Maria Aparecida Grespan Arita:

“Working with automatic writing, or psychography, is something that gives me
great pleasure”

The Spiritist medium from the Brazilian city of Junqueirópolis, in the state of São Paulo, talks about her work with automatic
writing, also known as psychography

	Maria Aparecida Grespan Arita (photo), better known as Cidinha Arita, is a medium and Spiritist volunteer in her hometown of Junqueirópolis. She is a mother, wife and grandmother, working at the Spiritist Centre Fé, Amor e Caridade (Faith, Love and Charity). She has a degree in Education. In this interview she talks about the books she has publi-
shed, all of them dictated by the spirits.

When and why did you begin your involvement in Spiritism? 

I began my involvement when I felt the need to find the answers for all my questions and doubts about life, death and the human “injustices”. In sum, the “whys”… I began studying Spiritism, reading the books, and after a while I began developing the mediumship capacity I had in me. I then began writing messages of encouragement dictated, so to speak, by spirits. That process is known as automatic writing or psycography.  

How has Spiritism helped you in your profession, as an educator? 

It has helped me understand life as it is and accept the differences between human beings. It has encouraged me to put love in first place when teaching, which has made the learning process easier. If you work with love and dedication, your work yields amazing results. 

What are the main challenges of your work as a medium writing messages and books? 

The main challenge is not to fear the obstacles that come along the way, going ahead with the commitments made with our Spiritual Benefactors. It is important to have love, dedication, faith in God, trust and to be sure that He is always helping us carry out our work in mediumship. If you do that, everything comes naturally. For many years I only received messages of encouragement and comfort sent by the spirits to their families and the general public. I never had the ambition of writing novels. But after 15 years, in 2005, the Spiritual Benefactors began to send me novels, containing valuable and beautiful lessons in accordance with what Jesus taught us and Allan Kardec reinforced. I am grateful to God and the Spiritual Benefactors for giving prominence to my existence, enabling me to help other people. 

Do you have specific days and hours for your mediumship work? 

Yes, I have set days and hours when I receive the messages from the Spirit World. I do it on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 20:00 at the Spiritist Centre where I work as a volunteer, every week. And from Monday to Saturday, I begin writing at 07:00 and usually stop at 10:00, but sometimes at midday or even later. It depends on what the spirits send me. I often say that psychography is a job of love, dedication and respect for our friends in the Spirit World who trust me to be the messenger of their work. 

It is clear then that discipline and persistence are essential in this type of mediumship work. Is there any room for flexibility? 

Discipline and persistence are essential, yes, like in any other job in the world. I have a commitment with the Benefactors and I respect the times and days agreed. I am very strict with myself. But I have their understanding whenever I need to change those times or days for a particular reason. There is some flexibility from the spirits, who are friends of mine from previous eras.  

How many books have you published? Are they all novels? 

I have published many books and, yes, they are all novels. Most of them have been dictated by the spirit, João Manuel, my Spiritual Benefactor. The Spiritist novels are wonderful as they give us real life illustrations and examples of the Spiritist Teachings in a way that can be easily absorbed. I would like to say that working with automatic writing, or psychography, is something that gives me great pleasure. To be in frequent contact with the evolved spirits is something wonderful and difficult to put into words. Everything that is made with love bears wonderful fruits.  

What books do you recommend to those who are beginning to study Spiritism? 

I recommend the works of Allan Kardec. They are the basis for those who are willing to learn about and understand Spiritism. 

Your final thoughts, please. 

I would like to thank God for giving me this opportunity to work with this type of mediumship, making me a messenger of the spirits and enabling me to take to other people the Teachings of Jesus and the laws of God.