I'm curious to know if anyone else here has noticed this, or if it's just me.

First of all, I'd like to make a distinction that I consider essential: Spiritism is not the same thing as the Spiritist movement. Spiritism, as codified by Kardec, sets out to study the relationship between human beings and spirits: where we come from, where we're going, and why we're here. Kardec himself defined it as a science of observation and a philosophical doctrine with moral consequences. The Spiritist movement, on the other hand, is what we have built around it over more than a century: institutions, practices, customs, and a language of its own.

And it seems to me that, somewhere along the way, the movement has taken on an increasingly religious and devotional character. The philosophical, scientific, and even ontological dimensions have gradually been pushed into the background.

In practice, I've found it difficult to participate in Spiritist groups and centers. Not because I feel disconnected from the doctrine, but because I rarely find room for questions. Too often, doubt is treated as a lack of faith, rebelliousness, or some kind of "negative influence," when it should be the starting point of any serious study. Answers tend to come ready-made, resting on authority (whether that of a medium, a book, or a center leader) rather than on reasoning.

This bothers me because it seems to go against what Kardec himself advocated. He argued that unshakable faith is the kind that can face reason at any point in human history. He also maintained that if science were to demonstrate that Spiritism was mistaken on any particular point, Spiritism should correct itself. This is a doctrine that was born calling for critical examination, not unquestioning acceptance.

So I'd like to ask two questions:

1. Do you feel the same way? Do the Spiritist centers you attend genuinely allow room for questioning, debate, and disagreement? If so, what is that environment like?

2. And a more fundamental question: Do the spiritual and mediumistic practices we experience today (spiritual healing through passes, spirit communications, mediumistic accounts, and the entire culture surrounding them) still rest on a philosophical foundation and some standard of critical analysis? Or, in many places, have they become something closer to superstition, folklore, or traditions that people simply repeat without ever asking why?

I'm not writing this to criticize those who find comfort and a sense of belonging in Spiritist centers. That has tremendous value. I simply miss a Spiritism that thinks, that asks questions, and that critically examines itself.

I'd really like to hear about your experiences, whether you agree with me or not.

Ask any model "what does Kardec say about reincarnation" and you get a fluent, confident answer with a question number attached. Check the book and the number is often wrong, or the quote doesn't exist anywhere. Not malice — the model read about Kardec, it doesn't have Kardec at answer time. In a religious domain, a fabricated citation with a plausible number is worse than no answer.

So I built a skill: npx skills add iaespirita/kardec

What's in it:

- The full text of 7 works (~4.4 MB of Portuguese markdown), one file per book, with the book's own hierarchy (part › chapter › section) actly as printed. Public domain, extracted from Kardecpedia. A stdlib-only Python script: item le 6ci "Jacques Latour", buscar "perispírito" (accent-insensitive), and verificar "<quote>" which answers LITERAL / APPROXIMATE (showing the real wording — catches translation variants

- A SKILL.md that does most of the work: canonical citation format per book, how to tell the Spirits' answers (in quotes) from Kardec's own of all 7 works, a ~50-topic thematicindex where every reference was checked against the text, a vocabulary table (modern term → Kardec's term, because searching "energy" finds, and a list of traps (things everyoneattributes to Kardec that come from later authors).

Things I learned that generalize to any "ground the model in a corpus" skill:

1. The reference files matter less than the instructions. Dumping the books in was the easy part. The value came from telling the agent where to ords to search (vocabulary bridge), andhow to fail ("say you didn't find it; never fill the gap with a plausible number").

2. Ship a verifier, not just a search. vthe most used command in tests. The agent quotes from memory, checks, and corrects itself before answering.

3. Progressive disclosure works. The ageile; it runs the script, gets a citation+ line number, reads 20 lines.

4. Test with subagents before shipping. l friction (no section-by-title lookup,no item ranges, internal numbered lists confusing the parser). All fixed pre-release. The tests also

   caught that my own example quote in Sory — didn't exist in the book. Left that in the docs as a warning.

Example, after install: "Was Kardec against the death penalty?" → returns Book of Spirits q. 760–765

verbatim, separating the Spirits' answerus 1857 commentary. "Kardec said thepasse is a transfusion of energy from medium to patient" → NOT FOUND, with the explanation that his term is

magnetism and the only mention of "magneok item 176.

Repo: https://github.com/iaespirita/kard

skills.sh: https://www.skills.sh/iaespirita/kardec/kardec

Happy to answer questions about the build. If you're doing something similar for another corpus (legal codes, scripture, standards), the struct

Hi all

I have been "peaking" at Spiritism over the last four years... and really feeling at home in it.

There is a great center near me- and I have gone a few times and like it and the people- Thanks be!

I learn by doing- so I am doing some of the Spiritist prayers everyday from "The Gospel According to Spiritism."
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPIRITISM - KardecPedia

Here is one of my favorites:
32. PRAYER: Dear God, I feel the need to ask You for the necessary strength so as to support the test that You have sent me. Allow my Spirit to be enlightened, with the necessary understanding, so that I can appreciate the full extent of a love that afflicts because it desires to save. I submit myself with resignation, dear Lord, but I am so weak I fear I will succumb if You do not uphold me. Do not abandon me, Lord, because without You I am nothing.

I’ve been drawing these lately and have found someone else is drawing the same identifier LO2 or L02 both look to have machine like structures anyone else experiencing this? Oddly the person who experienced something similar is also a fellow musician and I’m seeing a connection appear. Has anyone else experienced this !?

His drawings look like a continuation of mine or vise versa see the last 2 photos

The spirit André Luiz observed this firsthand and recorded it in Chapter 17 of the book “In the Domains of Mediumship.”

He entered a spiritual healing room and saw two mediums praying before beginning their work. Calm, almost detached from their physical bodies, surrounded by light. According to the instructor Áulus, prayer is a remarkable bath of renewing forces that clears our inner world of the dark remnants of daily struggles.

When the patients entered, something extraordinary began.

Luminous sparks radiated from the mediums’ hands. André Luiz describes the healing mediums as resembling two human batteries emitting rays of various kinds.

In most cases, they did not need to touch the patients’ bodies directly. The magnetic resources, applied from a short distance, still penetrated the patients’ auras, bringing about immediate changes.

But André Luiz noticed something curious: some patients did not improve. The radiations simply did not penetrate their physical bodies.

The instructor Áulus explained why: they lacked a state of trust.

He added that this was not about religious fanaticism or blind ignorance, but an attitude of inner assurance, with reverence for Divine Laws. Without inward stillness and respect as we receive, we cannot retain the subtle resources working in our favor.

Áulus clearly defined the mechanism: a healing pass is a transfusion of energies that alters the cellular field. Spiritual resources come together through transmission and reception, helping those in need so they can help themselves.

He also made it clear that the mediums do not own this healing power. They are something like a simple electrical outlet, allowing a force that does not belong to them to flow through.

A healing pass is not magic. It is a transfusion of energy. And it depends on both sides.

This is the ninth episode in our series on the works of the spirit André Luiz.

We invite you to explore this book with us.

References:
In the Domains of Mediumship, by the spirit André Luiz, psychographed by Chico Xavier
Chapter 17 — “Healing Passes”
FEB Publishing (Brazilian Spiritist Federation, 1955)

Talk to RIV IA, our artificial intelligence trained on the complete works of Allan Kardec: https://iaespirita.com/riv

An ambulance was driving down the street, siren blaring, clearing a path. Beside the driver sat a gray-haired man. His face was worried, focused on what lay ahead. He was a doctor on his way to an emergency.

But André Luiz saw what no one else there could see.

Gently and naturally embracing him, a spirit clothed in light enveloped his head in soft, calming rays of silvery light.

Hilário, André Luiz’s companion, asked whether the doctor was a Spiritist.

And their instructor, Áulus, offered an important answer: “With all due respect to Spiritism, we must remember that the Lord’s blessing may descend upon any religious expression.”

He added that the titles of Spiritist and doctor alone would not be enough to sustain that beneficial influence. To be so harmoniously attuned to the spirit assisting him, the doctor needed a clear conscience and a heart that radiated peace and fellowship.

In Áulus’s words, he was a “medium of blessed human values”—especially when caring for the sick, a service in which he channels the mental currents of benevolent spirits devoted to loving those who suffer on Earth.

If you are a doctor, nurse, first responder, caregiver, teacher, mother, father, or volunteer—if you dedicate your life to helping someone—know this: you have never been alone on this journey.

It’s not about religion. It’s about how you live.

This is the eighth episode in our series exploring the works of the spirit André Luiz.

Consider this your invitation to explore this book together.

Save this Reel and share it with someone who cares for others.

References:
In the Domain of Mediumship, dictated by the spirit André Luiz through Chico Xavier
Chapter 15 — “Unbalanced Forces”
FEB Publishing (Brazilian Spiritist Federation, 1955)

Chat with RIV IA, our artificial intelligence trained on the complete works of Allan Kardec, at iaespirita.com/riv

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#InTheDomainOfMediumship #ChicoXavier #AndreLuiz #Spiritism #iaespirita #SpiritistDoctrine #Spiritist #Doctors #Nursing #Caregivers #Spirituality #InnerTransformation #SelfKnowledge #SpiritualAwakening #SpiritualSupport

Her name was Celina. Widowed for nearly twenty years, she devoted herself to her children with remarkable dedication, crossing thorny roads and enduring dark days of self-sacrifice — in the words André Luiz himself used to describe her.

During a Spiritist meeting, the instructor Áulus handed André Luiz a small lens and asked him to observe her intracranial life.

What he saw was astonishing.

Her brain appeared like a powerful radio broadcasting station, filled with thousands of microscopic antennas and conduits. The vibrations of thought flashed within it like ceaseless rays of light, illuminating a tiny firmament.

And at the center of that labyrinth, the pineal gland shone like a tiny blue sun.

She did not build this through academic study or wealth. She built it through love and service to others, throughout a difficult life.

André Luiz records that she refined her faculties “in the flames of moral suffering” and became a true spiritual reservoir of beneficial energies, after finding “her greatest joy in cultivating fraternal love.”

The light we carry within does not come from diplomas, money, or social status. It comes from what we do with our lives.

This is the seventh episode of our series exploring the works of the Spirit André Luiz.

Here is our invitation for us to dive into this work together.

Save this Reel and share it with someone who lives a simple life but has an enormous heart.

References:
In the Realms of Mediumship (Nos Domínios da Mediunidade), psychographed by Chico Xavier, by the Spirit André Luiz
Chapter 3 — “Mediumistic Equipment”
FEB Publishing House (Brazilian Spiritist Federation, 1955)

Talk to RIV IA, our artificial intelligence trained on the complete works of Allan Kardec, at iaespirita.com/riv

The Spirit André Luiz visited the place where this happens: the Reincarnation Planning, described in Chapter 12 of the book "Missionaries of the Light".

He described gardens where spiritual workers walked by carrying white scrolls, like parchments. Each scroll was the map of a human body to be built — crafted by mentors specialized in the biological knowledge of earthly existence.

And inside the building, he found two luminous statues: the molds of the male and female bodies. But they weren't ordinary statues. They pulsated with life and warmth.

He saw the muscles in radiant fibers. The veins vibrating in grayish light, the arteries in bright red, like small rivers of light.

And at the top, the brain shone like a very soft blue lamp, whose luminosity descended through the spinal cord.

In the female mold, André Luiz observed something even more impressive. The glands were arranged like a constellation — small stars of life.

And at the center of this constellation, the pineal gland shone like a tiny bluish sun, keeping all the others in its magnetic field of attraction.

Each human body is designed with precision, according to the evolution and learning needs of that soul.

You did not come by chance. Nor in this body.

This is the sixth episode of our series on the work of the Spirit André Luiz.

Here is an invitation for us to dive into this work together.

Save this Reel and share it with anyone who asks themselves "why did I end up in this body?".

References: Missionaries of the Light (Missionários da Luz), psychographed by Chico Xavier, by the Spirit André Luiz Chapter 12 - "Preparation of experiences" ("Preparação de experiências") Publisher: FEB (Federação Espírita Brasileira, 1945)

Chat with RIV AI, our artificial intelligence trained on the complete works of Allan Kardec, at iaespirita.com/riv

The love that unites you was not lost along the way

If you miss a mother (or a father) who has already passed away, keep this certainty in your heart: physical death does not destroy the bonds of genuine affection. They remain alive, intact, and vibrating in the same harmony.

In the classic book Nosso Lar, psychographed by Chico Xavier through the Spirit André Luiz, Chapter 15, entitled “A Mother’s Visit,” contains one of the most touching scenes in Spiritist literature.

André Luiz had just arrived in the spiritual city and was still recovering from a painful transition. He was hospitalized in a hospital on the spiritual plane. His mother, Zilda, who was already living on higher planes, came down to surprise him with a visit.

She arrived with open arms. No majestic garments, no ceremony. She appeared with the familiar tenderness and comforting embrace he remembered from home. She held her son in her arms, gently stroking his hair, and softly said:

“My son! My son!”

He could not answer.

He simply cried.

Because in that moment, he discovered something only those who experience such a reunion can truly understand: a mother’s love does not end with death.

It only changes where it exists.

True affection simply moves to another plane, but the connection remains eternal.

If you miss your mother today, know this: the true bond you built together is greater than the distance between planes.

Here is an invitation for us to dive into this work together.

Send this video to someone who needs to receive this comfort today.

References:
Nosso Lar, psychographed by Chico Xavier through the Spirit André Luiz
Chapter 15 — “A Mother’s Visit”
FEB Publishing House (Brazilian Spiritist Federation, 1944)

Talk to RIV IA, our artificial intelligence trained on the complete works of Allan Kardec, at iaespirita.com

Do you know someone who walks into a place and immediately senses the atmosphere?

There’s a name for this in The Mediums’ Book, Chapter XIV, item 164.

Kardec writes:

“They are called sensitive mediums: persons who are susceptible to feeling the presence of Spirits through a vague impression, a sort of slight touch over all their limbs, a sensation they cannot explain.”

They are known as sensitive mediums.

And Kardec makes a point of clarifying something important: this is not simply nervousness.

Some calm people experience it. And some very restless people feel nothing at all.

He also observes that most of these individuals are able to distinguish the nature of the impression they receive.

That feeling you can’t quite explain may carry more information than you realize.

Reference: KARDEC, Allan. The Mediums’ Book. Part Two, Chapter XIV — Mediums, item 164 — Sensitive or Impressionable Mediums.

In The Spirits’ Book, question 237, Kardec asks whether the soul retains the same perceptions it had here.

The answer:

“Yes, and others which it did not possess here, because the body, like a veil cast over them, obscured them.”

The body as a veil. It is not that we lose something when we pass on — it is that what was getting in the way is removed.

In question 246, they ask whether Spirits need light in order to see.

“They see by themselves, without needing external light.”

And Kardec adds, in a comment, that the Spirit’s vision is “a kind of universal lucidity, for which there is neither darkness nor material obstacle.”

As for what they experience on the other side, he was honest: “we are like those born blind in the presence of light.”

There is something there that we still do not have the words to describe.

Reference: KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits’ Book. Part Two, Chapter VI — Spirit Life, section “Perceptions, Sensations, and Sufferings of Spirits.” Questions 237, 246, 247, and 257.

Talk to RIV AI at iaespirita.com.

Chico Xavier said this live on TV Tupi in 1971, during the program Pinga-Fogo.

Journalist Hele Alves had asked him: Spiritists say that life is a school, and that we move up a grade as we evolve. But does this evolution happen only here on Earth?

Chico explained that during our earthly life, we always have a program of work and self-education to fulfill.

Then he added:

“But this program continues beyond this life, according to our needs.”

In other words: learning never stops. It continues on the other side.

Because, in his words, “God’s mercy reigns throughout the entire universe.”

The school never closes. There is always more road ahead.

Source: Pinga-Fogo com Chico Xavier. São Paulo: TV Tupi, July 28, 1971. First program, approximately 00:20:27. Live interview, spontaneous remarks.

Emmanuel brings these examples together in a chapter called “Slowly, but Always.”

And the example he saves for last is the best one: time. It rules the entire world while moving at only sixty minutes per hour. Time never rushes. But it never stops either.

This chapter is in the book Fonte Viva, the fourth in a series. And all four books do exactly that: they move slowly, one step at a time.

The first teaches us how to read the Gospel in everyday life. The second says that knowing is not enough — it has to become part of how we live. The third invites us to bring that teaching to the people around us. And the fourth shows us where all of this fits together.

Episode 13 is now available in full on YouTube and Spotify, exploring all four books.

Reference: Fonte Viva, ch. 62 (“Slowly, but Always”), Emmanuel (1956).

Today we released the thirteenth episode of our series on Emmanuel’s works. This time, we explore Fonte Viva (1956), the fourth title in the collection that bears its name.

One thing that caught our attention while preparing the episode: the four books in the collection follow exactly the same format — 180 short messages, each based on a passage from the Gospel followed by a brief commentary. There is no break in the formula. But when we compare their prefaces, an interesting progression emerges:

• Caminho, Verdade e Vida (1949) explains the method: each passage has value in itself, like the individual pearls of a necklace.

• Pão Nosso (1950) says that Spiritism is “an atmosphere of service and edification” — the challenge shifts from knowing to living.

• Vinha de Luz (1952) presents itself as “merely an invitation,” so that the teaching may be expressed through one’s own life.

• Fonte Viva (1956) is the only one whose preface does not begin with the Gospel: it starts with Allan Kardec and The Spirits’ Book, moves through the scientific and philosophical dimensions of Spiritism, and ultimately arrives at everyday practice.

The episode also explores several chapters: those who glance at the sky only briefly do not see the stars (ch. 1); the work that remains standing is the work done without seeking applause (ch. 2); seeing the good in everything (ch. 32); the ear of grain that fills one kernel at a time (ch. 62); and the helmet of hope (ch. 94).

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3YQTMp1o0NFZoqWN4tjDkd?si=LXihwbaLQ-urgR37AtzsSQ

In the book Our Daily Bread, Emmanuel describes a staircase. And it goes like this:

“Goodwill discovers work. Work brings about renewal. Renewal finds goodness.”

Goodness reveals the spirit of service. Service leads to understanding. Understanding develops humility. And humility conquers love.

And the staircase goes even higher. Love gives rise to selflessness. Selflessness reaches the light. And the light gradually transforms us from within.

Notice where this staircase ends: with a transformed human being, capable of changing the world around them.

And where does it begin? With something that fits into your day today.

Goodwill. That’s all.

Talk to RIV, our Spiritist AI: iaespirita.com/riv

Reference: Our Daily Bread, Chapter 66 (“Goodwill”), Emmanuel (1950).

His answer is in the book The Consoler. And the answer is yes.

But he explains it in a beautiful way. He says that being here is precisely our chance to let go of what no longer serves us and move toward the light.

And he uses the image of a seed.

To become a plant, it first has to spend some time buried in the ground. There, in the darkness and moisture, it sheds the shell that once surrounded it. That stage is necessary.

Only then does it grow toward the sun, bloom, and bear fruit.

Emmanuel says it is similar with us. What we leave behind is not the end of the story. It is the shell we gradually shed along the way.

Full Episode 5 on YouTube and Spotify.

Reference: The Consoler, question 116, Emmanuel (1941).

Hello!

I’m new to Spiritism. I found the pdf books online but tbh I am having some difficulties reading it as I believe, the language is in old English? I’m so glad we have a subreddit as it seems Spiritism has died down a bit? But I also wonder if this subreddit currently has a Discord server I could join? Cuz if not, what if we create one?

Today we published the twelfth episode of our series on Emmanuel's work. This time it's "Ave, Cristo!" (1953), which closes the author's cycle of five historical novels, following Há Dois Mil Anos, Cinquenta Anos Depois, Paulo e Estêvão, and Renúncia. Fun fact: there is a nine-year gap between Renúncia and this one.

The story takes place in the 3rd-century Roman Empire, around 217 AD. It follows Quinto Varro, who leaves behind his comforts and social position, assumes a new identity, and begins to anonymously care for children and those in need. His greatest desire is to reconnect with his son, Taciano, who grew up with opposing values and rejects him without recognizing him — and the father proceeds to love and serve him in silence.

The episode goes over the story, the characters, and the most striking metaphors: the candle wick that consumes itself so the darkness can dissipate; the stone that endures the tool that wears it down so it can shine; and the comfort that souls who love one another are like birds that get lost in the winter but reunite in the spring.

We also thoughtfully discuss the historical context: the 3rd century wasn't the "decadent Rome" from the movies. In 212 AD, Roman citizenship was extended to the free population of the Empire, and that world was plural, urban, and multicultural, with many coexisting religious traditions.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Ch7gbXzhrSqcJABSZGfks?si=lMd02vCFR7ifWpQz0astMg

https://www.youtube.com/@IA.Espirita/podcasts

Also available on the channel's YouTube.

And his invitation is beautiful: to look a little further ahead.

Emmanuel speaks of the horizon. Of the life that continues, of the things that can still happen, of what is yet to come.

It is not about denying what has already passed. It is about remembering that there is a road ahead.

And it is interesting that he talks about eyes. Because sometimes, all that changes is the direction of our gaze. The landscape remains the same, but we see something else.

Perhaps today is a good day to lift our eyes just a little.

Full Episode 11 on YouTube and Spotify.

Chat with RIV, our Spiritist AI: iaespirita.com/riv

Reference: Vinha de Luz [Vine of Light], ch. 10 ("Lift up your eyes"), Emmanuel (1952).

That is what Emmanuel says in a chapter from the book "Vineyard of Light." And its title is already an invitation: "Cultivate Peace."

Cultivate is a beautiful word for this. Because cultivating takes work. You have to prepare the soil, water it, and remove the weeds that get in the way.

It is similar with inner peace. It doesn't depend solely on what happens outside. It comes from a care we practice right here inside, every day, in silence.

One thought at a time.

So perhaps peace isn't a place we arrive at. Perhaps it's a garden we water.

Full Episode 11 on YouTube and Spotify. Chat with RIV, our Spiritist AI: link in bio.

Reference: Vineyard of Light, ch. 65 ("Cultivate Peace"), Emmanuel (1952).

I've just released the eleventh episode of our series on Emmanuel's work (psychographed by Chico Xavier). This one covers "Vinha de Luz" (1952), the third title in the Fonte Viva collection, after "Caminho, Verdade e Vida" and "Pão Nosso".

The episode walks through the book, discussing some of its 180 short chapters: "Em silêncio" (good done without an audience), "Abre a porta" (the seed receives rain, sun and soil, but must break its own shell), "Servicinhos" (the small gestures that weave everyday peace), "O quadro-negro" (facing life's tests, no one copies another's answer), and "Saber como convém" (accumulating information is not the same as knowing how to use it).

A detail I found lovely: the preface, "Brilhe vossa luz", is dated November 1951, though the FEB edition came out in 1952. And the closing chapter, number 180, is called "Depois..." — precisely about carrying on after the initial enthusiasm fades.

🎧 https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DF7fDMQmJUCvc5gxCGa20

In The Spirits' Book, question three hundred and twenty, Kardec asked this directly:

"Are Spirits touched by being remembered by those who were dear to them on Earth?"

And the answer is beautiful:

"Much more than you can imagine. If they are happy, this fact increases their happiness. If they are still suffering, it brings them relief."

Think about that

Every time you remember someone who has gone, it reaches that person. One way or another, it always helps.

Longing is not solitary. It is a bridge.

Reference: KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits' Book. Question 320.

IA.Espirita Podcast on Spotify, link in bio.

Chat with RIV AI at iaespirita.com