Brazil is unmatched in the dissemination and respect for Spiritism. Not even in France, the home country of the codifier of the Doctrine, Allan Kardec, is Spiritism so well known. In the last decades, Brazilians have been spreading the message to other countries, overcoming the natural language and cultural barriers.  Our colleague Maurício Cisneiros Filho (photo) is part of that effort. In this chat with the readers of O Consolador, he tells us about the development of the Doctrine in the US.  O Consolador: Where about are you

from in Brazil?

I was born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, but grew up in Brasília. 

O Consolador: Where about do you live in the US? 

In the state of Florida. 

O Consolador: How long have you been in the US? 

Since 1988, when I moved over looking for better professional perspectives.  

O Consolador: What´s your area of knowledge, your background? 

I have a degree in IT, Information Technology, with a specialisation in telecommunication.  

O Consolador: What posts or responsibilities did you hold previously in the Spiritist Movement?  

I was a deputy-secretary and vice-president of the Florida Spiritist Federation in different mandates. 

O Consolador: What other groups do you work with at the moment? 

I´m the president of the US Spiritist Council and the president of the Spiritist Society of Palm Beach, in Boca Raton, Florida. 

O Consolador: What was your first contact with Spiritism? 

I was born in a spiritist family and used to live one block away from a spiritist group, Irmão Estevão, in Brasília, where I went through the different stages – from evangelisation groups for children to the youth movement of teenage years. 

O Consolador: Of the three aspects of Spiritism – science, philosophy and religion – which one is closer to your heart? 

Unlike many spiritists, I never had preference for either. Everything that´s analysed from a rational, inquisitive and sensitive spiritist perspective is of great interest to me. 

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

It depends on the person. Usually, the first read should be The Spirits´ Book. But in some cases The Gospe, as Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine or even Nosso Lar could help certain people understand what the Doctrine is about. 

O Consolador: Is there any particular book had a particular impact on you? 

A book by Dr Alírio de Cerqueira Filho, Jesus and Kardec as Role Models for Spiritist Workers. That is the first of a series of books based on the teachings of the spirit of Joanna de Ângelis. It´s more straight forward than the other books in the series and it allows us, simple mortals, to understand Joanna de Ângelis´ approach to the psychology involved in the work at spiritist groups. 

O Consolador: One of the few controversies in Spiritism concerns the Doctrine´s secular aspect. Do you think Spiritism is a religion or not?

Only those who are not spiritist say Spiritism is not a religion. If they had already understood and embraced Spiritism they would say otherwise. 

O Consolador: There´s another area of dissent, involving the technique for giving healing. Should we adopt a standard technique, as proposed in the work of Edgard Armond? 

All of those who study magnetism a little bit find out that there´s no room for a standard technique. Even though we apply a more standard technique in our open meetings, we know that a more detailed approach needs to be applied by those undergoing specific treatment – and that must be done by people with specialised knowledge. New techniques have been discovered to help whose who receive healing. I´ve read a very relevant book on the subject, focusing on what Kardec really said about magnetism. The trouble is it´s always easier to work with the simplified concepts we know, rather than learning and developing new techniques. It´s a mistake to believe that our spiritual mentors will always be there to make up for our ignorance. Where I live there are several spiritist groups working with different techniques.  

O Consolador: What are your views on abortion? 

The spiritist´s duty is to educate, never to force others to follow what we recommend. As citizens of the world, we´ve been doing our best to minimise the practice of abortion, but respecting other people´s rights. 

O Consolador: Are you in touch with the Brazilian Spiritist Movement? What are your views on their work? 

I´m in constant contact with fellow workers of the Brazilian Spiritist Movement and I think they do a great job in spreading the Doctrine´s message in the country. 

O Consolador: How is the development of the Spiritist Movement in the United States? 

We’re in the early stages of the introduction of Spiritism to the United States. The great medium, Chico Xavier, paid a visit to the US more than three decades ago, but until recently there were very few books in English available. Hence, the complete lack of awareness from the American public about Spiritism. But we’re changing that, little by little, and working on the publication of more material in the English language. 

O Consolador: When did Spiritism first came to the US? 

No one knows exactly who the first spiritists were to come to the lands of Uncle Sam… We know some fifty years ago there were already a few groups in New Jersey, North Carolina and California. A bit later, also in Florida. They were all organised by Latin Americans. We now have nearly 90 spiritist groups spread across the country, in many states. The main representative organisation is the United States Spiritist Council, which has 30 affiliated groups. 

O Consolador: How do Americans view and accept the Doctrine? 

The Americans have different levels of religiosity and spirituality and it’s only natural that they accept or reject Spiritism in different ways. Normally, those who are more orthodox (Christians, Jews etc.) as well as those who are more materialist tend to be more sceptical and reject any contact with Spiritism. There’s more acceptance and participation among those normally defined as “new age”. But many of them have trouble developing their psychic skills, as they tend to expect payment or profit for their work in healing or in spiritist groups in general. Usually we get a better reception from those – religious and non-religious  – with an open mind to spirituality. 

O Consolador: What are the main challenges you faced in your effort to take Spiritism to the US? 

It’s much easier to work with Spiritism in Brazil, where others already did the hard work and left us all the infrastructure. If you compare what the Spiritist Movement has achieved in Brazil with what we have in the US, Canada and Europe, I’d say we’re lagging 100 years behind. A clear example is the locations for meetings. No spiritist group in the US is the owner of its own meeting room or headquarters. We all rent somewhere to meet, or pay a mortgage on a room or building. And the prices charged are really high. Many groups can only afford to pay rent for a couple of hours a week. 

O Consolador: Do you agree that crime and violence seems to be on the up in Brazil and elsewhere? How can we, spiritists, help change that situation? 

We need to carry on making the Spiritist Doctrine known and available to the greatest number of people, using all the resources available. A colleague of ours, delivering a lecture on the upcoming “regeneration world”, said very appropriately that we’re now like “doing up our home”. That’s why all the walls, floor, furniture are in a mess. But, as soon as the redecoration work is over, our home will be more beautiful than ever, more comfortable and adjusted to our new needs.  

O Consolador: We know we’re already in the first stage of the preparation for this new era of regeneration on the Earth. How long do you believe it will be before the Earth evolves from being a planet dedicated to the expiation of our faults to a world of regeneration? In the words of Saint Augustine, in this new phase of our planet the word love will be written on everyone’s faces and perfect equity will drive social relations. 

I believe that in about 50 years the reincarnation of spirits with evil intentions will have ceased. Our planet couldn’t take for longer, from the environmental point of view, the barbaric attacks being staged for so long now against our nature.  

O Consolador: And in light of all the problems faced on Earth at the moment, what should be the priority of those in charge of spiritist organisations? 

To carry on trying to gather everyone around the principle of fraternity, regardless of their religious affiliations.  

O Consolador: What does Spiritism mean to you?