The Brazilian lawer Vera Palmgren (photo) moved to the Danish capital, Copenhague, ten years ago, driven by the desire to live a different life. In this interview, she talks about how the Danes see the Doctrine.  O Consolador: When did you have your first contact with Spiritism?  I believe my awakening to Spiritism happened when I was a teenager, even
though the interest was there before somehow, through my mother´s influence.

O Consolador: Was there any special event or fact that brought you closer to Spiritism? 

The contact with the spiritual world takes place in our sleep, when the body rests, through dreams and the memory of what when on during those experiences. That contact became more intense when a close relative of mine died. 

O Consolador: What was your family´s reaction? 

My family simply became more interested in the Doctrine. I began to provide better support to my family, thanks to the information I gathered in reading Spiritist books. 

O Consolador: What responsibilities have you held through your years in the spiritist movement? 

From healer to president of a spiritist centre. 

O Consolador: What of the three aspects of Spiritism – science, philosophy and religion – interest you the most? 

Science and philosophy. 

O Consolador: What books do you recommend to those being introduced to the Doctrine? 

“Violetas na Janela” (Violets at the Window) was a very important book to me. It provided me comfort when I lost a loved one. It´s a straightforward book, but written with a great deal of affection and love by a lovely teenager. I´d also recommend, obviously, The Spirits´ Book, The Mediums´ Book and the whole Andre Luiz series. It´s hard to name all titles… it´s up to an individual´s particular interests, really. 

O Consolador: There are but a few disagreements among spiritists over the Doctrine. And one of them concerns what is called secular Spiritism. Do you think Spiritism is a religion? 

Absolutely. Spiritism is one of the ways we have of believing that there´s something beyond life on Earth and, furthermore, that there is a Glorious Being responsible for all that surrounds us. It´s a religion, but also philosophy and science. That´s why it grows every and each day. These three aspects put together make the arguments provided by Spiritism incontestable.  

O Consolador: Another subject where there´s some disagreement concerns the way healing is given. What´s your view on that? 

If we assume that those giving healing are also an intermediate point to the energy received by the spirits, then we must remember that the goals will only be achieved if the medium – as well as the patient – believe it and deserve it. The knowledge of the chacras, the energy points, is an extra skill for healers, but not a “must have”. As a medium giving healing, I do the laying on of hands, despite having previous knowledge about how to identify the energy points and despite feeling in some occasions the energy blocked in certain organs. Each healer has the freedom to choose the method he feels more comfortable with, based on ancient principle of the laying on of hands. 

O Consolador: What are your views on the abortion debate? 

In Denmark, abortion is legal up to 12 weeks and, in special cases, 16 weeks. I think the debate focuses wrongly the consequences of an act, rather than the causes. I´ve always refused to criticise a mother who performs an abortion because one needs to go through a similar situation to be able to judge. I imagine that mother will bear for life the weight of that decision. I´m more in favour of addressing the cause of the problem and I think information campaigns shoud focus on the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. The parents should be more realistic and aware that their teenage children are beginning their sexual lives earlier and earlier. They should face the issue with a normal family chat. The Church and other parts of society should leave their outdated Puritanism behind and invest more on providing information, especially to poorer families.  

O Consolador: Are you in touch with the Brazilian spiritist movement? Is it proactive enough or should more be done to improve the propagation of the Doctrine? 

I get emails from friends and family in Brazil, I access the internet and the websites of spiritist centres. Brazil certainly plays an important part in publicising the Doctrine around the world, through the publication of so many books, translated in several countries, through the public speakers who travel the globe spreading the Spiritist message. 

O Consolador: What can you tell us about the spiritist movement in Denmark? 

There are several spiritualist groups in Denmark, but only two based in the Doctrine codified by Allan Kardec. The two groups do what they can, but the main restriction is the language, as there´s no translation of any spiritist book into Danish as yet. The Spirits´ Book is being adapted, from Old Danish to modern Danish and will be available in a year and a half. We have simultaneous translation for the main events –  lectures and mediunic painting sessions – but not for our weekly meetings, that would be too difficult to arrange. 

O Consolador: How and when did Spiritism began in Denmark? 

I can only tell about the period I´ve lived in the country. In 2002, I found out about GEEAK-DK (www.geeak.dk), opened by two Brazilians, Silas Villas-Boas and Raul Zandavalle Filho. That´s the group I´m affiliated to. Later, Rubens Casoto, Malu Martins and Danielly Manso founded the second group, LIFE (www.life.dk).  

O Consolador: Do Danish people accept the Doctrine? 

Those who attend the main events – lectures and mediunic painting – are in general those who have an open mind about spirituality. There´s a lot of interest and curiosity, which works as a good starting point for considering the existence of life beyond material life on Earth. 

O Consolador: How hard is it to work with Spiritism outside Brazil? What are the main obstacles? 

Fraternal assistance is open to all, but there´s not much demand. LIFE has a project of visiting old people´s homes. The main problem I think is trying to work in Denmark in the same way spiritist groups work in Brazil, especially with money matters. The rooms need to be hired and the groups are often short of cash, which leads to the cancellation of events – or you being forced to charge the public. The respect for privacy is in the core of this country, and the search for spiritual support is not often well received. 

O Consolador: Crime and violence seem to be increasing in Brazil and around the world. What can we do to help? 

Violence and crime are caused by the lack of access to education and information. The situation in Brazil will change once good schools are accessible to everyone. In Brazil, spiritist groups should focus their efforts towards making sure that the communities where they work have access to a good school. They should talk to local politicians and carry out information campaigns, encouraging the people to vote for those who support good education. In the countries where education is not a problem, the main concern seems to intolerance and religious sectarianism, which escape the control of the authorities. Perhaps Spiritism could help by acting as a mediator. 

O Consolador: Considering all the problems face by the material world on Earth, what should be the biggest priority of the Spiritism in the world? 

We should focus on respecting others and their differences, on dialogue. Intolerance brings about the main situations of anger in the society. We need more people with the gift of speech, who can talk, encourage dialogue and mediate conflicts based on the principles of love. 

O Consolador: What does Spiritism mean to you and how important is it to your life? 

Spiritism is to me the awakening of life, it´s understanding the reason for everything. Its importance lies on the fact that it translates the obstacles of life in a way that makes them acceptable, the makes them into challenges. There´s a reason for everything and one day we will understand why it happens. Hence, Spiritism is a balsam that soothes our griefs, that provides understanding to our problems and transform the hurdles of our live into another step towards our spiritual development.