Lucy Dias Ramos (photo) comes from a Spiritist family in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Lucy has worked for many decades at a Spiritist Centre in the city of Juiz de Fora. In her private life, Lucy had to face the challenge of her daughter Sandra’s discarnation. In her latest book, she describes the experience and talks about the messages received from her daughter.  Tell us about your latest book and the personal experience behind it.  My latest book, Maior que a Vida, published by the Brazilian Spiritist

Waldenir Aparecido Cuin (photo), from the city of Cosmorama, in the state of São Paulo, has a long history as a Spiritist worker. He is linked to two Spiritist groups and is a regular contributor of this electronic magazine. Waldenir, a civil servant with a degree in Business Administration, lives in the city of Votuporanga. He has published eight Spiritist books since 1993, bringing lessons from the Gospel to our daily life. His answers to our questions in this interview bring us comfort and remind us of the responsibility we all have in this life: 

How did you become a Spiritist? 

I’ve been a Spiritist since 1971. I found Spiritism for a number of reasons: some setbacks in my youth, some frustrated dreams, the search for answers. I eventually found the guidance of a cousin of mine, who lived in the city of Uberaba and said that Spiritism had the answer to all my questions. I found then many of the answers and soon after, in 1972, joined the Spiritist Centre Humberto de Campos. I joined the youth movement and have never looked back.  

Your literary production is rich; it also gives us a great deal of comfort. How do you get the inspiration, how is the process of writing for you? 

My aim has been to write about our daily matters. The lessons of Jesus Christ are quite simple, but difficult to demonstrate through examples.  I have attempted to convey the idea that we should try to do what we can realistically achieve. Jesus doesn’t expect us to be saints, nor to display the pure feelings of the highest quality, which we are still unable to produce. But he expects us at least to try, to put in the effort, the good will, our effort, the determination so we can pave the way for our spiritual progress. 

Where does the motivation to write come from? 

Our motivation comes from knowing that we can live the valuable teachings of Jesus here on Earth, even if we have to face huge challenges. We wouldn’t be here, as incarnates, unless we were able to learn from our day-to-day experiences the lessons for our spiritual development and growth. Jesus is in reality our biggest motivation. 

Was it particularly difficult to write the first book? What was the impact of the other titles you published later? 

The beginning is indeed always difficult. I began by writing articles for newspapers in the city of Votuporanga. Later I had the idea of organising a book with the best published articles. A friend of mine, Júlio Venâncio Júnior, bought the idea and encouraged me. He published the first book, Caminhos de Esperança (Paths of Hope), which for my absolute surprise sold nearly 10,000 copies – with the support, of course, of many Spiritist book clubs. Eventually, a bigger publishing house, EME, began publishing my books. 

What is in your view the most significant aspect of the Spiritist Doctrine? 

Two aspects in my opinion: the enlightenment, allowing us to know the truth so we can find true freedom; and the comfort it provides, which makes us strong enough to follow the difficult paths of life without fear. To know and to understand, that is the basis of prosperity. 

How do you think young people today connect to the Spiritist Doctrine? 

Young people are a reflexion of the examples, teachings and information provided by adults. We have indeed many problems with our “young ones” and that is mostly due to the lack of proper action by the parents. Family values these days tend to be based on “being someone” and “having things”. Very few parents bother to teach their children the Gospel, to spiritualise them in this material world we live in, hence the lack of interest by young people have in spiritual values. Due to the lack of information and appropriate background, young people tend abandon spiritual values all together. They prefer the easier paths of indifference, which have taken so many to the valleys of tears and mountains of pain. When Spiritist familys begin to make a concerted effort to focus on the real values of life, the whole family will join a Spiritist Centre. Younger family members will then find a reference and good examples to follow. 

Self help and motivational books are of great relevance in our days. What reaction do you get from the public? 

We, human beings, find it very difficult to incorporate changes into our routine. I have seen in the lectures I give that even those who have read my books and have made a vow to change tend to eventually go back to their old ways. But short-term results are not what matters. It is important to carry on trying to build a better world, with the assistance of the Spiritual Benefactors. Jesus Christ left us 2,000 years ago the best treaty on motivation and self-help the world has ever seen: The Gospel. And yet we are still embroiled in the debate: should we accept it or ignore it? It is important to carry on working and to allow time to do play its part. 

Anything else you would like to add? 

Let us pay much attention to how we are employing the “talents” we have been given. There are many people out there who are every day burying their opportunities to achieve spiritual progress. There have never been so many distractions and opportunities to divert us from the right path. We find all the time in the world dedicate to our body, our physical health, but don’t seem to find any time to deal with spiritual matters. If we carry on like that, we will gather an endless amount of painful experiences, anxieties and afflictions, which will generate depression and a number of other illnesses of mental and psychological origin. Either we live the teachings of Jesus or we simply won’t be able to live. 

Your final thoughts… 

Let us never forget that we will get back from life whatever we throw at it. Thus, even for reasons of intelligence and common sense, we must do good deeds, to live a life of goodness and think according the principles of goodness.