Silvana Scarpino (photo), our interviewee this week, is a university lecturer and businesswoman in Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo. She is also a Spiritist lecturer and a volunteer at Casas André Luiz. She has managed to achieve something rare in our days: to be successful in the hugely competitive corporate world without losing touch with her spiritual side. In this interview, she talks about her passion for her volunteer work and about the importance of introducing the principles of Spiritism to the business environment:  What was your first contact with Spiritism?  Since I was a small girl, I used to attend séances with my mother, in an attempt to

find a cure for the very bad migraine I suffered from. I went to several Spiritist Centres and received healing several times. I then gave healing and took part in meetings to offer guidance to Spirits who came to us. Through my mother, who, by the way, remained a Catholic, I met many Spiritists. A family friend gave me in 1977 my first Gospel According to Spiritism. But it was only in 1987, with my then fiancé and now husband, that I joined the Spiritist Centre Nosso Lar – Casas André Luiz. We took that decision after reading the first book of the series Life in the Spiritual World, Nosso Lar (The Astral City), by the spirit, André Luiz. We joined the Centre, got enrolled in a course to learn more about the Doctrine and soon after began our volunteer work with their patients – people with physical and mental disabilities. We got married the year after, 1988.

What help do you get in your professional life from the Doctrine codified by Allan Kardec? 

Through Spiritism, I have managed to understand and accept a bit better the huge competition that prevails in the corporate world. Spiritism helped me control my anxiety, it helped me follow in each decision my values and goals, which I put above any economic interests. In business decisions, I try to provide everyone with an opportunity to achieve personal development through good deeds. The principles of ethics and transparency are very dear to me. And before making any decision at work, I ask myself the following question: what would I like to be done if I was in that particular situation? That doesn’t mean saying yes to everyone and everything, but to act with common sense, good will and resilience. 

From the spiritual point of view, the world is going through a period of transition, we have just left behind the phase of Trials and Tribulations and entering Regeneration. Are private companies going through the same process in their values and targets? What has changed in the corporative world in the last few years? 

The wider society changes according to the evolution of individual human beings. In a world where people understand that their well being is directly linked to the well being of others, people begin to look for shared results. The modern businessman knows that their company will only achieve a stable position in the market once consumers realise that their decisions are not based on short-term profit, that there is a two-way traffic, with both sides gaining. There is less and less room for the old-fashioned company director who adopts a strategy of the highest possible profit at the shortest possible term. The age we live in is one of Sustainability and Social and Environmental Responsibility, of long-term fair profit. That is not a fad, something that will change. Once we go beyond our corporative “responsibilities” we achieve a level of sustainability in the market place, we become economically viable, environmentally correct and socially fair. 

Do you believe the principles of Spiritism will find fertile ground in the world of business? 

I believe the principles of sustainability and social responsibility are akin to the principles of Spiritism and to the fulfilment of the laws of God. We can see clearly aspects of the Doctrine of the Spirits in the practices of business administration these days. That is the natural way for evolution for the corporate world. Progress is a natural law; that is something Spiritism explains very clearly. Spiritism is part of the world; therefore it is part of the corporate world. 

How about the vicious competition that prevails in the corporate world? Do you believe in healthy competition? 

Competition is part of evolution. It encourages progress, new achievements, it is important for the development of the society. Competition can be healthy if associated to a process, a journey upwards towards something bigger and better for all. In our current stage of evolution, competition can be an important force, provided its nature is well understood and that it is applied for the common good, not for selfish and vain purposes. 

How do you manage to organise such a busy schedule and play all the roles in your life – Spiritist lecturer, mother, wife, volunteer, university lecturer etc.? 

I was born as a woman, and I am very happy with that. The corporate world fascinates me, but it must be only part of me, attached to my family life, which is the base of everything. Our family is our safe haven, it is where we recover strength for the challenges we are faced with our. I still believe that renouncing and abdicating mean achieving, mean doing good, being patient and yet resilient. Common sense, faith and determination, that is the way forward! 

Your final thoughts… 

All we achieve is part of the learning process for our Spirit. So let us hope that we can achieve a lot, that we can conquer big things, so as to benefit ourselves and all of those close to us along the way. After all, having something new to celebrate is what is really special about being alive! It is the ability of transforming each instant into a big occasion, making each day an opportunity to dream, to love and to nurture! Through reasoned faith and love we are able to achieve all we need to progress towards Our Father! I wish everyone much success and lots of opportunities to celebrate!