternal love, feeling that it would never tires of loving. The thought of those millions identical affections seem to him impossible, even admitting love to be the greatest of all faculties.

The incarnated being who seriously studies Spiritism with no preconceived ideas on regard to a given system, will be attracted to a new existence by the justice that comes from spirit progress at each new life. However, when he studies from the point of view of his heart affections, he doubts and get astonished. Since he cannot cope with both feelings, he declares the presence of a veil on these matters, and his working thoughts calls the spirit's light to his help.

I have already said that reincarnation ceases when materiality is abrogated. I showed how material progress in principle refines the bodily sensations of the incarnated spirit; whose spiritual progress, in the sequence, counterbalances the influence of matter and then subjects it to its will and that, by reaching the spirit degree, bodiliness has no reason to exist after the work has been accomplished.

Let us now examine the issue of affections from the material and spiritual points of view.

To begin with, what is affection, love? Still fluidic attraction uniting two beings in the same sentiment. This attractiveness has two distinct natures, since the fluids have different natures. But, for affection to endure eternally it must be spiritual and uninterested; abnegation and devotion are necessary, no personal sentiment must be involved in such an appealing drift. Provided there is personality involved in the sentiment, there will be materiality. Now, no material affection persists in the spirit domain. So, any affection resulting from animal instinct and selfishness will be destroyed with earthly death. So, how many beings who proclaim themselves to be loved are forgotten in a short time after separation! You have loved them by yourself not by them who no longer live, since you have substituted and forgotten them. You have looked for consolation in oblivion, you are indifferent to them, you no longer love them.

Contemplate Humankind and see how scarce are the true affection on Earth! So, one should not wonder the multiplicity of acquired affections. The true affections are a relative minority, but they exist and the real ones will persist and perpetuate under several forms; first on Earth, then in the spirit state, as a friendship or an unchangeable love that continuously grows and elevates itself even more.

Let us now study the true affection, the spiritual love.

The spiritual affection is based on fluidic spiritual affinity and, acting alone, gives rise to sympathy. When this happens, the soul loves the soul, and this affection is only increased under the manifestation of soul's sentiments. Two spirits spiritually bounded seek one another and tend to approach one another. Their fluids are attractive. If they inhabit the same globe, they will be urged to each other. If they are separated by earthly death, their thoughts will be united in memory and meetings will be held during sleep. When the time of reincarnation arrives to one, the other will try to approach his friend, entering what can be called material affiliation. This will be even easier, the more affine is the perispiritual connection in the material body of the incarnate who give birth to the new being. So, a new addition of affection, a new manifestation of love. The spirit friend who has loved you as your dad will loves you as a son, a brother as again a brother and the bounds will grow at every new life and will be perpetuated in a unchangeable way until when, after the work is fulfilled, you live the life of spirit.

But such true affections are rare on Earth and matter tends to slow them down, to cancel their effects as matter dominates the spirit. Since true friendship and true love are spiritual, everything concerning matter does not belong to its nature and nothing will contribute to spiritual identification. Affinity persists in a latent state until the spiritual fluid dominates and a new progress of affinities occurs.

In summary, the spiritual affection is the only one enduring in the spirit domain. On Earth and on other spheres of corporeal work, it contributes to the moral advancement of the incarnate spirit who, under the influence of affinity, will work miracles of abnegation and devotion for his loved ones. Here, in the heavenly spheres, affection is the full satisfaction of all aspirations and the greatest happiness a spirit can enjoy.

Progress blocked by indefinite reincarnations.

Here reincarnation has been regarded too much prolonged. One has not considered that such duration of corporeity, even if less material, would lead however to necessities obstructing spirit advancement. In effect, admitting the persistence of new generations in the superior worlds, corporeal needs are associated to the incarnate spirit; material occupations and duties are given to the spirit, tasks that secure and detain the impulse for spirit studies. Why such handicaps are necessary? Can the spirit enjoy the happiness of love without body diseases ? Even on Earth, this sentiment exists by itself, quite independently of the material part of our being. No matter how rare they are, there are sufficient examples to show that it should be felt even more frequently among the most spiritualized beings. Reincarnation determines the union of two bodies. Pure love only determines the union of two souls. Spirits are bound through affections started on inferior worlds and they work together to their spiritual progress. They have a fluid organization that is totally distinct of those resulted of their corporeal instruments, their works are exerted on fluids and not on material objects. The spirits go to the sphere that have completed the material period, dematerialized places that have underwent a superior transformation, placing them in conditions to undergo new modifications, but in an entirely fluidic sense.

Now you can understand the immense power of fluids, a power that you can only determine but cannot see or touch. In a less dense state than you are now, you will be capable of seeing, touching and working on this fluid which is the great agent of universal life.

Why is then necessary for the spirit to enter a body for doing a job that is not the scope of bodily understanding? You would say that this body is in accordance to the new works the spirit must fulfill, but, admitting these works are entirely fluidic and spiritual in the superior spheres, why the difficulties of the bodily needs are necessary? Therefore, as I stated, reincarnation will always requires generation and nourishment, that is, the need to satisfy matter but, on the other hand, imposes barriers to the spirit.

You should understand that the spirit must be free in his fly toward infinity; that having the spirit just stopped wearing the nappings of matter, he wishes, as a child, to walk and run unimpeded, and that such early necessities of the first childhood education are redundant to the grown up child and unbearable to the adolescent.

Do not wish then to remain in childhood. Look yourselves as students who are in the last phases of school and eager to enter the world, to have in it your status and to start to work on another level resulted from your earlier lessons.

Spiritism is the lever that will allow a spiritual jump to every incarnate who, understanding and practicing it well, will be able to dominate and annihilate matter, become its master. Every spirit of good will is capable of conquering the spirit state definitely after leaving this world. Faith and active will are only required. Spiritism provides plenty of both to those who want to understand its moral sense.

The Medium's protecting Spirit.

Observation: this communication has only the signature above, showing that, in order to dictate good things, no famous name is necessary.

We can note some similarity with Sen's communications and the first part of the message above which is surely more developed, but the fundamental idea about the need of reincarnation is the same. We cite both messages to show that the great principles of the Spiritist teachings are taught everywhere and that this is the way Spiritism will find its unity and strength. Such agreement is the best benchmark for truth. One should note that eccentric and systematic theories dictated by pseudo enlightened spirits are always circumscribed to an individual and limited circle, what constitutes the reason for their lack of preponderance. This is also the reason for not fearing them since they all have temporary existence, which fades away like a weak lamp in day light.

As for the last communication, it would be dispensable to emphasize their range both in principle and in form. It can be summarized as follows:

Regarded from the point of view of progress, the Spirit's life has three main periods:

1. The material period: in which the influence of matter dominates the Spirit. This is the state of the brute and fleshly passions of men, of lustiness, whose aspirations are exclusively earthlike, bound to temporary goods or unruly to spiritual ideas.

2. The period of balance, in which the influence of matter and spirit operates simultaneously; in which, while submitted to material needs, man feels and understands the spiritual state, when he works to emerge from the bodily state.

3. The spiritual state, in which, having completely dominated matter, the spirit no more needs an incarnation nor material work. His works are entirely spiritual instead. This is the state of the spirit in the higher worlds.

The ease by which certain people accept the spiritist ideas, about which they seem to have an intuitive notion, shows that they are already in the second period; but between this phase and the other periods many degrees exist, that the spirit transposes rapidly as he approaches the spiritual phase. In this way, from a material world like Earth, he can inhabit a superior one like Jupiter, provided his moral and spiritual advancement is sufficient to exempt him from the intermediary stages. It depends therefore on man to leave Earth forever, as a world of tests and atonements, or to return to Earth in mission.

Allan Kardec