In 2008, he published two health and wellbeing books – Alimentos Depurativos and Coma e Seja Feliz. Now, three years later, Armando Falconi Filho (photo) has begun publicizing his first Spiritist work, Perda de Pessoas Amadas. It draws from years of experience as a Spiritist worker, especially the monthly meetings he’s been attending for the last seven years.  Armando Falconi Filho was born in the town of Astolfo Dutra, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. He has degrees in Law and Accountancy and has also been trained in Chinese Accupunture, Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) and many

other holistic healing techniques. He was born into a Catholic family, but could feel the presence of and talk to spirits from a very young age. He was introduced to the Doctrine of the Spirits by some friends, as a teenager. It brought him console for his mediumship-related problems and the answers to many of his troubles. Aged 16, he began his work as a medium and as a Spiritist lecturer in the region. In 1979, he settled in the nearby city of Juiz de For a, where he founded a institution focused on alternative therapies research – Centro de Cultura Oriente Ocidente, or East-West Cultural Centre. He was also one of the founding members of a prominent Spiritist Centre in the city, FEAK – Fundação Espírita Allan Kardec. He is now its vice-president.

What are your other activities outside Spiritism? 

I am a holistic therapist, author of CDs and DVDs in which I deal with a number of issues, including religiosity, personal changes, motivation, self-esteem, therapeutic visualisations and other practices to help internal reform. As a radio broadcaster, I present the programme Sementes do Amanhã (Seeds of Tomorrow) at a local radio station. The programme, dealing with physical and spiritual health, goes on air three times a day, Monday to Friday. I have a monthly column on the local newspaper Panorama Sul and I am a columnist on the website www.acessa.com.  

When did you begin to deliver speeches on Spiritism? 

When I was 16, I began speaking during meetings of our youth movement. Then invitations started to come from many Spiritist centres, and that’s how it all began. 

Tell us a bit more about your mediumship. 

Since I was very young I could feel there were “people” around me whose presence couldn’t be felt either by relatives or school friends. As I began attending mediumship meetings at Spiritist Centres, I began to learn, little by little, how to make the best usage of those valuable resources. And my sensitivity and perception grew more acute. I now work in weekly mediumship sessions at FEAK, the Spiritist Centre I’m linked to. 

You also set up a phone helpline called SOS-Prayers. What is it about, when did it start, what is the methodology you apply? 

The helpline was set up by a group of friends and me in 1994. We now have four lines and a team of 308 volunteers working, all of them properly trained before they start dealing with the public. We get calls from all Brazilian states and even other countries, asking for help and counselling. We offer them words of comfort, of encouragement and prayers. Our lines are open from 08h00 to midnight (main Brazilian time), on the number + 55 32 32361122. We are getting now to our millionth call. 

And tell us about your new book, on the loss of our dear ones. What was the original idea behind the project? 

In May and June 2003, my family and I went through the painful process of losing an aunt, my father and my mother – all in a period of 24 days. Losing people so close to me in such a short space of time had an impact on me, despite all the information I had from the Spiritist Doctrine. I thought I could use what I had learned in that period to help people going through similar experiences. In the second half of 2004, the Spiritual Benefactor who looks after FEAK advised me to set up a new service: from the first Tuesday of October, I was to provide information on death/discarnation to those who needed it. I began doing that in monthly meetings and in August 2005 I was presented with a new challenge, the disincarnation of my wife Kátia. All of those who have been taking part in these monthly meetings have learned a great deal, and no one more than me, I can say. 

What is the main message of the book? 

As I mentioned before, the book is an explanation to those who’ve been through the biological death of family members and/or friends. It is divided in 10 chapters, which deal with issues such as the meaning of the word “loss”; what is death; death or disincarnation; who is and isn’t able to hear and see the spirits; Neuroplasticity; visits by and contacts with the spirits; and also three chapters with frequently asked questions.  

Why think of it as a goodbye when we know it is in fact a ‘see you soon?’ Explain this sentence, which is part of your book. 

I explain in a rational manner why death is only a biological phenomenon, which impacts only on the body. It is indeed ashes to ashes, through the natural process of decomposition. The spirit, however, is eternal, and I stress that the real world of spirituality is where we will meet again our loved ones and our enemies who will return or will have returned there. That’s why there’s no goodbye, but instead a ‘see you soon.’ 

In many parts of the book, we will find the word ‘perda’, Portuguese for loss. In which way can Spiritism help us understand the meaning of that word? 

The word comes from Vulgar Latin, ‘perdita, ae’, a feminine noun that means the act or effect of losing or being deprived of something one owned. I tried to shed light onto that word to draw people’s attention to the fact that we use loss for too many things, from the death of people to the loss of material objects. I hear people say ‘I lost my mother, my brother etc.’ Spiritism shows us that that is wrong. We may lose objects, material things, but we don’t lose people, we simply stop temporarily sharing our lives with them in their material form. But they stay alive in Spirit and continue to feel the same way about us. The book will help readers use the right wording to describe the death of their dear ones. By doing so, they will be able to control their feelings of bereavement and separation, and the pain will naturally diminish.  

Is your book aimed solely at Spiritist readers? 

Spiritists will be able to expand and reinforce their knowledge about a subject that is already part of their religious experience. But followers of other faiths will also benefit from receiving detail information on what happens to their loved ones after biological death. That will help them face that painful process with in a more balanced and measured manner. It will also help them prepare gradually for their return to their real home, the Spiritual World.  

When was the book published and how have you been publicizing it?

The first book launch was on August 20^th in Formiga, Minas Gerais. I have events booked in 24 other towns and cities to launch it. There is a hot site of the book, www.perdadepessoasamadas.com with all the information and events. The site has also gives access to extracts of the book; it has a diary, videos, a forum etc. You can also buy the book online, on that address, which is the main communicating channel between the readers and the author.