| Year 16 | Number 88 | 2007 | October 15th, 2007 |
| "Unshakable
faith is only that which can face reason face to
face in every Humankind epoch." Allan Kardec |
| GEAE celebrates its
16th Anniversary on October 15, 2007 |
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| "And though much has been written foolishly about the antagonism of science and religion, there is, indeed, no such antagonism. What all these world religions declare by inspiration and insight, history as it grows clearer, and science as its range extends, display, as a reasonable and demonstrable fact, that men form one universal brotherhood, that they spring from one common origin, that their individual lives, their nations and races, interbreed and blend and go on to merge again at last in one common human destiny upon this little planet amidst the stars. And the psychologist can now stand beside the preacher and assure us that there is no reasoned peace of heart, no balance and no safety in the soul, until a man in losing his life has found it, and has schooled and disciplined his instincts, and narrow affections. The history of our race and personal religions experience run so closely parallel as to seem to a modern observer almost the same thing; both tell of a being at first scattered and blind and utterly confused, feeling its way slowly to the serenity and salvation of an ordered and coherent purpose. That, in the simplest, is the outline of history; whether one have a religious purpose or disavow a religious purpose altogether, the lines of the outline remain the same." H.
G. WELLS
[Excerpt from The Outline of History Book VI - Christianity and Islam Chapter XXVIII - The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of the Western Empire] "Remember that it is better to repudiate a dozen truths than to admit a single error;" Spirit of Erastus |
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| °EDITORIAL
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| MISHANDLING THE TRUTHFUL MESSAGES |
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| ° THE CODIFICATION
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| THE BOOK ON MEDIUMS - Guide for Mediums and Invocators |
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| CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRITUALISM by Leon Denis | |||
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| THE BOOK ON MEDIUMS - Dissertations of a Spirit on Moral
Influence |
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AN "INTERVIEW" WITH SR. OLIVER LODGE by
Michael E. Tymn
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SPIRITISM AT THE ACADEMY
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| ° EDITORIAL |
To all different races of humankind, at all great epochs of history, God has revealed, through his missionaries or superior spirits, the relative truth that we all need in order to move forward in spiritual progress and achieve peace and happiness. These revelations had always reached us through the means of humane interventions, that is, conveyed by prophets, seers, mediums, whatever name you choose. However, the characteristic traits that they bear, allow us to envision them clearly as something imparted from an extra-humane source. They are indeed meaningful guidelines from the spiritual world. The messengers behind these reliable truths are superior spirits, who find themselves in such a high and advanced level of spiritual progress, which enable them not to be entangled with our petty interests nor our vanities.
It would be unreasonable to believe that the Creator would bestow us with these messages without requiring anything from us. Not at all, this is not definitely the case. Since our creation we were endowed with intelligence and gifted with freewill in order to work hard and build our own future. Therefore, the effectiveness of these messages as true guidelines in helping us throughout our earthly journey, is something that will greatly require our involvement. This is the attitude we all should have towards these matters, and the work starts with the careful examination we ought to submit these spiritual guidelines before accepting them as relative truths, in accordance with the advice for example, given to us by the spirit Erastus, in the message below [Dissertations of a Spirit on Moral Influence of the Medium].
Emphasizing this aspect of the matter, Allan Kardec delivered an assertion of this in Genesis: The Miracles and the Predictions [translation by W. J. Colville, Colby & Rich, Publishers, Boston, 1883, p. 25], by saying:
"In a word, that which characterizes the spiritual revelation is the divine source from which it proceeds, - that the initiative belongs to the spirits, and that the elaboration is the work of man."
It is an undeniable reality that many of these messengers who lived among us, at different epochs of mankind history, bore these characteristic of true emissaries of God, who lived in accordance to the messages they preached and conveyed to humanity. Their teachings are clear, simple, devoid from all kind of formality, ritual or dogmatism, and touch the hearts of all, despite the rank or society one was in. They were many, but we would like to mention here solely two; Buddha and Jesus.
It is also another unquestionable truth, and that is the fact that we live in a world of a very low level of spiritual progress [despite the idea that some yet bear that we are the center of the universe] where evil yet prevails over goodness. This state of affairs in our world will eventually change, but let us not fool ourselves by imagining that it will come in an easy way. No, this is not the case at all. Due to the reason aforementioned, that is the prevalence of evil over goodness, it has been and will continue to be a difficult batle, one that each and everyone of us must individually to undergo. Now, the difference is that the weapons we ought to use in this war, rather than the usual ones, are charity, compassion, refraining from judging our fellowmen, LOVE after all.
We need to educate ourselves and surrender to a persevering study [not only the study to pursue a career] of these matters, for this is the only way in which we will acquire the knowledge that will eventually free ourselves from deceptiveness and fraud. We need to embrace knowledge in order to reach the relative Truth, that which will liberate us from ignorance and make us free, in conformity with the maxim that says, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".
Regardless the purity, the greatness and the goodness that the messages carried on by many great teachers such as the two mentioned above, it is an easy task to realize how they were mishandled, disfigured and despised, especially by the religious orthodoxy, which consider themselves as the safeguard of the moral values of the human race. This is an easy conclusion to reach upon, and one needs not to be a scholar on theology or philosophy to discern.
In regard to Buddhism, we hear from H. G. Wells, on his acclaimed work The Outline of History, in the topic The Rise and Spread of Buddhism, the following:
"There seems to be no limit to the lies that honest but stupid disciples will tell for the glory of their master and for what they regard as the success of their propaganda. Men who would scorn to tell a lie in everyday life will become unscrupulous cheats and liars when they have given themselves up to propagandist work; it is one of the perplexing absurdities of our human nature. Such honest souls - for most of them were indubitably honest - were presently telling their hearers of the miracles that attended the Buddha's birth - they no longer called him Gautama, because that was too familiar a name - of his youthful feats of strength, of the marvels of his everyday life, winding up with a sort of illumination of his body at the moment of death.
Of course it was impossible to believe that Buddha was the son of a mortal father. He was miraculously conceived through his mother dreaming of a beautiful white elephant! Previously he had himself been a marvelous elephant possessing six tusks; he had generously given them all to a needy hunter - and even helped him to saw them off. And so on.
Moreover, a theology grew up about the Buddha. He was discovered to be a god. He was one of a series of divine beings, the Buddhas. There was an undying 'spirit of all the Buddhas'; there was a great series of Buddhas past and Buddhas (or Buddhisatvas) yet to come. Under the overpowering influence of these sickly imaginations the moral teachings of Gautama have been almost hid from view. The theories grew and flourished; each new step, each new hypothesis, demanded another; until the whole sky was filled with forgeries of the brain, and the nobler and simpler lessons of the founder of the religion were smothered beneath the glittering mass of metaphysical subtleties." (...) [Volume I, Chapter XXIV - Item 4, p. 319]
"This faith of Buddha, which in the days of Asoka, and even so late as Kanishka, was still pure enough to be a noble inspiration, we now discover absolutely lost in a wilderness of preposterous rubbish, a philosophy of endless Buddhas, tales of manifestations and marvels like a Christmas pantomime, miraculous conceptions by six-tusked elephants, charitable princes giving themselves up to be eaten by starving tigresses, temples build over a sacred nailparing, and the like." [Volume I, Chapter XXIX - Item 10, p. 473]
With Christianity, its entanglement with worldly power through Constantine the Great and the dominant priesthood of the time and the first official gathering of the Roman Church via the councils, especially the Nicaean one in 325 A.D., the aforementioned author is not less adamant.
"It is necessary that we should recall the reader's attention to the profound differences between this fully developed Christianity of Nicaea and and the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. All Christians hold that the latter is completely contained in the former, but that is a question outside our province. What is clearly apparent is that the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth was a prophetic teaching of the new type that began with the Hebrew prophets. It was not priestly, it had no consecrated temple, and no altar. It had no rites and ceremonies. Its sacrifice was "a broken and a contrite heart". Its only organization was an organization of preachers, and its chief function was the sermon. But the fully fledged Christianity of the fourth century, though it preserved as its nucleus the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, was mainly a priestly religion, of a type already familiar to the world for thousands of years. The centre of its elaborate ritual was an altar, and the essential act of worship the sacrifice, by a consecrated priest, of the Mass. And it had a rapidly developing organization of deacons, priests, and bishops." [Same work, Chapter XVII - The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of the Western Empire, Item 8, pp. 438-439].
In the same line of thought and talking about the same matter, the classic spiritist author Léon Denis in his fine book Christianity and Spiritualism, Chapter VI - The Alteration of Christian Dogmas, warns us about the seriousness of this persistent and problematic deceitfulness.
"At one time it almost seemed as if the doctrine of Jesus, allied to the profound views of the Alexandrian philosophers, would prevail over the mystical tendencies of the Judeo-Christianity and lead man into the broad ways of progress, towards high spiritual inspiration. But disinterested men, loving truth for its own sake, were not numerous in the Councils. Doctrines better adapted to the earthly interests of the Church, were elaborated by these assemblies, and checked and materialized religion. It was by then and under the influence of the Roman Pontiffs, that during the centuries there was gradually erected that scaffolding of curious dogmas which have nothing in common with the Gospels and are of much later date, and which form a sombre edifice in which human thought, like a captive eagle, powerless to unfold his wings and able to see only one small corner of the sky, was imprisoned as in a tomb."
This is indeed the harsh reality in which we find ourselves in this world, in matters of faith and belief. But one has no need to give up on hope, for the messages that have been lately imparted from the superior spirits through the teachings of Spiritism, and through others, make it crystal clear that there is no need for intermediaries between one and his Creator. Anyhow, it is simply wise to admit the idea that the teachings of Spiritism, although brought to us in an era of progress and scientific development, yet can also be mishandled and exposed to distortion. In this sense, it is advisable that we pay attention to the counsels of the good spirits as well as to the wisdom of these words from the pen of Léon Denis, in the same work mentioned above.
"Times have changed, intelligence has been developed, customs have become more gentle; but priestly oppression is still with us. It is evident in those rites in which the spirit of God is veiled and hidden, in the ceremonial the luxury of which captivates the senses, and turns men's thoughts away from the high object they should pursue. It is necessary, it is urgent, that the worship of God should become once more simple, austere in its principles as in its manifestations." (...) What mankind needs now is no more a belief, a faith drawn from some particular system of religion, and inspired by texts which though worthy of respect, are of very doubtful authenticity, and in which truth and error are inextricable mixed. What is needed is a belief founded on proofs, on facts, a certitude based on study and experience, from which will come an ideal of justice, a true understanding of destiny, an incentive to perfection, which will regenerate the nations and link together men of all races and all religions." [pp. 97 & 116-117]
Antonio Leite
Editor GEAE
Back to Content
| ° THE CODIFICATION |
Guide for Mediums and Invocators
INTRODUCTION
By Sibyl Ferguson
Translation By Emma A. Wood
[Samuel Weiser, Inc. - 1970 - York Beach, MI - USA]
"In this BOOK ON MEDIUMS by Allan Kardec, who was greatly acclaimed
for his scientific spirit investigations and his integrity,
the practical side of Spiritism is emphasized."
Perhaps an almost overpowering desire on the part of those who endeavor to pursue the practice of Spiritism is to contact the spirits of the so-called dead. Thus one who is sensitive, even to a minor degree, assumes the role of mediumship, and the seeker, often with reservations despite his desires, becomes a sitter hopefully asking for a crumb of encouragement from a departed dear one.
As the work of Allan Kardec points out, there is no royal road to mediumship. There is no how-to-do-it directory describing how to become a successful practising medium. A Ouija board or a planchette, a pencil in a willing hand or pairs of hands resting lightly on a table may bring results for the occasional sensitive, but generally, even though following the usual meager directions, the participants are usually disappointed.
Nevertheless, every individual, within himself, possesses the innate qualities that lead to mediumship. Naturally these qualities manifest in different degrees. A so-called hunch may be all the individual will ever have, but even that, in itself, is sufficient proof that the essence of psychic ability is present, and not entirely dormant. Not every musician will become a Mozart. Not every poet will become a Tennyson. Not every artist will become a Michelangelo. So it follows that not every sensitive will become a Mrs. Piper.
During the past fifty years, there has been a growing interest in Spiritism. What was once confined to small, selected groups meeting secretly to witness spirit manifestations, direct voice mediumsip, spirit photography and table-turning, to name only a few of the phenomena which claimed the attention of psychic research workers, is now brought out into the open. Colleges and universities examine the evidence and dignify it by the name of parapsychology. It is no longer an interest to approach surreptitiously - it is rather a phase of man's becoming that engages the minds of some of our most respected philosophers and psychologists.
Yet in spite of this undisguised and commendable interest, there is grave danger in the desire to know what happens in the Spirit World. That danger is the inexperience of those who wish to contact this invisible plane. The novice is too prone to accept everything told him without investigating the veracity of the informant. The fledgling sensitive is often puzzled by the evidence of early experiences. Either he casts it completely aside, or practices without seeking assistance. In either case he has reached a mistaken conclusion.
Therefore, this work by Allan Kardec is without peer. It is a book of exceptionally practical instructions, not to be read superficially. After a thorough study of it the student will better understand the effects of his experiences. Perhaps the most significant thing about his work is - it is not expressly for mediums. IT IS FOR ALL WHO ENTERTAIN A GENUINE DETERMINATION TO UNDERSTAND SPIRITISM.
A study of Kardec's work will bring the dedicated medium to a recognition of his talent. Clairvoyance and clairaudience may be readily recognized. However, there are many categories in which the sensitive, if properly guided, operate. To mention only a few - the pneumatographists, who produce writing directly by the spirit without handling pencil and paper; mediums who produce material phenomena; somnambulists who act without guide; mediums who give their lives to spiritual healing; and the inspired medium who receives messages by thought communications foreign to his preconceived ideas. The sensitive will eventually realize the fulfillment of Plato's admonition: "Know thyself!"
To the one who seeks consolation and advice from the spirits, this work will assist him in recognizing the selfless medium whose prime objective is service. It will give him confidence and assurance when he is privileged to have a sitting. If the sitter lacks rapport with the medium, the spirits must surmount this.
As has been pointed out, the practice of Spiritism is beset with many difficulties, and even possible dangers. Therefore, dilettantism is discouraged. Serious study is the only road reaching to the ultimate goal of communication with the invisible world. To make a sport of such practice, as is often the case among sophisticated, uninformed people, is looked upon with disfavor. Also, to make an effort to communicate with the spirit world out of mere curiosity to see if it can be done is another practice that is frowned upon. The study should be accompanied by gravity and deep respect for the communicator and the communicant.
In this work the many advantages acquired through conscientious study and experience are presented to the devoted student of Spiritism.
Even though it is submitted here with some hesitation, there is one important point to make, even though it is applicable to only a few. Never make an experiment with levity or without special cause. To the novice the effect may be disastrous. He may reason. He is robbed of his desire to approach the subject seriously, and he is deprived of the solace which Spiritism could have given him in times of grief and stress.
Today there is very little time spent in table-turning and kindred approaches. Spiritism has brought the investigators to a higher level; in fact, it is thought of as philosophical in many instances. Often the medium is empowered to bring an entire teaching of a high spiritual quality to those privileged to be members of the Circle. Through the medium's voice invaluable instructions are received. The tape recorder has captured these fine lectures, and now many outside the Circle are benefited by them. The spirit world readily accepted and appropriated the tape recorder. To them the earthlings were slow in using this mechanical device to more accurately record their messages. They were ready all the while - they were patiently waiting for their loved ones to find a facile way to capture in sound the messages from the invisible world.
In this BOOK ON MEDIUMS by Allan Kardec, who was greatly acclaimed for his scientific spirit investigations and his integrity, the practical side of Spiritism is emphasized. Whether the reader wishes to take part in manifestations, or merely to pass unbiased, critical judgment on any phenomena that may have been witnessed, this work is invaluable. Fortified by this detailed knowledge, any question that might possible be encountered can be averted successfully.
After the publication of the first edition, Kardec felt there might possibly be some discrepancies. Quite naturally he turned to the spirit world. It is known that they heeded his call, and the spirits, themselves, meticulously corrected anything which did not meet with their approval. They, also, added some instructions which proved of inestimable importance. It can be said beyond question, that this book, to a marked measure, is their work, for on nearly every page they are indirectly quoted. Occasionally direct quotations are discovered. Therefore, the Invisible World chose Allan Kardec to author their instructions for the spiritist, and encouraged him to identify himself with its publication. Because he was such a devoted Spiritst of unequaled humility the work has continued to live on. Since 1874 it has been in constant demand. So eagerly was it sought that it became a collector's item. Now once again, it has become available to the present day student. It deserves serious, intensive study.
NY 1969 SIBYL FERGUSON
| ° ELECTRONIC BOOKS |
CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRITUALISM
The History of the Gospels
The Secret Doctrine of Christianity
Intercourse with the Spirits of the Dead
The New Revelation
Vitam Impendere Vero
By
LÉON DENIS
Author of
"Après La Mort, "Dans L'Invisible," ETC.
Translated from the French by
HELEN DRAPER SPEAKMAN
LONDON
PHILIP WELLBY
6 Henrietta Street Covent Garden
1904
This book is out of print indefinitely
1st Electronic Edition by
the
Advanced
Study Group of Spiritism
(GEAE)
2006
THE NEW REVELATION - SPIRITUALISM AND SCIENCE
= Fourth Part =
It is of course evident that out of the enormous mass collected, there should be some things weak and inconclusive, also that there are some which may be explained by suggestion. In some circles, people too readily accept all that comes, as emanating from the spirits, and are not careful enough to rigorously put aside all doubtful phenomena. But however wide a margin we leave for these, there remains a most imposing array of manifestations, not to be explained by suggestion, the subliminal-self, hallucination or any other such theory.
Critics always proceed in the same way as regards spiritualism. They take only one order of phenomena and purposely avoid all discussion of what they can neither understand nor refute. If they find a possible explanation for some isolated facts, they immediately conclude that all are alike. Almost always, their explanations are most inaccurate and leave out the most startling proofs of the existence of spirits, and of their intervention in human affairs.
Another theory, often brought forward by objectors, is that of the subliminal-self or double consciousness. Many systems, obscure and complicated, have been evolved from this idea.
According to it, two beings exist in us; one conscious, who knows and is in possession of himself; the other unconscious, who is ignorant of himself, as we are ignorant of him, and who, nevertheless, possesses faculties superior to ours, since to him are to be attributed all the phenomena of magnetism as well as of spiritualism. And not only a second self, but a third, a fourth, and even more are admitted, for certain theorists have stated the existence in man of a great number of personalities, and of various consciences. This system is known as the theory of the poly-conscience.
As M. Charles Richet has shown in his splendid book, "L'homme and L'Intelligence, le Somnambulisme provoqué" (Man and Intelligence and induced Somnambulism), what is called the double personality is nothing but the different states of one and the same personality. Thus, the "unconscious" is but a form of memory; its existence is a hypothesis borrowed, for the needs of the materialistic school, from a tortured and deformed physiology.
The theorists of the "unconscious I" try, by this means, to combat the marvelous, and thereby invent a system much more fantastic and complicated than that to which they object.
Not only is their theory unintelligible, but it does not at all explain the phenomena of spiritualism, for we cannot understand how our unconscious selves can produce visible and tangible forms, intelligent communications by sound or raps, and all the other facts attested by experimenters in all lands. Neither does it explain the more simple phenomenon of second sight.
We should also have to admit that our subliminal selves are first-class liars, as the communicating intelligences in every case and all the world over, claim to be the discarnate spirits of those who have lived on earth.
Almost always, the "unconscious I" is confounded with the fluidic double which is not a being, but an organism, or with the familiar spirit, the guardian angel of the Christians, who is told off to watch over every incarnate soul in this world.
We may well ask ourselves by what universal understanding these unconscious selves hidden in man, who are ignorant of each other's existence and even of their own, are so unanimous, in all occult manifestations, in calling themselves the spirits of the dead.
We have ourselves taken part in innumerable experiences, during between thirty and forty years, not only all over France, but in other countries. Never have the invisibles introduced themselves as subliminal selves, or as the superior "ego" of the medium or of those present, but always as different personalities, enjoying the plenitude of their consciousness, as free individuals, having lived on earth, and having been, in most cases, known to the spectators, and presenting all the characteristics of a human being, with the qualities and defects, weaknesses and greatnesses, to be found in everyone, and giving, by the thousand, the most striking proofs of identity.¹
What is most remarkable in all this is the ingenuity displayed by certain thinkers, and their cleverness in constructing the most fantastic theories, to escape from realities which displease them.
Doubtless they have not foreseen the consequences of their systems; they have shut their eyes to the logical results. They have not realized that such fatal doctrines annihilate conscience and personality by dividing them up, and must end in the negation of liberty and responsibility, and consequently, in the destruction of all moral law.
According to this hypothesis, man would be a badly balanced duality or plurality, and each conscience would act independently, without reference to the others. Such a notion would permit, nay, would warrant, all and any excesses.
To resume. - Everything in nature is clear, simple and harmonious. It is the desire for systems which complicates and obscures all things.
From an attentive examination, a constant and profound study of the human being, there results the certainty of the existence in us of three elements: the physical body, the fluidic body, or perispirit, and finally, the soul or spirit. What is called unconscious, or subliminal self, the secondary personality or the higher ego, the poly-conscience, etc., is simply the spirit, which under certain conditions of exteriorisation and of clairvoyance, exhibits a manifestation of hidden powers, an awakening of long-slumbering souvenirs, an assemblage of resources which have been accumulated in previous existences, and which have temporarily been hidden under the veil of flesh.
No, indeed, man has not several egos. The psychical unity of being is the essential condition of his liberty and of his responsibility. But there are in him several states of consciousness. As the spirit disengages itself from matter and frees itself from its carnal envelope, its faculties and perceptions are sharpened, it recollections awake, its personality is enlarged. This is what is sometimes produced in the magnetic sleep. In this state, the thick veil of matter is lifted, and the latent powers reappear. It is these manifestations of the same being, which have led to the belief in a double personality, or plurality of egos.
Nevertheless, this does not suffice to explain the phenomena of spiritualism. In the great majority of cases, the intervention of outside intelligences, of free and untrammeled wills, presents itself as the only rational explanation.
We only mention for the sake of completeness the theory which attributes these manifestations to the devil. This is a very out-of-date argument, for it has been used in all ages and against almost every innovation. "We judge the tree by its fruits," as the scripture tells us. If we measure all the moral good that spiritualism has already done in the world; if we consider how many skeptics and indifferent or sensual people have been guided by it to a higher and purer conception of life, justice and duty, how many atheists have been brought back to a belief in God, we must conclude that the devil, if he is working in the phenomena from beyond the tomb, works against himself, and to the detriment of his own interests. What we have said elsewhere ² of hell and the devil render it unnecessary that we should linger on the subject. Satan is only a myth. No created being is eternally given over to evil.
If the great majority of criticisms on spiritualism are unjust and erroneous, we must acknowledge that among them there are some which have a foundation. Many abuses check the advance and development of modern spiritualism. These abuses must be attributed, not to the idea itself, but to the bad application sometimes made of it. Is it not thus in all things human? There is no idea, however holy, however venerable it may be, which has not engendered abuses; it is the inevitable consequence of the inferiority of our world.
In what concerns spiritualism, we must give warning not only against paid mediumship, which sometimes tempts certain subjects to try to imitate the phenomena, but also against the unfortunate practices of some groups which are unprepared, ill-directed, and foolish. Many people make of spiritualism a frivolous game; and by what they call "the dance of the tables," attract to themselves inferior and foolish spirits who do not scruple to play tricks on them, and form a connection with them which sometimes goes as far as an obsession.
Others give themselves up without control to mediumistic writing and obtain an abundance of messages signed with celebrated names though of a very ordinary character, wanting in style and in originality.
In some cases, these practices have given rise to the belief in the intervention of devils, when it was but a case of vulgar and backward spirits. It only requires some experience of these things to the able to distinguish the nature of the invisible beings and guard oneself against the ambushes of backward spirits.
The abuses of which we speak are often pointed out and purposely exaggerated, and have constantly been used to combat modern spiritualism. It is a grave error to see only these inconveniences in spiritualism, and under pretext of avoiding them, seek to deprive humanity of the very real and great advantages which it may enjoy by a serious study and wise practice of mediumship.
As to the dangers presented by spiritualism, they may easily be avoided by banishing from the séances all frivolous thoughts, all interested motives, and making the evocations in a pure and elevated spirit. "Like attracts like," says the proverb. Nothing is more true in occult studies. The silly questions and easy jokes certain people indulge in attract joking spirits. And, on the contrary, serious an earnest thoughts and intentions please the higher intelligences.
It is dangerous to work alone, without verification efficient protection, dangerous to give oneself up alone to the evocation of spirits. To avoid bad influences and vulgar manifestations, it is best to join with a number of enlightened and well-meaning people, under the direction of some one with experience of the subject. Under these circumstances, ask of God to permit a high spirit to give you its help, to keep away the wanderers of the dark, to assist the communication with your group of those you loved and believed you had lost, and ask the superior intelligences to give you their instruction, to guide you in the way of spirit-intercourse. If your sentiments are disinterested, if you seek only in these studies a means of improvement, they will gladly answer to your call.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It results from our examination that we have arrived at a decisive hour in the history of science.
Experimental science has crossed the boundary which separates the two worlds, the visible and the invisible. She finds herself face to face with a living infinity. Prof. Charles Richet, of the Academy of Medicine of Paris, said, in his report on the spiritualistic séances held in Milan: "A new world is opening before us." During the last half century, slowly but surely, science has been moving from discovery to discovery, towards a knowledge of fluidic life, the life invisible, in perfect accord with the teachings of modern spiritualism; from this accord man draws the most powerful certitude he has ever had of the survival of the soul and its indestructibility.
At the present moment, this question has been decided by the many scientists who have studied it, but not by science as a whole, which still hesitates, but whose affirmative verdict must soon be pronounced. Above the question of private interests, of rivalry between different schools, above sophistry and contradictions, this problem presents itself imperiously before the tribunal of thought.
In the face of the facts of spiritualism, of their persistence, of their incessant recurrence and their prodigious variety, science must pronounce itself and say whether death is annihilation or if there is a human destiny beyond.
All schools are interested in the solution of this problem; and in knowing if, as we maintain, there is objective proof of survival, apart from all mystical character.
The materialistic schools on the one hand and the Churches on the other, are upset and agitated, seeing only a reason for their own decadence and downfall, where on the contrary is the way of reconciliation.
But whatever be the indecision of science, the opposition of the schools, and the obstinacy with which they combat the new idea and the discoveries to which it gives rise, the invisible powers which work in the world display no less energy and tenacity in defending and propagating them; for, above the interests of the schools, theories and systems, there is one thing which must triumph and be recognized by all, and that is truth.
The invisible has encroached little by little on the visible, and in spite of contempt, hostility and resistance, it has become evident that its action will continue to spread more and more and increase, until man comes to know himself, and to discern the law of his life and destiny.
There is here the germ of a revolution which will sweep through the whole domain of human knowledge.
Firstly, from a scientific point of view, these facts open to us a whole world of forces, of influences, of forms of life, in the midst of which we were plunged without ever suspecting their existence, a world whose grandeur, riches, and reserves of force, defy all calculation.
We also learn to see in man the seat of hidden faculties and powers, the use and development of which will raise him to undreamed of heights.
Life appears to us under a double aspect: corporeal and fluidic. The existence of man is alternatively terrestrial and extra-terrestrial. It is accomplished on earth, in the flesh; afterwards in the atmosphere, or in space, always in a human form, but impalpable and imponderable. These two modes of life follow each other in a harmonious rhythm, as day succeeds night, as waking follows sleep, as summer comes after winter.
From a philosophic and moral point of view, the consequences of these phenomena are no less considerable.
For over fifty years past, these facts have been attested. When from the facts we try to reach the causes which produce them, and formulate the laws which governs them, we find ourselves in presence of an order of things which forces on us a new conception of the universe and of life. Not only are we obliged to recognize the existence of of invisible beings who are the spirits of the dead, but we also see that these beings are united by close bonds of brotherhood, and are moving towards a common object, towards ever more and more elevated states.
By this conception, all ideas of law. progress, justice, and duty, have a new light shed upon them. The feeling of moral responsibility is increased. We begin to perceive the remedy we were awaiting, the remedy for the ills, and misery which weighs so heavily on mankind.
For, curiously enough, this revelation comes at the precise moment when all doctrines are sinking under the weight of time, when all religions are crumbling, and man is reduced to seeking his way in the night. It comes in the hour when society is worked upon by immense destructive forces, when, from deep down among the masses, arises to heaven a cry of suffering and of despair.
It is at this moment that messages of peace, of hope and of love, reach us from the powers of space, and the spirits of light who come to minister to a troubled world.
¹ See note 11.
² "Aprés la Mort," pp. 103 and 261.
Next: CHAPTER X - THE NEW REVELATION:
THE DOCTRINE OF THE SPIRITS
| ° SPIRIT
MESSAGES |
THE BOOK ON MEDIUMS
Guide for Mediums and Invocators
Translation By Emma A. Wood
[Samuel Weiser, Inc. - 1970 - York Beach, MI - USA]
Chapter XX
Moral Influence of the Medium
Dissertations of a Spirit on Moral Influence
"Better reject ten truths than admit a single lie, a single false theory."
"We have already said, mediums, as mediums, have but a secondary influence in the communications of spirits: their task is that of an electric machine, which transmits telegraphic dispatches from one point of the earth to another far distant. So, when we wish to dictate a communication, we act on the medium as the telegraph operator on his instruments; that is, as the tac-tac of the telegraph writes thousands of miles away, on a slip of paper, the reproduced letters of the dispatch, so we, from the immeasurable distance that separates the visible from the invisible world, the immaterial from the incarnated world, communicate what we wish to teach you by means of the medianimic instrument. But, also, as the atmospheric influences act upon, and often disturb, the transmissions of the electric telegraph, the moral influence of the medium acts upon, and sometimes affects, the transmission of our dispatches from beyond the tomb, because we are obliged to make them pass through a medium whose nature is contrary to them. At the same time, that influence is most often annulled by our energy and our will, and no disturbing element is manifest. Indeed, dictations of of a high, philosophic bearing, communications of perfect morality, are sometimes transmitted through mediums little suited to these superior teachings; while, on the other hand, communications anything but edifying, sometimes come by mediums who are very much ashamed of having been used as their conductor.
As a general rule it may be affirmed that spirits call their like, and that spirits of an elevated plane rarely communicate by bad conductors, where they have at hand good medianimic instruments - good mediums.
Light, trifling mediums call spirits of the same nature; and thus their communications are impressed with vulgar expressions, frivolities, ideas disjointed and often very heterodox, spiritually. To be sure they can and do sometimes say good things, but it is in this case, particularly, that it is necessary to subject them to a rigid examination; for, in the midst of these good things, some hypocritical spirits skillfully, and with calculating perfidy, insinuate inventions, lying assertions, in order to deceive the sincerity of their auditors. Then every equivocal word or phrase must be mercilessly stricken out, preserving only as much of the dictation as is accepted by logic, or as is already taught by the doctrine. Communications of this nature are to be dreaded only for isolated spiritists, for circles newly formed, or not yet fully enlightened; for in reunions where the believers are more advanced, and have gained experience, in vain the jackdaw borrows the peacock's feathers; he is always mercilessly expelled.
I will not speak of mediums who are pleased to solicit and listen to filthy communications; let us leave them to please themselves in the society of cynical spirits. Besides, communications of this order seek, of themselves, solitude and isolation; in any case they could only inspire disdain and disgust amount the members of philosophical and serious circles. But where the moral influence of the medium makes itself really felt, is when he substitutes his personal ideas for those which the spirits endeavor to suggest to him; and again, when he draws from his own imagination fantastic theories, which he himself sincerely believes to be the result of an intuitive communication. Then it is a thousand to one that this is the reflex of the personal spirit of the medium; then occurs this strange fact - the hand of the medium is sometimes moved almost mechanically, guided by a secondary and mocking spirit. It is against this touchstone that so many ardent imaginations are shattered; for, carried away by the impetuosity of their own ideas, by the tinsel of their literary learning, they despise the modest dictation of a wise spirit, and abandon the substance for the shadow, substitute for it a high-flown paraphrase. On this dreadful rock are personal ambitions also stranded, when, in default of communications, which the good spirits refuse to them, they present their own work as the work of these same spirits. For this reason it is necessary that the chiefs of spiritist circles be possessed of exquisite tact and rare sagacity, in order to discern authentic communications, and not to wound those who delude themselves.
'In doubt, abstain,' says one of your old proverbs; admit nothing that has not certain evidence of truth. As soon as a new opinion is brought to light, if it seem ever so little doubtful, pass it through the crucible of reason and logic; what reason and good sense refuse, reject boldly; better reject ten truths than admit a single lie, a single false theory. For on this theory you might construct a whole system that would crumble at the first breath of truth, like a monument raised on the shifting sand; while, should you reject some truths today, because they are not clearly and logically demonstrated, very soon a strong fact, and irrefutable demonstration, will come to show you its authenticity.
Remember, nevertheless, O, spiritists, that there is nothing impossible for God, and for good spirits, except injustice and iniquity.
Spiritism is now sufficiently diffused among men, and has so moralized the sincere believers of its holy doctrine, that spirits need no longer be reduced to employ bad instruments - imperfect mediums. If, now, a medium, whoever he may be, gives, by his conduct or his manners, by his pride, his want of love and charity, a legitimate cause for suspicion, - refuse, reject his communications, for there is a snake hidden in the grass. That is my conclusion on the moral influence of mediums.
| ° ARTICLES |
After joining the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) soon after its formation in 1882, Sir Oliver Lodge (1851-1940) investigated many cases of mediumship, including those of Leonora Piper of Boston, Mass., Gladys Osborne Leonard of England, and Eusapia Paladino of Italy. Through his investigations, he came to accept the reality of mediumship and to believe in the survival of consciousness at death. Much to the dismay of many of his materialistic colleagues in science, Sir Oliver made his beliefs public.
Lodge received his doctorate in 1877, going on to teach physics and mathematics at University College in both London and Liverpool. In 1900, he became principal of Birmingham University, remaining there until his retirement in 1919. Knighted in 1902 for his scientific work, Lodge was known primarily as a physicist, especially for his work in electricity, thermo-electricity, and thermal-conductivity. He perfected a radio wave detector known as a “coherer” and was the first person to transmit a radio signal, a year before Marconi. He later developed the Lodge spark plug.
This “interview” is based on a number of books and papers written by Lodge, all now in the public domain. The words are verbatim from the books. The questions are simply tailored to fit his words.
Sir Oliver, how did a dedicated physicist become interested in studying mediums?
“For myself, I do not believe that physics and psychics are entirely detached. I think there is a link between them; neither is complete without the other. A study of the material world alone may be a narrowing influence. It leaves untouched the whole ‘universe of discourse’ apprehended by artist, philosopher, and theologian. To emphasize the importance of one part of the universe we need not decry or deny the remainder.”
Prior to getting into psychical research, what were your views of survival?
“It did not seem to me possible that a man could survive the death of the body. I did not think that we could ever know the truths about things of that kind, and was content with whatever destiny lay in store for us, without either inquisitiveness or rebellion. I felt that our knowledge would not make any difference, and that we had better leave questions of that kind to settle themselves in due course.”
So what changed your mind?
“The verification of the fact of telepathy, indicating obscurely a kind of dislocation between mind and body, was undoubtedly impressive, so that it began to seem probable, especially under (Frederic) Myers’s tuition, that the two –mind and body – were not inseparably connected, as I had been led by my previous studies under Clifford, Tyndall, and Huxley to believe they were. I began to feel that there was a possibility of the survival of personality.
“Then came the revelation, through the mediumship of Mrs. Piper, in the winter of 1889, not only that the personality of certain people could survive, but that they could communicate under certain conditions with us. The proof that they retained their individuality, their memory, and their affection, forced itself upon me, as it had done upon many others. So my eyes began to open to the fact that there really was a spiritual world, as well as a material world which hitherto had seemed all sufficient, that the things which appealed to the senses were by no means the whole of existence.”
But so many of your scientific colleagues have denied things paranormal.
“Science is incompetent to make comprehensive denials about anything. It should not deal in negatives. Denial is no more fallible than assertion. There are cheap and easy kinds of skepticism, just as there are cheap and easy kinds of dogmatism.”
How did you rule out telepathy with Mrs. Piper?
“That was not an easy matter, as is obvious when you come to think of it. But I decided to invite Mrs. Piper to my house at Liverpool, and make the attempt. Suffice it to say that the attempt was successful. I got into ostensible touch with old deceased relatives of whose early youth I knew nothing whatever, and was told of incidents which were subsequently verified by their surviving elderly contemporaries. I also investigated many other faculties that she possessed, such as the reading of an unopened letter applied to the top of her head, a phenomenon which had already been testified to by Kant and Hegel, though by them it was called ‘reading with the pit of the stomach.’ At any rate, it was reading without the use of the sense organs, and therefore represented another obscure human faculty commonly called ‘clairvoyance.’”
Would you mind summarizing your conclusions relative to death and the afterlife?
“I tell you with all my strength of the conviction which I can muster that we do persist…I say it on distinct scientific grounds. I say it because I know that certain friends of mine still exist, because I have talked with them.
“Death is not a word to fear, any more than birth is. We change our state at birth, and come into the world of air and sense and myriad existence; we change our state at death and enter a region of – what? Of ether, I think, and still more myriad existence; a region in which communion is more akin to what we here call telepathy, and where intercourse is not conducted by the accustomed indirect physical process; but a region in which beauty and knowledge are as vivid as they are here, a region in which progress is possible, and in which ‘admiration, hope, and love’ are even more real and dominant. It is in this sense that we can truly say, ‘The dead are not dead, but alive.’”
You say that with so much conviction.
“I am as convinced of continued existence on the other side of death as I am of existence here. It may be said, you cannot be as sure as you are of sensory experience. I say I can. A physicist is never limited to direct sensory impressions; he has to deal with a multitude of conceptions and things for which he has no physical organ – the dynamical theory of heat, for instance, and of gases, the theories of electricity, of magnetism, of chemical affinity, of cohesion, aye, and his apprehension of the ether itself, lead him into regions where sight and hearing and touch are impotent as direct witnesses, where they are no longer efficient guides.
“I shall go further and say that I am reasonably convinced of the existence of grades of being, not only lower in the scale than man but higher also, grades of every order of magnitude from zero to infinity. And I know by experience that among these beings are some who care for and help and guide humanity, not disdaining to enter even into what must seem petty details, if by so doing they can assist souls striving on their upward course. And further it is my faith – however humbly it may be held – that among those lofty beings, highest of those who concern themselves directly with this earth of all the myriads of worlds in infinite space, is One on whom the right instinct of Christianity has always lavished heartfelt reverence and devotion.”
Some have said that the death of your son, Raymond, during the war has affected your objectivity. What do you say to them?
“It must not be supposed that my outlook has changed, appreciably, since [Raymond’s death]. My conclusion has been gradually forming itself for years, though undoubtedly it is based on experiences of the same sort of thing. But this event has strengthened and liberated my testimony. It can now be associated with a private experience of my own, instead of with the private experience of others.”
You had the opportunity to observe many types of mediumship. Which type impressed you the most?
“The direct-voice seems the clearest intermediate phenomenon – a voice produced in the air independent of the medium’s normal mode of utterance, and saying things outside his or her normal knowledge. From one point of view it is physical – there are undoubtedly vibrations of the air that might be recorded on a gramophone; from another point of view it is psychic, as the if the utterances were produced by some person, dead or alive, but, anyway, not present in the flesh.”
It has been suggested that survival research is outside the scope of science, that there are things not explained by science and that never can be explained. What do you say to that?
“I should myself hesitate to promulgate such a markedly non-possumus and ignorabimus statement concerning the scope of physical science, even as narrowly and popularly understood; but it illuminates the position taken up by those savants who are commonly known as materialists, and explains their expressed though non-personal hostility to other scientific men who seek to exceed the boundaries laid down, and investigate things beyond the immediate range of senses.”
Why do you think mainstream science object so to psychical research?
“The aim of science has been for the most part a study of mechanism, the mechanism whereby results are achieved, an investigation into the physical processes which go on, and which appear to be coextensive with nature. Any theory which seems to involve the action of Higher Beings, or of any unknown entity controlling and working the mechanism, is apt to be extruded or discountenanced as a relic of primitive superstition, coming down from times when such infantile explanations were prevalent.”
Is there any way to overcome such a mindset?
“It is not easy to unsettle minds thus fortified against the intrusion of unwelcome facts; and their strong faith is probably a salutary safeguard against that unbalanced and comparatively dangerous condition called ‘open-mindedness,’ which is ready to learn and investigate anything not manifestly self-contradictory and absurd.”
What would you tell some materialistic but open-minded students?
“The material side of a picture is canvas and pigment, nothing else would be detected by a microscope; but to such an examination there is no ‘picture,’ the ‘soul’ or meaning – the reality – has evaporated when the material object is contemplated in that analytical manner. So it is with our bodies; dissected they are muscle and blood-vessel and nerves – a wonderful mechanism; but no such examination can detect the soul or mind.”
Considering the negative reaction of some your fellow scientists, do you have any second thoughts about having gone public with your views on spirit communication and survival?
“I should be willing to face the stake rather than be unfaithful to so vital and pregnant a truth – a conclusion so illuminating in our understanding of the meaning of existence, so instructive in relation to the scheme of the universe, and so vitally affecting the hopes and aspirations of man. I do not even feel tempted to succumb to either ecclesiastical or philosophical censure concerning the initial stages of what may be described as the scientific discovery of the soul, as a verified and persistent entity.”
Some have suggested that we can get too hung up on investigating and confirming survival to the detriment of fully living our lives now? Would you agree?
“It is no doubt possible, as always, to overstep the happy mean, and by absorption in and premature concerns with future interests to lose the benefit and training of this present life. But although we may rightly decide to live with full vigour in the present, and do our duty from moment to moment, yet in order to be full-flavoured and really intelligent beings – not merely with mechanical draft following the line of least resistance – we ought to be aware that there is a future, a future determined to some extent by action in the present; and it is only reasonable that we should seek to ascertain, roughly and approximately, what sort of future it is likely to be.
“Inquiry into survival, and into the kind of experience through which we shall all certainly have to go in a few years, is therefore eminently sane, and may be vitally significant. It may colour all our actions, and give a vivid meaning both to human history and to personal experience.”
The scientific world doesn’t seem to be any more accepting of the research done by you and other pioneers of psychical research now than it was 100 years ago. Do you see any point in continuing with it?
“Experience must be our guide. To shut the door on actual observation and experiment in this particular region, because of preconceived ideas and obstinate prejudices, is an attitude common enough, even among scientific men; but it is an attitude markedly unscientific. Certain people have decided that inquiry into the activities of discarnate mind is futile; some few consider it impious; many, perhaps wisely mistrusting their own powers, shrink from entering on such an inquiry. But if there are any facts to be ascertained, it must be the duty of some volunteers to try to ascertain them: and for people having any acquaintance with scientific history to shut their eyes to facts when definitely announced, and to forbid investigation or report concerning them on pain of ostracism, is to imitate a bygone theological attitude in a spirit of unintended flattery – a flattery from which every point of view is eccentric; and likewise to display an extraordinary lack of humour.”
Thank you, Sir Oliver, do you have any closing thoughts?
“I rejoice in the opportunity of service,
and am thankful for the kindly help and guidance always forthcoming,
though not always recognized at the time. Forward, then, into the
unknown!”
See “Sir
Oliver Lodge and Mrs. Piper, “Striking
Evidence about a Photo,” “Raymond
Lodge and Mr. Jackson,” and “The
Honolulu Case” in the Intriguing Evidence for Life After Death” at
the ASPS' homepage, for more on
Lodge’s research.
Note from the Editor: Mr. Michael E. Tymn is the Chairman of the Publications Committee of the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies.
Back to ContentWritten by Jacqueline Benenati
The older man, in his late 60s, told the young man that material wealth and possessions couldn’t bring true happiness because they were only temporary. They could be lost in an instant including health. He said that there was a much more important side to life that he may have overlooked…spirituality - that can never be lost. He explained that it is your essence and it brings strength in the face of adversity and peace in times of turmoil. He said that society only teaches how to amass material not spiritual wealth. The body eventually dies but the soul is eternal.
Before they parted, the young man asked if there was a secret to attain success and happiness. Without hesitation, the older man replied that material life was not to be taken so seriously. The only important thing in life was your soul and its progression.
Note from the Editor: Jacqueline Benenati is a medium and a member of the Spiritist Society of Florida.
| ° NEWS,
EVENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS |
Article written by Maria José Cunha
On
the 14th
July 2007, starting at 9:00 am, Prof. Dr. Luis de Almeida gave a
lecture in the University of Cambridge, at the ‘Isaac Newton’
Scientific Institute, being a department of the Mathematical Faculty
(presently
directed by Prof. Dr. Steven Hawking),
entitled “What is Spiritism and what is not Spiritism”. A
second lecture, beginning at 14:00 hrs. was devoted to the subject:
"The Role of Spiritism in present day Society and the importance
of Spiritism in the life of a scientist".
This was the first time the University of Cambridge had willingly opened its doors to a Scientist who would speak openly about Spiritism.The public, composed exclusively of European scientists, professors and university pupils, virtually filled the 500 seats in the room.
Taking advantage of the work transference of the Portuguese Scientist to the said university, a group of English, Irish and Scottish colleagues had organised the conference, without any previous knowledge of Professor Luis de Almeida, being curious as to the way he always talked to them in private about the Spiritist Doctrine.
The manner he used to approach the theme allowed for a constant parallelism between Spiritism and Science, in the domain of Astrophysics and Cosmology. This being a unique science, in which there can only be observations and not experiments – like trying to obtain a sample of the fabric of the universe, or to pull off a piece from the Sun, to place it on a slide and to put it under a microscope - just as Professor Allan Kardec created a method for a better understanding of the spiritual reality that involves us all. It is not necessary to observe black holes, stars in the confines of the dark universe or dark matter to know that they exist. In a similar way, it is not necessary to visualise Spirits and sense their influence to know that they exist. In Science and Spiritism, observation, philosophical reflection and spiritual revelation (Spiritism) or intuition (Science) are means that co-operate in the search for the truth, and each one controls the other. It is precisely the allotment of this principle that makes a Spiritist or a Cosmologist have a sense of critical analysis of spiritual phenomena. Since the beginning of the history of Mankind, to those that awakened the curiosity of the English Chemical-physicist Sir William Crooks, the French Astronomer Camille Flammarion and the French Teacher Hippolyte Leon Denizard Rivail (Allan Kardec), amongst many other men and women of science, it has been the phenomenology that awoke the true soul of scientists: curiosity.
Continuing
in his line of analogy between Science and Spiritism, the Portuguese
Scientist affirmed that to be a Spiritist is the same thing as being
a scientist, “... to be men and women who ask “Why…?”. We
always want to know more and more, to
come to understand, so as to better know about Life and to come to
know our own selves; this is the proposal that the Spiritist Doctrine
has to offer. It
is a rational and logical doctrine that liberates and comforts (...)
that consoles the heart through reason and frees the mind with love
(…), declared Luis de Almeida in a surprising manner, causing the
audience to interrupt with a round of applause. Luis
de Almeida then commented to the audience that Spiritism began in
France, and that various well-known figures from England and
world-wide culture, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the English
mathematicians Lord Rayleig and Prof. De Morgan, Sir David Brewster,
the Russian doctor Alexander Aksakof, Prof. Butlerof, the German
astronomer Frederic Zollner, the French physiologist Charles Richet,
the English Naturalist Alfred Russell, the English Physicist Sir
Oliver Lodge and the German Scientist Von Braun, amongst hundreds of
other European individualities, had studied these phenomena. And he
added that today, in both England and the U.S.A., various first class
researchers were working on the continuity of these studies, seeking
greater knowledge of the questions that all scientists are asking:
who
are we, where do we come and where will we be going.
With
rational and objective language he explained that, in the case of the
Portuguese, the Bial Foundation in the town of Porto, offers grants
to researchers who intend to study “the Spirit”, and that as a
result of this the congresses of the Bial Foundation are the most
highly thought of in Europe. In
Brazil, the Psychiatric doctors Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Prof. Doutora
Dora Incontri e o Eng. Hernâni Guimarães de Andrade (already
discarnated) all from Sao Paulo gave, and are giving, enormous
contributions towards a more serious Spiritism with a rigor that is
more directed towards the academic field.
Without
forgetting the life of the greatest Spiritist automatic-writing
medium of all times, Francisco Candido Xavier, with more than 400
books on the greatest variety of topics, that have been studied by
NASA. But, he explained, for
the English public that hear speak of Spiritism for the first time,
sometimes badly-intentioned people and/or people linked to the
occult, such as: tarot, astrology, fortune-telling and other
superstitions, give themselves the title of ‘Spiritist’ to take
advantage of the seriousness and respectability that Spiritism
possesses.
In
a brief historical journey regarding the European Spiritist Movement,
Dr Luis explained that Portugal, Spain, France, England, Belgium,
Russia and Sweden, amongst other European countries, had an
appreciable number of adepts at the beginning of the twentieth
century. But the two Great Wars greatly affected the foundations of
European Spiritism and that, for the rest, in Portugal and Spain the
dictatorships of Salazar and Franco almost extinguished what was
still remaining in those countries and some Spiritists were even shot
by orders of Franco.
Due
to the great interest that was created, the conference continued
until 13.30 hrs. - beginning again at 14.00 hrs. During the afternoon
the Portuguese researcher explained, as a scientist, the importance
of peoples personal, social and professional lives. He
then told about some facts of a more personal nature, having had many
of his colleagues come to tell about similar facts, and informed his
audience that in England there exists a Spiritist Federation, known
as: the
British Union of Spiritist Societies.
The
success and enthusiasm generated amongst members of the audience
resulted in various colleagues from English Universities asking to
have similar talks in their respective Universities. Due
to the necessity of fulfilling his work calendar it was only possible
to organise one other session at the University of Oxford, that took
place on 16th July 2007, at 15:00 hrs., at which 250 British
academics were present. During
this talk, whose theme was “Why I am a Scientist and a Spiritist”,
Prof. Luis had the opportunity to explain in great detail the
importance for a Scientist to have ‘a compass’ in their social
and academic life, like a “philosophical science that has moral
consequences.
When
asked about the receptivity of his words, the Portuguese Scientist
replied: “Europeans are very receptive to the Spiritist Doctrine”.
Note from the Editor: Professor Dr. Luis de Almeida also lectured at Sorbone University in the Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Departement MPPU - Mathematiques, physique, planete et Univers. The conference was held on September 4th and the topic was The Importance of Spiritism to the Science of the Twenty First Century.
Prof. Raul Teixeira is one of the greatest names behind the Spiritist Thought in the world today. Prof. Teixeira has spoken in more than 35 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Professor of Physics, Raul Teixeira also holds a Ph.D. in Education and has dedicated his life to the dissemination of Spiritism. Raul has 28 Spiritist books published, and continues to produce many mediumistic works through automatic writing.
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