Spiritist Knowledge

"The dream" by Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes, 1883 .  Source:  Wikipedia . "Poor human beings! how little do you know of the commonest phenomena of your life! You fancy yourselves to be very learned, and you are puzzled by the most ordinary things. To questions that any child might ask, 'What do we do when we are asleep?' 'What are dreams?' you are incapable of replying."  (1) “One day it will have to be officially admitted  that what we have christened reality is  an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.” ― Salvador Dali W e sleep a considerable portion of our lives, more precisely, about one-third of our incarnate lives. What happens in this state? It is easy to understand the need for sleep - so natural that we hardly question its importance - however, how do we justify dreams? What does the understanding of the dual nature of the human being, allowed by the Spiritist knowledge, help us to understand the mecha...

"Nightmare" by Johann Heirich Füssli (1741-1825). To know the effects of this unseen force that dominates and subjugates us despite our will would mean possessing the key to many issues, as well as answers for many ignored occurrences. If the consequences can be terrible, isn't recognizing the source of evil a way to protect ourselves from it, just as understanding the qualities of electricity gave us the ability to mitigate the disastrous effects of lightning?  (A. Kardec, [6]) The scene is one of a delightful Saturday afternoon. I seek afternoon repose to recoup from the week's exhaustion. Sleep, however, does not come in the usual way. Just before waking up, I begin to notice everything around me. Through half-closed eyes, I observe the room's familiar decor. Panic and despair overtake me, and I am unable to rise. I hear the voices of distant family members who are aware I am asleep. I try to turn my head, but what a horrible surprise! It is made of lead. I t...

T he present hour is a time of crisis and renewal. The world is in fermentation, corruption is in the ascendant: the mighty shadow spreads and the peril is great, but behind the shadow we perceive the light, and behind the peril, salvation. Society cannot perish: if it bears within it the germs of decomposition, there likewise are those of transformation and redemption. Decomposition confirms death, but it also heralds the new birth. It is the prelude of another life. And whence will proceed this light, this salvation, this redemption? Surely not from the Church, which is incapable of regenerating the human mind. Not from science, which cares neither for conscience nor for character, but only for that which concerns the senses: devotion, virtue, justice, love all that enters into the making of noble characters and wholesome societies - none of these appertain to the domain of the senses. That the moral level should be raised, that the two streams of superstition and sk...

Fig 1 Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus. Gustave Doré (1832-1883). I n a sequence of several short texts, we will introduce and discuss here several aspects related to "spiritual healing" from the spiritist point of view. The subject is surely relevant, given the complex nature of healing process and the perspective of new treatments. In this introductory post, we will present some of the recent findings in the field and the spiritist interpretation of them, emphasizing the multiple sides of the phenomenon. One should first give precise meaning to the words used to the notion of " healing " and " spiritual ". The word "spiritual" is linked to " spirit " - in fact it is rooted in this word. The notion of spirit many times is in opposition to "matter" or the material part of the human being. Surely, if there is any recovery and it involves the body, "spiritual healing" can only refer to the process of obt...

P ainter or drawer mediums are people who "paint or draw under the influence of the spirits" (1). They are rarer than other notable kinds of mediumship (as psychography, for example), however, their artistic works can be impressive, mainly if they paint or draw under very particular circumstances. We already presented here the mediumship of Luiz Antônio Gasparetto , however, other Brazilian mediums followed him and are presently active. An interesting case is Florêncio Anton (2). Florencio Anton was born in November 1973 in the city of Salvador (Bahia). Since his first childhood, he was in contact with spirits. One of this entities used to warn him on his misdoings and helped him as a family guide. When he was 14 he was initiated to Spiritism after a battle to understand the many phenomena that took place in his presence. He looked for answers to clairvoyance, out of the body experiences, physical effects and other occurrences he was associated with since they always...

Jorge Rizzini (1924-2008). The different varieties of mediums rest upon special faculties whose principle are still unknown to us. At first sight and to those who haven't made a systematic study of this science yet, it seems easier for a medium to write prose than verses. One would say - mainly if one deals with a mechanical medium - a spirit can both make the medium write in a foreign language and make him sketch or write music. However, that is not so. Although at every moment one can see sketches, verses and music made by mediums who, in the normal state, are not draftsmen, poets nor musicians, it is certain that not all them are able to produce such things. In spite of their lack of knowledge, they have an intuitive faculty and flexibility which transform them into gentle instruments. That is what Bernard Palissy said when he was asked about his choice of Mr. Victorien Sardou, who couldn't draw, to make his admirable sketches (Revue Spirit, April/August 1858). "I...