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The author of
the book A
Grande Transição
da Terra: o
Sentido de
Urgência (The
Great Earth
Transition: the
Sense of
Urgency)
tell us that
people must be
freed from the
lies imposed by
the system,
which makes us
believe that our
happiness is
linked to
consumerism.
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How did you
become a
Spiritist?
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I was influenced
by two books:
Exilados de
Capela, by
Edgar Armond,
and After
Death, by
Léon Denis. The
latter, with its
eloquent
spirituality,
really grabbed
me and led me to
studying
Spiritism. It
was a water shed
in my personal
identity: I was
a person before
reading that
book, I became a
different
person.
What is your
view on the
transition that
the planet is
going through,
the great Earth
transition, as
in the title of
your recently
published book?
From a wider
perspective, the
Great Transition
is a synergy of
many facts and
phenomena that
have linked the
end of a cycle
of evolution and
the beginning of
another one.
Those facts and
phenomena have
made it possible
for the planet,
humankind and
spirituality to
carry on
developing
simultaneously,
amidst a
selective
process that
encompasses the
widespread
migration of
Spirits between
the many
planets. On a
personal level,
the Great
Transition is a
state of spirit,
which is
profoundly
influenced by
the events of
the current
phase, leading
to a transition
in our inner
beings.
How to become an
ethical being in
the current
phase of
transition?
The answer is
complex because
we are complex
beings. I would
say that
Spiritism
provides all the
elements we need
to live an
ethical life. I
have made a
point, as
someone who was
lucky to have
been born in the
Amazon, that we
must be
particularly
ethical in our
relationship
with our planet.
Let me make a
provocative
statement: is it
ethical to be
indifferent to
the destruction
that is going on
on planet
Earth?
How would you
define
transition at a
personal level?
The pre-Socratic
philosopher
Heraclitus
highlights the
importance of
change. No one
walks into the
same river
twice, as both
the river and
the person
change. In other
words, change is
part of the
dynamic of the
universe and
life. We need
change,
movement,
transformation.
In the same way
the planet
undergoes great
changes, we need
to tune into the
transformation
that is going on
around us, we
need to make our
individual
transition. If
planet
transition
demands that we
become more
careful with
nature, we must
carry out that
change in our
lives. It it
demands more
peace, we must
promote peace as
a value in our
behaviour. If
the current
phase of
transition on
Earth asks for
more collective
thinking, we
must switch from
individualism to
solidarity.
Individual
transition is
therefore the
change from our
self-centred,
materialistic
and
unsustainable
approach to life
towards a
collective,
spiritualised
and sustainable
model.
How did you get
engaged in the
environmental
movement? What
is your overall
goal?
Living in the
Amazon, in the
city of Belém,
enables you to
have a natural
engagement with
the
environmental
debate. Bad news
about serious
damage to the
environment is
reported on a
daily basis. In
many cases, it
affects us in
the Amazon
directly. On the
other hand,
great thinkers,
activists and
environmental
leaders live in
the region, and
many of them are
Spiritists. My
aim is to show
the link between
nature and
spirituality and
to show the
power
individuals and
groups have to
act in that
area. As an
author, I try to
encourage the
golden triad: to
think, to get
ready and to
act.
In your view,
how can
Spiritists take
an effective
participation in
the
environmental
debate?
They can and
they have an
ethical duty to
get engaged,
especially as we
are fully aware
that the planet
is going through
a turbulent
period of
transition. And
we must go
beyond the phase
of debates, as
there is no more
time for good
intentions only.
We must act as
citizens,
demanding real
changes and
changing our
habits as
consumers. We
must avoid
consumerism,
materialism,
waste. As
parents, we must
educate our
children. As
children of God,
we must defend
this wonderful
planet. And as
Spiritists, we
must put the
Gospel into
practice and
apply our
knowledge of
Spiritism in our
relations with
nature. But we
should not mix
up consuming
with
consumerism. Our
life as material
beings demands
that we consume
to meet certain
demands, to feed
ourselves, for
example. We must
consume, but we
should not be
driven by
consumerism. And
we must combat
waste. How can
we Spiritists
throw away food
when 1 billion
people around
the world are
starving? We
must consume
only what is
necessary and
stick to three
points: reduce,
reuse and
recycle.
Is Jesus at the
helm?
Your question is
very relevant.
Yes, Jesus is at
the helm of the
earthly ship. We
are not alone,
we are not
prisoners of our
own luck. The
Spiritual
Benefactors are
working hard
alongside us.
But let us
remember that
life is subject
to its laws and
we have our free
will. There is
no point in
being optimistic
if we are
destructive.
There will be no
magic. If we sow
pepper seeds, we
will not produce
strawberries. In
every transition
there is a
crossing point,
with its own
risks. Our daily
decisions, the
use of our free
will took us to
the point where
we are now and
will determine
how our crossing
will be towards
the phase of
regeneration.
Most
environmentalists
believe we will
face rough sea
in our crossing.
If you look
around, you will
see that we are
already facing
many storms.
What we need to
avoid is
tsunamis. Jesus
is with us, but
are we helping
Him?
What should be,
in your opinion,
the focus of the
environmental
debate under the
light of
Spiritism?
Ecology and
Spiritism are
naturally linked
proposals. They
both widen our
perception of
life and teach
us to respect
what is sacred –
either belonging
to the natural
or to the
spiritual world.
We need now to
discuss
practical
aspects of the
Great
Transition, such
as the need to
change
destructive
habits, the real
threats we are
facing and how
to prepare to
deal with
certain
scenarios and
events. As we
become more
spiritualised,
we need to
become better
people in all
aspects of life,
and that
includes looking
again at our
ethical approach
towards the
planet. I
believe that
only by becoming
more spiritual
human beings
will be freed
from the lies
imposed by the
system, which
associates our
happiness to
buying power.
Our happiness is
a state of
spirit, it is
not linked to
our capacity to
buy more, to
consume more.