Many years ago, I was going through a phase of uneasiness. I wanted to tell the world how much Christian I was, how wonderful Jesus was, how what He taught contained the whole truth, the real truth... and when I came across people from other religions who did not share my ideas, I was immediately upset. If I noticed that the matter caused unrest, I kept quiet, but I felt trapped, misunderstood, and as if I was treated unjustly. I wanted to shout to the world the blessings that had touched my soul since I was a child. I wanted to "save" people from ignorance, as if I were already a fount of knowledge…

That is when I decided to pay a visit to a dear friend, Mr. Spartaco Ghilardi, in Sao Paulo. Spartaco - who is presently already in the Spiritual World - was a close friend of Chico Xavier and the founder of the Spiritist Group Batuira, in Sao Paulo. During my visit, he listened to my sounds of annoyance and disdain with all that patience that I had not yet learned in life.

At the end of my speech, with just a few words, he went straight to the point: "My daughter... to be a Christian, you do not have to write the name of the Christ on your forehead. Just do what you have to do".
I never forgot that.

Since then I have devoted myself to studying (too) the many traditions of wisdom, the life of the great masters. And I found in all of them points in common with what Jesus taught us. And it is precisely regarding these points of connection that I hear my heart sing.

I began to realize that Truth can be found in all cultures, in all ages... and my pride has been diminishing, as it should be.
Then, at a certain point in my life, I had to ask myself: "Why, why am I a Christian? Then, why did I not choose any other philosophy to guide my life?”

Thinking about this, I realized that in Jesus I find all the points that have a meaning: the sacred that is in the body, in the mind, in the social field and in spirituality. In Jesus I learned about forgiveness, acceptance, reincarnation, welcome to the marginalized, the meaning of education, and so on. All concepts fit my soul well, forming a robust, impeccable philosophy that cannot be altered, even if, in religious practice, reality is sometimes different...
I understand that it represents "The Path, the Truth and the Life" (John 14: 6), as He said, shortly before the crucifixion. His examples and words have these three elements, so essential to reach our ultimate goal: our most divine state – the angelic nature.

When I think of the "Path," something comes to my mind like "a gentle path where peace is present". I think of a trip, in which the day is clear, beautiful trees, birds in the sky, and the sun is shining ... nature is lush, the quiet lane, the comfortable car, and the heart open to all of this.  It is a journey in which I can be open and present, with a contemplative and grateful mind. Even if the weather turns, and the dark clouds appear, I can see the beauty also in this. If I need to slow down, because of a more dangerous road, no problem. Even then, I shall feel peace. If there is anyone needing something, I can stop, help, and then move on. All this I can do without disconnecting myself from the feeling of goodness, and the beautiful. And the best part: this path leads me to an even better place...

The Path proposed by Jesus is also of thorns, I know it, but for this there is a reason. And, being the Master the one who comforts, He warned that those who follow this path will be blessed... because, despite pain and mourning, no despair, no imbalances, no feelings of helplessness.

When I think of what He calls the "Truth", I remember the Gospels, the parables that simply and directly speak of God, of Life, of the essential. I remember His lessons for the helpless, the despairing and the proud; of how the ego receives special attention, with its defenses and lack of knowledge, being pointed by Jesus as the great obstacle to the Truth. When I read and interpret the life of Jesus, I perceive the Truth not as a concept, but as an accomplishment, as a practice. He lived what He said - that is why we call Him the Master.

And yes, Jesus is Life! Not only because He raised the dead, but because he shows the true life we ​​can live on both the Earth and the in the spiritual worlds: life as a sacred experience, as an opportunity for learning, of exchange, and of work; life that teaches us the law of impermanence, the value of existence itself; and life that, from the perspective of the death of the body, can be filled with meaning and value when we look at it with wisdom.

When we perceive Life from the perspective of Jesus, we value it as a sacred moment.

In the book Jesus in the Home, by Neio Lucio – a psychographics by Francisco Candido Xavier - there is a chapter "The Divine Talisman". In it, Elizabeth, the beloved cousin of Mary, the mother of John the Baptist, at one point asks: "Lord, will you have with you some talisman the virtue of which we may enjoy? Any magic object that might help us?"

How can you criticize her regarding her request to the Master? Who among us would not want a talisman capable of withdrawing all sorrows from us, making life easier?

To our amazement, Neo Lucio states that Jesus answered that unusual question with a "yes"! That such a talisman exists and that it can produce truly "miraculous" effects. Jesus said that when we use it wisely, we can reach the Kingdom of the Father more quickly, for such a talisman offers us the gifts of love, revealing the truth, allowing sowings of joy, with opportunities for peace, work, access to the great Masters, and so on.

I confess that reading the beginning of this chapter, curiosity was great. What is this "divine talisman"?

Jesus answers: "This blessed talisman, Elizabeth, is common property to all. It is “the time we are living”... Every minute of our soul remains clothed with a prodigious occult power, when we know how to use it in the Infinite Good, because all greatness and all decay, all victory and all ruin begin with the collaboration of the day. [...] Time is the divine talisman that we should take advantage of".

Therefore, in Life the only real, efficient tool capable of improving things is called "time". It is a tool that we should use with wisdom, with respect and attention.

In fact, I believe that here we should think of the difference between "spending time" and "investing time". In the first case, we play life, careless, like robots programmed only for material experiences. When we are lucid, attentive, focused on what really matters, we take care of our material aspect, in a sacred way, but not only: we give due attention to the psychic, social and spiritual aspects, aware that everything matters for our global, real, and continuous progress. We invest our sacred time with everything that really matters.

Time, the here and now, what we sow today is the certainty of harvest, in the tomorrow.

So if we take Jesus for what He himself said: as the Way, the Truth and the Life, we must understand that considering the time well lived, we can tread this road, knowing and living the truth, taking care to live with wisdom. Something like the basic thinking of engineering: in the shortest time possible, with the greatest possible use, with the least possible expense (pain and errors), get the best result possible.

And when we realize this, when we take this model as our ideal (living to the best of our ability), we are Christians, even without ever uttering the name of Christ. Just as on that day, many years ago, my dear friend Spartaco told me...