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Danilo Soares de
Oliveira (photo),
a manager working for a
transnational company in
Manaus, is from Brazil’s
south-eastern state of
Minas Gerais, but moved
to the Amazon region
several years ago. He
met Spiritism in 1992
and has been an
enthusiastic volunteer
worker. In this
interview he shares his
thoughts on the
Spiritist Movement in
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the region:
How do you feel about
the experience of being
engaged in the Spiritist
Movement in the Amazon?
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It is a great honour to
be here. It has been an
extremely fulfilling
experience, a complete
contrast in many ways to
my previous experiences
in the Spiritist
Movement in Minas Gerais
and São Paulo states. It
is a unique experience
in every aspect: at a
personal, spiritual,
moral and professional
level.
Give us an overview of
the Movement in Brazil’s
largest state,
Amazonas.
Amazonas is a huge green
giant, with more than
1.5 million square
kilometres (0.6 million
square miles) – about
the size of Alaska or
three times the size of
France – with 62
municipalities and
borders with five other
Brazilian states and
three countries. The
Spiritist Movement in
the state is, I believe,
very well established
and marked by a spirit
of camaraderie. It has
its unique aspects due
to the size of the state
and the challenges that
the presence of the
thick rain forest
brings. The state is
geographically isolated
from the rest of the
country, and moving
about is not easy. But
that drives Spiritists
here to be persistent,
dedicated, brave and
united. Manaus, which
accounts for less than
1% of the state’s
territory, hodls 50% of
its population, with
great cultural
diversity. That probably
explains why the
Spiritist Movement in
Manaus is so active and
far-reaching. Outside
the capital, there are
few structured Spiritist
centres – about 16
groups in total. They
face big challenges due
to their geographical
isolation. The Spiritist
Federation of Amazonas
has made a concerted
effort to try to reach
out those groups and
also to encourage new
Spiritist Centres to be
founded.
How many Spiritist
Centres are there in
Manaus? What are the
most effective ways to
disseminate the
Teachings in the state
capital?
There are 65 Spiritist
Centres in the capital,
as well as the two
headquarters of the
Spiritist Federation –
the old one, from 1904,
and the new one. We make
use of several tools:
lectures, public
speeches, seminars,
events such as Spiritist
weeks, congresses, we
also spread the message
through the radio,
newspapers, in
bookshops. It is all
very similar, in many
ways, to what is done
elsewhere in Brazil,
only our effort is
concentrated in Manaus.
People in the region are
also very much into the
arts, and we have a
number of active music
and drama groups.
How do you compare your
experience in the Amazon
to your previous
experience as a
Spiritist in Minas
Gerais state?
In Minas, in the city of
Poças de Caldas, I had
the privilege of being
in charge for six years
of a local organisation
encompassing 22
municipalities. And I
have learned so much
here, where the
distances are extreme
and the challenges face
so numerous. You have to
spend days on a boat to
get to your destination,
or you need to spend a
lot on plane tickets,
not to mention the
natural dangers of the
forest, the
mosquito-transmitted
diseases and even the
intolerance of other
religious groups in a
way you do not see in
other parts of the
country. Being in the
town of Manaquiri to
open a new Spiritist
Centre was a unique
experience: I learned to
value what we have in
the southern areas of
Brazil and to admire the
determination of the
people of the forest.
What were the main
difficulties you found
at a personal level?
Initially, it was to
adapt to a new place,
where you do not know
anything or anyone. I
had to adapt to the
equatorial climate,
different food, the buzz
of the big city Manaus
is, a contrast to Poços
de Caldas, the tranquil
spa where I was brought
up. Eventually, I
realised the local
people, the local
Spiritist Movement, was
very warm, receptive.
People in Amazonas state
are really special and
welcoming. I have
learned with them a
lesson of love, care,
detachment, my family
and I have reassessed
our values. It has been
a blessed exercise in
Christianity. I am about
to move away from
Amazonas state, moving
the southern Parana
state, after only eight
months here. But I’m
going away for
professional reasons
only and I feel I am now
a different person.
Is there anything else
you would like to
highlight about the
Spiritist Movement in
Amazonas state?
From my early days here,
I saw this experience as
an opportunity to
reincarnate within this
incarnation. That sums
up my experience here. I
left everything and
everyone behind, taking
with me only the
experience gathered “on
the road” so far. I saw
it all as a “new
opportunity” to meet
dear friends from other
eras, people very dear
to my soul. I had to
rethink and reassess all
I knew, all the
experiences from my
recent past, bringing it
all to a new reality,
with new and very
different challenges. In
the last eight months, I
worked in the Mediumship
Department of the
Spiritist Federation and
took part in a regional
event of other Amazon
region states. And one
aspect that caught my
attention was the strong
leadership of local
women, real “Amazons”,
as well as the strong
participation of young
people. You see many
young people in
positions of command,
thoroughly dedicated and
committed to the
Spiritist Movement.
Anything else to add?
I would like to express
my profound gratitude to
the people of Amazonas
state, especially our
brothers and sisters in
the local Spiritist
Movement. I take with me
their example of living
Christian fraternity. I
leave this land taking
very dear friends in my
heart. It has been a
great experience, which
will be with me forever.
I pray to Jesus to light
my path wherever I go in
the future.