this interview, he also talks about his book Drogas: Causas, Consequências e Recuperação (Drugs: Causes, Consequences and Recovery).

O Consolador: Your book Drogas: Causas, Consequências e Recuperação (Drugs: Causes, Consequences and Recovery), was edited by EME, and is now on its 4th edition. It is well accepted within the spiritist movement. When did you get involved with such a detailed approached on drugs?

Our State Spiritist Union requested in 2004 a course to be programmed on chemical dependence, which would help to orientate the spiritist families. We elaborated a 32 hour course. It was available not only for spiritist families to attend but for audiences from public and private schools. The Antidrug Municipal Council from our neighbour city Rancharia attended, as well as students from São Paulo State University Tupã. We had 150 attendees in this course, which even issued certificates of attendance.  

O Consolador: There is a lack of debates around this theme within the spiritist movement. What do you think is keeping us distant from this topic? 

I feel grateful for being breaching this barrier within the spiritist movement. I have been working hard to make sure there is an open and honest discussion about drugs within the institutions I go to, and the feedback has been great. I believe the movement lacks people who are prepared to discuss this subject in detail. The impression I get is that spiritists do not see themselves subject to the influence of drugs. This is a big mistake, since we are human beings subject to failure. That is why it is important to breach this barrier.

O Consolador: Have you seen many cases in your consulting room? How do you deal with them?

Unfortunately, the number of drug addicts in increasing. The use of drugs starts at home, when parents are giving their children medications for no reason.  Many parents are now getting home and adopting the following attitudes: ‘I need a beer to relax’; ‘I need to take a sleeping pill’. If we take into account education is a result of living in society, children realise then they can sort their needs by taking substances. Parents are missing the opportunity to teach children to live as naturally as possible by dealing with difficulties using their innate abilities. Besides this strong influence, drugs became very popular and easy accessible. This explains the high number of drug users worldwide.  

26 million people; or 0.6% of the world population use drugs. Out of the world population (6.5 billion people), 208 million have tried some kind of drugs... What are they looking for? They lack objectives and an existential goal. That’s why they are searching everywhere for something. 

Shakespeare said: If you don't know where to go, anywhere is the place. We have been working a lot of people who are involved with drugs in the last years. We have been working with chemical dependents for the last 25 years and it is not an easy task to deal with them. It requires patience, dedication, knowledge and firmness.  We can work with them in three different levels: medical-clinical evaluation, psychiatric evaluation, and prescription of medications, psychological therapy and, in some cases, hospital intervention.

O Consolador: Do you attend people involved with chemical dependence at the spiritist centre? How has the institution being dealing with it?

People need to be qualified in order to be able to deal with people involved with chemical dependence. We have reinforced this point at the course in 2004. As said previously, there is a lack of people trained to attend drug addicts at the centres. I once took part on a disobsession group that attended many spirits who disincarnated via drugs. These mediums extensively studied the topic, and were also prepared physically and organically to deal with these type of spirits. They also had to be morally and spiritually adjusted, since their vibration was, sometimes, unbearable for the mediums’ minds and body. Because of this level of difficulty, the group didn’t continue to work.

O Consolador: It is noticeable from the index of your book the depth of your approach. Can you please tell us how you approach the damages caused by drugs in families and in the society?

The damages start with the health of the person who uses drugs. Besides, the family is hit and sees the user doing things they could never possibly imagine they would do, such as steal their relatives, hit them physically or verbally.

O Consolador: How much spiritual damage is caused to the individual?

The individual who gets involved with drugs gets away from his existential path. He changes his path by compromising his present and also his future in the spiritual world. He compromises his perispirit. The book presents some texts from André Luiz stating the consequences of drugs, its mental and physical implications after disincarnating. It also talks about the implications drugs lead the individual to, such as acts of cruelty, suicide and other evil behaviour. There is another problem, which is the influence of disincarnated spirits who are also addicted to drugs. They lead the user to drug abuse and even death via overdoses. 

O Consolador: How can the Spiritist Doctrine help to reduce the number of chemical dependents? 

Whoever adopts the spiritist principles for themselves will get an itinerary which will guide them. The spiritist doctrine offers us an understanding of our existence. It places the human existence as a path of instruction and learning that guides us through the world. I suggest at the book some actions such as:

• Discuss with young people the problems that drugs can cause to the incarnated spirit. We should also talk about sexuality, love affairs, romance, pregnancy, aids and different types of drugs.

·   Integrate drug users in the centres’ activities, rather than discriminate and reject them.

·    Lead them to spiritual counselling.

·   Incentivise spiritist teachings for children and youth at the centres, especially the centres that still don’t have this activity in place.

·      Stimulate the people who come to centres to start weekly Gospel at Home sessions; especially the family involved with a drug addict who in under treatment.

O Consolador: What type of feedback did you get with your book? Have you been travelling and speaking at different centres?

The book has been well accepted. There is a lack of books in this are. We were on our 3rd edition last year and the book was already on the top of the sales chart at EME. This shows there is room for this book in the spiritist field. We had the opportunity to get in different places due to this acceptance, such as cities around São Paulo and Paraná. We went recently to Monte Alto, which is located at Ribeirão Preto region. We were there for two days discussing drugs at the spiritist centres and visited the institution Horto de Deus to host a talk there. We then had the chance to hear the interns and have an open conversation regarding their difficulties.

O Consolador: How does the influence of spirits, obsession, should be regarded?

We need to look into question 459 from THE SPIRITS’ BOOK. Kardec asked the spirits: “Do spirits influence our thoughts and our actions?” Their answer was: "Their influence upon them is greater than you suppose, for it is very often they who direct both." It is easily understood the presence of spirits around us. As a result of affinity, they can influence the person who is addicted to drugs to use, in accordance with the law of attraction. As a consequence, these individuals will suffer obsession due to drug abuse from both incarnated and disincarnated spirits.

O Consolador: Have you got feedback from people who are not involved with the spiritist movement?

Yes, I have.  It is also hard to find books regarding this topic outside the spiritist movement which is why it has been well accepted by a lot of people. We were very careful in terms of writing a book that could be read by laymen as well as for those who knew a lot about this topic. We knew the book would not be good enough if it was too technical. We are thinking about writing a new book in the mental health field, but it is in an early stage.

O Consolador: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for the opportunity of disclosing Spiritism. I know propaganda is important for the spread of books, within all sources available. The goal is to help people who get in contact with drugs. 

O Consolador: Can you please give us your final words? 

I would like to thank the team for maintaining this electronic magazine. I have seen some many futile publications available globally and your efforts should be praised. These kinds of endeavours should be stimulated and supported as they collaborate for the common good. Congratulations!