Vanessa Anseloni:

“Spiritist therapy brings consolation to everyone”

The Spiritist public speaker and founder of the Spiritist Society of Baltimore shares her thoughts on the Spiritist Movement in the United States, country where the Hydesville phenomena took place

	Vanessa Cristina Zilli Anseloni (photo) was born in the city of São Paulo and lives in the city of Chantilly, in Virgina state, on the outskirts of the American capital, Washington. She was born into a Spiritist home, part of the fifth generation of Spiritists in the family. Her great-great-grandfather, Attilio Pioltini, an Italian immigrant, founded one of
the first Spiritist groups in São Paulo state, 94 years ago, the Spiritist Centre Luz e Caridade, in Itobi.

From a very early age, Vanessa began attending lessons on Spiritism. She also benefitted from the life examples of her grandparents, parents and uncles. Aged 14, she began teaching Spiritism. She has a degree in Psychology in São Paulo and a PhD in Neurosciences. In 1998, she moved to the United States to do a post-Doctorate degree at the University of Maryland, where she began working as a neuroscientist.

Vanessa Anseloni is the president and founder of the Spiritist Society of Baltimore (SSB) – www.ssbaltimore.org – and of the Spiritist Society of Virginia. She is also the founder of Kardec Radio and chief-editor of the Spiritist Magazine, published by the Spiritist Spiritist Council every three months. She has also translated books by the mediums Divaldo Franco and Chico Xavier into English and is the co-author of a book with Divaldo Franco, Nova Geração (New Generation). 

How did you begin your work with Spiritism in the United States? 

I began a prayer and study group at home in October1998, when I was still single. I received indispensable support from Jorge Godinho Nery and his wife, Antonia Helena. In March 1999, we started to meet at a study room in the University of Maryland. 

What has been the reaction to Spiritism in the US? 

Spiritism is not as yet widely known in the US. One of the main reasons for that is the fact that many groups still use Portuguese or Spanish in their meetings. The Spiritist Society of Baltimore began with its programme of talks in English at the end of 2001, and things have begun changing since. There are now many groups who have adopted the English language in their regular meetings. We must bear in mind that the Americans who come to Spiritist meetings are usually very different from your average American. They are often former Protestants – not Catholics, as it happens in Brazil – who have already had contact with exoteric, new age, spiritual practices and finally come across Spiritism. Many become interested in Spiritism after attending the healing sessions of the medium, João de Deus (John of God) in Abadiânia, Goiás state. 

Please tell us a bit more about the Spiritist Society of Baltimore. 

It began in my flat, in Charles Street, in October 1998. My initial aim was to carry on with my studies on Spiritism and the Gospel in the Home, in the company and with the help of Jorge Godinho Nery and Antonia Helena Nery. We are going through the official textbooks prepared by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation, and a few months later began meeting in a room at the University of Maryland. In 2001, an American friend, psychotherapist Daryl Joyce, suggested we began having our meetings in English. She introduced us to Zohar Meyerhoof, a radio broadcaster and benefactor in the city of Baltimore, who opened the door of her holistic clinic for our first workshops. We continued with our work there until 2006, when an American lady, Judith Campbell, and her husband, Kevin Campbell, decided to help us. They had done our Spiritual treatment and were so amazed by the results that decided to create a home for the SSB. For two years they paid all our expenses. But in 2008 we decide to invest on our own facilities. And that is where we have been since then.

The SSB has worked with the translation of books and CDS by Divaldo Franco, Chico Xavier and Raul Teixeira. With the coordination of Daniel Santos, we have also have done regular webcasts for TVCEI. In 2008, we launched the first English language study programme on Spiritism, the Roadmap Program for the Spiritist Study and Practice. Our material has been officially adopted by the International Spiritist Council. The plan is to adopt it in other countries, translated to other languages. The Roadmap is now available online, on www.e-spiritism.org . More than 800 people have enrolled for the online course and the first one to complete it was a German lady who lives in Britain.

In 2007, thanks to the inspiration of the Spiritual Benefactors, we decided to organise the first American Spiritist Congress using English as the only language. The event took place in Baltimore. In 2008, it was held in New York and in 2009, in Boston. In 2010, the American Spiritist Council took over the organisation of the event. The SSB has also helped set up new local groups, such as the Spiritist Society of Virginia, founded in 2007, and study groups in Delaware and Pennsylvania. 

How are the meetings at the SSB structured? Do you have talks, lectures? 

Our aim is to follow the guidelines of the Codification of Spiritism. The main aim is to comfort and enlighten incarnates. We make sure the themes chosen for our studies comprise the three aspects of Spiritism: philosophy, science and religion. We begin by reading an extract of an uplifting book, such as Joanna de Ângelis’s Happy Life, followed by an opening prayer. We then have a 45 to 60-minute long talk, followed by spiritual healing and the healing water. All our meetings are in English. 

Do the Americans get engaged in our meetings? 

Some get engaged, but they are still few and far between if compared to the number of Brazilians who embrace the work in Spiritism. But that is only to be expected, taking into account the fact that Brazilians have been blessed with the presence of amazing Spiritist figures such as Chico Xavier and Divaldo Franco. 

How do Americans respond to the Teachings? 

When they finally come into contact with Spiritism, they become amazed. They usually find out that Spiritism is not that different from what they had seen in other spiritual philosophies. But they still struggle to fully grasp some of our practices, such as the principle of not charging for healing or mediumship sessions. They also find it difficult to understand the group work in mediumship and spiritual attachment treatment sessions. They are used to the individual work of mediums, as shown so often on American TV. We often make a concerted effort to take Spiritism to new frontiers. We began a programme in the Spiritualist city of Lily Dale, in New York state in 2005. We use the programmes broadcast by Kardec Radio, which has listeners in more than 60 countries, to take Spiritism to places where it would take longer to reach if we were to use more conventional methods. 

Are there any other Spiritist Groups working in tandem with the SSB? 

We make a point of collaborating with other Spiritist Groups, supporting one another. Our groups are all affiliated to the American Spiritist Council. 

Who are the volunteer workers behind those activities? 

It is a mix of Brazilians, other Latin Americans as well as Americans and people of other nationalities. In the US, we need to be able to adapt in order to embrace in our groups people of very diverse backgrounds. As our meetings are all in English, we are able to open our doors to people of all nationalities, without privileging any particular group, with the exception of those who are hosting us in their country. That is what André Luiz stated in the first chapter of the book, Entre Irmãos de Outras Terras. 

Do you have Spiritist books in the groups you coordinate? 

The Spiritist book is a key piece in our activities. We keep bookshops inside our Centres with the specific aim of facilitating the access to Spiritist literatures. And all books we sell are in English, in order to encourage the dissemination of the Teachings in English and to avoid other problems. With that, many immigrants end up improving their English, and studies have shown that migrants who learn the local language have higher self-esteem and better mental health.  

Do you believe Spiritism will grow deep roots in American soil? 

I would say that the roots already exist. Allan Kardec used to exchange correspondence with Spiritists in the US. A century later, in 1965, the Brazilian medium, Chico Xavier, visits the US and publishes Entre Irmãos de Outras Terras. Spiritism has been growing steadily in the US in the last decade or so, since the beginning of the work of the SSB in 2001 and thanks to the recent efforts of the Spiritist Council of the USA.  

Do you get help from Brazil? 

Yes, from friends who pray for the success of our mission in the US, from family members in Brazil engaged in Spiritism. The Brazilian Spiritist Federation and the International Spiritist Council have also supported efforts to disseminate Spiritism in American soil. 

How do Americans and immigrants who live in the US view the traditional Spiritist therapy, of magnetic healing and healing water? 

They love it! That is what they really look forward to. Suffering happens everywhere, regardless of the nationality. Suffering is a universal occurrence. That is why the Spiritist therapy brings consolation to everyone. 

What do you believe are the prospects for Spiritism in the US and the rest of the world? 

Spiritism is the Promised Consoler. Jesus, our Governor, Model and Guide, certainly has the most beautiful plans for the dissemination of this memorable Teachings. We have observed the formation of new groups and new initiatives all across the US, in Canada, in Britain and other countries. I was recently at a Spiritist Congress in Colombia, in the company of Divaldo Franco. What an amazing experience! So much fraternity and solidarity! 

Your final thoughts, please. 

My friends, brothers and sisters in Brazil and elsewhere, what a privilege it is to have had access to Spiritism! So much knowledge and information to transform our lives! Let us pray, brothers and sisters, for all of those who are in our dear planet. I make a special pledge for prayers on behalf of the American people and their leadership, so that our planet is finally able to fulfil God’s Will on Earth. Emmanuel says in A Caminho da Luz (Pathway to Enlightenment) that Jesus’s team expects the US to be the brains of the New Civilisation. As a neuroscientist, who loves the brain as the nest of the mind, I would mention the words of André Luiz: let us help the planet’s brain with the oxygen of Spiritism.