Jorge Reis:

“A good message in a song is a health therapy, as effective as healing or prayer”

The well-known disseminator of Spiritism through his music, radio
 and TV programmes talks about the work he has been carrying
out in the city and São José dos Campos

	Jorge Augusto Gonçalves do Reis (photo) is a musician and broadcaster, an enthusiastic disseminator of Spiritism. He was born in Brazil’s north-eastern state of Bahia in 1960 but arrived in the city of São José dos Campos, in São Paulo state, in his childhood. In the early 1980s he had his first contacts with Spiritism, and fully embraced the Teachings in 1995. He is now the director of
several Spiritist groups in the city. In one of them, provides assistance to more than 170 children. He is the author of three books and has released seven CDs. He hosts a radio and a television programme and takes part in a music group set up in 1998. These are some of the issues he covers in this interview:

You have a number of jobs in the Spiritist Movement. Let’s talk first about your radio programme, “Vivência Espírita” (Spiritist Living). 

My friend Rui Barbosa and I had the idea of starting a Spiritist programme in São José dos Campos, a big city that has an established Spiritist Movement. We began in January 2004. The format is the same: we have a guest that talks about the theme of the day and answers to questions from people phoning in or getting in touch through the internet. We also broadcast Spiritist messages, we play music and publicise events that are due to take place in our region. The programme is broadcast every Sunday from 08h00 to 10h00 and can be heard on the following sites: www.saopauloriofm.com.br; www.radioespirita.net; and www.vivenciaespirita.com.br.

The television programme began in 2010. I am the presenter and host. It goes on air on Sunday mornings, from 10h30 to 11h30 on the region NET channel.

Who is your public on the radio programme?

It is a mixed group, but our research says that Spiritists make up only 40% of the total audience. We get about 60 phone calls in every edition, and a much greater number of people contact us through the internet, Facebook mainly. A previous audience research showed that we had 8,000 listeners a minute.

The programme began 10 years ago. What gets you out of bed on Sundays to be live from 08h00 to 10h00 on the radio when you could be resting at home after a working week?

When you begin studying Spiritism, you realise that disseminating the Teachings must be a main goal. We cannot bury this treasure and keep it for us. The answers we get from our listeners encourage us to carry on with our work. Also, it is important to take Spiritism out of the “four walls” of the Spiritist Centres. I give you an example. A friend of mine was having a coffee and overheard two women chatting next to him. One of them said she had been depressed, but was now recovered and very happy. It all had begun when she heard an edition of our programme, Vivência Espírita. My friend was so enthusiastic that he butted in and said he knew the person who edited the programme.

You are also a member of a musical group, Castelã. Tell us a bit about it.

Its aim is to use music to spread out the message of the Gospel of Jesus. We perform in Spiritist Centres, homes for the elderly, hospitals and wherever people are willing to hear messages connected to Spiritism and Christianity. We perform our own songs, but we also adapt our repertoire to our audience and perform traditional songs, boleros etc. Our group is made up of 16 people. We have performed in other parts of Brazil, but that does not happen very often due to the high costs of travelling. Also, it is difficult to get everyone together for rehearsals, recording in studio etc. We have plenty on our plate as it is. The main thing is the feedback we get at every performance. So many people come to us to tell us how much the music means to them, and the good vibrations they get from our performance. We feel renewed and ready to face all the challenges, in this task that was given to us by our Spiritual Benefactors: to teach through music.

What is lacking mostly in the Brazilian Spiritist Movement at the moment?

We need to be more united, and that does not mean everyone must do the same thing, the same way. We need to do what is written in the core works of Allan Kardec and bear in mind that the Teachings codified by him are not by any means complete. New spirits are incarnating, others are in the Spiritual World, and they keep giving us new insights, new teachings. They are entitled to that, provided they follow the basic principles of Spiritism. It is up to us to take them or not.

Is there a recipe for peace and union amongst all of us?

The recipe has been given to us by Our Master Jesus and the Spiritual Benefactors, who confirmed that He is the Guide and the Model for us, Spiritists. What we need, thus, is to put into practice all that theory that so many of us know by heart.

What role can music play?

Music can play a very important role, as we can reach people’s feelings through melody. We also manage to disarm people, making them consider certain aspects and circumstances of live. In other words, a good message in a song is a health therapy, as effective as healing or prayer.

Should Spiritist music adapt to the Spiritist message or to the messages and rhythms people are familiar with, in performances aimed solely at entertaining the audience?

A bit of both. But I do not consider Spiritist music songs that are written with the sole purpose of entertaining. We see a lot of that in Brazil. The musicians are invited to distract the crowd during the breaks of talks or seminars. With our group, whenever we are invited to any event, we make it very clear that our goal is to convey the message of Spiritism and the Gospel through music.

Your final thoughts…

I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity of publicising our work on behalf of Spiritism. I would like to add that I am fully aware that I have given Spiritism along all these years much less than it has given me.