Before we proceed we  must  remark  that  the  reality  of  the  facts encountered many opponents. Some of them, without taking into  account the integrity and impartiality  of  their  investigators,  would  only consider the phenomena as a fraud or a clever subtlety. Those who  did not admit to anything but matter, who did not believe in the invisible world, who thought that everything finds its end in the death  of  the body, the materialists, in one word, the  so  called  strong  spirits, they moved the existence of the invisible  spirits  to  the  field  of absurd tails. They considered those who took the subject seriously  as crazy, and treated them with sarcasms and mockeries. Others who  could not  deny  the  facts  and  under  the  influence  of  certain  ideas, considered the phenomena an exclusive action  of  the  devil,  trying, therefore, to frighten the timid. However, today fear of the devil has lost its popularity. In fact the subject became  so  popular  and  was portrayed in so many ways that people got used to the idea,  and  many believed that this was the time to find out what it really was. Aside from a few timorous women,  the  communication  of  the  true  devil's arrival was somewhat malicious for those  who  had  seen  it  only  in pictures or in the theater. For many it was  a  powerful  impulse  and they tried to rise barriers against the new ideas. By  doing  so  they involuntarily initiated  an  opposite  reaction,  and  so  became  the propagators of the ideas; the louder they  cried  the  more  efficient they were. Other critics were also unsuccessful since the facts, carefully verified by clear reasoning,  provided  only  denials.  When their publications are analyzed the testimony of the ignorance and the lack of serious observation of the facts are  encountered  everywhere. Nowhere can one find a positive demonstration of their  impossibility. All of their argumentation are summed up by the  claims:  ''I  do  not believe, therefore, it does not  exist.  All  those  who  believe  are crazy. Only we have the privilege of reason and sound judgment.''  The number of believers resulting from the serious or  comical  criticisms was immense, because only private opinions are found in them which are devoid of disproof. Let us continue with our exposition.

The communication through raps was rather slow and incomplete. It  was discovered that, by attaching a pencil to a movable object (such as  a basket, a small board or a similar item, on which the fingers could be placed), the object would begin to move and make signs. Later  it  was discovered  that  such  objects  were  only  dispensable  accessories. Experience has shown that the spirit who acted upon a unanimated  body could in the same way control the arms  or  the  hands  and  lead  the pencil. Writing mediums then appeared, that is, people who could write in an involuntary manner under the impulse of the spirits, being their interpreters and instruments. Thenceforth the  communications  had  no limits, and the exchange of thoughts was as fast and easy as among the living. It was a vast field opened to exploration, the discovery of  a new world: the world of the invisible,  very  much  the  same  as  the microscope has unveiled the world of the infinitely small.

Who are these spirits? What is their role in  the  Universe?  What  is their reason for communicating with the mortals? Such were  the  first questions demanding explanation. The spirits soon revealed  that  they were not apart from creation, but were instead the very souls of those who had lived on the earth or on other worlds. After having left their corporeal envelopes, they populate an fly through the space. There was no room for doubt when friends and  relatives  were  recognized  among them, furnishing proofs of their  existence  when  interrogated.  They came to demonstrate that death was only for their bodies,  that  their souls or spirits continue to live, that they are very  near  us,  that they can see us very much like when they were alive. They kindly watch over those whom they loved and whose memories very much please them.

In general we make a completely false idea of the  spirits.  They  are not abstract or vague beings as many would imagine. Also they are  not a glaring radiance or a spark, but are rather very real, having  their own individuality and definite form. We can have a approximate idea of them according to the following explanation:

There are three essential things in human beings:

*The soul or the spirit, the intelligent principle where the thoughts, will and moral sense are found. *The   body,  the  material  envelope, weighty and rough. The body  enables   the   spirit  relate  with  the material world. *The perispirit, the light fluidic envelope, which  is the intermediary  bound between the spirit and the body.

When the exterior covering is threadbare and can  no  more  work,  the spirit get rid of it, like the fruit liberates itself from  the  shell or as one forsake a clothing which is no longer useful. That  is  what we call death.

Therefore, death is simply the destruction of the crude shell  of  the spirit; only the body dies, not the spirit. During life, the spirit is somewhat limited by the material  links  of  matter  to  which  it  is bounded. These limits can many times neutralize its faculties, and the body's death liberates it from such bounds setting it free  (like  the butterfly from its cocoon). But the spirit gives up only the  material body, keeping the  perispirit  which  is  a kind  of  ethereal  body, vaporous and very subtle to us. It has the human form which  seems  to be the standard one. In its normal state, the perispirit is invisible, but the spirit can make certain changes upon it so  as  to  render  it temporarily visible or able to be touched, similar to what happens  to condensed vapor. In this manner, the spirits can sometimes  appear  to us during apparitions. By using the perispirit,  the  spirit  can  act upon matter and produce the  several  phenomena  of  raps,  movements, writing etc.

Raps and movements are a way for the spirits to testify their presence and to call our attention, like a person may do to make others  notice him. Some of them do not limit themselves to make moderate noises, but instead produce a row of breaking dishes, of opening and closing doors or disordered furnitures.

Through knocks and combined movements they are able to  express their thoughts, but  writing,  which  they  prefer,  offers  them  the  most complete, convenient and fastest way. As they can make marks, so  they also can lead the hands to drawn, write music or play  a  piece  in  a musical instrument. In few words, because they lack  physical  bodies, they use a medium to manifest themselves to the human  in  a  sensible way.

The spirits can also  manifests  themselves  in  several  other  ways, including through vision and audition. Certain people  called  hearing mediums, have  the capacity  to listen  to spirits  and  they  can, therefore, talk to them. Others, the seeing mediums can see them.  The spirits which generally manifest themselves  visually  appear  in  the same way as when they were alive, although in a vaporous way. On other occasions, this form is so similar to a living being that  it  appears to be almost a complete delusion. They haven sometimes been  taken  to be flesh and blood humans which  people  talked  to  and  shook  hands without even suspecting they were  spirits,  except  for  their  later sudden disappearance. The permanent and  general  capacity  to  see  spirits  is  rare,  but individual apparitions specially at the  moment  of  death,  are  very common. The released spirit seems to hurry to see  its  relatives  and friends again, as if it wished to show them that it has just left  the earth but wants to tell them it is still alive.

By gathering individual recollection, many authentic  but  until  then unnoticed facts can be considered as having happened not only at night during sleep, but during  the  day  in  the  most  complete  state  of wakefulness. In the past, these facts were considered as marvelous and supernatural and were placed in the domain of wizardry and witchcraft. Today, however, the incredulous attribute them to imagination and  we, since the spiritist science has given us the key, know how to  produce them and that they do not leave  from the  normal  phenomenological order.

We also believe that the spirits,  just  because  they  are  spirits, should not be understood to have supreme knowledge and wisdom; this is a mistaken understanding that experience did not delay to prove. Among the spirit communications, there are those which are rich  in  sublime profundity, eloquence, wisdom and morals and  reflect  only  good  and benevolence. Others, however, are extremely  vulgar,  futile,  trivial and even rough. Through these messages the spirits reveal  their  most perverted instincts. It is clear that they can not come from the  same source and that, if there are good spirits, there are also  bad  ones. Since the spirits are only the very souls of the human, they  can  not turn into perfect beings after leaving their  bodies. They  keep  the imperfections of  their corporeal  lives  until  final  improvement. Therefore, in their messages, we see all  degrees  of  goodness  and badness, of wisdom and ignorance.

The spirits are generally happy to communicate and are very  satisfied to know that they were  not  forgotten.  They  gladly  describe  their impressions after leaving the earth, their new situation,  the  origin of their happiness and suffering in their new world. Some  are  happy, others are unhappy, suffering terrible torments according to  the  way in which they lived and the good or bad use they made of their  lives. By watching them in all phases of their new lives, paying attention to the positions they occupied on earth,  their  types  of  death,  their characters  and  behaviors  as human beings, we can come to a sufficiently accurate, if not complete,  knowledge of  the  invisible world. Such knowledge enables us the explanation of our future state and to foresee the happy or sad destiny that waits for us there.

THE FIRST ISSUE OF "HUMAN NATURE": THE LAUNCHING OF A NEW MAGAZINE  FOR THE  STUDY  OF  THE  PSI  VIEWED  BY  A   SPIRITIST
A L Xavier Jr

"The son of Kesa from Kalamo once came to the Buddha  and  complained: 'Master, every priest and monk extols his belief to  me  as  the  only true and condemns the belief of the others as false. Doubt is torturing me since I do not know whose words I should follow'.  Buddha  replied: 'Your doubts are justified, son of Kesa. Listen to my advice:  Do  not believe anything that comes to you from hearsay;  do  not  believe  in traditions just because they  are  old  and  have  gone  through many generations; do not believe anything because  it  is  the  subject  of rumours or of frequent discussion; do not  believe  just  because  you hear the witness of an old sage; never  believe  anything  because  of conjecture or because many years of habit tempt you to  regard  it  as true; do not believe anything because of the mere  authority  of  your teachers and clerymen.

Accept as true and live according to the principle which  agree with the reasoning drawn from your  own  experience  and  examination,  and which serve your own welfare and salvation as well as the welfare  and salvation of all other beings."

With this quotation by Anguttara Nikano,  Andreas  Sommer  starts  the presentation of the brand  new  magazine  "Human  Nature"  (edited  in Germany and directed to an English speaking public) dedicated  to  the study and research of all matters related to the so called  "psi".  It is not intended to be  a  re-edition  of  periodicals  specialized  in Parapsychology as many could initially imagine. It is rather a serious commitment to  a  time  to  time  evervecent  subject  bearing  strong relations with Spiritism.

At a first glance I realized "Human Nature" was  also  bringing  to  a world wide public important interconnections around what seems  to  be the  central  part  of  the  work  -  the  psychical  research.   Such 'interconnections' relate the research for the 'psi' to  philosophical discussions of mind, spirit and their relation to matter  as  well  as other more subtle themes like 'soul exploration in order to master the art of living' according to Sommer's own words.  One  instantly  notes here the editor sensitivity in recognizing that  the  spirit  research (or, as it is also known, of  the  psi)  can  not  be  separated  from theoretical and even speculative reflections. A proof of this  is  the section structure of the magazine:

1- *The Spiritual Companion*  that aims at bringing 'the  findings  of modern psychology' to attain a 'better understanding of ourselves  and others'. I consider this section the most special  of the magazine  as I was much impressed with the article "Disease as the language of  the soul" by Rudiger Dahlke.  It  is  not  difficult  to  relate  Dahlke's discussion that "it is clear that disease is  another way in which  we can learn" with Emmanuel's words like " all human creatures  get  sick but few of them cogitate upon the true health"(*).  Dahlke  recognizes that "disease is the formal aspect of a spiritual content; or in other words, symptoms are the  physical  embodiment  of  spiritual  issues". Although not discussed in the original text, there  is  here  a  clear connection with the hidden principle of cause and effect - the law  of tests and attonements - by which diseases can be  view  as  transitory stages of the soul caused by past misdoings in  its  eternal  life  or important essays of the soul toward  its  own  improvement.  From  the philosophical point of view, the  'modern  finds  of  psychology'  are unveiling many already debated issues in the Spirititist movement. The article "The courage to be  tolerant"  by  Beat  Imhof  also  confirms Kardec's statement that Spiritism (the philosophy) would be a  crystal clear field (as regard to its acceptance) as much as ethical questions were concerned.

2- *Psychical Research* is the core of the magazine and, according  toSommer, "presents a  scientific  and  thus  critical  contribution  to illuminate the enigma of  man".  This  section  is  structured  around "research on matters  pertaining  to  Survival  of  Death  and  related areas". Here again innovation is found. To those  interested  in  the historical debate originated by the spirit phenomena, this section  is a promise of continuous information. In the first issue, the reader is presented  with  re-editions  of  two  pearls  of  the metaphychical research: Charles Richet's article "The difficulty  of  survival  from the scientific point of  view" and  Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  reply  "The possibility of survival from the scientific point of view" (**). I am specially suspicious to talk about Lodge's clearness (because  he  was both a Spiritualist and physicist as I am), but I am obliged  to  say, as a matter of justice, that Lodge's reasoning seems more  lucid  than Richet's propositions (the reader should be acquainted with  the  fact that Richet remained skeptical about the Spiritist theory until his death). Both articles are valuable sources for the  sincere  Spiritist student. Another  article  by  Michael Grosso, "Afterlife  research: evidence, problems and paradigms" brings an interesting summary of  the phenomena related to the "survival hypothesis" but the author does not succeed (maybe because the author does not want?) in reaching a  final conclusion (any scientific article ideally brings one) on the  matter. In his text, Grosso tries  to  relate  parallel  phenomena  like  Ufo's apparitions, anomalies and psychodelic experiences to the realm of the psychic  research but  his argumentation,  to my opinion, is insufficient.

3- *Beyound human nature*  is  described  as  bringing  "philosophical discussions on the nature of an  'afterlife'  as  well  as  occasional mediumnistic communications of a high standard".  The  section  starts with  an article by  Rudolf  Passian  "Innocent  Suffering  - why?" originally published in German in the  "Wegbegleiter"  magazine.  The article is well  written  and  touches  some of  the  most important contributions of the Spiritist doctrine to the  human  life:  that of understanding suffering. Passian calls our attention to  the many hidden aspects of suffering  and  his  point  of  view  is  clearly Christian.  Besides,  although  coming  from  a   different   cultural environment, Passian's words are truely  Spiritist:  "the  reports  of near-death experiences in particular leave us in  no  doubt  that  the spiritual world order above us is founded on ethical principle".This again confirms the well known spiritist conception that  Spiritism  is an universal thought, what seems to culturally separate us is  just  a question of words and definitions.

You can subscribe (***) to "Human Nature" waiting for  an  independent vehicle of discussion and, to my opinion, a new communication gate for the flow of debates on the very core of the human soul. Its  structure is a proof  that  we  are  at  the  border  of  a  convergence  region concerning spirit phenomena,  a  place  where  science,  religion  and philosophy will meet with consequences never faced before.

A L Xavier Jr

(*) Emmanuel, "Fonte  Viva",  message  n  199  "Estas  doente?",  psc.
Franscisco Candido Xavier, Edited by FEB.

(**) Originally published in Part XC of the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol XXXIV, 1924.

(***) Subscriptions should be sent to Verlag Martin Weber,  Fabrikstr. 1, D - 77746 Schutterwald, Germany.  You  can  also  order  by  e-mail writting to WerlagWeber@t-online.de  (annual  subcription:  18  Pounds Sterling  for  the  UK  and  US$34  for  the  rest  of   the   world).

The world is full of works related to the stomach.

The terrestrial existence overflows with emotions relative to sex.

Nobody denies the sacred  foundations  of  both,  however,  we  cannot remain within the limits of these expressions.

One must raise the eyes and explore higher zones. It is  necessary  to cogitate upon croping new values, to assist our own barn.

Life is not restricted to  nutrition  phenomena,  nor  simply  to  the continuity of the species.

Laborious service of spiritual illumination requests people.

Valuable knowledge call us to superior spheres.

Eternal truths proclaim that happiness is not a myth, that life in the Earth is not limited to transitory carnal manifestations,  that  peace is the treasure of the God's children and that the divine greatness is the creature's wonderful destination.  However, in  order  to  receive such high talents, it is indispensable to raise the eyes,  to  elevate our understanding and to sanctify our reasoning.

One should lift up the sublime lamp of faith above the shadows.

Beloved brother or sister who rests under the divine tree of life,  do not  tie yourself exclusively to the fruits of  the  lost  opportunity  that you left  to  deteriorate... Do  not  isolate  yourself  in  the inferior fields, contemplating   sadness, failures, disappointments!...Look at the High!... Recover the  immortal  fronds that swing in the blow of Divine Providence.  Apply  yourself  to  the labors of the harvest and note that, while the roots  remain  tied  to the ground, green branches , full of  fruits,  move  skyward,  in  the direction of the Infinite.