First study on the statistics of Chico Xavier automatic writing messages

Fig. 1 Brazilian postage stamp released in 2010 in commemoration to Xavier´s birthday.  

Read more about Chico Xavier mediumship by clicking here (access to SKL repository).

Introduction

Brazil has a spiritualist tradition that dates back to the beginning of Spiritualism. The Spiritualist movement in Brazil is known as Spiritism and started after several works on psychic phenomena that flourish around Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (1804-1869) in the third quarter of the XIX century in France. Allan Kardec, as Rivail was to be known later, introduced a set of Spiritualist principles (Kardec, 1985) encompassing not only the basic precepts of Spiritualism such as life after death, the possibility of communication between the material and the ‘invisible’ worlds, but alto the belief in reincarnation. Granted the stable existence of many Spiritist groups in Brazil, many mediums found a highly favorable environment for the development of their faculties starting with physical manifestations (Ana Prado (Faria, 1921), Peixotinho (Palhano, 1997), Mirabelli (Palhano, 1994)) to mental mediumship. Automatic writing or psychography (Braude, 2003; Oxon, 1878; Piper, 1929) can be described as the most prominent feature of many Brazilian Spiritist mental mediums, resulting in the publication of many ‘channeled’ books and works.  

   

Roughly speaking, this material can be divided in two groups: texts covering the principles of Spiritualism from its inception in Brazil to the present date and a vast collection of psychic or ‘channeled’ works that describe the relationship between the Spiritist movement and the afterlife. If we focus on material of paranormal origin, one figure must be distinguished: that of Francisco Cândido Xavier (1910-2002, Fig. 1). His works still remain to be carefully scrutinized and better understood not only as an anthropological phenomenon but also as notorious evidence in favor of the survival of consciousness.  The aim of this short summary is to present one of the first attempts to analyzed a very small set of his works that were published in several grief counseling books (Arantes, 2007; Barbosa, 1982, 1998, 1998b, 2008; Xavier, 1981, 1983) and that contain a peculiar period of his life. During this phase he produced many correspondences addressed to relatives on Earth from recently departed personalities. Texts attributed to such authors contain a large amount of information that cannot be easily explained by alternative hypothesis (i.e., that deny consciousness survival) and that shows the high degree of development that mental mediumship can achieve in a well-trained metal medium.

  

Xavier´s short biography

The first name ‘Francisco’ has a short form, ‘Chico’. Chico Xavier, as he was later known (Playfair, 2010; Leite, 2002; Grumbach, 2010; Filho, 2010), wrote more than 400 books and virtually thousands letters or communications attributed to recently deceased persons through automatic writing. Xavier mediumship started very early when he was about 5 and described to his relatives frequent visits of his deceased mother Maria João de Deus. Public notoriety came in 1932 with the book ‘Parnassus from beyond the grave’ in which Xavier (then at the age 22) presented a vast repertoire of poems attributed to Brazilian and Portuguese authors obtained through automatic writing (Rocha, 2001). By the late 60´s Xavier dedicated a considerable amount of his time to private correspondences as we explain below.

Statistics and psychography in other languages

TAble 1.

In a recent paper (Xavier, 2011), we analyzed the pragmatic and intentional content of these ‘private correspondences’ attributed to a large number of authors (Grumbach, 2010). Grief counseling was the aim of these paranormal compositions from the perspective of parents and relatives who sought the medium after a recent loss.  Using some basic elements of linguistic analysis, we showed how pragmatics and intention are present in those writings and how they contribute to build a convincing image of the possibility of communication with discarnate personalities. In fact, several hierarchical aspects (Rigotti, 2006) are present in a written communications in general (morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and intention), but in automatic writings, such aspects become especially relevant in face of our complete ignorance on regard to the mechanism involved (Beischel, 2009). Thus, if in a message, many names of living relatives are found, such names must be taken into account as instances of morphological importance. If the medium uses words and sentences similar to those attributed to the diseased author, these are examples of private semantic content. Moreover, if the medium communicates intentional messages in the form of sentences of pragmatic value, a high level of interaction is probably taking place that is most easily explained in the context of survivalist hypothesis. Therefore, these correspondences build a dramatic case in favor of survival, given the large number of Xavier´s documented reports, which are however a tiny fraction of what was produced during a period of almost 40 years.

Fig. 2 (a) Distribution of number of words; (b) Distribution of author's age.

We present here a study of statistical content where we have analyzed the content of 113 letters attributed to 87 different authors (Barbosa, 1982, 1998, 1998b, 2008; Xavier, 1981, 1983). Almost all messages were written in the native language of the medium (Portuguese), with exception of 2 cases written in Italian. Table 1 contains general statistical figures extracted from the sample. The total number of words in each letter is approximated by a numerical estimation based on the word density (length and width of each text). The table has two parts. The general statistics lists the total number of analyzed letters, the total number of authors and average and standard deviations for the average number of words per letter as well as the expected distribution of author´s age at the time of their death. A large variation in the letter´s length and author age was found. Maximum letter length in the sample was 1467 words and the minimum was 26. Maximum author age was 85 while the minimum was 3. In the case of very young children, two aspects must be regarded: a) the annotated age is the author’s age at the time of death, while the automatic writing communication was obtained several months or years later; b) in many communication of young children the signed name is only an alias of the true author who is often quoted in the letters as a close relative; c) In the vast majority of letters, grandmothers and grandfathers (and also grand-grand mothers and fathers) from both family sides are the diseased ‘contacts’ or ‘hosts’ in the spirit world. Authorship inference comes from the context (also from the presence of known relative names) and pragmatic content of each letter that was later validated by the families. Another interesting statistics is presented in the second part of Table 1, which brings the average number of citations of ‘living’ and ‘deceased’ people in the letters together with their corresponding standard deviations. The total number of citations of ‘living’ relatives in the analyzed sample is 526 and names of diseased ones are 414. An interesting aspect of our analysis is the large number of nicknames (both belonging to the ‘living’ and ‘deceased’ counterparts), 151. So, at least one nickname per letter is found in the sample. Many old family first names (and most certainly nicknames) were not on the minds of those to whom the letters were addressed. Moreover, given the environment where these correspondences were obtained, almost none previous knowledge on the part of the medium can be assumed which would involve an impossible network of information acquisition as many skeptics have suggested.  Rather, they demonstrate the degree of information and detail a well-trained medium in automatic writing can provide.

Fig.3 Distribution of causes of death encountered in the sample.

Fig 2(a) is the distribution histogram of letter´s length where each bin in the abscissa is the maximum number of words found (thus 20% of the letters have more than 314.2 and less than 458.3 words). Fig.2(b) is the age distribution of attributed authors. Therefore, 5% of the letters are attributed to authors under 11 years old. Fig. 3 is the distribution of author´s causes of death. The large frequency of car crash causes is directly related to high frequency of authors between 20 and 30 years old.

Fig. 4 Automatic writing in Italian attributed to Alberto Corradi.

To give an example of automatic writing in a different language (therefore in completely distinct linguistic framework), we regard in the following a letter attributed to Alberto Corradi (1958-1978) (Barbosa, 2008). The original text is in Italian (see Fig. 4), includes the attributed author signature and was obtained in a sitting at Uberaba/MG, Brazil, on March 16 1979, almost 10 month after Corradi death in a motorcycle accident in Italy, on May 1978. A version of this message in English (parts 1-4) is as follows:

 “My mother, dear beloved mommy Ebe. I ask you not to cry any more. Your tears are like flames of pain in my heart. I stay here with my beloved grand-grandma Tina and my grand-grandpa Amadei . Keep calm. God is with us. A kiss of your son to you and my dad. Alberto Corradi.” 

Alberto’s parents lived in Torino, Italy and came to Brazil to try a message from Alberto. The relatives quoted in the message are Alberto’s father grandparents, Mr. Vittorio Amadei  and Mrs. Tina Amadei (bisnono and bisnona as stated in the message, respectively).

Final Remarks

   

Many researchers in the past relied upon evidences coming from physical phenomena in favor of survival and the possibility of communication with the afterlife. However, given the preeminent communication aspect of many mental mediumship manifestations exhibiting a rich pragmatic and intentional content, it is probably more correct to say that mental mediumship provides today the best evidences for the survivalist idea. Xavier´s prolific automatic writing works contain a large amount of information gathered through paranormal ways that is best explained under the assumption of an unseen world that can be put in contact with the physical world. Such material is still little known outside a very narrow domain of the Spiritist community in Brazil and includes a private correspondences or letters that contain a large amount of family specific information. The aim of this paper is to call attention to the existence of this material, which may represent one of the best registered cases of confirmed paranormal acquisition of information in favor of the survival idea.

 
Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Alexandre Caroli Rocha for useful discussions and references.

References

Arantes H. M. (2007), Vozes da Outra Margem, 7th edition, Araras: Instituto de Difusão Espírita;

Barbosa E. (1982), Quem São, 7th edition, Araras: Instituto de Difusão Espírita;

Barbosa E. (1998), Estamos no Além, 11th edition, Araras: Instituto de Difusão Espírita;

___1998b, Horas de Luz, 5th edition, Araras: Instituto de Difusão Espírita;

Barbosa E. (2008), Claramente Vivos, 9th edition, Araras: Instituto de Difusão Espírita;

Beischel, J. & Rock, A. J. (2009). Addressing the survival vs. psi debate through process-focused mediumship research, Journal of Parapsychology, 73, pp.71-90.

Braude S. E. (2003), Immortal Remais, Chapter 5, Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, Inc.

Faria N. (1921), O trabalho dos mortos, Rio de Janeiro: FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation).

Filho D. (2010), Chico Xavier: o filme, Columbia/Sony Pictures.

Grumbach C., Gentile L. A. & Pelele P. P. (2010), As cartas psicografadas de Chico Xavier, Crisis Produtivas and Ciclorama Filmes.

Kardec A. (1985), Le Livre des Esprits [1857]. Paris: Dervy-Livres.

Leite A. and Lacerda R. (2002), The Most Prolific Spiritist Medium in Brazil, Francisco de Paula Candido Xavier, returns to the Spiritual Plane, GEAE, www.geae.inf.br/en/articles/news.html

Oxon M. (1878), Psychography: a treatise on one of the objective forms of psychic or spiritual phenomena. Courtesy of spiritwritings.com

Palhano Jr. L (1994), Mirabelli, um médium extraordinário. 1st edition. Rio de Janeiro: CELD (Centro Espírita Leon Denis);

Palhano Jr. L and Neves W. F. (1987), Dossiê Peixotinho, 1st edition, Rio de Janeiro:Lachâtre.

Piper A. L. (1929), The Life and Work of Mrs. Piper. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.

Playfair G. L. (2010), Chico Xavier, Medium of the Century, 1^st edition. Roundtable Publishing.

Rigotti E. & Greco S. (2006), Communication: Semiotic Approaches, in Concise Encyclopedia of Pragmatics, ed. By J. L. Mey, 2nd edition, Elsevier.

Rocha, A. C. (2001) A poesia transcendente de Parnaso de além-túmulo. Dissertação de mestrado. Campinas, IEL, Unicamp. (The transcendent poetry in Parnassus from Beyond the Grave. Master Thesis.)

Wallace, A. R. (1975). Miracles and modern spiritualism [1896]. New York: Arno Press.

Xavier A. (2011), Pragmatics and Intention in automatic writing compositions: the Chico Xavier case, Paranthropology, 2, number 1, pp.47-51.

Xavier C. (1981), Feliz Regresso, 3rd edition, São Paulo: Instituto de Divulgação Editora André Luiz;

Xavier C. (1983), Correio do Além, 3rd edition, São Paulo: Cultura Espírita União;

Xavier, F. C. (1994), Parnaso de além-túmulo [several authors], 14. Edition, Rio de Janeiro: FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation).

 

Two compositions inspired by F. Chopin through Rosemary Brown (performed by Erico Bomfim)

Mrs. Rosemary Brown (1916-2001), the famoust British medium to whom thousand music works atributed to several famous composers were dictated.

A never performed work inpired by Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) to the remarkable medium Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) has recently been recorded by Érico Bomfim in a special presentation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Below you may find two pieces: the first is a 'noctune in F minor' (nowhere to be found)  and the second an 'étude in F sharp minor' with significant complexity (already played before by Leslie Howard). Both pieces have high degree of resemblance to Chopin compositions showing that this composer was very sucessuful in transmitting music though Mrs. Brown in the 80's.

Érico Bomfim is a distinguished Brazilian pianist with only 21 years old with a strong interest in Mrs. Brown work. 

The works were recorded at Francisco Mignone Hall in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro on last June 29 2012.

Nocturne in F Minor (2:55)

Étude in F Sharp Minor(5:37)

More about  psychic music and Rosemary Brown.

• Performance of a lost fragment of psychic sonata attributed to the spirit of W. A.Mozart (by Érico Bomfim).
• Rosemary Brown, a Friend of Dead Composers, Dies at 85.
• Rosemary Brown: Musical medium claiming extrasensory contact with dead composers.

Twin Souls (Marco Milani)

A Jewish wedding by Josef Israels, 1903, Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

The image of ‘twin souls”—the symbol of a supposed ideal union between two beings who complete and fulfill themselves -- is present in the poetic language and in the romantic tradition.

One of the greatest sources of inspiration of this ludic concept is the Hermaphroditus Myth. This Greek narrative tells about beings with two heads four arms and four legs making up a third human gender both female and male. They were punished by Zeus for rebelling against the gods and cut apart on their backs and theses halves got lost and are always looking for their missing part.

To have someone in particular that would satisfy us totally in all our affective wants is an attractive idea. It creates expectations especially in those who consider themselves solitary. What’s really worrying however is the fact that this idea projects our own happiness onto another person.

As the “twin soul” concept is part of the popular imagery, the literary works that use this poetic figure can count with a good receptivity and reinforce the illusion that two individuals could complete one another and find happiness when united. Even admitting that the purpose of reading is not always that of enlightenment and serious studying , it is fundamental that one should be wary with the content of what one reads and transmits, to avoid being spreaders of fantasizing ideas.

This does not mean that novels and poems are not welcome. On the contrary, they possess valuable resources of people’s awareness and awakening, by expressing art and beauty. They can be the “open door” to doctrinaire study. However, Spiritism -- whose strength and authority rely on the universal agreement of its principles-- has clarity and objectivity as its essential qualities. Allan Kardec himself made the following comment on his personal characteristics:

“I am not a poet by nature, what I mostly look for, what pleases me most, what I most admire in others is clearness, neatness and precision, and far from sacrificing these to poetry, I could be accused of sacrificing poetic feeling to the rigidity of positive form. I have always preferred what speaks to the intelligence than what hits the imagination”. (Posthumous Works – 2nd part – The Spiritual Tiara).

Thus, if one sets aside the lyrics and search for real understanding, we realize that “twin souls” in its popular imagery would lead to some conceptual contradictions. If we would depend on the other “half”, when we are separated and we would then be incomplete and as such could not be considered as being individualities with all the relative perfection potential inherent to ourselves. It should be observed here that a particular and inevitable union between two souls does not exist because these souls depend on their level of evolution. The more evolved a Spirit is the more linked -- by similarity -- will it be to those who are in the same level of elevation. (The Spirits' Book question # 298-302).

Kardec’s lucid and rational attitude made him state that the “twin souls” theory should not be interpreted literally and he explains that the Spirits who use it do not belong to a high order of Spirits, but are only expressing their ideas according to the language they spoke in their corporeal life. He is against the hypothesis that two Spirits supposedly created one for the other should inevitably be reunited in eternity after having been separated during a more or less long period. (The Spirits' Book question #303a). 

Once discarded the idea of two souls’ predestinated union from their origin, it is relevant to stress that at our present stage of evolution we live the necessary experiences for our own moral and intellectual progress and in this situation are in contact with Spirits that cooperate with us directly or indirectly. This means that we are individualities that live collectively and try to strengthen the existing links of sympathy. This being so, there are Spirits who can help us more than others and with whom we have closer links of affection, but this does not mean that we are “twin souls linked by destiny”. We are evolving Spirits searching our own personal achievement through our own experiences and responsible for our own actions.

According to Fénelon (The Spirits' Book, Chapter XI, #9), the soul’s natural tendency is to look for affection and sympathy. Although usually crushed by selfishness, true love develops with the moral sense and intelligence and becomes the source of true and lasting affection. To practice the Law of Love as God wants it, it is necessary that little by little we arrive at loving all our brothers indistinctly.

Today we are only making our first steps towards a real understanding and the practice of love in its purest expression. Many are locked in the disrupting and interfering feeling of ownership and control of the other being. Dissensions and deceits spring up as a consequence of ill conducted desires of which we are the greatest victims. Facing this situation we look for a refuge in the world of illusions. We idealize. We delegate to others the responsibility of making us happy.

Gradually through our own self-knowledge we search the real happiness with greater self-assurance and determination assuming the responsibility of our own balance. To look at ourselves does not mean to adopt a selfish and proud attitude; on the contrary, it means to wake up and rush to the “good struggle” against our bad inclinations. Thinking things over make us understand that our neighbor has the same problems and the same opportunities than us and consequently those with whom we live cannot assume the responsibility of being the cause of our own happiness. We try then to stop being dependent on others and are then able to share our inner harmony with others.

The Earth is a precious school that enables us to be in contact with numberless souls with whom we have a greater or a lesser degree of sympathy and to learn from them all. And we are thus certainly in contact with those who are relevant to our advancement! And this is not destiny, it is attraction!

In the future we will continue to be with those that we love, but this circle of affections will increase proportionally with our level of evolution up to the top degree in the condition of Pure Spirits, where we love everybody indistinctly.

Peace for all!

Marco Milani
Liga de Pesquisadores do Espiritismo – LIHPE , São Paulo/Brazil

Special thanks to Ricardo Campos from Centre d’Études Spirites Fraternité (CESF)  for the English translation.

Performance of a lost fragment of psychic sonata attributed to the spirit of W. A.Mozart (by Érico Bomfim).

The spirit of Mozart has just finished to dictate to the medium, Mr. Bryon-Dorgeval, a fragment of sonata. The piece was perrformed by him in the presence of several artists and, as way of control, he did not mention the origin but rather asked them how the piece sounds like. Without hesitation they recognized Mozart´s style. The piece was also executed in the presence of many experts in our society on last April 8th by Miss De Davan, a Chopin's former student and distinguished pianist. As a way of comparison, Miss De Devan first performed a known Mozart's piece. They all agreed not only on regard to the perfect identity of styles, but also on the superiority of the psychic composition. Then, with her usual talent, the pianist performed a piece by Chopin (A. Kardec, Revue Spirite, May 1859) 

In commemoration to the first edition of the Spirit´s book on April 18 (1857), we present a new performed by Érico Bomfim of a lost fragment of sonata attributed to the spirit of W. A. Mozart. The composition was psychically obtained by the medium Brion D'Orgeval and executed by the first time by Miss De Davan in a session of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies on April 1859. The group was coordinated by Allan Kardec at the time.

This fragment (it is not a complete sonata) corresponds to the sheets that were burned during one of the last acts of the Catholic Inquisition (auto da fe) in Barcelona (Spain) on October 9th 1861 (A. Kardec, Revue Spirite, November 1861).

The manuscript

The original manuscript was printed and worth 2 francs at the time (1860) as several excerpts of the Revue Spirite describe (January 1860):

Mr. Oscar Comettant (see 'le Siècle' on last October 27th and our answer in the Journal on December 1859) printed in a few days more than 50 copies of the famous Mozart's sonata that can be purchased at Ledoyen house (sold  for 2 Francs net price, according to the important and witty observation of Mr. Comettant ).  

Or, in another passage:

Note: the fragment of sonata dictated by the spirit of Mozart has been just published. You can found it either in the Revue Spirite office or the Spiritist library of Mr. Ledoyen, Palais Royal, Orléans gallery, 31. Price: 2 francs. 

Nowadays, the original manuscript (what remained thereof) can be found for thousands of ponds in some European antique dealers (See remark and figures below).

Original manuscript cover.

Fragment de Sonate, dicté par l’Esprit Mozart à 
Monsieur Brion d’Orgeval, médium (Année 1859)

Part I of a fragment image with numbered bars  (click on the image to enlarge).

Part II of a fragment image with numbered bars  (click on the image to enlarge). 

References

1. All references to the Revue Spirite are English translations of the version in Portuguese published by IPEAK. 
2. Interview with Enrique Eliseo Baldovino, by Júlia Nezu. Published in Revista Internacional de Espiritismo (in Portuguese), January 2011.
3. TV CEI Report (2011) First performance by Mrs. Enrique Baldovino. (in Portuguese) 

About Érico Bomfim.

Born in 1991 in Rio de Janeiro and now (2012) finishing a bachelor's degree in piano at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). 

Remark

A copy of the manuscript can be found in a recent version in Spanish of the Revue Spirite, volume 2, p. 366-369 (1859). Published by FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation).

Mediumship and art: Psychic Painting

A ballet dancer (*) by Degas through Luiz Gasparetto. 

Painting and Drawing mediums: those who paint and draw under the influence of spirits. (A. Kardec, 1861,"The Book on Mediums", 2nd Part, Chapter XVI, 'Special Mediums'.)

The literature of psychic phenomena has many colorful types of mediumship manifestations, of mediums with amplified human skills. These were the ancient wizards of primordial times, the prophets of the Biblical past. All types of human manifestations are, in fact, possible through mediumship including highly specialized abilities such as music composition, poetry and painting (rarely called psychopictography).

The most notorious example of music composition was Mrs. Rosemay Brown (1916-2001). In English speaking countries the poetic mediumship of Patience Worth (Braude, 2003) became very notorious. However, painting is also a registered feature of mediumship phenomenology. Although both kinds of 'artistic mediumship' are extremely rare, when they occur, they offer us many clues about how the process of 'spirit interaction' with the medium takes place. A good example is the mediumship of Coral Polge. 

First, we must understand that everything that is psychically produced makes use of what is on the medium's mind. Except perhaps for the case of Rosemary Brown (who said to receive music by dictation), all kinds of 'mental mediumship', depend to a high degree on the medium's skills and abilities. Everything happens as if the medium were a chisel, a brush, a pen or whatever tool that the spirit's mind uses to compose, write or paint. In this sense, if the medium is 'imperfect', no matter how much genius there is in the spirit, the final result will not resemble the work of a genius. Therefore, the quality of art produced by such mental mediums is a direct function of the training or previous ability that the medium has shown.

Luiz Gasparetto

L. Gasparetto in trace delivering a message (in Portuguese with a strong French accent) by Toulouse Lautrec on April 1981 during a painting seance. Some scenes of psychic painting are also shown. English subtitles were added.

Besides Coral Polge, another recent example is in the book 'Is that you, Renoir ?' by E. Dubugras. Luiz Antônio Gasparetto was born in 1949 in S. Paulo, Brazil. Today, Luiz Antônio no longer works as a medium, but his story is worth reading. According to Elsie Dubugras:

A new phase in his life started when (...) during one of these (Spiritist) meetings Luiz Antônio began to feel quiver  and pains and suddenly his arms became paralyzed. He was unable to move them until after the meeting was over...After this, he was possessed by an uncontrollable urge do draw. (Dubugras, 1979, 'The start of mediumship', p. 93)

Luiz Antônio attended then another Spiritist meeting among well-trained mediums when 'strange things began to happen':

A medium began speaking in a language unknown to her, while Luiz Antônio, in trance, drew rapidly and answered in the same language...He only came out of his trance two hours later. (Dubugras, 1979, 'The start of mediumship', p. 94)

It soon became a common feature of his mediumship the production of a large variety of drawings including people, landscapes and abstract compositions with no authorship identification. During a short period of time, Luiz Antônio produced more than 5000 paintings. Then, in 1971 his parents took to Uberaba to attend a meeting with the Brazilian medium Francisco Cândido Xavier:

Once there, he was asked by the person in charge of running the meeting to sit at the medium's table. Luiz Antônio took out the sheets of paper and crayons he had brought along and during the sessions drew the pictures that came through. At the end of the session, fifteen pictures were ready and Chico Xavier, much to Luiz' surprise, said that some were the work of Rembrandt. From then on, other spirits of famous painter started to draw through him, signing their works. (Dubugras, 1979, 'The start of mediumship', p. 96)

Some features of Gasparetto's mediumship

   

We reproduce below the main points summarized by Mrs. Dubugras about Gasparetto's mediumship (Dubugras, 1979, 'Researchers study the phenomenon', p. 100-102):

1. He works in trance. In other words, in an altered state of consciousness;
2. The pictures are done at an unusually high speed. The average for simple drawings was 4 minutes, more elaborate pictures took from 10 to 20 minutes. Some were done in 30 seconds. Not even a trained artist could produce work of such good quality so swiftly. And Luiz Antônio is not a trained artist.
3. The absence of light during sessions, except when they are held for scientific purposes. Bright lights and flashlights cause the medium great discomfort. This has also been found in the case of physical effect mediums when producing materialization or similar phenomena;
4. He paints portraits of discarnates. Some were of relations or friends of people present at the session and recognized by them. Others have been of famous people of different countries - Queen Elizabeth I, of England; Allan Kardec, founder of Spiritism; W. B. Yeats, modern Irish poet; Lawrence of Arabia and many others;
5. The total absence of models, yet the figures are anatomically correct;
6. The variety of styles, each picture corresponding in style with that of the artist signing the work;
7. The ambidextrous techniques, although the medium is not ambidextrous when not in trance;
8. The simultaneous use of both hands, each working on a different part of the same picture, i. e., the strokes done at the same time are not symmetrical;
9. The drawing of two heads at the same time, both hands working simultaneously. At times one of the heads is painted upside down;
10. When drawing two heads simultaneously, each hand will sign the name of the discarnate artist responsible for that picture. When one of the heads is done upside down, the signature is also done upside down and back to front. This happens at the same time that the other hand is signing the portrait which was done right side  up;
11. Painting with his feet or with his feet one of the hand simultaneously;
12. While painting, the discarnate artist often talks with the person helping to hold the paper down. See the case of Portinari who describe what he was doing and the meaning of the picture.

Who were the painters?

At the time, several distinct personalities had manifested themselves through him, some occasionally and other more frequently:

The group of discarnates who paint through Luiz Antônio include Renoir, Degas, Toulouse Lautrec, Delacroix, Portinari, 'Aleijadinho' who was a famous Brazilian painter and sculptor....Also Lasar Segall, Modigliani, Anita Malfatti, Raphael, Rembrandt, Botticelli, Van Gogh, Matisse, Manet, Monet and other who paint occasionally. (Dubugras, 1979, 'Who are the painter, p. 108)

Some posing ballerinas (drawing) by Degas through L. Gasparetto.

The musical project carried out by Rosemary Brown (Brown, 1971) had a discarnate manager in the figure of Mrs. Brown's spirit guide, Franz Liszt. In the case of Gasparetto, the rule was taken by Toulouse Lautrec. As in the case of Mrs. Brown, Gasparetto was able to describe several aspects of the painter's personalities:

When she controls Luiz Antônio, he paints calmly and speaks to those nearby in a gentle way. (about Tarsila do Amaral, Dubugras, 1979, p. 103)

Picasso gets the most easily upset when observers move or whispers. There have been instance where, despite repeated requests for silence, the people walk about and talk in low tones. The painter, without further warning, has crumpled the paper on which he was drawing and put a stop to the work and to the session! (on Pablo Picasso, Dubugras, 1979, p. 104)

When Portinari, the Brazilian painter, is present, Luiz Antônio feels the problems of the impoverished Brazilian peasant which the artist still depicts in his own unimitable style. (on Cândido Portinari, Dubugras, 1979, p. 104)

Toulouse Lautrec... is always  concerned about the pictures he produces through him and once, feeling that the anatomy of the figures was inadequate, he decided to practice during a session. (on T. Lautrec, Dubugras, 1979, p. 105)

Degas seems to have less difficulty in drawing through Luiz Antônio as he paints ballerinas in the most difficult poses imaginable, even though Luiz Antônio's knowledge of anatomy is slight. (on E. Degas,  Dubugras, 1979, p. 106)

'Woman with a glowing head' (*), by A. Modigliani through L. Gasparetto (1983).

What is the message?

At the end of the book 'Is that you, Renoir?' we can find the following passage by Mrs. Dubugras:

Through his mediumship, 5000 psi paintings were produced during the past 8 years and these were in the styles similar to those the discarnate artists used during their lifetime. However, a number of these artists are now adopting different styles, possibly feeling that they came to do through Luiz Antônio, that is, show that life continues after death and that the discarnates can communicate with us through adequate channels such as our young medium,  Rosemary Brown, Chico Xavier, Coral Polge and many others in different parts of the world. These changes in style also show that life after death is not static, that man's spirit evolves; by speaking of their previous lives, they prove that reincarnation is a fact. (E. Dubugras, 1979, p. 112)

Although the phenomenon is poorly understood (least to say, accepted) by mainstream science, it can not be denied nor invalidated by words. Rhetoric is incapable of 'erasing' such facts which will continue to exist, in spite of any academic disdain.

References

Braude.S. (2003). "Immortal Remains: the evidence of life after death", Chapter 5, Rowman & Littelfield Pub., Plymouth, UK.

Brown R. (1971). "Unfinished Symphonies: Voices from the Beyond". William Morrow; 1st US edition.

Dubugras E. (1979). "Is that you, Renoir?", 1st Edition in Portuguese/English by FEESP, São Paulo, Brazil.

Kardec A. (1861). "The Book on Mediums", Transl. by A. Blackwell. 2nd. edition by FEB.

Oliveira, L. V. P. de. (2009) "Mediunidade e psicopictografia: reflexões preliminares acerca da pintura mediúnica"(Mediumship and psychography: preliminary remarks on mediumship painting). IN: Proa - Revista de Antropologia e Arte [on-line]. Year 01, vol. 01, n. 01, August. Available only in Portuguese at http://www.ifch.unicamp.br/proa/artigos/artigoluisa.htm.

Notes

(*) All  portrayed models represent discarnate entities.

Twelve obstacles for the scientific study of survival of consciousness and the existence of the spirit.

Both the spirit of the 'living' and the 'dead' are sensorially unobservables Every evidence of their existence is indirect, by means of an intelligent fingerprint exibited by any medium (body behavior, external symbols)... Therefore, both cases (of the spirit of the 'living' and the 'dead') are epistemologically identical (Chibeni, 2010).

S. Chibeni has recently posted a presentation on GEEU webpage (Chibeni, 2010) about the scientific research of the spirit that has many points in common with the subject we have writen about here. His presentation is a set of elucidating slides about the scientific research of the spirit and survival of consciousness. Unfortunately, they are presented in Portuguese and here comment on 12 obstacles that Chibeni put forward as preventing the studies about survival of consciousness and the existence of the Spirit.

After a brief introduction of the phenomenology associated to the substances 'matter' and 'spirit', Chibeni summarizes the present philosophical views as:

1. Materialism: there is only matter;
2. Idealism: there is only spirit;
3. Dualism: both substances exist;
4. Skepticism: we can't know that;

We should note that the word 'skepticism' above refers to a philosophical doctrine and should not be confused witth the ordinary 'skeptical' point of view about psychic or other said 'supernatural' phenomena. Spiritualism splicitly admits the dualist viewpoint and, according to this view, we summarize a set of obstacles that seem to prevent any evolution in the scientific understanding of survival. But we do not refer here to this understanding in accordance to theoretical frameworks of natural sciences. Readers should be very aware of this important difference. 

Then, our comments are as follows:

1. To regard the subject as metaphysical or 'supernatural'. Such problem is originated by a difficulty in accepting the existence of a 'scientific way' for solving the question. Very often the whole matter is regarded as beyond what would be classified as 'normal' or 'verifiable' (and, therefore, as belonging the domain of metaphysics). In face of a mystical viewpoint of all psychic facts, the question is therefore associated to the 'supernatural kingdom';  
   
2. To regard the subject as thoroughly investigated with a firmly negative conclusion. This is the most common mistake among ordinary skeptics. This is also the view shared by those who have a superficial understanding based on claimed researches not done with proper care or in-deep analysis that the whole surely subject deserves. Already in 1857, A. Kardec identified this problem (see Remark 1);
3. To regard what is important about the Spirit as already investigated by psychology etc within a materialist framework: this is a variant class of the former obstacle. Since a theory fundamentally determines the facts that should be considered in a research program, by assuming a materialistic theoretical framework, one severely restricts the universe of facts. The 'proof' so obtained in favor of a given point of view is simply not valid.
4. To regard the materialist viewpoint as accepted and 'proved' by Science: Science understood as 'knowledge' has nothing to do with the subject of survival. Quite a different thing is the opinion of scientist about that subject. But such opinion does not constitute established science. Rather, established science has nothing to say about it mainly if its scope or object of study is not directly related to the specific research of survival and the spirit;
5. Try to 'detect' the Spirit by direct means: many people think that physical psychic phenomena (as originated by physical mediums) are in fact 'spiritual manifestations'. Others say that, if the spirit exists it may be detectable by measurable features. Here we find a crucial flaw concerning the object of study: matter can be detected by certain features (colors, sounds, forms, smells etc) while the spirit has thoughts, will and sentiments that are all unobservable features from the sensory perspective. It is also not difficult to see that the question can not be settled by increasing the accuracy of whatever  conceivable measurement device.
6. Try to 'measure' the spirit: This is variant case of the former obstacle.
7. Only reproducible (repeatable) evidences are relevant: here we have a point for endless debates. But the essence of the problem is very simple: since all psychic effects depend on external intelligences that are independent by themselves, to strictly demand reproducibility is equivalent to condemn the research of psychic facts since the beginning.The source of spiritual phenomena can not be controlled at will - they are all independent - therefore its effects are not reproducible. Try to run an experiment to settle the question  as a physics or chemistry test is a very common mistake.
8. To treat the subject from a exclusively experimental perspective, theoretical developments are discouraged. This is a typical hindrance in parapsychology. Real science was never made without the help of theories. Some researchers in psi sciences believe that experiments alone could solve the whole matter. For them, to invoke 'explanations' or 'theories' would betray 'neutrality' and rigour that the subject deserves. However, this is wrong because 'rigour' has nothing to do with 'neutrality', while any normal scientific development demands that experiments be conceived and performed in accordance to a theoretical framework. If the theory does not support facts, the whole enterprise is doomed to failure.
9. To work with theoretical fragments (isolated hypothesis). On the other hand, when explanations are given, they do not account all facts. There is scarcely any attempt to correlate the facts. Different psychic facts, that manifest themselves in a distinct ways are explained by often totally opposite hypothesis, no underlying fundamental principle is believed to be at work.
10. To assume a dogmatic or preconceived standpoint. Dogmatism and prejudice are rules in human behavior, not exceptions. The understandable 'neutrality' should not be eliminated to the point of adopting a clearly radical point of view. Nobody can claim ownership of truth.
11. To mix or agree with mysticism. Again, this is entirely due to the lack of understanding of the scientific aspect of the subject of survival and the spirit. The mystical view does not accept or recognizes the need of scientific understanding, since mysticism considers itself an independent way to knowledge. It is a clearly a hindrance since mysticism obliterates such scientific awareness. Moreover, the presence of mystical approaches only increases scientific scorn about the subject;
12. Lack of rigour. Any true research method (not necessarily exported from ordinary sciences)  must be applied with exactness in order to arrive to valid conclusions.

Such are the obstacles that allow us to understand why the question of survival of consciousness and the existence of the spirit is broadly involved in the dark clouds of ignorance and scientific disdain. It also help us to orient our future way of understanding the matter: by assuming a thoroughly Spiritualist standpoint as developed by the early fathers of psychic research. Allan Kardec is a good example to be followed. Why? To many, this would contradict 'neutrality' that is believed to be important in any scientific study. However, we emphasize that it is not possible to regard the facts of Spiritualism outside the theoretical frameworks that its  specific explanation demands to collect and register its facts.

Thus, by neglecting the theoretical reference that was developed by the early Spiritualist founders of psychic research, we are paving the way for the evidences to be contaminated by inappropriate conceptions or assumptions that do not take into account the Spiritualist theory. It is, therefore, very easy to reject the Spiritualist thesis, since the evidences will be wrongly collected or described under a different ideology. For me, this is a crucial point that is hardly recognized and that would characterize a 13th obstacle for the truly scientific understanding of survival of consciousness and the reality of the spirit. We will write about it in a future post.

Chibeni's presentation is therefore a pedagogical summary that we strongly recommend the reading. 

References

• S. S. Chibeni (2010), A Pesquisa Científica do Espírito. (in Portuguese)
• GEEU page (mostly in Portuguese).

Remark 1

When it does not result from prejudice, the skeptic's view of the Spiritist Doctrine often has its source in a poor knowledge of the facts. Unfortunately, many well-meaning people have tried to settle the question as though they had perfect knowledge. Their excessive belief in their own infallible judgment, though, only shows how little discernment they have. (A. Kardec (1996), 'The Spirit´s book', Introduction, Art. XVII,  A. Kardec Educational Society, Philadelphia, USA. Transl. from the 2nd edition in French, 1860. ).

1st Lusophonic Spiritist/Spiritualist Film Festival, February 21 – 25, 2012

Calling all free spirits in London: Join us for a week of films that have potential to transform our lives. Come and get connected with like-minded souls, and discover the best of the production of spiritual films from Brazil, some of them movie blockbusters never seen in the UK. These features and documentaries inspire, enlighten and challenge us.

Check the highlights below and click here for the full programme. All films are original Portuguese versions with English subtitles. Tickets for all individual films are available for free, so early booking is highly advisable. Some film screenings will be followed by a debate, and there will also be book stalls with plenty of books in all languages.

Dates: February 21 – 25, 2012
Venue: Room G34 - Arts Building, Queen Mary University of London.
327 Mile End Road (Mile End Tube Station) - London E14 NS - Map
Free bookings: http://bit.ly/SpiritFilm

Nosso Lar (The Astral City)

Direction: Wagner de Assis. The biggest film ever made in Brazil. A huge box office hit with more than 4 millions tickets sold. Based on the bestselling book Nosso Lar / Our Home dictated by the spirit André Luiz to the Brazilian medium Chico Xavier. After dying in a surgery, the doctor André Luiz awakes and realizes that there is life after life.

4 pm on February 21st.

The Spirits’ Film

Direction: André Marouço, Michel Dubret. A drama freely based on The Spirits’ Book (1857), by Allan Kardec, the founding work of Spiritism. After losing his wife, a man enters into depression and began to suffer from alcoholism. When he is about to take his own life, a stranger gives to him a copy of The Spirits’ Book. It is the beginning of a life-changing journey. 

4 pm on Friday, February 24th.

The Medium’s Mothers

Direction: Glauber Filho, Halder Gomes. Elisa, Ruth and Lara are three women with unbearable losses in their lives. The spiritual comfort finds a place in their hearts when they meet Chico Xavier, the greatest medium of all time. They receive, through his mediumship, letters of their departed ones, which confirm that there is no death and that life goes on. Based on true stories.

4 pm on Thursday, February 23rd.

The Pyschographed Letters by Chico Xavier

Direction: Cristiana Grumbach. For many decades, mothers and fathers of different religions, who had lost their children, sought the Spiritist medium Chico Xavier (1910 – 2002) in the hope of receiving psychographed letters from their departed ones. In this touching documentary, these parents tell us how these letters changed their lives. 

10am on Wednesday, February 22nd.

The Great Synthesis of Pietro Ubaldi

Direction: Oceano Vieira de Melo. A look back at the life of Italian Spiritualist philosopher and writer Pietro Ubaldi (1886 – 1972). Considering themes such as reincarnation, spiritual evolution, life after death and mediumship, his books were received through inspiration and represent the synthesis of knowledge in the areas of Science, Philosophy and Religion. 

10 am on Friday, February 24th.

Allan Kardec, the Educator

Direction: Edson Audi. Documentary recounting the life of French philosopher and educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (1804-1869), also known as Allan Kardec. The film was shot in the places where he lived: Lyon, Yverdon and Paris. Learn more about the works and the thought of the man who codified the Spiritist Doctrine. 10 am on February 21st

Bezerra de Menezes: a Spirit’s Journey

Glauber Filho, Joel Pimentel. The compelling story of the physician, politician, writer and humanitarian Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes (1831 – 1900) who became known as “the physician of the poor” for giving free care to thousands of patients in nineteenth century Rio de Janeiro. 4 pm on February 22nd.

See also: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SpiritistKnowledge

Advanced Call for Proposals for the 2012 annual Meeting of LIHPE (Association of Researchers on Spiritism), São Paulo, Brazil.

Since 2003, the annual meeting of LIHPE (Association of Researchers on Spiritism) has been a lively space dedicated to discussions and studies on Spiritualist themes according to academic standards. LIHPE is essentially a virtual community of researchers interested in academic studies but not necessarily composed by Spiritualist people (in this sense, LIHPE is a non-denominational group). Members should only observed the group behavior standards in order to participate.

In its beginning, LIHPE was created to support records on history of Spiritualism (in its Brazilian version called Spiritism - a term originally created in France in the XIX century). Other research interests were then added to the group, from a wide variety of academic fields such as philosophy, physics, psychology, social sciences, anthropology among others.

Since its inception, LIHPE founder, Eduardo Carvalho Monteiro, realized that simple collaboration at distance would not be enough to establish groups or even make people work together. The annual meeting ENLIHPE was then created. The city of São Paulo is the main host place for the encounter that takes place at CCDPE-ECM (Eduardo Carvalho Monteiro Center for Culture, Documentation and Research on Spiritism), an institution created by the effort of many people after Monteiro's death. CCDPE-ECM also houses Monteiro's private library containing a large collection of Spiritualist works.

CCDPE-ECM: the leading institution that houses LIHPE annual meeting
that traditionally takes place on August.

CCDPE-ECM has been housing LIHPE members for the last 4 years. The encounter brings exhibitors from all Brazilian regions and states such as Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Piauí, Ceará, Bahia and Goiás. Previous international participation has been restricted to an Italian anthropologist who later submited a monograph in his country for publication. However, it is now time to open the meeting doors for more international collaboration.

If you have any work in the frontier between Spiritualism and other recognized sciences - or even non-recognized ones (such as Paranthropology), let us known. We invite you to submit an abstract for the the next LIHPE meeting (occurring on the 18-19th August). More information you will soon find on the LIHPE website www.lihpe.net.

Contact information: xavnet2@gmail.com.