FROM:   Yvonne Limoges
              The Spiritist Society of Florida, St. Petersburg, FL

Although I am unable to attend your scheduled meeting, as a fifth generation Spiritist, I humbly submit some ideas for consideration by those present.  Your organization’s goals as stated in your letter are "preparation for a determined and focused dissemination of Spiritism", and, it is to this that I wish to address myself.

Before I get started just some words about myself and our Spiritist group. I am a 46 year old, college educated, married, mother of three, and, grandmother of two. I worked for the federal government for 26 years (recently retired) as a professional in the Social Security Administration. I was also very active in the union, and eventually became its president which provided me with the experience of running a large non-profit organization, assisting and providing service to others, conducting membership drives, negotiating contracts, organizing and conducting seminars, and, processing and adjudicating employee legal cases of various types. In 1982, my father, Ed Crespo, and I opened up our home (when I still lived there) to friends and relatives, to the practice, discussion, and study of the Spiritist Doctrine. This developed into The Spiritist Society of Florida. Our membership grew and we now rent space in a metaphysical church for our meetings. My father has assisted the Allan Kardec Educational Society in their  work on translations of Spiritist books into English. We correspond with many Spiritist organizations around the world. In addition, we feel honored that Janet Duncan, John Zerio, and Franco Divaldo have blessed us with their visits to our Group.

THE TIME IS RIGHT
In my opinion, the time is ripe in America for exposure to the Doctrine for several reasons:

1) best selling books by Gary Zukov (quantum physics and spirit evolution), Sylvia Brown (books about the spirit world and started her own religion with reincarnation), James van Praagh (medium who will soon have a movie of his life done), John Edward (medium, has his own show Crossing Over), Dr. Brian Weiss (past life regressions), Rosemary Althea (spiritual healing), and Donald Walsch (the Conversations with God  books, prayer circles), are working in parallel to us and all support mediumship and reincarnation;

2) these same people have exposed the general public to their messages via the media (Larry King Live, Oprah, etc.), the internet, and seminars and they have been well received;

3) the popularity of shows like Touched by an Angel;

4) the September 11th attack has made many people examine their priorities in life;

5) the aging US population has, and will continue to,  search for spiritual meaning in their lives.  I firmly believe these are not coincidences.

POSSIBLE OBSTACLES
But, we need  to acknowledge that currently most Spiritist groups are composed of Hispanics (myself included, 5th generation American) and/or Portuguese. Language and culture can be a barrier to dissemination and many of our groups seem to attract only others of the same ethnic culture who are already Spiritists or, those who are familiar with it. If we are going to spread the Doctrine to non-Hispanics, non-Portuguese, I believe we should be somewhat familiar with these popular author/mediums and what they are saying. Believe it or not, many of them are saying a lot of the same things that is in the Spiritist Doctrine.  Isn’t it wonderful that they now call themselves spiritual mediums instead of "channelers"! They are part of the Divine Plan, they whet people’s curiosity into the things their own religion has no answers for, and start many people on their search for the true meaning of Life.

Another issue that I feel needs to be discussed is, we must stop being afraid to say what and who we are, and, what we believe, out loud. As my long time friend and fellow Spiritist Jackie always says, "the Spanish Inquisition is dead"; there is freedom of religion in America. There is especially great hesitancy to speak of the practices of mediumship. Many people believe in reincarnation and communication with the spirit world. If we present ourselves in a professional manner, we won’t be taken for religious fanatics, or kooks. But, we should  not act like intellectual snobs either.

REGARDING TRANSLATIONS
I believe that the other Kardec books should be translated into English, especially Heaven and Hell. In addition, books by Leon Denis offers more of a narrative form of explaining the Doctrine, and, as the famous "Apostle of Spiritism", he deserves our serious attention.

Secondly, we should take advantage of the fact that most people enjoy reading personal stories, especially those with a moral to it, more so than reading what they may consider a philosophy, or religion book.  We want to appeal to the average person for the widest possible dissemination, not just the intellectuals. In addition, we should try to translate a diverse variety of Spiritist books from all countries; let us translate the best Spiritist authors from each. By the way, Jon Azipurua’s recent book is excellent and brings Spiritism up to date. Finally, duplication of translated works should be avoided, we really need to respect each others’ good efforts.

WHO ARE OUR TARGET GROUPS?
In order to have a more "focused dissemination", we need to try and target specific groups who are either open minded, of similar minds, or have somewhat been exposed to the basic ideas of reincarnation. Other than our own ethnic groups who are familiar with the Doctrine, I believe we should target members of metaphysical and spiritualist churches (most love to have guest speakers), students at universities, and the general public as scheduled ‘speakers’ in book stores (Barnes and Nobles, etc. which are in all major towns), or,  any other place where we can go to speak about the Doctrine (ex. here where I live, one can speak at our local museum) where it does not cost us. These groups are at places where we do not have to rent space.  In addition, we should write articles and send them to New Age type papers. Most cities have these and we need to reach out to them with our Spiritist viewpoint. Their audience would be receptive to our ideas.

IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS AMONG FELLOW SPIRITISTS
It would be wonderful that in conjunction with business meetings, The United States Spiritist Council, should sponsor and help organize a yearly American Spiritist conference (with assistance from each local Spiritist group in the location where it would be held). Volunteer speakers, selected by the Spiritist Council, from among our various Spiritist groups, could give lectures on various Spiritist topics, that Spiritist groups could attend. The meetings and seminars should rotate around each year to different areas of the country. This will encourage communication, a sense of Spiritist brotherhood, and provide for an exchange of ideas. Everything should be done in the English language. On one of the days of these conferences, we should invite local metaphysical and spiritualist groups.

ANOTHER IDEA
The authors Dr. Brian Weiss, James van Praagh, Gary Zukov, and Dr. Raymond Moody know each other and attend each other’s seminars. Dr. Weiss has recently lectured in Brazil and he even has tapes in Portuguese. Mr. van Praagh cites works by Allan Kardec in his books. It is very obvious that these individuals are familiar with Spiritist books and ideas. I think it would be wonderful if we could get an endorsement of Spiritism from one, or all of these gentlemen, which we could use to draw the general public to come hear us. They could do an introductory speech at an important Spiritist lecture, a book endorsement (we could put this on a published translated Spiritist book), or maybe they could start to mention us when they speak with the media. We could appeal to their spiritual goodness and put the rest in God’s Hands.

WHY DON’T WE WRITE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN SPIRITIST BOOKS?
I am sure we have many Spiritists out there who are great writers and have experiences, or stories, they could share. We must start our own Americanized version of Spiritists writings. Newsletters are a start.

The Spiritist Council could start its own Newsletter and ask for submitted articles from our Spiritist groups around the county to publish. This would give a voice to those at Spiritist centers with no established newsletters of their own.

WHAT CAN INDIVIDUAL SPIRITIST GROUPS DO TO SPREAD SPIRITISM?
We should be in cordial contact with our local spiritualist churches who are more like minded and provide them with material, or put them on our mailing list. As I said before, we should submit articles to any New Age newspapers in our area. We should encourage our Groups’ membership to not be ashamed or shy, about bringing up our beliefs when the time seems appropriate, and in a diplomatic manner, with those aspects of the Doctrine that others might be receptive to, in their everyday life. We need to encourage children education in Spiritism. We need to pass on our beliefs. We need to encourage our members to bring in friends and relatives (non-Hispanic, non-Portuguese) into our Groups. We should conduct mediumship classes, discussion groups, study groups, and medium sessions, as appropriate. Provide speakers at various public facilities: colleges, book stores, etc.

AMERICAN SPIRITISTS AND DOCTRINAL PURITY
In my 20 plus years of studying Spiritism, visiting different Spiritist Groups, and, reading and analyzing Spiritist correspondence and literature, I have noted many Spiritist groups have their own interpretations of the Spiritist Doctrine. Some groups stress spiritual healing, some only address the intellectual aspects of the Doctrine, some want to preface "Spiritism" with a qualifier, some only emphasize spirit communications, some treat the doctrine mostly as a religious belief, and some groups are very Bible-oriented. Obviously, every group is handling things their own way and have members who have similar views. But in light of the United States Spiritist Council’s goals, if we become more organized and our Spiritists groups came together with frequency, we may be more successful in obtaining a more unified perspective, with similar goals and methods, and, which can relate to the American culture in a positive way, while retaining the purity of the Spiritist Doctrine as codified by Allan Kardec.
                                                                               Respectfully Yours,
                                                                                Yvonne Limoges

                                                             The Spiritist Society of Florida
                                                                        St. Petersburg, Florida
                                                                                   U.S.A.
 

NEWS

A groundbreaking book is just out entitled The Afterlife Experiments, copyright 2002, which involves   current scientific experiments regarding the legitimacy of mediumship and scientific evidence of life after death. The spiritual mediums in these experiments provided specific details regarding the deceased relatives of  sitters unknown to them, with an accuracy rate on average of 83 percent, as opposed to the non-mediums average rate of 36 percent.

The author is Professor Gary Schwartz who received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and was a professor at Yale University and Director of the Yale Psychophysiology Center. He is currently a Professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, and psychiatry at the University of Arizona. He has published more than four hundred scientific papers and edited many books.

The significance of this book is that the current scientific community is beginning to show the courage in investigating those controversial subjects which form the foundation for the beliefs of the majority of the worlds’ religions. This can only open the door for further investigation. In the near future, the existence of the soul and an afterlife will be universally accepted as proven facts; it will be a milestone in the history of humanity.

(Communicated by Yvonne Limoges,  published in the newsletter of  THE SPIRITIST SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, March 2002)

http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/93/30/01_1_m.html

By Robert Matthews - Science Correspondent
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

3-4-1 A unique scientific experiment has produced startling evidence that some "spirit mediums" may indeed have paranormal talents. Scientists involved in the study at the University of Arizona say that the findings are so extraordinary they raise fundamental questions about the survival of consciousness after death.

Until now, the whole issue of the "afterlife" has been dismissed by most mainstream scientists, with spiritual mediums being regarded as either self-deluded or charlatans. Now the first serious laboratory study of a group of mediums has found that they share an uncanny ability to state facts about the deceased relatives of people who come to them. The experiments, details of which will be published this week, involved five mediums and two "sitters" unknown to the mediums, whose deceased relatives they were asked to contact.

In the first experiment, each medium spent an hour with one of the sitters in a laboratory, with a screen preventing visual contact. Under constant video surveillance, each began talking about aspects of the sitter's deceased relatives. The sitter was only allowed to respond to specific questions from the medium with the words "yes" or "no". At the end of each session, the information gleaned by the mediums was analysed for its accuracy. The transcripts of each session showed that the mediums typically produced more than 80 pieces of information about the deceased relatives, ranging from their names and personal idiosyncrasies to the precise circumstances of their death.When analysed for factual accuracy, the mediums achieved a success rate of 83 per cent, with one achieving an accuracy of 93 per cent. Similar success was achieved in experiments involving the second sitter, and even when the mediums were not allowed to communicate with the sitter in any way.

Sceptics have long argued that the success of mediums is due to so-called "cold reading", in which mediums make educated guesses about deceased people - such as asking if a husband died of heart disease, which is a common cause of death. The team claims to have dealt with this objection after a panel of more than 60 people was asked to supply the same information as the mediums about the sitter. The average score was only 36 per cent, with the most successful guesser achieving just 54 per cent.

Reporting their findings in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, the researchers conclude: "Highly skilled mediums are able to obtain accurate and replicable information." Professor Gary Schwartz, who led the team, told The Telegraph: "The bottom line is that there is a class of highly skilled mediums who are doing something extraordinary." The secret of their success is unclear: every precaution was taken to rule out unconscious cheating or outright fraud.

In one experiment, a medium claimed to have been in communication with the sitter's deceased mother three days before the meeting - and supplied a prayer that the mother used to recite for the sitter as a child. Prof Schwartz said such evidence is consistent with claims of mediums to deal directly with the dead, rather than merely with the minds of the sitters. He said: "All the data gathered so far is consistently in accord with survival of consciousness after death. Based on our data to date, the most parsimonious explanation is that the mediums are in direct communication with the deceased."

Sceptics said that while the results are intriguing, they leave many questions unanswered. Dr Chris French, a leading expert at Goldsmiths College, London, said: "Parapsychologists have become disillusioned with studies of mediums because the results are usually nothing more than you would expect by cold reading. This study has results that are so out of line that one would want to have a very close look at how it was done." The implications of the study are to be discussed at an international meeting in Arizona this week. Prof Schwartz admitted that the findings were likely to disturb many people. He said: "Some of our colleagues would like us to do this research elsewhere."
 

SPIRITIST GROUPS

The Spiritist Group of New York (SGNY) is an organization dedicated to the study, practice and dissemination of the teachings of the Spiritist Doctrine in its triple aspects: scientific, philosophic and moral.

The Spiritist Doctrine contains a set of teachings dictated by Superior Spirits and codified by Allan Kardec in a work known as The Codification, which is comprised of the following books:

The Spirits’ Book (1857)
The Mediums Book (1861)
The Gospel According to Spiritism (1864)
Heaven and Hell (1865)
Genesis (1868)

 Aware of our responsibility as workers of the last hour, we are trying our best in order to work for the construction of a regenerated world, where we will live as brothers and sisters, under the rules of an Universal fraternity, respecting each other and free from any kind of discrimination be it of race, color, sex or religion.

“Spiritism is a science which deals with the nature, origin and destiny of Spirits, as well as their relationship with the corporeal world.”
Allan Kardec – What is Spiritism’s Preamble

“Spiritism realizes what Jesus said of the promised Consoler, by bringing knowledge of those things which allow Man to know where he came from, where he is going and why he is on Earth; so attracting mankind towards the true principles of God's law and offering consolation through faith and hope.”
Allan Kardec – The Gospel According to Spiritism – Chapter 6 – Item 4

“Spirits assure us that the time appointed by Providence for a universal manifestation of their existence has now come; and that their mission, as the ministers of God and the instruments of His will, is to inaugurate, through the instructions they are charged to convey to us, a new era of regeneration for the human race.”
Allan Kardec – The Spirits’ Book’s Prolegomena

All the activities of the Spiritist Group of New York are directed to the English-speaking world. More activities are being developed and will be available soon. Currently the activities of the group and the address where they take place are as follows:

Email: sgny@geae.inf.br
Phones: Jussara Korngold –  (212) 828-7336-h (917) 797-0462-mobile
Antonio Leite – (718) 932-3138-home

Dear Ademir!

My site is finally ready - of course besides some things that will be
updated later, but even in this state it's worth starting:

http://rassvet2000.narod.ru/

BTW, is your site working? I couldn't read it a week ago.

All the best,

Andrei Melnikov
 

SPIRIT WORD

The rich oppress the poor, and this is how it has always been. But more awareness of the injustices of man-against-man will appear.  This awareness will provide a movement across the world which will bring a redistribution of the resources of the earth. This will be accomplished with the divine intervention that is necessary. Mankind knows what is right and wrong in this matter and its unified consciousness will eventually force a change in events.

When a multitude is outraged and have feelings of sympathy, a call goes out to space wherein we hear the spiritual cry. Like attracts like, always, and when these good feelings of sympathy call out, those on earth will be invigorated by those in the invisible world, and action will be supremely empowered.  This process will be repeated, to the responses of concern, over all the inequities involving the many people who require the basic essentials to life.

Materiality is like a disease. It is contagious. The importance of wealth and of the acquiring of more and more useless items overwhelms the senses. The sensual feeling of acquiring wealth and material goods  intoxicates. It takes a strong and clear mind to see the reality that material things mean nothing. The spirit is weakened, not strengthened by this sickness.

The simple life that is not distracted by materiality is the more spiritual and the more valuable for the future of your soul. Buddha, Jesus, Gandhi, may be extreme examples to you, but, these souls spent their lives concentrating on the appropriate priorities in their material existence.

You are only on the earth a short time and you do not own anything. You arrive and leave with nothing but your good and bad deeds. Your body will turn to dust and your material possessions left to others who may care little for them. The time will arrive one day when it will be an embarrassment to possess so much.

Your people are starving yet there are people who spend millions on jewelry that will sit in a drawer. You pay millions to sports figures who glorify violence, yet your people have no money for medicine. Celebrities exhibit no shame parading before the masses in their expensive attire, while children go without appropriate clothing to protect themselves from the elements.  Everyone should be outraged! The time has come to reassess your values and change this world of yours!

Spirit communication received by Yvonne Limoges (Originally published in the newsletter of  THE SPIRITIST SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, March 2002)

(...) Certainly all the patrimony of the civilization was erected by creatures that used their freedom to exalt the good. However, in order to explain the realities of the free will we must look at the other side of the picture. (...) Let us consider the disappointment of those who hoard coins all their lives, at the cost of perspiration from fellow men, to satisfy their own avarice. When they feel the approach of death, they find themselves without a speck of light to ease their afflictions in the darkness. (...) Let us consider the remorse of those who surrender to delinquency, hypnotized by self-adoration. They wake up weakened and segregated in the bowls of prisons of despair. No one can deny that all of them, even tough confined to captivity on earth, were free. (...) In spite of the natural obstacles from the learning process, they were free to build, educate, understand, and serve. This is why the Spiritist Doctrine excites the human mind today, helping the discovery of the Divine Statutes. It works, in our consciences, so that we learn that, the freedom of doing what we want is conditioned to the freedom of doing what is right. (...)

Extracted from the book FRATERNAL MEETING KNOW THYSELF. Translated by: Elza D’Agosto, J. Korngold and M. Levinson. From the original Portuguese version of Professor Rodriguez Ferreira. Centro Espírita Vicente de Paulo- Mirassol- SP, Brazil.

SPIRIT WORD THE ASTRAL CITY - "Nosso Lar"

A story of a doctor's odyssey in the Spirit World By Andre Luiz, through Francisco C. Xavier

CHAPTER 17 & 18.

(Translated from the 25th Portuguese edition entitled "Nosso Lar". First Portuguese edition published in 1944 by Federação Espírita Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.)

Chapter 17 Lysias´ Home

A few days after my mother's unexpected visit, I was summoned to Clarence's office. Surprised, I followed Lysias, who had come to fetch me. I was kindly received by the generous minister, and awaited his orders with pleasant expectation.

"My friend," he said amiably, "you are henceforth allowed to pay visits of observation to all sections of our activities, except for the Ministries of higher spirituality. Henry de Luna has informed me that your treatment was completed last week, so it is only right that you should now employ your time observing and learning."

I turned to Lysias, eager to share my happiness and was met with an exultant glance. I was simply overjoyed. It was the beginning of a new life. I would be able to join different schools and to do meaningful work. Clarence, judging my happiness, added:

"As your stay in the Hospital Park is no longer necessary, I will study the question of your transfer to new lodgings. I will consult some of our institutions…"

"If possible," Lysias interrupted eagerly, "I should very much like him to share our home during his period of observation. My mother would welcome him as another son."

I looked gratefully at my generous companion. Clarence, in his turn, also gave him a look of approval, saying:

"Very well, Lysias. Jesus rejoices with us whenever we open our hearts to a new friend."

Unable to express my gratitude in words, I embraced my companion. Great joy can sometimes render us speechless.

"Keep this document," Clarence continued, handling me a small folder, "it will serve as a permit to admittance to the Ministries of Regeneration, Assistance, Communication and Elucidation for the period of one year. After that, we shall see what else can be done. Don't waste your time, my friend learn all you can. Remember that the intervals between earthly sojourns must be worthily filled."

I left the minister's office elated, arm in arm with Lysias.  After a few minutes' walk, we arrived at a graceful cottage surrounded by a colorful garden.

"Here we are," he announced. He rang a small bell, adding: "this is our home within the Astral City. A soft ringing was heard inside the house and pleasant lady opened the door.

"Mother," Lysias called out, introducing me, "here is the brother I promised you."

"Welcome, my friend," she exclaimed hospitably, "please consider this house your home."

Embracing me as if I were a true son, she added: "I understand that your mother doesn't live here. Therefore, you will have in me a sister, involved in maternal duties."

I did not know how to thank her for her generous welcome. I was about to try, when she quickly interjected:

"You are forbidden to mention thanks. Please don't, or you would force me to remember some long-forgotten conventional Earthly phrase for the sake of etiquette."

We all laughed, and I added:

"May the Lord receive my gratefulness and pour it on this house as renewed blessings of peace and joy."

We walked in. Everything was simple and comfortable. The furniture and objects were, on the whole, much like those on Earth. There were pictures of deep spiritual significance, an unusually large piano, and resting on it a harp of delicate design. Lysias, ready as usual to satisfy my curiosity, spoke:

"As you know, you were not met by harpist angels when you left Earth instead, the harp before you awaits our own abilities."

"Now Lysias, stop joking," his mother interrupted affectionately, "Do you remember that last year the Ministry of Divine Union invited some of the residents of the Ministry of Elevation to hear some master musicians who passed through our city?"

"Indeed I do, mother. I only meant to say that harpists really exist, but in order to hear them we must develop our sense of spiritual hearing by striving for the knowledge of divine things."

Later on, after giving some introductory information about myself, I learned that Lysias' family came from an old town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, that his mother's name was Laura, and that his two sisters, Yolanda and Judith, lived with him as well. I was delighted at my first experience of domesticity in the Colony. The home atmosphere encouraged a sweet and heart-warming intimacy, and the family's gracious welcome stirred deep emotions in my spirit. As I was filled with questions, my kind hostess showed me some wonderful books. Perceiving my interest, she informed: "As for literature, we have an enormous advantage here in the Astral city; All insidious writers, those who use their art to instill psychological poison, go straight to the Lower Zones, and as long as they persist in such a state they cannot stay here, not even in the Ministry of Regeneration."

I could not help smiling as I marveled at the beautiful specimens of photographic art in the books she showed me. Afterwards, Lysias took me around the house, calling my attention to the bathing chamber, which was filled with interesting fixtures – everything was so simple, yet so comfortable.

I had hardly gotten over my amazement, when Laura summoned us to prayer. We sat in silence around a big table. As she switched on a large screen, I heard soft music – it was the evening service. I saw the familiar image of the Government House, which had captured my attention so often in the Hospital Park. Now, however, a deep and mysterious happiness filled me as the blue heart appeared in the background, and my soul was filled with joy and gratefulness.

Chapter 18 Love, the food of souls.

As soon as the prayer was over, Laura invited me to the evening meal, which consisted of invigorating broth and flagrant fruits which tasted more like a delicious blend of concentrated fluids. I heard Laura remark genially"

"After all, our meals here are far more agreeable than they were on Earth. We have some districts which dispense with them together, but in the zone of the Ministry of Assistance we can't do so. Here the heavy tasks we perform consume a great deal of our energy. Hence, we are obligated to be continually making provisions of energy."

"That, however," added one of the young ladies, "doesn't mean that we who work at the Ministries of Assistance and Regeneration are the only ones to depend on food. The other Ministries, including Divine Union, don't dispense with it. The only difference in the food is the nature of its substance. In Communication and Elucidation, fruit is widely used, while in Elevation, juices and concentrated fluids are more common. As for the Ministry of Divine Union, the process of nutrition goes beyond the imagination."

Eager for immediate explanations, I shifted my gaze from Lysias to his mother. Everybody smiled at my natural perplexity, but Laura satisfied my curiosity:

"You may not be aware, my friend, that love is the major sustaining element for all creatures. From time to time, large delegations of instructors come to visit our city in order to convey the principles of spiritual nutrition. Love is the fundamental basis of all systems of nourishment in the different spheres of life. Physical diet, properly considered, is always a question of transitory materiality even here, as in the case of the earthly machines that need grease and oil. Love, and only love, is the source of sustenance for the soul. The more we ascend along the evolutionary plan of Creation, the more thoroughly we understand that great truth. Don't you think that Divine Love is the mainspring of the Universe?"

Those explanations comforted me considerably, and Lysias added:

"God's infinite love is the center is the center of equilibrium of all Creation; the more evolved the created beings, the subtler their processes of nutrition. The worm in the ground feeds mainly on earth. Larger animals find the necessary elements for nourishment in plants. Man gathers the fruits of these plants and prepares them according to his taste. We, who are already free of our physical bodies, need fluidical, juicy substances. The process becomes even more delicate as we advance in our ascent."

"But we mustn't forget the question of vehicles," Laura added, "for after all, worms, animals, man and ourselves depend exclusively on love. We all move about in it and no existence would be possible without it. Don't you remember the Gospel lesson which says: 'Love one another'? When Jesus taught this principle, he didn't refer only to charity in its strictest sense, for we shall all have to learn, sooner or later, that the practice of good is simply a duty. He meant us to understand His words in a broader sense, that is, to sustain one another through brotherly love and sympathy. Sometime in the future, man on Earth will discover that friendly words, mutual kindness and trust, understanding and fraternal interest – all fruits of deep love – are stimulating nourishment to life itself. When on Earth, burdened by a physical body, we are under great limitation. But on returning here we realize that lasting and harmonious happiness is a question of purely spiritual sustenance. Homes, villages, towns and nations are formed in obedience to such principles."

Instinctively I remembered the sex theories so widespread in the physical world, but Laura, recognizing my thoughts, remarked:

"You mustn't imagine that it is merely a sexual phenomenon. Sex is a sacred manifestation of universal and divine love, but it is only one of the many expressions of its infinite potential. With the more spiritualized couples, tenderness and trust, mutual devotion and understanding count far more than physical union, which is reduced to merely a transitory activity between them. It is magnetic exchange that establishes the necessary rhythm for the manifestation of harmony. The mere presence of the loved one, and sometimes a simple understanding is sufficient to nourish a feeling of joy.

Availing herself of a lull in the conversation, Judith added:

"We learn here in the Astral City that love is the hub of life on Earth; yet most people never realize that important truth. Twin souls, kindred souls, and sympathetic souls form numerous pairs and groups. By gathering together and assisting one another, they succeed in advancing along the road to redemption. When, however, help is lacking, a weaker person usually fails before completing the journey."

"As you see, my friend," remarked Lysias, "even here we are reminded of the Gospel lesson: 'Man shall not live by bread alone'."

At that point, the conversation was interrupted by the ringing of a bell. Lysias got up and answered the door. Two courteous young men came into the room. He greeted them cordially, introducing them as Polydor and Estacius, from the Ministry of Elucidation. Greetings and handshakes followed, and after a few minutes, Laura said with a smile:

"You have all worked hard today. You mustn't, therefore, alter your program on our account. It is time for you to set out on your planned excursion to the Music Park."

Noticing Lysias' perturbed look, she added:

"Go along, son. Don't keep Lascinia waiting. Our brother André will stay with me until he can accompany you on these excursions."

"Please don't let me keep you at home!" I exclaimed.

"I can't yet enjoy the pleasure of going to the Music Park. My grand-daughter returned from Earth a few days ago, and is still too weak to go out."

They left, chatting joyfully. Laura shut the door, then turned to me and said:

"They are going in search of the food we were talking about just now. The ties of love are stronger and more beautiful here. Love, my friend, is the divine bread of the soul, the sustenance of the heart.