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Translation Renata Rinaldini - renatarinaldini@hotmail.com Spiritual obsession, cause of the great human anguishes To secure ourselves against its influences one must strengthen faith through mental renewal and through the practice of good within the framework of evangelical codes Dear Colleagues, once in a while we are asked why living on Earth is so complicated and life is so often bitter? I answer by saying that this sensation can eventually be an aspiration to happiness and freedom and that, as we are handcuffed to a physical wrapping which serves us as a prison, we apply useless effort to get out of it. However, some fall into discouragement, and reverberate their lamentations all the time. However, we need to resist energetically despondency and sensations of despair, because the dreams of happiness of living are intrinsic to all men, though we must not eagerly look for them only in the material and the transitory experience of earthly life. Commenting on melancholy, we find the Spirit Francois de Geneve dictating the following passage in the book The Gospel according to Spiritism: Remember, during your exile here on Earth, you have a mission to fulfil that you do not even suspect; be it dedicating yourself to your family or fulfilling the various obligations bestowed upon you by God. If within the course of this exiled probation, while seeking exoneration, you feel about to collapse through anxiety, uneasiness, or tribulations, be strong and courageous enough to support these pressures. Stand up to them with resolution for they will soon pass. These are the only means by which you may reach those for whom you pine and who, jubilant at seeing you once again amongst them, will hold out their hands towards you so as to guide you to regions inaccessible to earthly afflictions. FRANCOIS DE GENEVE (Bordeaux).* There are, however, many disappointments which can have their origins in the infidelity to Christian commitments, hence melancholy is installed in the being, which can result in an obsessive process. Etymologically speaking, the term obsession has its origin in the word obsessione, a Latin word meaning impertinence, persecution. For some studious spiritist people, obsession is perceived as a great worldwide scourge. This view is of utmost gravity in society, which is nowadays well advanced technologically, be it in the fields of communication and computing, or be it in other areas of knowledge, broadening and deepening the responsibilities of each one of us before collective life. Obsession is a maleficent influence upon the mind The Portuguese language Dictionary Aurelio Buarque defines obsession as being a preoccupation with a determined fixed idea, which dominates the spirit in a sickly manner, resulting or not from repressed feelings; fixed idea; mania. In the same way the term obsession is used in a vulgar way, to mean a fixed idea on something, a nervous tic, a generator of manias, strange attitudes, and so on. However, according to the spiritist point of view, the term has a broader meaning and interpretation. It is embodied in a maleficent influence relatively persistent which discarnated and/or incarnated, as much as
perfect strategists who plan every step and have been following their prey for some time, observing their tendencies, their relationships and their ideals. They identify their preys vulnerable points (which are almost always to do with misguided sexual choices) Thought is exteriorised and is projected, forming images and suggestions which are hurled into the objectives that one proposes to reach. When thought is good and edifying, it is adjusted to the Laws which rule us, creating harmony and happiness; however, when unbalanced and depressing, it establishes anguish and ruin. Mental chemistry acts as a basis of all transformations because we really evolve in deep telepathic communion with all those incarnated and discarnated who are similar to us. Our mental universe is like a sky, but beneficial sunbeams and rain fall from the heavens towards planetary life, as well as, during the instant of friction between atmospheric elements and from the same sky, destructive electrical arcs. From it, balancing and restorative forces are originated for the trillions of cells of the physical body, but, when perturbed, it emits magnetic rays of highly destructive content towards our psychic structure. In question 466 of The Spirits Book, the master from Lyon asked the Spirits why does God permit spirits to incite us to evil? Their answer was: "Imperfect spirits are used by Providence as instruments for trying men's faith and constancy in well-doing. You, being a spirit, must advance in the knowledge of the infinite. It is for this end that you are made to pass through the trials of evil in order to attain to goodness. Our mission is to lead you into the right road. When you are acted upon by evil influences, it is because you attract evil spirits to you by your evil desires, for evil spirits always come to aid you in doing the evil you desire to do; they can only help you to do wrong when you give way to evil desires. If you are inclined to commit murder, you will have about you a swarm of spirits who will keep this inclination alive in you; but you will also have others about you who will try to influence you for good, which restores the balance, and leaves you of your decision." Moral renewal as a basis for spiritual disobsession2 The venerable Codifier, in The Mediums Book, affirms that moral imperfections give access to obsessors and the safest environment to get rid of them is to attract good Spirits through the practice of good. Obsession is impotent in face of redeemed Spirits! And what is a redeemed Spirit? It is one who recognises its limitations and, as announced by Apostle Paul, feels happiness in knowing itself to be enrolled in the school of good This psycho-spiritual disarrangement should be eliminated from society in the instant that the legitimate example of love is experienced and disseminated in all directions, according to what Jesus consolidated and experienced up to the bitterness of his death, continuing from apostolic times until today. Spiritism, unveiling the intervention of the Spirits hardened in evil
in our lives, casts light on questions still ignored by materialistic sciences as a cause of psychopathology. Many times Christ was sought out by obsessed people and he penetrated the causes of their restlessness and, using of his moral authority, freed both, obsessed and obsessors, allowing them to awaken to an exciting life towards recuperation and the pacification of the conscience. However, it is very important to remember that Jesus did not free the obsessed without imposing upon them the non-transferable need for inner reform, nor did he drive out the unconscious pursuers without giving them the address of God. Conclusion In synthesis, we always identify in spiritual obsession the result of a lack of vigilance and moral deviations. In order to guard us against its influence we should strengthen faith through mental renovation and through the practice of good within the evangelical codes proposed by Jesus Christ, not forgetting the divine advice of Watch and Pray. JORGE HESSEN jorgehessen@gmail.com Brasilia, Distrito Federal (Brasil) Sources: Kardec, Allan. The Gospel according to Spiritism Rio de Janeiro: published by FEB, 2001, Chapter 5, item 25 Electronic Aurelio Dictionary; 21st century. Rio de Janeiro, Nova Fronteira e Lexicon Computer, 1999, CD-rom, 3.0 version. Xavier, Francisco Candido. In the domains of mediumship, Rio de Janeiro: FEB edition, 2001, Chapter: Telepathic Domination Kardec, Allan.The Spirits Book, 2003, question 466 Kardec, Allan. The Mediums Book, Rio de Janeiro: published by FEB, 1987- (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; LuKe 21:36 e Peter 5:8). Revue Spirite, February, March and June 1864. The obsessed young woman from Marmande. Kardec, Alan. What is Spiritism, Chapter 2, The pitfalls of mediums, Rio de Janeiro: published by FEB, 2003 Kardec, Allan. The Gospel according to Spiritism, Summary of the doctrine of Socrates and Plato, item 19, Rio de Janeiro: FEB edition, 2001. *Transcript from Allan Kardecs book The Gospel according to Spiritism English translation from 3rd edition of the original French, translator Janet Duncan, 1987 1Translators note: Obsessor: a perturbed and lost spirit attached to a person, thus, causing a maleficent impression on his victim. Hence its victim denomination - obsessed person. 2*Translators note: Disobsession (Deobsession): In Spiritism, it is the practice whereby mediums receive lost and perturbed spirits and whereby another member of the spiritist centre talks to the spirit and evangelizes or indoctrinates it. These lost and perturbing spirists are not necessarily linked to the specific victims, and the people who have spirit attached to them do not need to be present at the disobsession meeting. (Non-Spiritists may refer to disobsession as exorcism which is a word rejected by Spiritists because of its implication, that is, it implies demons or other non-human spirits)(David J. Hess Spirits and Scientists Ideology, Spiritism and Brazilian Culture, 1991) - (Extract from book Obsession, Passes, Counselling by Herculano Pires translation by Jussara Korngold and Marie Levinson SAB, 2004, New York)
Translation of Marcelo Minal marcelominal@yahoo.com.br(*) "The harshest trials are almost always the indication of the end to suffering and to a certain perfecting of the Spirit, as long as they are accepted with all thought focused on God"(1) Everything has a reason to be in human life. Indeed nothing happens by chance, neither the most tragic occurrences. The chaos in Santa Catarina seems to us an evident case of 'collective ransom'. Tragic happenings on Earth, like this one, invites us to an important reflection in order to understand that through them mankind acquires more experience, developing the mind and the heart, thus valuing every single moment in life. In fact there is always plausible explanation for every single tragedy. Why thousands of people perished swallowed by the waves of the Tsunami (a catastrophe of so huge consequences that shocked the entire world)? The answer to these questions regarding collective misfortunes, and many others, can only be fulfilled by the Spiritism that brings consolation to the afflicted human heart, through the rays of reason on clear, coherent and deep answers. Indeed, natural or accidental disasters, like the Santa Catarina's, cause hundreds or thousands of victims. Moreover, the media, press or online websites, portrays the image of the misfortunes, like the current one, with much more vivid colors as the poor population try to collect what is left and face the loss of many people. In many situations the causal link between catastrophe and human action is present. (2) Currently, it is not necessary to have prophetic skills to foresee the gloomy scenery of our planet's future. We have the conscience that we are in the imminence of ecologic disasters, with no precedents, on the collision course between mankind and nature. In 1985, the scientists identified a hole in the ozone layer, above the Antarctic, that continues to grow, frighteningly. The reduction of the ozone contributes to the "greenhouse effect". The consequences of this are catastrophic, as the overheating and the alteration of the climate, bringing about hurricanes, severe storms and even earthquakes. The "El Nino" and "La Nina" effects are also worrying as it speeds up the melting of the icebergs, increasing, consequently, the sea level and flooding the coastal side. We can notice that by the register of reduction of the ice covering of Himalaya, Andes, and Kilimanjaro Mount. The only sky station in Bolivia, Chacaltaya, had to finish its activities, due to the lack of snow in that region. Why don't we organize ourselves in order to adopt urgent prevention measures, avoiding, thus, bigger problems, that means, an ecologic chaos to ourselves and, mainly, to the future generations, instead of being just stand there as spectators? We must watch out for these facts, keep the eyes opened to the alert of the specialists, since it is quite clear that it is only a question of time for the tragic consequences of these forecasts begins to influence, brutally, our lives and, mainly, the lives of our next generations. Destructive calamities happen in order to make men develop faster. The destruction is necessary
for the moral regeneration of spirits, as they accomplish, in each new existence, a new degree of improvement. "You judge merely from your personal point of view, and you therefore regard those inflictions as calamities, because of the temporary injury they cause you; but such upsettings are often needed in order to make you reach more quickly a better order of things, and to effect, in a few years, what you would otherwise have taken centuries to accomplish."(3) Moreover, these destructive calamities are important in the physical point of view notwithstanding the adversities caused by them, for "they sometimes change the state of a country, but the good that results from them is often one that will be felt by the future generations".(4) Concerning the subject of the 'collective ransom', many spiritual authors explain that the ones involved on violent crimes, due to their debits in their conscience, reincarnates on the Earth and get into groups, in a determined time and place in order to suffer accidental deaths of the same nature, including natural calamities Thus before we reincarnate, weighed down with debits, we are advised, in the spirit-world, of the ways which we can pay the debits in the next life and the inherent risks of such experience. But there is no determinism, since it depends a lot on the experience, debits and merits accumulated in our several previous lives. Moreover there is a great many circumstances to consider, as the "cause-and-effect law" is considerably flexible. Bear in mind that love rules the life and "charity shall cover the multitude of sins".(5) Emmanuel explains that: "the collective trials consist on convocations of incarnated spirits who share the same debit which is rooted on a felonious and obscure past. The justice mechanism, according to the payback law, works spontaneously through Christ's laborers who summon the debtor partners to collective ransom. This is the reason why you often call "painful chance" the circumstances which assemble, in the same accident, the most varied sort of people. In addition, these accidents cause the death of the physical body or the most varied kinds of mutilations, corresponding to each one's commitment." (6a) Inexorably the Law will always lead back to the correct road the ones who follow the short cuts of evil. For the past determines the present, that determines the future, and so on. As the Holy Bible states "if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death."(6b) But it is quite important to remember that not all the suffering means expiation. According to the Gospel According To Spiritism, item 9, chapter V, Kardec elucidates that "it is not to be thought, however, that all suffering in this world denotes the existence of a determined shortcoming. Many times it is simply an ordeal requested by the Spirit, which will help it towards purification and active progress." (7) It is important to notice that the environment in which the Spirit was born frequently constitutes part of its trials and/or expiations
as it bears a considerable influence upon its personality. Therefore, it is quite important that the enlightened heart labors upon its own development, thus helping morally and physically everyone around its zone of influence. Jorge Hessen E-Mail: jorgehessen@gmail.com Site: http://jorgehessen.net (*)"Sugestoes e correcoes da traducao: marcelominal@yahoo.com.br" SOURCES: 1. KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel according to Spiritism. (Translated by J. A. Duncan.) SP, Lake Ed. 1st Edition, April 2005. (Chapter 14, page 191, 192); 2. According to a research, since 1980, on Santa Catarina happened, 3.375 decrees of emergency situation and public calamity due to natural disasters. This means 1.299 for flood, 555 for spate, 502 for gales, 492 for drought. In 1990, a plan was made to enlarge the Itajai-Acu river, a channel of 10 km, to change the river's course, flowing the excess of water on the sea. So far, this project is stopped at the 'Congresso Nacional'. 3. KARDEC, Allan. The Spirit's Book. (Translated by Anna Blackwell) SP, LakeEd. 10th Edition. (Page 306, question 737); 4. KARDEC, Allan. The Spirit's Book. (Translated by Anna Blackwell) SP, LakeEd. 10th Edition. (Page 307, question 739); 5. The King James Bible - Project Gutenberg Etext - August, 1989. The Second General Epistle of Peter (4:8) 6a. Xavier, Francisco Candido. O Consolador, dictated by the spirit Emmanuel, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. FEB, 2001, Question 250. (Our translation) 6b.The King James Bible - Project Gutenberg Etext - August, 1989. The Fourth Book of Moses: Called Numbers (35:26) 7. KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism. (Translated by J. A. Duncan.) SP, Lake Ed. 1st Edition, April 2005. (Chapter 5, Item 9, page 79);
but is perfectly acceptable under the light of reincarnation". (3) Item 202 of The Spirits' Book, Allan Kardec asked the Spirits: " Does a spirit, when existing in the spirit-world, prefer to be incarnated as a man or as a woman?" "That is a point in regard to which a spirit is indifferent, and which is always decided in view of the trials which he has to undergo in his new corporeal life." (4) Genetics has tried to find genes which would explain homosexuality as being a sexual disorder. Psychiatry has tried to find brain enzymes which could influence in sexual behavior. Some sexologists have explained that it's a sexual preference (and we recall that the expression option has been officially abolished). But the real origin of the sex is not found in the physical vehicle, but in the complex structure of the Spirit. Only by this point should we face questions related to sex. "Human collectivity will learn, gradually, to understand that the concepts of normality and abnormality are not enough when it's all about morphological signs" (5) With the sexual freedom in modern society, tolerance towards homosexuality has increased We can't confuse homosexuality with character disorder, even because sexual slips of any tendency have several origins. Its genesic roots may come from impenetrable inner depths. "Phylogenetics (6) of the sex itself, which apparently starts in the mineral kingdom, going through the plants and the animal one, for then get to man's, shows an array of different forms, including auto-genesis [spontaneous generation] of viruses and cells and the bisexuality of hermaphrodites" (7), and this would justify for some researchers the appearance of what could be congenital sexual disorders. With the sexual freedom in modern society, tolerance towards homosexuality has increased, allowing many people "to come out the closet", thanks for the fight of homosexuals for their rights around the world, even forcing the change of legislatures. Chico Xavier explains, clearly, the following: "I can't see any reasons for criticism or mockery towards our brothers and sisters with homosexual tendencies, as we understand, as clear as the heterosexual ones that most human creatures have. In my notions of dignity of the spirit, I can't understand the reason why this or that social prejudice would impede a certain number of people to work and be useful to community life, solely for the fact that having brought innate psychological and physiological characteristics different from the majority. (...) I've never seen parents, aware of the important mission assigned by the Divine Providence, to reject a child for being born blind or handicapped. Would our conduct be human and just in patterns of disdain and rejection, to our brothers that are born with psychological difficulties?" (8) I think it's important to say here that psychological difficulties happen due to the fact of prejudice. Once prejudice is overcome, by the person itself, the psychological conflict ceases. Of course it would be too much to ask Chico to go so far in his explanations, even because of the date of the interview, it was a courageous act. The
"distinguish in the sex the core of superior energies that the Creator gives to the creature to balance the activities, feeling the task of protecting them against the susceptible deviations. "Sex is a renovating source of body and soul ". (13) As soon as the leaning towards homosexuality is identified in this dimension of existence, it's paramount to give them proper educative support, at the same way it's done with the heterosexual majority of the society. We believe, in the end, that such ideas might take, to those who read it, meditation about the subject, remembering that homosexuality transcends in itself the simple question of sexual exchange. Jorge Hessen E-Mail: jorgehessen@gmail.com Site: http://jorgehessen.net Bibliography: (1) Xavier, Francisco Candido. Life and Sex, Emmanuel, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. FEB, 2001. (2) Science has already found homosexuality in diverse species. There's homosexuality even in insects. It shows that homosexuality is a manifestation like any other in Nature, or more properly speaking: it is part of God's work. (3) Xavier, Francisco Candido. Life and Sex, Emmanuel, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. FEB, 2001. (4) Kardec, Allan. The Spirits' Book, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Feb, 2000, item 202 (5) Xavier, Francisco Candido. Life and Sex, Emmanuel, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. FEB, 2001. (6) Phylogenetics (evolutionary history of species) opposes to Ontogeny (refers to the history of an organism from birth, as opposed to its genetic makeup). (7) Accessed on April 24, 2006 (8) Spiritist Journal, March 1984 (9) The recommendation of Spiritism about the respect and comprehension for our brothers who have inverse sexual conditions (homosexuals) occurs because of the feeling of fraternity or charity that must happen in the human relationship, but also for the fact that none of us has enough authority to condemn whoever it is, since everybody has their moral/material difficulties. (10) John, chap. VIII, vv. 3 - 11 (11) Accessed on April 24, 2006 (12) Xavier, Francisco Candido. Life and Sex, Emmanuel, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. FEB, 2001. (13) Xavier, Francisco Candido. Spiritist Conduct, Andre Luiz, Rio de Janeiro: Ed. FEB, 2001.