Marcelo Teixeira:
“No one will
change the
world
for us”
The well-known
journalist and
writer talks
about his works
and what
to
expect from the
book he is
writing,
entitled “Você
Tem Fome
de Quê?”
(“What Are You
Hungry For?”)
|
Born in a
Spiritist
family, Marcelo
Teixeira (photo)
lives in his
hometown of
Petrópolis, near
the Brazilian
city of Rio de
Janeiro. He is a
member of the
Municipal
Spiritist Union
of Petrópolis.
He is a
journalist, with
two published
books, and is
the Media
Coordinator of
the Spiritist
Unification
Council in the
state of Rio de
Janeiro. He is
curren-
|
tly working on a
book gathering
the works of
several Spiritist
authors on the
main needs of
human beings. He
talks about this
new project in
this interview. |
You revised and
wrote the
preface to a
very successful
book in Brazil,
“Young
Spiritists Want
to Know”. Tell
us a bit more
about that
book.
The aim was to
put together the
main questions
and doubts of
the Youth
Spiritist
Movements across
the state of Rio
de Janeiro and
send them to
Spiritist
writers and
thinkers. The
questions
concern a number
of issues, such
as family,
abortion, the
environment,
homosexuality
and suicide.
Twenty-five
authors were
involved. That
book came from a
unique idea and
it has been very
successful.
What are the
main concerns of
the youth and
why?
Apart from the
issues mentioned
above, there was
also a great
deal of interest
for answers on
death, legal and
illegal drugs,
shyness, the
media and
violence. Young
people want to
live in peace
with themselves
and with their
choices. They
are also asking
for guidelines
that will enable
them to make as
few mistakes as
possible on
matters of love
and sex. And
they want to go
about in the
world feeling
more secure,
understanding
the reasons
behind so many
existential
conflicts and so
much lack of
affection, which
often drive them
to look for
dodgy ways of
escaping. They
want, in sum, to
help make the
world a better
place, with
better
opportunities
for all,
environmentally
sustainable and
surrounded by
enlightened
consciences,
without
manipulation.
How did this new
project – “Você
Tem Fome de Quê?”
– come up?
I would like to
make it clear,
first of all,
that that will
not be the final
title of the
book, as there
is already a
published book
with the same
title. I like to
mix pop culture
with Christian
and Spiritist
Teachings, and
that is how this
came about. It
is a reference
to a popular
Brazilian rock
song from the
end of the 1980s
by Titãs. The
song said, “we
don’t only want
food, we want
food,
entertainment
and arts”. And I
decided to ask
Spiritist
authors: What
are you hungry
for and how can
Spiritism
satiate their
hunger?
What was the
main idea behind
the book?
I was driven by
the ideal of
talking about
Spiritism in a
modern and light
manner, focusing
on the anxieties
of modern man.
One of my books
is called
“Spiritism is
Pop”. Why?
Because pop is
short for
popular both in
English and in
Portuguese.
Spiritism must
take all the
issues that are
relevant in our
times and debate
them with
society. All the
articles I have
received so far
mention the
uncertainties
and doubts we
are going
through in the
world. We are
hungry for so
many things! How
can we satiate
our desire to
live in a better
world? And
before we are
Spiritists we
are citizens of
such a troubled
world! Spiritism,
and the Consoler
promised by
Jesus, comes to
help us satiate
our hunger for
love, life in
abundance and
justice for all…
In the light of
the immortality
of the soul, we
can make
something
different and
change history.
Is there any
particular
experience that
you would like
to share with
us?
From the
material
received so far,
I have realised
that Spiritist
thinkers are
honest and
pro-active
people. There is
no one really
lost in their
thoughts or
pondering too
much. They all
have their feet
on the ground.
When is the book
going to be
published?
I believe in the
second half of
2016.
Tell us about
the two books
you have
published.
I am a
journalist. I
work with words.
But it had never
crossed my mind
writing a
Spiritist book.
After I wrote
the preface to
“Young
Spiritists Want
to Know” I
realised I could
it. I published
the first one,
“Concerns of a
Spiritist,” and
it was very
successful. I
published the
second book,
“Spiritism Is
Pop,” I am now
preparing the
third one and
organising
material for the
fourth one. It
is amazing how
the ideas come
flourishing once
you start up.
There is no
avoiding it now.
I have become a
Spiritist
writer!
Is there
anything else
you would like
to add?
I get sad when I
see that many
people think
Spiritism is
only about
healing and
getting messages
from people who
passed away. It
is a lot more
than that. It is
a liberating
philosophy,
which teaches
human beings to
write their own
destiny. It
teaches them to
live better with
themselves and
with other
people, to look
after the planet
and to help
achieve social
justice. No one
will change the
world for us;
each one of us
will need to do
our part.