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Brazil is
unmatched in the
dissemination
and respect for
Spiritism. Not
even in France,
the home country
of the codifier
of the Doctrine,
Allan Kardec, is
Spiritism so
well known. In
the last
decades,
Brazilians have
been spreading
the message to
other countries,
overcoming the
natural language
and cultural
barriers.
Our colleague
Maurício
Cisneiros Filho
(photo)
is part of that
effort. In this
chat with the
readers of O
Consolador, he
tells us about
the development
of the Doctrine
in the US.
O Consolador:
Where about are
you
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from in Brazil?
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I was born in
Niterói, Rio de
Janeiro, but
grew up in
Brasília.
O Consolador:
Where about do
you live in the
US?
In the state of
Florida.
O Consolador:
How long have
you been in the
US?
Since 1988, when
I moved over
looking for
better
professional
perspectives.
O Consolador:
What´s your area
of knowledge,
your
background?
I have a degree
in IT,
Information
Technology, with
a specialisation
in
telecommunication.
O Consolador:
What posts or
responsibilities
did you hold
previously in
the Spiritist
Movement?
I was a
deputy-secretary
and
vice-president
of the Florida
Spiritist
Federation in
different
mandates.
O Consolador:
What other
groups do you
work with at the
moment?
I´m the
president of the
US Spiritist
Council and the
president of the
Spiritist
Society of Palm
Beach, in Boca
Raton, Florida.
O Consolador:
What was your
first contact
with Spiritism?
I was born in a
spiritist family
and used to live
one block away
from a spiritist
group, Irmão
Estevão, in
Brasília, where
I went through
the different
stages – from
evangelisation
groups for
children to the
youth movement
of teenage
years.
O Consolador: Of
the three
aspects of
Spiritism –
science,
philosophy and
religion – which
one is closer to
your heart?
Unlike many
spiritists, I
never had
preference for
either.
Everything
that´s analysed
from a rational,
inquisitive and
sensitive
spiritist
perspective is
of great
interest to me.
O Consolador:
What books do
you recommend to
those being
introduced to
Spiritism?
It depends on
the person.
Usually, the
first read
should be The
Spirits´ Book.
But in some
cases The
Gospe, as
Explained by the
Spiritist
Doctrine or
even Nosso
Lar could
help certain
people
understand what
the Doctrine is
about.
O Consolador: Is
there any
particular book
had a particular
impact on you?
A book by Dr
Alírio de
Cerqueira Filho,
Jesus and
Kardec as Role
Models for
Spiritist
Workers.
That is the
first of a
series of books
based on the
teachings of the
spirit of Joanna
de Ângelis. It´s
more straight
forward than the
other books in
the series and
it allows us,
simple mortals,
to understand
Joanna de
Ângelis´
approach to the
psychology
involved in the
work at
spiritist
groups.
O Consolador:
One of the few
controversies in
Spiritism
concerns the
Doctrine´s
secular aspect.
Do you think
Spiritism is a
religion or not?
Only those who
are not
spiritist say
Spiritism is not
a religion. If
they had already
understood and
embraced
Spiritism they
would say
otherwise.
O Consolador:
There´s another
area of dissent,
involving the
technique for
giving healing.
Should we adopt
a standard
technique, as
proposed in the
work of Edgard
Armond?
All of those who
study magnetism
a little bit
find out that
there´s no room
for a standard
technique. Even
though we apply
a more standard
technique in our
open meetings,
we know that a
more detailed
approach needs
to be applied by
those undergoing
specific
treatment – and
that must be
done by people
with specialised
knowledge. New
techniques have
been discovered
to help whose
who receive
healing. I´ve
read a very
relevant book on
the subject,
focusing on what
Kardec really
said about
magnetism. The
trouble is it´s
always easier to
work with the
simplified
concepts we
know, rather
than learning
and developing
new techniques.
It´s a mistake
to believe that
our spiritual
mentors will
always be there
to make up for
our ignorance.
Where I live
there are
several
spiritist groups
working with
different
techniques.
O Consolador:
What are your
views on
abortion?
The spiritist´s
duty is to
educate, never
to force others
to follow what
we recommend. As
citizens of the
world, we´ve
been doing our
best to minimise
the practice of
abortion, but
respecting other
people´s
rights.
O Consolador:
Are you in touch
with the
Brazilian
Spiritist
Movement? What
are your views
on their work?
I´m in constant
contact with
fellow workers
of the Brazilian
Spiritist
Movement and I
think they do a
great job in
spreading the
Doctrine´s
message in the
country.
O Consolador:
How is the
development of
the Spiritist
Movement in the
United States?
We’re in the
early stages of
the introduction
of Spiritism to
the United
States. The
great medium,
Chico Xavier,
paid a visit to
the US more than
three decades
ago, but until
recently there
were very few
books in English
available.
Hence, the
complete lack of
awareness from
the American
public about
Spiritism. But
we’re changing
that, little by
little, and
working on the
publication of
more material in
the English
language.
O Consolador:
When did
Spiritism first
came to the US?
No one knows
exactly who the
first spiritists
were to come to
the lands of
Uncle Sam… We
know some fifty
years ago there
were already a
few groups in
New Jersey,
North Carolina
and California.
A bit later,
also in Florida.
They were all
organised by
Latin Americans.
We now have
nearly 90
spiritist groups
spread across
the country, in
many states. The
main
representative
organisation is
the United
States Spiritist
Council, which
has 30
affiliated
groups.
O Consolador:
How do Americans
view and accept
the Doctrine?
The Americans
have different
levels of
religiosity and
spirituality and
it’s only
natural that
they accept or
reject Spiritism
in different
ways. Normally,
those who are
more orthodox
(Christians,
Jews etc.) as
well as those
who are more
materialist tend
to be more
sceptical and
reject any
contact with
Spiritism.
There’s more
acceptance and
participation
among those
normally defined
as “new age”.
But many of them
have trouble
developing their
psychic skills,
as they tend to
expect payment
or profit for
their work in
healing or in
spiritist groups
in general.
Usually we get a
better reception
from those –
religious and
non-religious –
with an open
mind to
spirituality.
O Consolador:
What are the
main challenges
you faced in
your effort to
take Spiritism
to the US?
It’s much easier
to work with
Spiritism in
Brazil, where
others already
did the hard
work and left us
all the
infrastructure.
If you compare
what the
Spiritist
Movement has
achieved in
Brazil with what
we have in the
US, Canada and
Europe, I’d say
we’re lagging
100 years
behind. A clear
example is the
locations for
meetings. No
spiritist group
in the US is the
owner of its own
meeting room or
headquarters. We
all rent
somewhere to
meet, or pay a
mortgage on a
room or
building. And
the prices
charged are
really high.
Many groups can
only afford to
pay rent for a
couple of hours
a week.
O Consolador: Do
you agree that
crime and
violence seems
to be on the up
in Brazil and
elsewhere? How
can we,
spiritists, help
change that
situation?
We need to carry
on making the
Spiritist
Doctrine known
and available to
the greatest
number of
people, using
all the
resources
available. A
colleague of
ours, delivering
a lecture on the
upcoming
“regeneration
world”, said
very
appropriately
that we’re now
like “doing up
our home”.
That’s why all
the walls,
floor, furniture
are in a mess.
But, as soon as
the redecoration
work is over,
our home will be
more beautiful
than ever, more
comfortable and
adjusted to our
new needs.
O Consolador: We
know we’re
already in the
first stage of
the preparation
for this new era
of regeneration
on the Earth.
How long do you
believe it will
be before the
Earth evolves
from being a
planet dedicated
to the expiation
of our faults to
a world of
regeneration? In
the words of
Saint Augustine,
in this new
phase of our
planet the word
love will be
written on
everyone’s faces
and perfect
equity will
drive social
relations.
I believe that
in about 50
years the
reincarnation of
spirits with
evil intentions
will have
ceased. Our
planet couldn’t
take for longer,
from the
environmental
point of view,
the barbaric
attacks being
staged for so
long now against
our nature.
O Consolador:
And in light of
all the problems
faced on Earth
at the moment,
what should be
the priority of
those in charge
of spiritist
organisations?
To carry on
trying to gather
everyone around
the principle of
fraternity,
regardless of
their religious
affiliations.
O Consolador:
What does
Spiritism mean
to you?
It’s the
constant
reminder that
we’re capable of
going through
any period of
trouble, any
obstacle in our
lives, with
patience,
dignity,
resignation and
gratitude for
the
opportunities
God has given us
in another very
brief stage on
planet Earth.