“In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus. (John, 16:33.)

While living in this orb, we go through successive atonements and trials. After reflecting, we concluded that, in distressing moments, we count on the support of family members, rare true friends, possible readings and inspirations from the Spirits who love us and accept us as we are.

“Progress is one of the laws of Nature. All Creation beings, animate and inanimate, are subject to it (...). In this way, the progress of man, of animals, their auxiliaries, plants and that of habitation march in parallel, because nothing remains stationary in Nature.” (...) ¹

– Spirits – via reliable mediums – indicated the occurrence of these changes. Most of them in the last years of the 20th century. There are many others, in progress, imperceptible to most inhabitants of this beautiful planet.

The magazine Reformador (FEB) published these messages. Of them we highlight:

– Echoes of the Apocalypse - Bezerra/Maria C. Paiva, 11.11.74 – in Jun/76, p. 165;

– It's time! - Ismael/Maria C. Paiva, 04.13.78 – Jul/78, p. 211;

– New Era - Manuel Quintao/Maria C. Paiva, 11.19.81 – Jan/82, p. 13;

– The severe warning by Bezerra de Menezes - Oct/88, p. 310;

– New Era - Bittencourt Sampaio/J. Raul Teixeira, 10.01.89 – Oct/89, p. 312;

– Primacy of Love - Bezerra/Divaldo, 11.07.92 – Dec/92, p. 361;

– Message of Stimulus and Faith - Bezerra/Divaldo, 08.18.94 – Feb/95, p. 37;

– The New Era imposition - Bezerra/Divaldo, 11.06.94 – Dec/94, p. 357;

– The watchword is to continue – Bittencourt/Tania Souza Lopes, 01.02.96 –     May/96, p. 133;

– Exhortation - Bezerra/Divaldo, 10.05.97 – Jan/98, p. 24.

The transformation process will take a long time. When they come to fruition, extraordinary changes will occur – all the fruit of Love, which will overflow from our hearts:

– They will favor a legitimate, solidary fraternity, to eliminate injustices now reigning, generating dignified living conditions for those who live here, with the right to health, housing, education, pure water and the study of all the arts;

– This Love will extend to Nature (preserved, loved, with the purification of rivers, lakes and seas; with a true understanding that human beings, birds and animals are part of a whole that interacts reciprocally. We are interdependent, necessary to each other). And life will be preserved in all its expressions!

“Creating new needs, is civilization not the source of new afflictions?

(...) the richest is the one with the fewest needs.” ²

A precious lesson of the Spiritist Doctrine is the conquest of virtues, which improve our depths (key to individual progress). Among them, obedience and resignation:

“(...) Obedience is the consent of reason; resignation is the consent of the heart (...). ³

They are active forces because they carry the burden of the trials that the revolt drops.

“(...) obey the great law of progress, which is the word of your generation. Woe to the lazy Spirit, to the one who closes his understanding! Woe to him! Because we, who are the guides of Humanity on the march, will whip him and force his rebellious will, through the double action of the bridle and the spur. All proud resistance will have to give way sooner or later. (...)” ³

“(...) Life is difficult, I know it. (...) If, (...) we pay attention (...) to the consolations and compensations that (...) we receive, we must recognize that the blessings are much more numerous than the pains. (...)” ⁴

We are to prioritize our moral reform, for its value to the life of the Spirit:

“(...) You only thought about your body; your well-being, your pleasures (...). For him who dies, you have despised your Spirit, which will live forever. (...). Is that the purpose of the life that the Lord has given you?” ⁵

KNOWLEDGE OF YOURSELF ⁷

This improvement will take place as we reform our nature, correcting defects, acquiring new virtues and developing existing ones.

It is a theme developed in questions 919 and 919-a, of “The Book of Spirits” ⁶.

It is advisable to study it and apply its lessons daily. In the latter is the method recommended by Saint Augustine (Spirit), who used it in his life.

We refer any readers to them, so that they can get to know them and apply them in their lives, if they so wish. In the last one, the wise Spirit judiciously affirms:

“(...) Self-knowledge is, therefore, the key to individual progress. (...)”

Other sages refer to the importance of this learning. The Armenian thinker Gurdjieff (1866-1949) stands out.

At the beginning of the 20th century he recommended self-knowledge and its importance for living well. He outlined some rules of life that were highlighted at the French Institute of Anxiety and Stress in Paris:

a) Take ten-minute breaks for every two hours of work, maximum. Repeat these pauses in daily life and think about yourself, reflect on your attitudes.

b) Learn to say no without feeling guilty or feeling hurt. Wanting to please everyone is a huge drain.

c) Plan your day, but always leave plenty of room for improvisation, aware that not everything depends on you.

d) Focus on only one task at a time. No matter how nimble your mental frames are, you burn yourself out.

e) Forget, once and for all, that you are essential at work, at home, in the usual group. As much as it displeases you, everything goes without your performance, except yourself.

f) Give up being responsible for everyone's pleasure. You are not the fountain of desires, the eternal master of ceremonies.

g) Ask for help whenever necessary, having the good sense to ask the right people.

h) Differentiate real problems from imaginary problems and eliminate them, because they are pure waste of time and occupy mental space, precious for more important things.

i) Try to discover the pleasure of everyday acts such as sleeping, eating and bathing, without thinking that this is the most to be achieved in life.

j) Avoid getting involved in the anxiety and tension of others. Wait a while and then resume the dialogue, the action.

k) Know that the family is not you; it is with you, it makes up your world, but it is not your own identity.

l) Understand that closed principles and convictions can be a great weight, the beam of movement and search.

m) It is always necessary to have someone you can trust and talk to openly, at least within a radius of 100 kilometers.

n) Know the right time to leave the scene, to withdraw from the stage, to leave the circle. Never lose a sense of the subtle importance of a discreet exit.

o) Don't want to know if they talked bad about you and don't torment yourself with this mental garbage; listen to what they said well, with analytical reserve, without any conviction.

p) Competing in leisure, at work, in life together, is great... for those who want to get exhausted and miss out on the best.

q) Stiffness is good in stone, not in man. It has firmness, which is very different.

r) One hour of intense pleasure easily replaces three hours of lost sleep. Pleasure recomposes more than sleep. So don't miss the opportunity to have fun.

s) Do not abandon your three great and unshakable friends: intuition, innocence and faith.

t) Finally, understand once and for all, definitively and conclusively: you are what you make of yourself. (Source: psiconselhos website, mentioned in reflection.)

On another site (click here) there are eighty-three pieces of advice from Gurdjieff to his daughter. Among them:

1. Focus on yourself, be aware in every moment of what you think, feel, desire and do.

2. Always finish what you started.

3. Do what you're doing the best you can.

5. Develop your generosity without witnesses.

6. Treat each person as a close relative.

7. Tidy up what you messed up.

8. Learn to receive, appreciate every gift.

10. Do not lie or steal, for you will be lying and robbing yourself.

11. Help your neighbor without making him dependent.

13. Make work plans and stick to them.

14. Don't take up too much space.

15. Do not make unnecessary noises or gestures.

19. Share equitably.

21. Eat and sleep as much as necessary.

23. Do not judge or criticize when you are not aware of most of the facts.

26. Don't sell out.

27. Respect the contracts you have signed.

28. Be punctual.

29. Do not envy your neighbor's goods or success.

30. Speak only when necessary.

33. Fulfill your promises.

51. Pay for the services provided to you.

55. Never contradict, shut up.

56. Don't get into debt, buy and pay right away.

57. If you offend someone, apologize.

58. If you have offended publicly, apologize in public as well.

61. Do not keep useless objects.

62. Don't be adorned with other people's ideas.

67. Accept that nothing is yours.

68. When asked for your opinion on someone, speak only of their qualities.

69. When you are sick, instead of hating that evil, consider it your master.

74. If you decide to work for someone, try to do it with pleasure.

75. If you're in doubt about whether or not to do something, take a risk and do it.

78. Live with your own earnings.

82. Receive to share.

STUDY OF THE GOSPEL AT HOME

It is a valuable means to develop your intimate reform and, consequently, self-knowledge. It does not eliminate trials and expiations, but it inspires acceptance and resignation. It favors the influence of our benefactors, either through beneficial inspirations or through lessons received while the body is asleep.

HAPPINESS

In the Shadow of the Almond Trees ⁸

Do you see the almond trees and the shade they offer, which they spread around them? Because happiness is there.

In each of these shadows you find, wipe the sweat from your face; enjoy the freshness of the shade; delight in the gentleness of the breeze; rest...

Rest and forget the road; prolong your stop as long as you can... then you'll have to go on... and you'll go on until it's time to return.

This is happiness: little moments, little stops, patches of cool shade on the isolated road. Enjoy them whenever you find them along the way. And, prolong them, as long as you can, as long as possible. Enjoy your rest in these inviting shadow patches.

Sit down and fall asleep. Then, when you go further on, you will forget the friendly shadow, where you felt the fleeting kiss of happiness. But don't despair! You'll find it again, waiting for you, under another tree further on.

Don't do as I did, who, in my eagerness to meet it, I looked for it where it was not, I couldn't make out where it beckoned me.

And now, in the shadows of the almond trees, I only see nostalgia.

Don't give up before the scorching deserts, the stumbling blocks, the falls... walk... remember the shadows that approach and move on; looking for the next almond tree.

Premonitory verses from inspired poets reveal this coming tomorrow:

FINAL JUDGMENT

(Nelson Cavaquinho and Elcio Soares)

The sun will shine once more;

The light will reach hearts;

The seed of evil will be burned:

Love will be eternal again!

It's the final judgment

– The Story of Good and Evil –,

I want to have eyes to see:

Evil disappear!

Zelia Duncan offers us this beautiful song: click here

Jesus will complete these transformations. And "... there will be a flock and a shepherd..." (Jn-10:16)

Only then will happiness be of this world, when the transition from a world of expiations and trials to a planet of regeneration is completed!

It's our conclusion!

References:

1. KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism, chap. III, item 19, p. 89/90. – Saint Augustine. (Paris, 1862.).

2. KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Spirits. Translation by Evandro Noleto Bezerra. 2^nd ed. 1 print Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2011, q. 926, p. 561.

3. KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism, by the Spirit Lazarus. (Paris, 1863.) ch. IX, item 8, p. 195/6.

4. KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism, A friendly Spirit. (Le Havre, 1862) ch. IX, item 7, p. 195.

5. KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism, A Protecting Spirit. (Krakow, 1861) ch. XVI, item 12, p. 324.

6. KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Spirits trans. By Evandro Noleto Bezerra. 2^nd ed. 1 print Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2011, q. 919 and 919-a, p. 553 to 555.

7. Website: psiconselhos

8. CEGALLA, Domingos Paschoal. Portuguese for the Commercial College. SP: Co. National Publisher. In the shadow of almond trees, Sonia Dias p. 104.