Ana Cláudia Marques: 

“Spiritism to me is the promised Consoler”

The medium and Spiritist leader from Brazil’s Goiás state talks
 about her life in the Spiritist Movement and Spiritism in
Britain, where she has been based since 2001

	Ana Cláudia Fiuza Marques (photo) lives with her family in the beautiful historic city of Canterbury. The city, with some 44,000 inhabitants, lies about an hour and a half south of London. It attracts tourists from around the world, who visit its lovely old streets and the magnificent cathedral. It has three universities and also attracts students from
many countries. Ana Cláudia, born in the city of Quirinópolis, talks to us about her journey, which made her value even more the importance of exchanging experiences with different cultures and people. “We have a great deal to offer, but also a lot to learn,” she says.

When and why we moved to England? 

My husband, my two small children and I moved here looking for work, in 2001. We are looking for a better future for our children. After nearly eight years in London, we returned to Brazil and stayed there for two years. But due to unforeseen circumstances, of a personal nature, we decided to come back and preferred to come to a smaller place, Canterbury, which would be cheaper and would offer a better quality of life for the children. 

What is your main activity in the Spiritist Movement in the UK at the moment? 

My great friend Alvaro Zanlorenze and I have become the coordinators of The Guiding Light Spiritist Society in Canterbury, where I also contribute as a medium. 

When was your first contact with Spiritism? 

It was about 15 years ago, when I still lived in Brazil. My brother gave me The Spirits’ Book as a present. Before that, I had presages, I predicted things and did not know where they came from. I was often able to detach from my body as spirit and see my body asleep. I was very sensitive from a very early age. I wondered and questioned what was going on with me. Then, thanks to my brother I was able to get in touch with this wonderful world unveiled by Spiritism. It brought me back to the path I was supposed to follow and to meet my real essence.  

How did your family react? 

My brother was already a Spiritist. My father had always been very open. He is a very developed Spirit, a very good man, who advised us to follow what our hearts told us. He accepted it without any problems. But my mother, as a devout Catholic, refused to accept it. After all, we used to go to mass together. My husband also rejected it at the time. But I have persevered and my husband now works as a volunteer with me. 

Are there only Brazilians at your regular meetings in Canterbury? 

It is a mixed group. We have three English people and a Portuguese woman who attend the meetings regularly. The other participants are Brazilian.

Do you think those who are not Brazilian are open, in principle, to the Spiritist Teachings? 

It depends in great part to their family background and also the way the Teachings are explained, or presented, to them. Many come to us as they are facing serious personal problems. They accept that there is more than matter only, but they tend to reject the idea of reincarnation. We have one of our sisters here, a regular at our meetings, who is facing problems due to her mediumship, but says her Christian background makes reject the principle of reincarnation. Our group meets in a Spiritualist Church. Spiritualism has many points in common with Spiritism, as they do healing and have messages from discarnate Spirits. But they do not accept that there is obsession, or Spirit attachment. But I believe little by little, with patience and love we will get there, we will enter their world.  

We often say that in Europe the religious aspect of Spiritism gets overshadowed, or hidden, by the specticism of many. What is your view? 

Yes, they are very sceptical, but also very logical. It is up to us, Christians, to show common sense and respect when we try to introduce our idea to people over here. We must bear in mind that, even though we are all connected, each one has reached a particular level of evolution and amassed a certain amount of knowledge. There is the right time for each one. As Spiritists working here, we have a role to fulfil. But there is an exchange in everything. We are all Spirits, incarnated with different individual aims. That means we must be humble and accept the differences. “We are all equal in our differences.” That is the beauty of this interaction with the people here, with a culture that is so different from ours. We have a great deal to offer, but we also have a lot to learn. 

What does Spiritism mean to you? What role does it play in your life? 

Spiritism to me is the promised consoler, which came to teach us that the real meaning of life is to know yourself. Spiritist had a huge impact in my life as it provided the answers to all that was going on with me, my mediumship. But the most important aspect was the opportunity it gave me to dive deep inside myself, this internal journey fuelled by a wonderful energy. The road is often arduous. We bump into conflicts that we have created. The challenges are huge and beating yourself becomes one of the most difficult tasks ever. But the beauty of it all is to understand that a new opportunity comes up every time we go over a new challenge. That makes us stronger, always, and reminds us constantly that we are eternal, immortal Spirits moving forward towards enlightenment. That is a process we simply cannot postpone. What our eyes cannot see is evident in the essence, which is the starting point for something that goes beyond physical matter. What matters is not what is outside, but what is inside. The outside is a reflection of the inside. Half of what we are is the result of external demands. The other half remains hidden inside. And we only begin to access when our Spiritual side becomes stronger.