| Year 14 | Number 74 | 2006 | May 15th, 2006 |
| "Unshakable faith is only that which
can face reason face to
face in every Humankind epoch." Allan Kardec |
|
"It is the autonomy, the purposiveness, the cogency, above all the individuality, of the sources of the messages, that cannot be by-passed. Struggle though I may as a psychologist, for forty-five years, to try to find a ‘naturalistic’ and ‘normal’ way of handling this material, I cannot do this even when using all the information we have about human chicanery and all we have about the far-flung telepathic and clairvoyant abilities of some gifted sensitives. The case looks like communication with the deceased." Dr. Gardner Murphy (1895-1979)
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| ° EDITORIAL
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| The Faculty of Mediumship | |||
| ° ARTICLES
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| TV’S The Ghost Whisperer & Medium Shows Teach about Soul Faculties |
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| ° THE CODIFICATION
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| The Mediums' Book - Part II - Chapter XX: Moral Perfection - Mental and Moral Influence of the Medium: 228 | |||
| ° SPIRIT MESSAGES | |||
| Prayer is not Enough |
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| ° SHORT BIOGRAPHIES | |||
| The Famous Spiritist Writer from Spain - Amalia Domingo Soler | |||
| ° QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS | |||
| Do you Talk to God? | |||
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| Spiritism and Spiritualism come Together Again |
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| First United States Spiritist Medical Congress | |||
| GEAE's Virtual Meetings | |||
| ° EDITORIAL |
The faculty of mediumship is a sacred and serious trust and given to people for their own moral betterment and in providing service for others. Mediums who are serious about their faculty should learn and understand the mechanics of spirit communications, strive to develop a close relationship with their spirit guides through sincere and fervent prayer, and most importantly the medium should strive to be as moral a person as possible. Much continous education, dedication, and consistent practice is needed to strive and become as good a medium as possible within the guidelines of the Spiritist Practice.
Much peace,
The GEAE Editors
| ° ARTICLES |
TV’S THE GHOST WHISPERER & MEDIUM SHOWS TEACH ABOUT SOUL FACULTIES
Yvonne Limoges
Article reproduced from the April 2006 Newsletter of The Spiritist Society of Florida
Yvonne Limoges
Article reproduced from the April 2006 Newsletter of The Spiritist Society of Florida
The Medium show I tend to miss because I usually cannot stay up that late but I have been trying not to miss the TV show The Ghost Whisperer because it seems to be doing a great job in teaching the intervention of the spirit world upon those in the material world (whether a person is a so-called medium or not) AND recently within the last several episodes, there have been distinctions made between the different faculties of the soul. These differences have been illustrated between what they have called “sensitives”, “psychics” and “mediums.”
Of course, the main character on the show is the medium that can see, hear, and speak to spirits. The psychic (who worked in a carnival) was able to without effort “pick up” things unknown to her about living persons. The “sensitive” was a poet and spoke inspirational words about significant things going on around him without him knowing why. All these different abilities are evidence of the different faculties of our soul.
The science of Spiritism explains more in detail what these all are and they are usually different in everyone. Many people who have attended our Center with what we could call as having “psychic abilities” all their lives, by attending our mediums classes, eventually develop their soul faculties becoming full fledged mediums in the Spiritist Practice.
Both TV shows continues to teach those in the USA who may have no access to Spiritist Centers and/or Spiritualist or metaphysical churches the many facets of our own souls. Hopefully, it has helped many recognize their own faculties and made them feel that they are not weird or alone, for mediumship, etc. knows no boundaries, and a person from any religious or non-religious background may have any and all of these abilities. They are not supernatural but are just normal faculties of our very souls. Some of which we have still yet to discover as mankind spiritually evolves!
(NOTE: In these TV shows they have shown that the medium experiences, at times, many unpleasant “physical” sensations and pain, especially headaches, received from the spiritual fluids picked up by contact with spirits in the spirit world. Many who become, or are mediums, know this downside of their “gift” all too well. It is good that this aspect is also illustrated.)
| ° THE CODIFICATION |
PART II
CHAPTER XX
MENTAL AND MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE MEDIUM.
CHAPTER XX
MENTAL AND MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE MEDIUM.
228. All moral imperfections are so many open doors, giving access to evil spirits; but what brings us most often under their influence is pride, because it is the defect which of all others we are least apt to recognise in ourselves. Pride has been the ruin of numbers of mediums endowed with the highest faculties, and who, but for that defect, might have become equally remarkable and useful; instead of which, their pride having subjected them to the domination of deceptive spirits, their medianimic faculties have been first perverted, then annihilated, and, in more than one instance, such mediums
have brought upon themselves the most humiliating retribution.
Pride shows itself in mediums by unequivocal signs, to which it is all the more necessary to draw attention, because it is the defect which, more than any other, is fatal to the veracity of their communications. Pride puffs them up with a blind confidence in the superiority of the communications obtained by them and in the infallibility of the spirit from whom they emanate; and leads them to disdain whatever does not come through their own medianimity, and to look upon themselves as having a monopoly of truth. Dazzled by the great names unscrupulously assumed by the spirits who communicate through them, their self-love prevents them from seeing that they are deceived, and causes them to repel all advice, and to keep away from every one who might open their eyes to the reality of their position. Even should they condescend to listen to advice, they pay no attention to it, and resent as a profanation the suggestion of a doubt as to the excellence of their familiar spirit. They are offended by contradiction or criticism, detest those who warn them of their delusion, and gradually withdraw into an isolation in which they become the sport of obsessing spirits, who make them accept
the most glaring absurdities as something sublime. Thus - a blind confidence in the communications made through their agency, contempt for those that are made through other mediums, an overweening confidence in great names, repudiation of advice, angry rejection of all criticism, estrangement from those who would give them disinterested counsel, belief in their own infallibility, - such are the distinguishing signs of pride in mediums.
It must be admitted, however, that pride is often excited in a medium by the injudicious flattery of the persons about him. If possessed of faculties at all remarkable, he is sought out, cried up, and courted, until he comes to look upon himself as indispensable, and affects an air of self-sufficiency and superciliousness when condescending to lend himself to his work. We have more than once had cause to regret the praise we had given to certain mediums, for the purpose of encouraging them.
| ° SHORT BIOGRAPHIES |
In order to understand how Ms. Soler received the life story of Father Germain we need to learn a little about her. In Ms. Soler’s own book about her life entitled Memoirs…she tells us that although financially supported but left abandoned by her father, her mother looked forward to her birth with immense joy. Nevertheless, in Seville Spain in 1835, that event turned into tragedy when Ms. Soler became blind shortly after being born. Her mother was devastated and for months doctors tried everything. A simple homeopath finally was able to give the baby only imperfect sight. That child was her mother’s whole life and they loved and cared for each other deeply. Her mother taught Ms. Soler to read and write at a very early age; in fact, her first poems were published at age 18. After her father died, they lived well enough off his inheritance. Then her mother came down with a terminal illness. Ms. Soler was twenty-five years old when her mother died, leaving her alone and almost penniless, as the inheritance was almost gone. Ms. Soler, with her eyesight still very bad, had to live with various friends, sold her writings and sewed to try and earn a meager living. She refused to enter a convent or a marriage of convenience as some friends had advised her to do.
Ms. Soler eventually reached a very desperate point in her life even contemplating suicide, but determined to fight these feelings she visited church after church in an attempt to find help and consolation. She suffered horribly; many humiliations, hunger, at times going blind when she worked too hard, and extreme loneliness. Then one day, she met a man who spoke to her about some people who believed in the evolution of the soul through successive existences, and that our sufferings may have to do with our actions in past lives. He gave her one of their newspapers to read. Well, this changed her life forever. She found the consolation and hope she was looking for by reading about the science and moral philosophy called Spiritism in the books compiled by Allan Kardec which contained communications from morally superior spirits received through mediums from all around the world. Then, Ms. Soler started writing poems and articles on Spiritism herself. President Luis Llach of the Spiritist society that she belonged to, finally convinced Ms. Soler to give up sewing altogether, and live with him and his family as long as she continued to write. Therefore, she dedicated the rest of her life to her writings and spreading the ideas of Spiritism. She died in 1909. Besides her articles in newspapers and her worldwide correspondence, she wrote eight books (including Memoirs of Father Germain) that were well received and widely circulated in Spain and other Spanish & Portuguese-speaking countries, and are still being published to this day.
| ° SPIRIT MESSAGES |
As you experience the trials and tribulations of material life, prayer may not be enough to completely sustain you. You must have faith in the Creator and the Divine Laws. But this faith is not a blind one for it is a faith attained through reason in accepting as logical the laws especially of cause and effect.
You may pray fervently for spiritual sustenance regarding an issue that is causing you pain, heartache, and problems of all kinds, but without faith in the Perfect Laws that govern human action you may become emotionally and spiritually unbalanced because of the doubt that may still exist within your souls, and this may eventually, if your faith is not strong, lead you to fall into desperation.
You can pray for what you feel you want as an outcome to various situations, whether for yourself or others, but the final say comes down to the Divine Law, for it is immutable, perfect, and just.
Those who pray for moral fortitude to sustain them through any trial will receive spiritual assistance for that purpose but any doubt regarding the results of the Divine Law, may, at times, nullify the help that you seek. It is difficult for us to help you with our beneficial fluids when you are distraught.
Spiritists, you have the knowledge of these laws, nothing important happens perchance. Persons whom we care about have freewill and therefore we cannot intercede every time upon the whim of imperfect humans and their shortsightedness. Superior spirit guides know the past and the future. Many times, tragedy results in great expiations that must be repaid. Sometimes, what you consider to be terrible circumstances that may befall an individual will result in good for their future because a spirit may then have finally learned a valuable lesson.
Look beyond this one material lifetime! Understand that its purpose for a spirit is to learn, develop in all ways, and progress, and the Divine laws provide for them to continuously do so. You reap what you sow, whether in this life or the next.
So pray, but also have unflinching faith in the Perfect Divine Laws that govern a spirit’s progress. Look past this one material existence (and the sometimes terrible but temporary situations humans get themselves into)… looking out towards eternity, knowing that all spirits, sooner or later, will attain relative perfection according to their own efforts because it is the Will of the Creator, through the Divine Law.
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to Content
Dear Editor
I have received your newsletter....I only subscribed to it because I was raised a spiritist from childhood but as an adult began having questions. Did you know that the BIBLE clearly states that God does not wish for us to communicate with the spirit world?! I highlighted a couple of sentences from your newsletter. Not scare anyone!?? I beg to differ.....as a child and as an adult I was tormented and frightened by those so-called SESSIONS.
Regret wasting it's use?? Sounds a little threatening to me and I don't have to "at a different intellectual level" to figure out what is threatening or not!! God clearly states that he does not want us to talk to spirits!! Permission from God?? Do you talk to God?? How do you know that you talk to God?? Could it possibly be the enemy coming to you and your mediums in the form of a good and "enlightened" spirit?? What a better way to fool you and lead you straight to HELL? Could you and your believers be fooled?? We are afterall, only human......easily duped and mislead. However, the bible never misleads....it's very very clear. Read it....the whole thing.....you might change your views.....
Sincerely,
Doris Wheat
P.S. I don't really expect a reply....
Dear Doris,
Thank you for your message.
As to God having said that he doesn't want us to communicate to the spirit world, I have a few things to say.
God never spoke to any medium for the single reason that God isn't a creature but the Supreme Intelligence and Primary Cause of all Things. God not being a creature, there is no meaning in saying that God spoke to someone. The prophets in the Bible talked to Spirits who, in order to be obeyed in their teachings, identified themselves as God. They did so because the people then were so ignorant that they would only obey God or a powerful man that forced them to do so. How can a person in the XXIth century really believe that God, essential perfection, wisdom and love, could have ordered people to kill one another and chosen to protect a race while telling it to attack another one? It's obvious that it was not God who gave such an advice but probably a Spirit who was the main leader of that community.
As to the prohibition to talk to Spirits that was a wise measure because mediums with no study, as were most at the time, would do more harm than good. However, the prophets were mediums themselves and they talked to different Spirits. If we study the style and the content of the sayings of different prophets we'll clearly notice that more than one Spirit talked to them.
For us Spiritists it doesn't care if you follow or not our Doctrine. As far as you try to be a better person day after day, you're on a good path. So I don't want to convince you of anything but just say what we think.
Much peace
Renato
This July, Spiritism and Spiritualism finally come together again. Join us in this historical event on July 21 and 22. 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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For more info see: http://www.ussmcongress.org/index.en.htm
Back to Content
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).
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| ° A MESSAGE AND COMMENTS |
Dear Editor
I have received your newsletter....I only subscribed to it because I was raised a spiritist from childhood but as an adult began having questions. Did you know that the BIBLE clearly states that God does not wish for us to communicate with the spirit world?! I highlighted a couple of sentences from your newsletter. Not scare anyone!?? I beg to differ.....as a child and as an adult I was tormented and frightened by those so-called SESSIONS.
Regret wasting it's use?? Sounds a little threatening to me and I don't have to "at a different intellectual level" to figure out what is threatening or not!! God clearly states that he does not want us to talk to spirits!! Permission from God?? Do you talk to God?? How do you know that you talk to God?? Could it possibly be the enemy coming to you and your mediums in the form of a good and "enlightened" spirit?? What a better way to fool you and lead you straight to HELL? Could you and your believers be fooled?? We are afterall, only human......easily duped and mislead. However, the bible never misleads....it's very very clear. Read it....the whole thing.....you might change your views.....
Sincerely,
Doris Wheat
P.S. I don't really expect a reply....
Dear Doris,
Thank you for your message.
As to God having said that he doesn't want us to communicate to the spirit world, I have a few things to say.
God never spoke to any medium for the single reason that God isn't a creature but the Supreme Intelligence and Primary Cause of all Things. God not being a creature, there is no meaning in saying that God spoke to someone. The prophets in the Bible talked to Spirits who, in order to be obeyed in their teachings, identified themselves as God. They did so because the people then were so ignorant that they would only obey God or a powerful man that forced them to do so. How can a person in the XXIth century really believe that God, essential perfection, wisdom and love, could have ordered people to kill one another and chosen to protect a race while telling it to attack another one? It's obvious that it was not God who gave such an advice but probably a Spirit who was the main leader of that community.
As to the prohibition to talk to Spirits that was a wise measure because mediums with no study, as were most at the time, would do more harm than good. However, the prophets were mediums themselves and they talked to different Spirits. If we study the style and the content of the sayings of different prophets we'll clearly notice that more than one Spirit talked to them.
For us Spiritists it doesn't care if you follow or not our Doctrine. As far as you try to be a better person day after day, you're on a good path. So I don't want to convince you of anything but just say what we think.
Much peace
Renato
| ° UPCOMING EVENTS |
This July, Spiritism and Spiritualism finally come together again. Join us in this historical event on July 21 and 22. 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/
Back to Content
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2006
|
9am – 12pm |
Spirituality in Patient
Care |
|
12 – 1pm |
Lunch break |
|
1 – 1:40pm |
The Spiritist Medical
Paradigm |
|
1:40 – 2:30pm |
Why Must I Suffer? - Searching for the Soul in
Psychiatry |
|
2:30 – 3:30pm |
Mental Disease in Spiritist & Medical
Treatment |
|
3:30 – 4:10pm |
Spirituality and its Association with
Cardiovascular Disease |
|
4:10 – 5:20pm |
The Impact of Reincarnation on the Paradigm of
Change |
|
5:20 – 6pm |
Organic and Psychic Phenomenology of
Mediumship |
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2006
|
9 – 11am |
Near Death Experiences – NDE and |
|
11:10am – 12pm |
Spirit Attachment, Spirit Release and Soul
Integration |
|
12 – 1pm |
Lunch break |
|
1 – 1:40pm |
Forgiveness and
Reconciliation |
|
1:40 – 2:20pm |
Transdimensional
Physiology |
|
2:20 – 3:20pm |
Universities and Spirituality in the 3rd
Millennium |
|
3:20 – 4pm |
The Multiple Faces of
Depression |
|
4 – 4:40pm |
Scientific Evidence of Intercessory Prayer: A
Systematic Review |
|
4:40 – 5:20pm |
Scientific Evidence for Life after Death:
Research on Mediumship |
|
5:20 – 6pm |
Love and its Healing
Power |
Program subject to change without prior
notification.
For more info see: http://www.ussmcongress.org/index.en.htm
Back to Content
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
Editorial Council
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GRUPO DE ESTUDOS AVANÇADOS ESPÍRITAS
ADVANCED STUDY GROUP OF SPIRITISM
Electronic weekly report in Portuguese - Boletim do GEAE
Monthly English report: "The Spiritist Messenger"
The
Spiritist Messenger is sent by email to GEAE subscribers
or to inscricao-en@geae.inf.br with the subject "unsubscribe"
(Free) subscriptions http://www.geae.inf.br/
Send
your comments to editor-en@geae.inf.br
or to inscricao-en@geae.inf.br with the subject "unsubscribe"
Editorial
Council - editor-en@geae.inf.br
Collection in Portuguese (Boletim do GEAE)
Collection in English (The Spiritist Messenger)
Collection in Spanish (El Mensajero Espírita)