Materialism, Spiritualism, Spiritism, & New Spiritual Realities
Yvonne Limoges
Article reproduced from the March 2006 Newsletter of The Spiritist Society of Florida
Materialism is a
belief that there is no other reality except the material and our
personality is an effect of our brain and when our physical body dies
there is nothing left of us at all. Materialists, therefore, do not
believe in a spiritual afterlife. Spiritualism on the other hand, is
generally a belief that there exists also a spiritual reality and that
we have a soul or spirit that survives the material death of our body
and enters into some kind of spiritual afterlife. The people who have a
belief in most of the world’s religions are therefore
spiritualists. Spiritualism one could say is the opposite of
materialism.
But, the word Spiritualism is also used as
the name of a specific organized religion. They have a clergy and meet
in churches and temples. They believe in the evolution of the soul and
in communication between the material and spiritual worlds through
persons who have the faculty of mediumship.
French Educator, Professor Allan Kardec, coined the word Spiritism to describe the science
of the study of, “the relation of the material world with
spirits” (especially through mediumship) and the moral philosophy
that resulted from this study. Spiritists do not have clergy and
practice in centers. Its most important tenet is belief in soul
evolution through reincarnation.
Although
Spiritualists have been somewhat divided regarding belief in
reincarnation, Spiritists and Spiritualists have been communicating and
working together. Vanessa Anseloni, founder of The Spiritist Society of
Baltimore is teaching workshops at the National Spiritualist
Association of Churches at Lily Dale, in 2005 on Spiritism, and again
this July 2006 on reincarnation. A Spiritualist gave a lecture at her
center as well. In addition, the International Spiritualist Federation
(established in 1923 in England) in their October 2005 magazine
Fraternally Yours published my article entitled, Time for Acceptance of
Reincarnation Has Come. Website: www.isfederation.org
Yet, whether one
calls oneself a Spiritist or a Spiritualist, and although our practices
may be somewhat different, WE ALL believe in a solid base: existence of
a Supreme Intelligence and in the faculty of mediumship, the existence
of the soul, and, communication between the spirit and material worlds.
All of us believe in the evolution of the soul (whether through
reincarnation or not).
And when the
spirit world was making themselves first known to the world in the
1840s through intelligent communications, many groups (religious,
philosophical, scientific) formed to study these phenomena and many
attended several world conferences together. Spiritualists and
Spiritists from around the world attended at least two of these world
conferences. The first one was in 1888 in Barcelona, Spain, and, the
second one was in 1889 in Paris, France. Now in the present day,
Spiritists and Spiritualists again are corresponding, sharing ideas,
and visiting each other. I think this is wonderful!
More and more
people are searching for new spiritual realities that make sense to
their reason, and, that can console and sustain them. The ideas
contained in Spiritism and Spiritualism, and other groups with
similar concepts (no matter what their name) – and assisted by
those in the spirit world that want this planet to progress- will
eventually spread, and provide humanity what it so desperately
lacks… Spiritual Truths based in reality (instead of blind
faith, dogma, & superstition)… And these ideas will
eventually see the light of day for all! We all are a part of
this… so keep spreading the word!
I would like to
say I dearly cherish all my friends I have corresponded with over
the years and have come to know in so many
organizations!
Much Peace, Light, & Fraternal Love to you all!
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Is the story of Adam and Eve real?
Initially, let’s analyze the biblical Genesis, starting with Cain’s speech, after being reprehended by the Lord regarding the fratricide committed.
4,
14. ... and whoever finds me will kill me. 15. ... Then the Lord put a
mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16. Cain ...
lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17. Cain lay with his wife.
She... gave birth to Enoc. Cain was then building a city...
For what reason
would Cain fear to be killed far from Eden if, aside from himself, only
Adam and Eve inhabited the Earth? The only possible explanation to
support the hypothesis of Adam and Eve being the first couple is to
suppose that they had other children and, for an unknown reason, these
children had previously moved to distant regions where Cain was heading
to. By the way, such hypothesis is used by brethren of other beliefs
trying to justify literal interpretations of the Bible. In my point of
view, the fact that the book Genesis does not mention Adam and
Eve’s other children makes this argument weak. If those supposed
children used to please God or, on the contrary, if they did not, the
reason for them to move far from Eden had to be written in the biblical
text, which is definitely not the case.
The lack of
acknowledgment of Adam and Eve’s other children in the biblical
text could be justified by the fact that they were brothers or sisters
who begun other races, therefore, not important for the Jewish
tradition. However, careful reading of the text contests this
explanation. Even if the tradition had omitted the destiny of Adam and
Eve’s other children, it would not put meaningless words into the
Lord’s mouth. When Cain showed concern of being killed by
“whoever finds” him, proving not to know who he would find
in his way, the Lord assured him that he would not be killed by any one
“who found him”. Based on Cain’s speech and the
Lord’s answer, it is obvious that Cain could find somebody who he
was not acquainted with at the distant lands to where he was going.
This discards the hypothesis that this unfamiliar person could be his
brother or sister.
Aside from this
argument, the text also brings interesting information which adds to
the same interpretation. It says that Cain built a city to live with
his wife and son. Well, if he was to live only with his wife and child,
a house would suffice. If Cain built a city, it is because there would
have been a lot of people living in that region and, being the most
evolved among them, he became the leader who organized everyone in a
civilized way.
The Adamic Race and the Advent of Civilization
In The Spirit’s Book, we learn:
50. Did the human race begin with one man only?
“No; he whom you call Adam was neither the first nor the only man who peopled the earth.”
51. Is it possible to know at what period Adam lived?
“About the period which you assign to him; that is to say, about 4000 years before Christ.”
In accordance
with the teaching of the spirits, the perception of time in the
spiritual world is different from ours, as incarnated beings. Current
archaeological researches confirm that civilization flourished
approximately at that time. Therefore, if we understand Adam and Eve as
mythical characters, they can truthfully represent the arrival of the
first civilizations in our planet.
Item 38, Chapter XI of the book Genesis – The Miracles and the Predictions according to Spiritism deals with the Adamic race and it points to the same conclusion. There Allan Kardec says:
“38.
–The Adamic race, according to the teaching of the spirits, is
due to one of these great immigrations, where one of these great
colonies of spirits came from another sphere, which has given birth to
the race symbolized in the person of Adam, and for this reason named
Adamic. When they arrived, the Earth had been peopled from time
immemorial, as America had been when Europeans reached its
shores.”
“The
Adamic race, more advanced than those which had preceded it upon the
Earth, is indeed the most intelligent. It is that race which has pushed
all other races forward. Genesis shows us it from its debut to be
industrious, apt in all the arts and sciences, without having passed
through an intellectual infancy…”
Hence, one can
observe that Kardec interprets Adam as an allegory, which represents
the arrival in our orb of a colony of spirits who came from a more
evolved world. They improved upon the construction of cities, the
culture of land, the production of metals and the progress in arts and
sciences, conquests that, in sum, define what we understand as
Civilization.
Starting on item 43 of the same chapter of Genesis, Kardec deals with the “Doctrine of the Fallen Angels and the Loss of Paradise”
“...At
the time then when a world has reached one of its transformation crises
which mark the stages of its ascent in the hierarchy, changes of a
marked character take place among its incarnated and disincarnated
inhabitants, causing extensive emigrations and immigrations (no. 34 and
35). Those who, notwithstanding their intelligence and knowledge, have
continued in evil their revolt against God and his laws would be
henceforth obstacles in the path of further moral progress, a permanent
source of trouble, disturbing the tranquility and well-being of the
virtuous. For this reason are they sent forth into less advanced worlds
– worlds in which they can utilize their intelligence and the
results of their acquired knowledge in furthering the advancement of
those among whom they are called to live, at the same time expiating in
a series of laborious existences, by hard work, their past faults and
their willful obstinacy.”
Kardec’s explanation is clear and it does not require further explanations.
Entrance to the Human Kingdom
Analyzing the
Myth of the Lost Paradise, one can notice that the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil has an evident meaning. How would one know
what is right or wrong without having a mature conscience? The message
behind the myth should be interpreted.
Souls that were
incarnate in hominid bodies in Eden lived in naiveness. By lacking a
mature conscience, that is, being unable to distinguish right from
wrong, they were not responsible for their acts, not being, therefore,
submitted to expiations. When those souls proved the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, that is, when their conscience
became mature and they became Spirits, they were banished from the Eden
of naiveness and became responsible for their acts, hence submitting
themselves to the Law of Causality.
I understand
this interpretation of the myth of Adam and Eve as consistent with the
teaching that we can obtain from the Codification. After all, as I
mentioned before, the information that we obtain from Genesis, item 38,
is that the colony of spirits represented by the Adam myth would have
been responsible for the advent of what we now call Civilization.
In Carlos Torres Pastorino´s A Sabedoria do Evangelho
(The Wisdom of the Gospel), we find the confirmation of the
interpretation presented in this study for what we make his words the
closing remarks of this brief study about Adam and Eve. In his comments
about the genealogy of Jesus, as per described in the Gospel according
to Lucas, the scholar says:
“Let’s
move on to Lucas. He gives us 76 generations from Adam to Heli. Let us
remember that the word Adam (from the Hebrew ADAM) simply means the
common noun MAN. It is not a proper noun.
Therefore,
Lucas tells us that, as soon as the creature leaves the animal kingdom
for the human kingdom, reaching the human phase (adamic),
…”
Bibliography
- Kardec, Allan. Genesis, The Miracles and the Predictions according to Spiritism. 1st Ed. Spiritist Alliance for Books, 2003.
- _____, ____. The Spirit’s Book. 6o Ed. FEB, Rio de Janeiro, 1996.
- Pastorino, Carlos Torres. A Sabedoria do Evangelho. Vol. I. Sabedoria, 1967.
- The Holy Bible. New International Version®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
(Articled originally published at the Revista Internacional de Espiritismo -Spiritism International Magazine - October 2004)
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New Era in the
World Dissemination of Spiritism
by Vanessa Anseloni and Daniel
Santos
"Tonight a new era in the world dissemination of
Spiritism begins,” said the renowned Spiritist medium and speaker Divaldo P.
Franco after the historic event organized by the Spiritist Society of
Baltimore, Inc. In the evening of March 16, 2006, the acclaimed researcher, psychiatrist
and philosopher Dr. Raymond Moody Jr. shared the stage with Divaldo P. Franco
in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The theme of the event was From Grief to
Hope in which Dr. Raymond Moody talked about his book Reunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones, while
Divaldo Franco spoke about The Spiritist
Therapy for Those Who Stayed.
The Spiritist Society of Baltimore (SSB) organized and
sponsored this event with the goal of bringing the consoling promise of
Spiritism to the American public who has undergone challenging times on losing
loved ones either through natural calamities or the ones created by Human
Beings, the wars. To reach this goal, the SSB established for the first time a
bridge between Spiritism and Academia on American soil.
Dr. Raymond Moody began his lecture highlighting the
importance of critical thinking when thinking about the great questions of
life. Based on the History of Ancient Greece and mainly the Oracle of the Dead,
Dr. Moody said that he reproduced a technique to contact the dead found in
Greek mythology by building up a room of mirrors in his institute.
In his studies with the technique of the mirrors, he
proposed a new methodology to investigate the phenomenon of communication with
the dead. Dr. Moody said that he was taken by surprise when he verified that
the majority of individuals in his studies reported that they had some type of
real experience in communicating with their departed loved ones. Dr. Moody also
told about his personal experience with his deceased paternal grandmother.
He observed that his experiments also had
extraordinary and diverse results. He said, “In half or so of my work, people say they had a three-dimensional image
in full color of the person that they set out to see. But there are plenty of
things that I did not expect. The other people report that they feel that their
consciousness goes through the mirror and they come out onto the other side
into a sort of panoramic, three-dimensional realm where they meet the spirits.
Some people tell you that the apparition forms in the mirror then steps forward
and comes out of the mirror. Thirty percent of the people tell us that they hear
the audible voice of the deceased with auditory quality to it. The others who
did not go through these experiences report that they had a heart to heart or
mind to mind communion with the person that they saw. Another strange fact
related to this, a quarter of those individuals see some other individual known
to them who died rather than, or in addition to, the person that they set out
to see.”
Despite his 30 years of research on life after death,
Dr. Moody stated that he does not think that his research is a definite
scientific proof of the existence of life after death. The climax of his talk
was reached when he confirmed the need for new scientific methodology to
investigate these profound questions of life. He concluded his lecture in a very
optimistic way as he stated that he believes that “(…) in the XXI century, we will witness genuine scientific advances towards
proving the essential questions of Humanity, among them the continuity of life
after death.”
After that, the bright medium and speaker Divaldo
Pereira Franco, assisted by the excellent interpreter, Daniel Benjamin (member
of the Board of Directors of the Allan Kardec Educational Society), gave a
speech on Humankind’s ideas on life after life since Ancient times, the
Prehistoric Rock Art drawings. After brief historical remarks on the Human
universal belief that life continues after death, Divaldo Franco brought the
Spiritist Therapy for those who suffer from the loss of their loved ones by
death:
- Tell your loved ones that you love
them while you are together with them. It will not be too much to say that
your loved one is important for you. (...)
- Think of your death, not your
neighbor’s death. Because your neighbor is thinking of yours. (...)
- Solve your relationship problems
before death comes. (...)
- When someone dies, do not lament. Be
grateful for the time you lived with that person. Remember the happy
moments you spent together. They will receive your mental message and will
get closer to you. Make inner silence and you will be able to hear them in
an intracranial voice. Gradually, you will be able to hear them directly.
(...)
- Pray for them. Pray to God for them.
And be certain that when your time comes, they will be there to receive
you. (...)
“The Spiritist
Therapy for the pain of separation is of hope”, said Mr. Franco who
proceeded with great joviality, charisma and universal language, telling about
cases of people who were skeptical and after communicating with their loved
ones, through mediumship, had gotten the consolation and the certainty that
life continues after physical death. One of the culminating points of his
lecture was when he narrated a true case of a young man who was shot by his
friend and died, while they were playing ‘Russian roulette.’ Through the
mediumistic writing of the beloved Francisco Cândido Xavier (one of the greatest
Brazilian Mediums) the ‘dead’ wrote a letter as a witness affirming that the
defendant was not guilty of his death. Such testimonial was accepted by the
Judge of the House Court and set the defendant free.
Approximately 70% of the 200 people in the audience were
composed of Americans. The public was enchanted with the wise approach that
Divaldo Franco used as well as by his eloquent and consoling Spiritist message.
Dr. Raymond Moody Jr. also had his prestige confirmed, and at the end he
expressed his admiration for the works that the Spiritist Society of Baltimore (SSB)
has been leading on American soil. After the event, the SSB received a great
number of positive feedbacks from the American public. Some of these
testimonials have just been published at the SSB’s Newsletter, SpiritistNews, March/April 2006 issue (www.ssbaltimore.org).
The unforgettable night was crowned with success also
by the launching of new releases: two books (I love myself, I am addiction free; and Happy Life) and three CDs (Living
and Loving; I love myself, I am addiction free; and Therapeutic Visualization: Inner Journey), all published in
English. These materials were produced in collaboration between the Spiritist
Society of Baltimore and Divaldo Franco/Mansão do Caminho (Mansion of the Way).
Certainly, this event of great expression was a
historical mark for the beginning of a new era in the world dissemination of
Spiritism, in which the dialogue between the Spiritist Science and Material
Science was expanded.
Translated by Vanessa
Anseloni and Daniel Santos; Revised by Lisa Pellegrino
Vanessa
Anseloni is the president-founder of the Spiritist Society of Baltimore, Inc.
She is a fifth generation Spiritist and one of the pioneers on the Spiritist
talks and workshops in the English speaking language in the Spiritist movement
in the USA. Vanessa Anseloni is a neuroscientist and
psychologist, currently a researcher and professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, USA.
Spiritism and Spiritualism come Together Again
This July, Spiritism and Spiritualism finally come together again. Join us in this historical event on July 21 and 2*.
Divaldo Franco, Maria Gertrudes and Vanessa Anseloni are giving
presentations on Spiritism at the mecca of American Spiritualism
at Lily Dale. This event is all organized by the Lily Dale Assembly.
Friday, July 21, 2006 - 1-4pm
REINCARNATION & ITS HEALING FEATURES
Location: Lily Dale Assembly Hall
Presented by: Vanessa Anseloni
Friday, July 21, 2006 - 7-10pm
PAINTING WITH THE SPIRITS
Location: Lily Dale Assembly Hall
Presented by: Maria Gertrudes
Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 9:00am - 1:00pm
PSYCHIC AND MEDIUMISTIC PHENOMENA
Location: Lily Dale Auditorium
Presented by: Divaldo Franco
For registration online and more information, go to http://www.lilydaleassembly.com/
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Join the
members of the GEAE-Advanced
Study Group of Spiritism to study the Spiritist Doctrine in a monthly
virtual
meeting at PalTalk, which takes place every second
Sunday of
each month from 5:00 to 6:30 PM (USA Standard
Eastern Time).
Our
goal in this study is a
simple one, where everyone is seen as a student aiming to promote a
friendly
and salutary interaction of fraternal and mutual help, which will
enable each
and every one of the participants to boost their level of knowledge and
spiritual awareness.
Although
we select the topic of study at each meeting, we are open to questions,
comments and input of a broader perspective and all the participants
are
allowed to take part in in the discussions taking place at the
meetings. The
meetings have already been ongoing for a year and it has been a great
and
fulfilling experience to all of us.
The
group - GEAE-Spiritism to the World - can be found at
Paltalk,
inside the category Religious. You may join with a simple
double click,
on the hours and dates above, and the operational process
that allows you to actively
participate in the studies is very easy and self-explanatory.
We also invite you to keep checking Paltalk, for we may open the
group
occasionally at no scheduled dates and times in order to handle
informal
conversation with those interested in learning about Spiritism in
general. If
you do so and find the group active, just come in and feel free to talk
to us
and tell us about your experiences and place your questions that we
will be
glad to answer them according to the view of the Spiritist Doctrine.
GEAE - Advanced Study
Group of Spiritism
Editorial Council
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