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What is Spiritism?
What is a Spiritist Society?
The Principles of Spiritism (
Philosophy,
Reincarnation,
Mediumship,
Allan Kardec )
Spiritism is a
collection of philosophical principles and laws, revealed through spirit
communications, which were compiled and codified by Allan Kardec during the
1850's. The Doctrine of Spiritism as defined by Allan Kardec, also
known as Kardecist Spiritism or Kardecism, can be described as a
philosophical doctrine with moral implications.
Spiritist Societies or Spiritist Centers are non-profit organizations dedicated
to the study, practice, and spreading of the knowledge of spiritual laws,
with its implications in religious philosophy and science. This is the body
of knowledge we call Spiritism. It explains where we come from,
the purpose of life, and the reason for suffering. The word “Spiritism” was
coined in 1857,
to distinguish it from Spiritualism, by the French Professor and Educator whose pen name was Allan Kardec.
Its scientific aspects and its moral and religious precepts, have
been studied and practiced for approximately 150 years.
 | Philosophy:
 | God: God is the Supreme Intelligence of the Universe and First Cause of
All Things. The
Creator is All Love, All Just, and All Powerful. |
| Spirit: Spirits are the
intelligent beings of the creation. The community of all spirits
connected, form a greater unity, which is the Spirit. From the
perspective of the spirit world, humans are incarnated spirits; this
implies that in essence we are all spirits having a human experience. |
| Human Duality: A human being has
a physical (biological) body and a soul (or spirit). From the human
perspective there are two planes of existence, the material (physical)
and the spiritual (ethereal) worlds, which constantly interact upon each
other. |
| Law of Cause and Effect: For
every action there is a reaction. In other words, "we reap what we sow".
This implies self responsibility. Our actions, positive or negative,
will have a similar effect on ourselves either in our present life, or
in the the spirit world (afterlife), or in future incarnations
(reincarnation). The Law of Cause and Effect is an expression of Divine
Justice. This is why the Golden Rule makes perfect sense, "do unto
others what you want others do unto you". |
| Law of Progress: Spirits evolve
intellectually and morally. During their evolution, spirits go through
different hierarchical levels.
Spirits progress by setting their own path towards relative perfection
and by working on it. Having human experiences is part of the spiritual
evolution process. Spiritual progress is always open to all. It is
through the practice of Love, Forgiveness, and Compassion that we
facilitate our own soul progression. |
| Law of Affinity: Like attracts
like. This law applies to the spirit world and to communications between
spirits and humans; that is the phenomena called mediumship. In the
spirit world, spirits tend to organize in groups that have similar level of
vibration (level of spiritual evolution). The Law of Affinity applied to
mediumship states that persons endowed with this faculty are more
easily able to communicate with the spirits in the spirit world when
they are in a mental state where they can tune to the
vibrations of the communicating spirits. |
| Jesus Christ: According to the
numerous spirit communications received from various trusted sources,
the man named Jesus of Nazareth was the most spiritually advanced and
morally superior spirit to have incarnated on this Earth. His mission
was to provide us with a living example of the level of love, goodness,
and values that human beings can attain on this planet. Spiritists
consider Jesus to be a model for
all humankind and strive to follow Jesus' teachings. That is why many Spiritists call themselves Christians. |
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Reincarnation:
| Reincarnation allows evolution of the soul. Spirits reincarnate into
successive material existences in order to evolve intellectually and
morally. Humans have a degree of free will while living on planet Earth,
although they are subjects to natural laws including the Law of Cause
and Effect. When spirits return to their home in the spirit world, they
have the option to come back to Earth for another life lesson. Most
spirits choose this option many times. |
| The goal of reincarnation (or soul evolution) is to reach relative
perfection. Then reincarnation is no longer necessary and there is no
need for suffering. Human beings determine their own path by the choices
they make in this process. To love, to forgive, and to be compassionate
are some of the lessons spirits should learn to apply while incarnated
on Earth. |
| The spirits of human beings do NOT reincarnate into the bodies
of animals. Reincarnation is soul evolution, this implies that
regression to less evolved life forms in not
possible. |
| Each person’s actions or non-actions (in thought, word, and
deed) are subject to the Law of Cause and Effect. Each
person must, during their material existences, expiate and atone for its
current and past life indiscretions, and make appropriate
reparations. This allows for spiritual balance and soul progression.
We always receive assistance throughout our spiritual journey from spirit
guides assigned to us. |
| We are responsible for any wrongs we have committed, and for any
good we could have done, but failed to do. In some cases spiritual progress
may be very, very slow. It may take myriads of material existences
to reach our goal. But, the path of redemption is never closed and
ALL can reach relative perfection and communion with God. There is no such place as
a “Heaven” or a “Hell” -- our behavior and the choices we make determine our set of
circumstances and our conditions, in the material world and as well
as in the spirit world. |
| There are many inhabited worlds in the Universe. Spirits
incarnate as human beings on our planet Earth, but they can also
incarnate in other inhabited worlds of the universe. Also, spirits from other worlds (more or less developed than Earth) can
incarnate in our planet. We
are told that at any given time there are a lot more disincarnated spirits
(in the spirit world) than there are incarnated in all inhabited worlds,
so as world population grows there is always plenty of spirits ready
to incarnate in the new physical bodies. |
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| Mediumship:
| According to the practices of Spiritism, mediumship is a sacred
faculty and should be solemnly practiced. Consequently, mediumship
should not to be used for profit or material gain. Mediumship is
mainly a tool or instrument to be used by the
spirit world for communications with human beings. It has the Divine purpose of
revealing to mankind the Universal Spiritual Laws, instructing
mankind regarding the true purpose of existence; the reason why
mankind needs to progress and evolve; and, it assists in clarifying
what our relationship is to the Creator. Mediumship acts as a
doorway between the two worlds, the spiritual and the material. |
| There are some inherent dangers in practicing mediumship, specially
with inexperienced mediums. According to the Law of Affinity, when the
faculty of mediumship is not used for the higher good, the medium could
attract imperfect spirits that may cause several psychological and
physiological problems. That is why the advise
to "test the spirits" is so important. Mediums can and should be trained to learn
how to develop and control their mediumship skills, including working
with their assigned spiritual guides, so they can successfully fulfill
their missions. |
| All human beings are mediums to some extend since we can all
spontaneously receive communications and help from the spirit world in many different ways; during sleep, in lucid dreams, during
prayer or meditation, through synchronicities (which are apparent
coincidences with deep personal meaning), as special feelings or
intuitions, or through other people that may be mediums themselves
without knowing it. |
| Spiritism emphasizes that the practice of mediumship in spirit
communications should be sincere,
instructive, and serious, to be distinguished by the subjects
discussed, which should convey the teachings of morally superior
spirits on points of philosophy, science, and moral values. They can
also be
used to assist those spirits who need help orientating
themselves to their change from this material world into the spirit
world; in addition, it is an avenue for spirits who have gone on
before us, to communicate with their loved ones still here; and, it
can be used to provide for spiritual healing. The study of
mediumship phenomena is also very important from the scientific
point of view since it provides proof of the reality of the soul and life after physical
death. |
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| Allan Kardec:
| Allan Kardec was the pen name of Hippolyte Leon Denizard Rivail. He
was born in Lyon, France on
October 3, 1804. He was well educated and became a professor
involved in public education. He wrote
books on mathematics and French grammar. As a Professor, he taught
all subjects, especially the sciences, and he spoke six languages.
He opened his own school in 1825. In 1831, he married Amelie
Gabrielle Boudet, who was also a teacher. They had no children. |
| In the mid 1800’s in America and Europe, phenomena called “table
rapping” became a sensation that eventually developed into an
outpouring of important spirit communications. At the urging of a
friend, Kardec attended a séance, and when convinced of the reality
of the spirit world, he devoted his entire life to studying spirit
communications. He established the Parisian Society of
Psychological Studies and was its President until his death. His group, plus other similar societies
throughout Europe, received much information from the spirit world.
Kardec himself was NOT a medium. |
| After analyzing and collating the spirit communications
received, enough material was supplied for him to publish several
books. These books contain what is considered the foundation of the
Spiritist Doctrine (Spiritual Science); the science of the
interaction of the spirit world and material world, with its philosophical
and religious implications. These five books are: The
Spirits Book (The Principles of the Spiritist Doctrine), The Mediums
Book (Practical Instruction Regarding Spirit Manifestations), The
Gospel (Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine), Heaven and Hell (The
Divine Justice Vindicated in the Plurality of Existences), and
Genesis (Miracles and Prophecies explained through Science). Many are now in English, but a
few are still only available in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. |
| The word Spiritism was coined by Allan Kardec in The Spirits'
Book in 1857 to distinguish it from the concept of Spiritualism.
Allan Kardec did not conceived Spiritism as a religion. Spiritism,
according to Allan Kardec, is a philosophical doctrine with moral
implications. However, because the moral implications of the
doctrine are very similar to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the
ethical values of Christianity in general, many Spiritists consider
themselves Christians in values. Although, as Kardec intended, the message
of Spiritism is offered in love to all human beings, of all cultures, all
religious beliefs, and all denominations.
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