Dear Friends,

Happy new year !! Contrary to what many have been aclaiming,  we  just start the last year of the XXth century. Let us restart our  plans  if they had failed, this time upon more solid bases in  order  to  attain success.

We hope to increase this year the bonds among Spiritists in the world, a task of prime importance within the GEAE group.  That  is  the  main reason for  the  existence  of  this  periodical.  We  have  partially fulfilled these objectives once the number  of  subscribers  increases every  day  as  well  as  their  participation  by  sending  us  their
impressions and  comments.  Today  we  can  say  that  "The  Spiritist Messenger" is recognized as an important tool for the communication of Spiritists around the globe,  a  kind  of  "medium"  among  countries. Although the number of Brazilians dominates the list  of  subscribers, we  would  like  to  emphasize  the  international  character  of  the
periodical whose efforts have been strongly directed to reporting news and the thought of the "Spiritualist" community as well.

We offer the message  below  "To  start  again"  by  Emmanuel  to  all subscribers as a page of reflection in the beginning of year 2000.

Much peace

GEAE Editors

TO START AGAIN
Emmanuel

Past  mistakes,   contracted   sadness,   regretted   tears,   chronic disagreements!...

Sometimes, you believe that all blessings  remain  extinguished,  that all doors are  closed  to  the  necessary  renewal  !...  You  forget, however, that life's wisdom determines the day  to  restart  at  every morning.

To begin again is a Nature's process, from  the  simple  seed  to  the solar giant.

If you had tried the weight of disappointment, nothing will force  you to  stay  under  the  power  of  disenchantment.   Begin   again   the construction of your ideals upon  more  solid  bases,  and  return  to experience, in order to reshape them in the fullness of new forces.

The failure  had  possibly  visited  you  during  some  experience  of improvement, but that is not sufficient  reason  for displeasure  and self piety.  Frequently, the  failure  of  our  longings  signifies  a commandment of the High for us to change direction, and starting again is the road for the desired success.

Perhaps we have not paid sufficient attention before the  others,  and found ourselves cultivating indifferences or ingratitude. However,  it is perfectly possible to re-do our attitudes and to  start  again  the plantation of sympathy, offering kindness and  understanding  for  all those around us.

We have possibly lost affections we supposed unchangeable. Though,  it won't be fair to get discouraged. Time enables us to start  again  the search for authentic likenesses, those susceptible to give us  courage to support the tests of life's road and to  provide  us  the   joy  of living.

Let us give up bitter  thoughts,  anguishing  loads,  resentments  and burning sorrows reaching our chests! Let us open the  windows  of  the soul so that the sun  of  understanding  clean  up  us  and  heat  our intimate house.

Everything in life can be restarted so that the law  of  progress  and improvement become true in all directions.

In many occasions indeed, when we despise the opportunities and  tasks that are granted us in the Lord's Work,  we  will  returned  again  in order to revise and resume them. However, it will never be too late.

In the book:"Alma e Coracao". Ed. Pensamento. Psc. med.  F  C  Xavier.
Trans. by A L Xavier Jr.

SPIRITISM EASILY EXPLAINED (FINAL)
Allan Kardec

41. Always look below you and not above you when  you  are  suffering. Think about those who suffer more than you.

42. Despair is a natural feeling for he who believes  everything  ends with death. It is nonsense for those who believe in the future.

43. Man is sometimes the artisan of his own unhappiness in this world. If he went back to the source of his misfortunes he would see that his pains are the consequence of his unawareness, pride and  avidity  and, therefore, his violation of God's law.

44. Prayer is an act of worship. Praying to God is to think about Him, to approach Him, to get in touch with Him.

45. He who prays with devotion and trust is  stronger  against  evil's temptations and God sends good spirits to watch over  him.  It  is  an ever fulfilled request provided if it is honest.

46. Pray a lot is unimportant, but one must  pray  well.  Some  people believe that prayer's merit lies in its length, while they close their eyes to their flaws. Prayer is an occupation to them, a  time  killer, and not a self evaluation.

47. He who asks God to forgive his mistakes is  only  pardoned  if  he changes his behavior. Good actions are better than prayers since  acts are more valuable than words.

48. Prayer is recommended by all good spirits. It is also practiced by imperfect spirits as a way of alleviating their sufferings.

49. Prayer  can  not  change  providence  resolutions.  But  suffering spirits feel less deprived  of  protection  and  become  less  unhappy through  praying.  Prayer  stimulates  their  courage  and  will   for improvement through regret and repair. It  can  also  change  spirit's inclination from evil. In this sense, prayer can not only  lessen  but
also shorten sufferings.

50. Let each one pray according to their beliefs  and  in  the  manner they consider more convenient, since form is nothing, but  thought  is everything. Sincerity and  pureness  of  purpose  is  essential.  Goodthoughts are worth more than thousand words which are like  the  noise of a mill and where the heart can not be found.

51. God makes some persons strong and powerful in order  for  them  to help the weak. Powerful people who oppress the weak are warned by God. In general they receive their punishment in the present  life  without impairing their future.

52. Fortune is a bounty whose owner can  only  temporarily  enjoy  it, since he can not take it to the grave. The affluent will  be  severely called to account for the use of their wealth.

53. Fortune is a more dangerous test than misery since it  constitutes a temptation to the abuse and excess, and because it is harder  to  be moderate than extravagant.

54. The ambitious person who prevails and the rich  one  who  sustains his material pleasures should be pitied rather than envied, since  one must take into account the consequences. By the terrible  examples  of the dead who have communicated to us  their  experience  after  death, Spiritism demonstrates the truthfulness of  Christ's  statement:  ''He who elevates himself will be humiliated and he who humiliates  himself will be elevated''.

55. Charity is the supreme Christ's law: ''Love each other as brothers and sisters; - Love your neighbor as yourself; - forgive your enemies; - Do unto others as you would have them do unto  you'';  all  this  is summed up in the word charity.

56. Charity is not only alms-giving,  for  there  can  be  charity  in thought, in words and in acts. He who is  charitable  in  thoughts  is lenient towards his fellowman's mistakes;  he  who  is  charitable  in words say nothing against his fellowman, and he who is  charitable  in acts helps his fellow sisters and brothers according to his capacity.

57. A poor person who shares his bred with someone even poorer is more charitable and has much more merit  in  God's  eyes  than  those  who, lacking for nothing, give only that which is superfluous to them.

58. He who declares himself a Christian and, at same time, feeds  evil feelings, hate, jealousy and lack of charity towards his neighbor,  is both lying and offending God.

59. People of all casts, sects and races, you  are  all  brothers  and sisters since God is calling all  you  to  Him.  Join  your  hands  in whatever manner you may adore Him. Do not anathematize each other,  as anathema is a violation of the law of charity proclaimed by Christ.

60. Through selfishness, people are in eternal conflict while  through charity they will be at peace. If charity alone constitutes the  basis of human institutions,  people's  happiness  in  this  world  will  be guaranteed.  According  to  Christ  words,  only  charity  will   also guarantee future happiness, since all virtues which can lead people to
perfection are implicitly contained in it. There will be no  room  for selfishness, vanity, hate, jealousy and slander with the true  charity that was taught and practiced by Christ, nor for strong attachment  to this world's goods. For this reason, Christian Spiritism  exhorts  the maxim: WITHOUT CHARITY THERE IS NO SALVATION.

-----------------------------------

Unbelievers! You can laugh at the spirits, mock in the face  of  those  who believe in their manifestations. Laugh then, if you dare, at  this maxim which they have just stated and which keeps you alive since,  if charity disappeared from earth, people would  destroy  themselves  and you would probably be among the first victims. The time is coming when this principle, fully proclaimed in the  name  of  the  spirits,  will constitute a safe guarantee and a title of the trustfulness  of  those who have brought it recorded on their own hearts.

A spirit said: ''They mocked at the  turning  tables,  but  they  will never laughed at their resulting philosophy  and  ethics''.  In  fact, after a couple of years, we are far from these first  phenomena  which entertained curious and lazy for a short while.  You  say  that  these ethics is old fashioned: ''The spirits should be clever enough to give us something new'' (A witty phrase of several critics). So be  it!  If it is old fashioned, it is ageless and people are no less  guilty  for having practiced it  so  sparingly.  Only  real  truths  are  eternal. Spiritism comes to remember it, and it do so not through a  revelation of a sole person, but through the voices of the spirits  which,  as  a last trumpet proclaim: ''Believe that all those whom you call dead are more alive than yourselves, since they can see and listen to  what  is
hidden to you. Admit them, who come to talk to  you,  your  relatives, friends and all those whom you  once  loved  on  earth  and  that  you believed forever lost.'' Unhappy  are  those  who  believe  everything finishes with the  body,  since  they  will  be  fiercely  undeceived. Unhappy are those who are uncharitable, for they will suffer what they
had done to others. Listen to the voices of  the  suffering  who  have came to say: ''We suffer because we did not recognize God's power  and doubt his  infinite  mercy.  We  suffer  because  of  our  pride,  our selfishness, greed and all bad passions which we had  not  restrained. We suffer for all evil we did to our fellow beings through the lack of charity.

Unbelievers! Say if this doctrine which teaches such things  is  worth laughing at, if it is good or not! From  the  point  of  view  of  the social order, say if we could be happy or not, better  or  not  if  we practiced it!

SAN DIEGO STUDY GROUP
Luiza Marques

Dear Friends,

Greetings. I have made a few attempts to inform that  we  now  have  a group in San Diego California. We are associated with the group in Los Angeles, and Divaldo Pereira  Franco.  Divaldo  has  been  the  major inspiration behind our humble work.We have healing,  (passes), study of the Gospel, Spirit book, Book of mediums, in  Portuguese. We  have approximately between 15 to 20 people involved in our  group  with  of course an flux of people that comes and goes as they please. Which  is the normal. We are attempt at the present time to  form  and  organize our work in order to  start  to  attract  our  fellows  Americans  and Spanish in our community. We've been together for 2 years.

It's been a learning experience of resilient dedication  and  love  in order to keep our group united in charity and work. I am delighted  to say that we are strong and willing to caring on our purpose. I want to ask if there is a possibility to add our group to your list of  groups in the United States.

We meet Saturdays from 6:30 p.m. till 8:00 p.m.

San Diego Study Group For Contact:
Luiza Marques
4431  Paola  Way  San Diego,
California    92117
Tel:    (858)     278-4839
Email:
luizamar@hotmail.com
Luizamar@worldnet.att.net

I also would like to inform that many of the contacts  in  the  United States are outdated and no longer working.

Thank you for your  wonderful  work  help  develop  the  understanding throughout the world of the doctrine of truth.

Luiza Marques
 
ALLAN KARDEC ASSOCIATION FOR SPIRITIST STUDIES
Rejane Spiegelberg-Planer

Verein fur Espiritistische Studien Allan Kardec (VAK)

Spengerstrasse, 10/3,
Entrance by  Jahngasse,  28
Siebenbrunnergasse, 46/2/13 1050,
Vien, Austria
phone:  +43-1-5442453
fax:  +43-1-5442453
email: rejaneplaner@hotmail.com
 
Allan Kardec Association for Spiritist Studies was founded on December 1999 and has as main objectives the study and  practice  of  Spiritism according to  Allan  Kardec.  We  have  weekly  meetings  on  Tuesdays (8:00-9:00 PM) and Saturdays (3:00-4:00 PM). The public  meetings  are conducted in Portuguese, German or English according to the occasion.

Rejane r.spiegelberg-planer@iaea.org

ASKING ABOUT SPIRITISM FOR CHILDREN
M Milena

Hello,
I live in (the) USA. I tried to find Spiritism for children here but I  can't  find  it!  I want to teach Spiritism for my own kids and neigborhood, but I think I need directions!
Can you help me? If you know something can help me , I will be very thankfull.
Milena (logm150@yahoo.com)

PS: Sorry about my English!

NEW ADDRESS OF THE FRENCH SPIRITIST UNION
Charles Kempf

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your work and the links on your internet site.

Please, notice below the new internet addresses of the  Union  Spirite Francaise et Francophone

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/union.spirite/
union.spirite@wanadoo.fr

The previous ones contained on your page are unactive.

Friendly,
Charles.

PEACE IN HIROSHIMA
Steve Leeper
 
I am writing to let you know about a free  world  peace  prayer  event that will take place in Hiroshima, Japan on December 12, 2000. I think you might be able to get our information to the  kind  of  people  who might be interested in joining us. If so, please let  me  know  and  I will send you a brochure. You can also find more information at:

www.nttl-net.ne.jp/hiroshima2001
(use link to get to English)

or

http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~hi2001/index.html
(for English directly)

Sincerely, Steve Leeper
transnet@urban.ne.jp
fax: 81-82-245-2051

PLEASE  GET  THIS  INFORMATION  TO  AS  MANY  PEOPLE   AS   YOU   CAN.

Remembering the pleasant mujlis(*) of my infancy,
I  see  again,  with drops of nostalgia,
the face of inocence of the  past  times,
singing poets, flying thoughts,
beating hearts.

And I sit at the opened door of my dreams.
My  soul  travels  through distant lands,
where only the though can go.

The years have past like tired dancers on  the  altar.
And  the  hope faded away similar to clounds hiding in the skies.

And I sit at the opened door
of my wish for being happy
I  stay  here remembering...

Pain put on my feet with aching wounds,
and reality  covered  my  head with the veil of disappointments.

The mujlins were substituted by great  confusion
and  the  poetry  no longer reigns in the rooms...
Everything changed so much !

I alone remain sitting at  the  opened  door,
looking  at  the  paths without names,
seeking for the stars of the dream,
a dark  dream  that threatens me now
like a ghost I want to avoid.

I alone and You - Tireless Keeper -
remain waiting endlessly.

The spikes stopped producing and had lost their grains.
The flowers of April are dead,
consumed by light and heat, burned by the summer.
Only ruined sheets are seen in the place of hedges and palm trees.

There is so much darkness in the home,
and  so  much  pain  in  man's heart,
that I feed my lamp
and light up the path
for the travellers of remorse.

Only I and You remain...

Because I suffer but also waits for your sweet  kiss  of  forgiveness,
and because you never gave up loving !

By Rabindranath Tagore (In the book:"Filigranas  de  Luz",  psc.  med. Divaldo P Franco. Ed. by Livraria  Espirita  'Alvorada".
Trans.  A  L Xavier Jr.