Spiritism
What Is Spiritism?
Find below the main principles of the Spiritist Doctrine:
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God is the Supreme Intelligence, first cause of all things. God is eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, omnipotent, supremely just and good.
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The Universe is God’s creation. It encompasses all rational and non rational beings, animate and inanimate, material and immaterial.
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In addition to the corporeal world inhabited by incarnate Spirits, which are human beings, there exists the spiritual world, inhabited by discarnate Spirits.
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The are other inhabited worlds in the Universe, with beings at different degrees of evolution; some less, some equal and others more evolved than human beings on Earth.
History of Spiritism
The text below was written by Allan Kardec in the 1860s, giving his personal explanation of the circumstances that led him to write the Spiritist codification.
Allan Kardec
By the year 1848, several strange phenomena were gaining notoriety in the United States, consisting in noises, raps and movement of objects with no apparent cause. They would happen spontaneously, several times, with a characteristic intensity and frequency. However, it soon became clear that these phenomena could also occur through the presence of certain people whom were known as ”mediums”. These people could provoke the phenomena at will, making experiments possible. Such experiments were made using tables, not because these objects are more favorable than others, but because they were more convenient, movable, and because it was easier to sit around them than any other furniture. In this way the rotation of tables was achieved, and subsequently, movements in all directions: jumps, turns, fluctuations, violent strokes etc. These phenomena were originally called ‘table dancing’ or ‘table turning’.
Mediumship
1- What is a medium?
A medium is anyone who possess the ability to perceive the spirit world in any way. Since such awareness is found in everyone, Spritism teaches that ‘we are all mediums’. Now, for the sake of clarity, when Spiritism talks about mediumship it refers to the person who’s awareness of the Spirit world has reached a level in which the person is conscious of the phenomena and in which direct, controlled spirit communication is at least a possibility. In all mediumship phenomena the medium is just the messenger for the communication and not the author.
Myths & Misconceptions
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Below is a list of explanations that help clarify many questions, doubts and misconceptions that surround Spiritism. If you have a question or about Spiritism that you feel should be on this page, feel free to contact us.
1- Is Spiritism part of the occult?
The dictionary defines Occult as meaning:
– Hidden and difficult to see; “an occult fracture”; – Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding; “mysterious symbols”; “the mystical style of Blake”; “occult lore”; “the secret learning of the ancients”.
It is true that in the past, and still today those who do not understand Spiritism claim that is part of the occult. This has always been untrue. By its very nature Spiritism works to clarify and explain both the spirit related phenomena, spitit evolution and the divine laws that govern the universe to anyone who wishes to learn. So in no way is it mysterious, hidden, beyond ordinary understanding, or counter intuitive.
Unification
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By Bezerra de Menezes
The work for the unification in our ranks is urgent, but not rushed. One assertion seems to contradict the other. But it is not so. It is urgent because it defines the goal that we should aim at; but not rushed because, it is not granted to us to violate anyone’s conscience.
Let us preserve the purpose of uniting, approaching, and understanding one another; and, if possible, let us establish at every site where the name of Spiritism has been brought to light, a study group, however small, of the works of Kardec, in the light of the Christ of God.
We, who devotedly engage ourselves in all types of noble endeavors being offered by our principles, cannot ignore clear reasoning to turn our life less somber. Thus, let us compare our redeeming Doctrine to a metropolis with all the demands for comfort, progress, peace, and order. In the city, food, clothes, shelter, and security for all are essential; however, the matter of light cannot be overlooked. Lighting has been a concern of humans since the very first cave dwellings. Originally, light was obtained by fire through friction, followed by the domestic hearth, the torch, flames fueled by resins, the oil lamp, and, in modern times, electricity transformed into glaring radiance.
The Spiritist Doctrine holds its essential aspects in triple configuration. Thus, no one should be restricted in their desire to work and produce.
Let those inclined toward the sciences to cultivate them in their dignity; those who devote themselves to philosophy to ennoble its postulates; and those who consecrate themselves to religion to turn divine its aspirations. Yet, above all, it is necessary that the basis of the Spiritist Doctrine remain in everyone and everything so that we do not lose the balance at the base over which the organization is raised.