Adenáuer Novaes, born in the town of Acajutiba, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia in 1955, had his first contact with Spiritism as a teenager, when he attended the meetings of a youth group. He would later begin his studies and dedicate much of his life to Spiritism. Adenáuer Novaes has university degrees in Civil Engineering, Psychology and Philosophy. In 1994, he opened with a group of friends, a Spiritist Centre in the state capital, Salvador. He is one of the directors of Foundation Lar Harmonia, which provides a number of services to the community (www.larharmonia.org.br). He

We must take into account the paradigm of immortality, but also the psychological perspective. The human being is an immortal spirit, who communicates through the psychic tools contained within the Perispirit, which, periodically, makes use of a physical body. The human being is also a collective personality. Its individuality is progressively refined, throughout the experiences acquired in several existences, during its process of evolution. The human being is defined by their name, address, parents, but by something that goes beyond what he or she knows about himself or herself. 

The Spiritist Doctrine says Spirit, Perispirit and Physical Body coexist in the same person in perfect harmony. As the Spirit is the one to guide the other two, what should one do when going through pain?

It is important to make a clear distinction between Spirit and Perispirit. The latter has been defined as not more than the energy body that moulds the physical body. I believe it is more than that. The Perispirit is the all-important body that records all the psychological incidents we experience. The mind is in the Perispirit. Memory, all our emotional records, the experiences from previous incarnations etc. are stored in the Perispirit, not in the Spirit, as many believe. What we have in the Spirit are the paradigms of the laws of God. Mediumship and all the psychological events are directly linked to the Perispirits. So, going back to your question, pain is an emotional experience caused by a physical or psychological reason. It affects the conscience of the being and it can have a number of different consequences. You can have pain without suffering, as suffering is the interpretation one gives to pain. It must be said that suffering by itself doesn’t lead to spiritual evolution. Progress will only come if suffering comes with the gathering of new knowledge. 

How should the Being and the Universe interact? 

The Spirit is the lord of the Universe, which exists for its evolution. The Spirit is not mere part of the Universe; it is its co-creator. All that exists and is part of the Universe is there for the Spirit’s benefit. All we see as the laws of God are circumstances adapted to the level of evolution of the Spirit, not absolute rules. The Spirit shapes the Universe according to its knowledge. According to the principles discovered recently in Quantum Physics, the Spirit alters the Universe it observes and is then influenced by the Universe. That interaction must take into account the principle of mutual influence. The reality of the Universe is the result of the action by the Spirit, who, with its mind, shapes it according to its needs. 

Modern science talks about dark energy. Kardec talked about the universal cosmic fluid. Are they talking about the same thing? 

The dark matter spread across the Universe is the manifestation of the universal cosmic fluid. It is far yet from the actual fluid mentioned by Kardec. There are other forms of the universal cosmic fluid still unknown. Physics is getting closer to them through new mathematical equations. The tools developed by scientists – high precision tools, it must be said – aren’t still able to detect spiritual matter. There is an intermediate element still to be discovered by science. 

You talk in your book, Psicologia do Espírito (Psychology of the Spirit) about affective codes. Can you explain what those codes are?

I use that term in a chapter about the functions of the Perispirit – decoding and filtering. I explain how the sensations captured by the body through its five senses are transformed into something that is integrated to the Perispirit. I am talking about the nervous stimulus, which becomes an electric pulse and is captured by the brain system and is codified there to be stored by the Perispirit. People talk informally about energy, but that is a wide concept, it can be used to describe many phenomena concerning the movement of matter. It is necessary to codify the electrochemical stimulus that reaches the brain due to the difference in vibration between the brain and the Perispirit. The electrochemical stimulus becomes affective information, non-material, subjective information that can be understood by the Perispirit. It is a process similar to that of generating electricity, with the initial stage of circular movement of rotors and, later, the movement of electrons through conducting wires. 

For the psyche, what is the effect of the memory and the intelligence in the good and evil duality? 

The psyche, or mind, is an open system that gets inputs from the body, the Spirit and the Universe. It is a component of the Perispirit , which works for the Spirit. It is an important tool that allows the Perispirit to pick up the signals of reality. The psychological and mediunic processes necessary for the Spirit to learn are processed in the psyche. Memory allows the Spirit to store and use the emotional information in another function, intelligence. Memory and intelligence are again processes that belong to the Perispirit, working to support the Spirit. Good and evil are imaginary beings that concern the lower echelons of spiritual evolution.  They are linked to cultural experiences and one’s capacity to interpret reality. Good and evil are different perceptions of experiences we go through. They can be changed. Whatever was good can be transformed into evil and vice-versa. The Spirit needs to reach a level where he or she will be able to link those two opposite points, as we need to face exactly what annoys and scares us in order to progress. 

What is the best definition for the concept of archetypes? 

The word is rather limited to explain such a complex issue. The Perispirit has its “organs”, structures designed to play important roles and to allow the Spirit to absorb the paradigms of the laws of God. The archetypes are “organs” that allow us to pick up and adapt the signals of the experiences we have in life. They adjust whatever is picked up by the Perispirit and also mould the behaviour of people – the standard behaviour most people have in certain circumstances. All one does concerning behaviour goes through one or more archetypes. When the Spirit manifests the intention of doing something (a wish, an action, a thought, intuition etc.), that impulse goes through the archetypes, which will provide a material format to that intention. Let’s take the example of motherhood. Each mother will do things in a different way, but the common point will be the determination to protect and nourish. We are talking about the maternal archetype, responsible for sheltering, protecting and nourishing others. The archetypes reveal the collective behaviour and tendencies of humankind. 

What is the best definition for the concept of myths? 

The concept of myth is the interpretation of a psychological process not yet rationalised, representation not yet understood by the self and important to understanding the dynamics of psychology. Myths are not childish fantasies and should not be interpreted literally. They always carry a hidden element that can be very valuable to understand human nature and to understand how human mind works. We can identify different archetypes among the myths. 

How are the idols we build formed and what is their positive or negative impact? 

The idols that are built everyday are representations of the archetype of the hero, which is necessary for the development of the self. We project ourselves in people and characters who stand out for certain skills while we don’t integrate those skills to our being. We idolise until we develop those skills ourselves. Idols are necessary, as they help to motivate and encourage human beings towards the development of their own personality. But the danger with everything that is idolised is to co-opt the ego. 

What is the best way to assess and overcome the emotional complexes once we find them in ourselves? 

Once we realise and accept we have a certain complex, we need to try to make it disappear. We must accept that we have traits in our personality that lead to that particular emotional complex. If someone is found to have a superiority complex, he or she must first of all accept that the ego perceives to be superior to what it is in reality. That is to say that there is an unconscious feeling of inferiority, based on a previous experience that brought that feeling into being. A person with that problem will make attempts to be seen in a position of superiority (arrogant, authoritarian, demanding with other people etc.) To make that complex disappear, it is important to acknowledge that unconscious element and to bring it forward to the conscious level. One must accept that internal feeling (in this example, the feeling of inferiority) and reassessing, going through the experience that generated it, but without putting oneself in a lower position. To address any complex, one needs to go back to the event that generated it. 

Taking into account the teachings of Spiritism, how do you assess the theories of Freud and Jung? 

There are several differences in the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung. The main one concerns the concepts of libido and motivation. Freud says libido is the sexual energy, the energy that motivates people in their lives. For Jung, libido is one type of energy, which has specific purposes, but it is not the motivating force in life and in human existences. Jung says that human beings are motivated in life by their need of personal accomplishment, of self-understanding, their need of meeting their personal designation. Jung named this process Individuation, the process of internal realisation, the process of becoming an individual without losing the collective features and characteristics.  

What are the main attributes of the Spirit? 

The Spirit is a divine singularity; it is the highest reason for the existence of the Universe, which is far from being its dwelling place. The Universe is one of the infinite fields where the spirit’s essence can be displayed. I believe the main attributes of the Spirit are: a) to acknowledge the existence of God in all its manifestations and religious denominations; b) to work towards being able of interpret and use what we know as Universe, including the capacity of agglutinating matter; c) to become capable of loving and therefore capable of building that feeling in oneself.  

Is it possible to know exactly when the Spirit was first graced with mediumship? 

Mediumship offers a very wide range of possibilities. It began in the early days of the evolution of the soul, in the transition between the animal and the human stage. Those early signs of mediumship can be found in the limited intelligence displayed by animals. The Spirit, with the unique capacities of the Perispirit, uses mediumship in order to establish a link with the different types of matter in the Universe, with those who are in a different state of conscience. 

Where do feelings come from and how can one manage them? How is the knowledge brought to us by Psychology being used in modern day societies alongside the teachings of Spiritism? 

We must make a distinction between feelings and emotions. Emotions come from the relations between body and mind. They are generated by the organic stimulation caused by our contact with the environment we live in. Emotions generate new interactions with our environment, which then create feelings. It’s a process of alchemy, which transforms to affect in the Perispirit into a higher level. One can say the feeling is an emotion that has been processed in the Perispirit, a process aimed at providing the Spirit with more relevant and complex experiences. One can, of course, manage their feelings. The more mature one’s ego, the more manageable are one’s feelings. Psychology hasn’t as yet made use of the principles of Spiritism. We don’t have a significant number of researchers to carry out studies in teams that concerns both areas. Psychology is making a conscious effort, in fact, to avoid being co-opted by Spiritism. And we don’t have enough Spiritists willing to study Psychology and make that connection between the two sciences. 

Is reincarnation still taboo amongst psychologists? 

Thanks to the development of regression and past life therapies, mainly in the United States, many psychologists have come to accept reincarnation, especially those in Transpersonal Psychology. I, myself, use it as the base of a number of techniques and considerations on psychological problems. In the near future, all science will have to accept the fact that human beings are the result of all their previous experiences. 

Depression, anxiety, fears – three feelings that cause so much suffering to so millions of people. What is the best treatment, in your view? 

The best treatment is for the human being to become aware that we are all immortal spirits. Whoever accepts that will naturally develop self-determination and autonomy to deal with their own destiny, without self-punishment and without intervening in other people’s destinies. That means, in other words, that the main problem the Spirit still faces is ignorance. Believing that a mistake will inevitably lead to punishment is what causes the vast majority of ailments.   

Good and bad mood… Low and high self-esteem… We hear and read about that all the time. How can we do to break that pattern? 

Life requires persistence and courage to face challenges, in a process of continuous maturation and development. But that requires abandoning selfishness and pride. We will only go over our mood swings once we face our own conscience and realise that we are the ultimate, the best work of God and that there are no limits for the evolution of the Spirit. The basic principle, therefore, is that of awareness of our own immortality.  

What is true liberty and how to make it legitimate? 

True liberty happens when we accept responsibility for our own actions. Legitimacy comes from knowing that all is allowed, but not everything is convenient or appropriate. We must understand the dialectics of good and evil, without running away from what appears to be negative. The evil must be incorporated into the good in order to generate a new way of living the different experiences we are exposed to. 

Being highly sensitive is tantamount to being in a higher spiritual level? 

Not at all. Having sensibility doesn’t mean being sage and knowledgeable. I believe the person who is able to produce a wide range of solutions to the most complex problems of one’s life is someone who is truly on a stage of higher spiritual development. Evolution, I often say, is facing increasing complexity. It is to be able to live in a complex society, adapting to it without being co-opted by it. It is to know how to love, without getting lost in feelings of sentimental escapism. Evolution is to learn about the nature and the Universe and their intricate mechanisms. It is to be simple, without being inferior; it is to be knowledgeable and sage without avoiding the rest of the world. 

Thank you very much. Would you mind sharing your final thoughts with us? 

Love is the engine that drives the Universe, and that is the main reason why we should use it. The power of love moves the planets and gives live to matter, allowing the Spirit to reach its final destination, decided by the Creator of Life.

⁽¹⁾ Adenáuer Novaes is the author of the following books: Psychology and Spirituality, Psychology and Mediumship, The Gospel’s Psychology, Jung and Mediumship, The Alchemy of Love: Depression, Cure and Spirituality, Psychology and Quantum Universe, Happiness without Guilt.