What do the Superior Forces do?

By Valdir Aguilera

Do you know what the Superior Forces do? They take hold of spirits who remain in the fluidic atmosphere of the earth and intuit human beings for their spiritual benefit, you could answer. That is true, but only that? We keep asking. Certainly not. We will sink into this subject, even if not deeply, but enough to broaden our horizon of spiritual knowledge a little more.

Let us start by recapitulating what the Superior Forces are. They are spirits, like us. Like us? You may ask with amazement. Yes, but with one important difference. While we're still struggling here (on Earth), those (spirits) are already developing their projects and carrying out their work on (spiritual) planes higher than ours. Hence the adjective "superior." I see, you would say, they are superior spirits. Wrong, we will correct. There are no superior or inferior spirits, better or worse. They all have the same value and importance. They are only working at different astral levels, with other responsibilities, but all, without exception, aiming to evolve and perfect their attributes. Having clarified this point, let us return to our initial question: What do the Superior Forces do? 

Taking spirits out of the fluidic atmosphere of Earth and intuit humans beings is part of the work they do here, in this temporary world of ours. There is much more, they are doing work at other levels, as we have said. For example, they direct spirits that among us work in a fluidic body to carry out various tasks. Among these we can mention the work that is carried out in Christian Rationalist houses where they help in the formation of fluidic currents. These spirits also help in other tasks which the Superior Forces cannot carry out directly because of the dense fluidic atmosphere of the Earth which makes their presence difficult or even impossible.

To all this we must add that they guide spirits who, in their internship spiritual worlds, plan their next incarnation. You may think that the Superior Forces order spirits about to reincarnate on what they must do. Not at all. They just guide them. Each spirit has its own free will to accept it or not. What helps is that the spirit about to reincarnate does not suffer the disturbances of the earth's environment, and thus be able to reason and make decisions with clarity.

Are these the duties of the Superior Forces? Yes, and there is more.

The Universe is maintained and governed by natural laws. If there are laws, they must be obeyed. Who enforces them? It is the Universal Intelligence through its spiritual particles, each one working in its area of competence. Area of competence? What is that? You can ask. Let's try to clarify this point.

Christian Rationalism teaches us that all Forces are in the process of evolution, always acting on Matter. Each one of them follows a path that is its own, which leads it to a purpose determined by the Universal Intelligence. A path of its own? Yes, that's right, a specific path. To evolve in the kingdoms of nature does not mean that the Force must act in all species of plants, animals or in all areas of human activity. In his work "The Origin of Species" [1], Charles Darwin revealed part of this evolutionary process. Let us continue to clarify this subject about a path of its own.

When a part of the Great Focus is individualized and begins its long journey, it has already been assigned, by the Universal Intelligence itself, a defined task with specific functions in the dynamics of the Universe. In the condition of spirit, passing through multiple reincarnations, it will follow its own path that will lead it to its function in the Whole. For example, perfecting attributes related to the biological area, it (spirit) will become (as a person) a biologist, doctor or other specialist in the area. This "specialization" - which was programmed by the Universal Intelligence, as we said - does not admit deviations from the path. Evading his "vocation" for one reason or another - parental influence, for example -, can only be detrimental to the spirit. Sooner or later, the spirit will resume its journey, in the right direction.

Another example: the arts can be the "inclination" of a spirit as a human being, if that is the case, it was idealized by the Universal Intelligence. 

What is being said here, we repeat, is that a Force does not need to act in all the species of the kingdoms of nature, nor to exercise all the professions or activities existing in human society. Each spirit has its role to play here and in the rich complexity of the phenomena that occur in the Universe. A role defined by the Universal Intelligence.

In short, laws exist and need to be fulfilled. No law is enforced by itself, neither on Earth nor in other planes. The Universal Intelligence enforces them by means of the particles that emanated and individualized from it. Each one of them has specific functions to be carried out in the countless astral planes.

The Superior Forces have much to do, do you agree?

[1] Available in Portuguese in the "Library" of the website www.valdiraguilera.net

There are other school-worlds besides Earth. Did you know that?

By Valdir Aguilera

School-worlds or worlds of schooling are concepts covered in the Christian rationalist philosophy. Do you know what these worlds are? Do you really know? Let's start at the beginning, as it should be.

The Universe is composed of Force and Matter. The Force is in constant and imperious evolution. Only after passing through the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms does the Force have the necessary attributes to act in a human body. From then on, it is called Spirit and ceases to be part of the physical world and now belongs to the spiritual worlds. A spirit does not, therefore, belong to the planet Earth, but to the spiritual world appropriate to its degree of evolution.

The evolution of the spirit takes place in school-worlds. It is in these school-worlds that spirits find opportunities to promote the exchange of intellectual, moral and spiritual knowledge among themselves.

We already knew that. Christian Rationalism has been teaching us that for a long time. Is there anything to be added? Yes, let's see.

There are qualities, predominantly of the intellect that cannot be acquired on Earth. Since evolution is a mandatory condition, it is fair to infer that worlds of schooling are not just the school-worlds of the physical plane. 

It should be noted that although the book Christian Rationalism does not explicitly mention, it seems wise to us to conclude that there are also worlds of schooling in Space. It is in those worlds that the Spirits of the Superior Astral evolve developing quite complex tasks of an unimaginable order. An important difference with respect to the school world Earth is that in those superior worlds of schooling there are neither the intrinsic disturbances of the school world Earth, nor the need for a physical body.

The above mentioned book, in the chapter Space, teaches us that the worlds of schooling are of the same nature as our planet. In our understanding, identical nature does not mean that they are worlds of the physical plane, such as the school world Earth, but rather, worlds where the spirit carries out activities commensurate with its degree of evolution. Did it get complicated? Let's illustrate the idea with a familiar situation.

We know that a university is a school of the same nature as an elementary school, that is to say, in one and the other, appropriate teachings are given to the students who attend them. However, there are differences between these schools, although they are both of the same nature. One of the differences is the degree of knowledge of the pupils who attend them. Another difference is what the students learn from them.

So are the school-worlds. Spirits leave their internship (spiritual) worlds to continue their improvement in worlds which offer them what they need. Spirits from the dense, opaque and intermediate internship-worlds leave for physical worlds, such as Earth, where they begin to animate a physical body. Spirits from the diaphanous worlds and of pure light no longer need a physical body to continue their gradual journey in search of further evolution.

Our conclusions will always be more comprehensive and richer if we do not limit ourselves to reasoning based on our experience and knowledge obtained in a physical world. That is, it will be much more productive to reason from a universal, rather than an earthly perspective. In other words, our reasoning should be based on, that is, they should take into account the spirit in its own nature and not on its temporary condition as incarnated. It is a tendency, even understandable, to develop our analyses from the perspective of incarnations and reincarnations. However, they are only temporary stages of the long evolutionary trajectory to be traveled.

Let us remember: we are all students, but this school is not our home.

Why are there mediums?

By Valdir Aguilera

Are mediums useful to humanity? Why do they exist? Do they receive any training before incarnating? Three questions we find interesting. Let's get to them. Let's start with another question: What is a medium?

In spiritualist circles, a medium is a person who can mediate between disincarnated and incarnated spirits. By having this faculty, he serves as a connection with the spiritual world, thus enabling a spirit to manifest itself in the physical world. But a medium may have the capacity to do more than merely intermediate communications. He may be serving a purpose or a goal, as we shall see.

This faculty is given the generic name of mediumnship. Why generic? Because, in general, each medium has a "speciality," for there are different types of mediumnship. The most common ones are explained in the book "Christian Rationalism". [1] Even though mediumship is an important subject, we will not deal with it in this article. We refer the interested party to the book just mentioned.

In its constant and inevitable journey towards spirituality, every (reincarnated) spirit is faced with various situations. All of them necessary for the improvement of their psychic faculties. Not only does it encounter diverse situations, but it also creates, with its attitudes and some peculiar activities, opportunities for the improvement of others. Unique activities? What do you mean by peculiar activities? Let's just mention one as an example.

Science advances thanks to the work of men and women who observe nature and try to explain, by means of theories they elaborate, the phenomena that occur in it. Although often incomplete, these theories throw some light on natural laws. There are some phenomena that occur even without human intervention. For example, gravitation. Other phenomena need special situations to be created to provoke some specific type of phenomenon. The chemical reactions caused in laboratories are examples.

The phenomena are there to be observed, or provoked, but... But what? Let us explain: there are phenomena that do not occur naturally. As an example we can cite levitation, which consists of people or objects raised and moved in space without the help of forces already known to science, contrary to the law of gravity. For this reason, it does not even occur to researchers to try to provoke them in the laboratory. Without being revealed, these phenomena would not offer the opportunity to be studied, to the detriment of science and, therefore, to humanity.

How to fill this gap? With mediums, for example. Throughout time, and with special mention of the nineteenth century, mediums have produced remarkable phenomena which do not usually occur in nature. Many of these phenomena are discussed in the literature. Among the many researchers who have devoted themselves to studying them, we cite William Crookes and Ernesto Bozzano. [2][3]

Before incarnating, a spirit is not trained to be a medium, but is prepared by more evolved spirits. A medium of physical phenomena, such as levitation, for example, is not capable of provoking the phenomenon by himself. He is only an instrument used by disincarnated spirits. Imagine a guitar. It is incapable, by itself, of producing a sound without being manipulated by someone.

Besides being useful to humanity in the form we have mentioned, a medium can be useful only to himself. How so? Well, let's see.

The evolution of a spirit is made with many, many comings to Earth. Some of those comings (reincarnations) can result in failure, causing much pain to the spirit. When failures occur very frequently and continuously, the spirit decides to reincarnate with the mediumistic faculty manifested. In these conditions he knows that at all times it will be in contact with the spiritual life alerting him to this reality. Thus the chance of losing another incarnation diminishes.

Anything left to say? Yes, there is. The decision to be a medium can be made by a spirit after it has incarnated. At some point in his (physical) life he may decide, for example, to develop his mediumship in order to work in collaboration with the Superior Forces in their activities in a Christian rationalist house. It is a respectable, altruistic decision, and of great value.

[1] "Christian Rationalism" Available in Portuguese as Racionalismo Cristão, 45th edition, chapter 10, edited by the World Headquarters of Christian Rationalism, Rio de Janeiro, 2015.

[2] "Facts and Mysteries of Spiritism", William Crookes (available in Portuguese as "Fatos espíritas" at the library of valdiraguilera.net)

[3] "Transport Phenomena", Ernesto Bozzano, (available in Portuguese as "Fenômenos de transporte" at the library of valdiraguilera.net) 

What should we do after we die

By Valdir Aguilera

Doesn't Christian Rationalism teach us that death does not exist? Therefore, what sense does it make to know what to do after dying? These are legitimate questions that need to be answered. Let's go.

First of all, it must be clear that the death that does not exist is that of the spirit. This one never dies, it's eternal. This is the death that Christian Rationalism refers to. So, who's going to die? We can ask.

Not "who" is going to die, but "what." It's not the spirit, we've seen. What's going to die is the physical body. And its death is natural, inevitable, and occurs due to illness, accident or natural wear and tear, among other causes.

When the physical body dies, the spirit detaches from it, we can say without exaggeration that the physical body is a temporary prison of the spirit.

After this clarification, since we are a spirit, we need to know what to do after we have detached ourselves from our dead body. What does Christian Rationalism tell us about this matter? It says that we should return to our internship-world (spiritual world). However, do we know the way? No, we do not know the way. So, what to do?

Let's go by parts

When the physical body dies, the spirit is in some emotional state. It was calmly waiting for the outcome (in bed, for example); it was irritated; it was disturbed. In the last two cases, it may even happen that the spirit is not aware of the disconnection (with the physical body) and continues to wander around with its fluidic body, obsessing itself even more and others who attach themselves to it by thought or affinity. Sooner or later, spirits in these conditions will be rescued by the fluidic nets organized by the Superior Astral.

On the other hand, in the case of an awaited disconnection (physical death) in a calm environment, the spirit counts on the assistance of the superior astral and is taken to its internship-world (spiritual world). The spirit does not need to look for what to do, because it is not even sure what to do.

It is interesting to note that the transfer to the internship spiritual world is not immediate. It is a gradual process, with some stages where changes occur in the fluidic body. What are these changes? The fluidic body needs to get rid of dense matter that are attached to it. These are classes of matter associated with the feelings and emotions of its (the spirit) passage through here. That matter belongs to various planes of the Earth's fluidic atmosphere and must remain there, hence the process is gradual. The spirit cannot reach its internship world with that matter impregnated in its fluidic body. With this cleansing the spirit will have the necessary lucidity to be able to well evaluate the result of its last incarnation and plan its future.

This being said, instead of wanting to know what to do after leaving the physical body, it is more important and useful to know what to do before. And this is taught by the spiritualistic principles advocated by Christian Rationalism. In so doing, our disincarnation will have the assistance of the superior astral and we will be gently led into our internship spiritual world.

Be proactive and productive

By Luiz de Mattos

Everything comes in its own time. However, no one should wait to gain anything without working to get it, as indolence is prejudicial to the evolution of the spirit. It is desirable to wait for better days, but it is fundamental to work for these days to come sooner. Waiting for something without doing anything is not acceptable. The individual who is spiritually enlightened must be proactive and productive. Such a person knows how to act. One must know how to control one’s own life, not giving in to idleness.

The spirits incarnate in order to make their own evolutive progress. Man, therefore, is born already knowing that he will find struggles and duties on this school-planet, which he planned in his spiritual world in order to advance. Indolence is a harmful evil to human beings and the cause of much unhappiness. It is a mistake to think that one can cruise through life or live in a bed of roses without being productive.

Those individuals who are in this world without being useful are considered unfortunate, as they are always unhappy. They believe that they are envied, have been persecuted, or have utterly failed. Usually, they think that humanity is ungrateful, but they grasp unhappiness with their own hands. Weakened-willed and placing little importance on their responsibilities, they cannot see themselves as the ones who have caused their own grief. Unleashing their frustrations, they blame others for all that is happening in their lives. They believe that their lives are not good, that they have no luck, and that the world is made only of difficulties. So they present a series of lamentations to cover their failures, to justify their mistakes, and to disguise the apathy in their souls.

Happy are those people who have the will power to succeed, those who work in order to feel accomplished. The ones who do nothing always envy the ones who have earned something, even though the latter worked hard to earn it, putting effort into becoming what they are. In general, unfortunate people are jealous of individuals who succeed and claim that their bad deals are due to external causes, and never due to their own indolence.

Know how to work and how to be productive. The individual whose method does not include parsimony cannot dispatch problems the way they should be dispatched, cannot win, and cannot become what they might otherwise be. It is necessary that one take pleasure in work, making the most of it, rather than concurring with failure. Working is good; it enlightens the spirit. To make good use of time is a necessity, and those who do not will become disturbed. This is why there are so many individuals who are mentally distressed. If they were useful to themselves and to their communities, they would not be suffering the consequences of indolence, and even contracting infirmities because of their own sluggishness. As their thoughts are impregnated with illness, they ensure their own unhappiness.

Therefore, learn to use time wisely, with balance, and you will feel accomplished and happy. Daily life can be complicated at times and only the stronger-willed can win. Always remember this and do not fear anything.

The Laws of Cause and Effect

By Humberto Rodrigues

Many questions regarding spiritual life arise from a lack of knowledge about what spirituality is. Most individuals are bound exclusively to a material view of earthly life, and so they suffer great struggles. They do not understand the situations they go through and revolt against themselves. They become irritated with their counterparts under any pretext, judging themselves wronged by the very divinities they are connected to, begging for protection. As the attendees of Christian Rationalism’s public meetings acquire knowledge, they begin to have a different perception of their realities.

The situations we live out are the consequence of the evolutive laws of cause and effect, to which we all are subjected and which produce variable outcomes according to the use of each individual’s free will. Thus, nothing happens by chance, everything has a reason to be. If one practices good deeds, one will have spiritual well being in return. The same is true of malice: evil actions will bring ill being to the spirit.

There are many ways to conduct life as the conditions of the laws of cause and effect proceed; likewise, there are many ways to contract, or not, spiritual debts during our earthly existence. Correcting the faults we have committed also can be done in many ways, within the same existence or in other future incarnations of the spirit. Some work incessantly for the evolution of humanity, finding cures to diseases or making technological advancements, while others dedicate themselves to Culture, and so forth. Thus, spiritual evolution happens in many human circumstances.

Have good thoughts, use your free will towards the practice of the Good, and assist your counterparts, not judging anyone. As you acquire knowledge studying Christian Rationalism, you will have a very different view of the earthly life and understand better the whys of certain situations. The causes that motivate our setbacks are locked in the subconscious, and the difficulties they present should be faced as a necessary practice for spiritual development.

The aim of the Earth school-planet is to make its inhabitants, at each incarnation of the spirit, have a better life than they did in their prior existence, eliminating faults that still exist within the fluidic body. Therefore, make good use of your thoughts before each action; for any individual, minding these thoughts is necessary to fulfilling duties with valor and courage. This is the way that everyone should adopt who wishes to grow in evolution – deepen your spiritual studies in order to improve yourself.

Individual growth in this school-world

By Humberto Rodrigues

On the planet corresponding to its own degree of spirituality and assisted by Superior Forces, the spirit plans its next incarnation, knowing that it will have to face many battles in this school-planet in order to evolve. Even knowing about these crusades, many incarnate because, in light of their level of evolution, only in this world of the scholarly can the individual grow.

The individual has registered in his or her subconscious all the plans made while on the planet that corresponded to the particular class of its earthly existence. One cannot have a detailed perception of their plans, but we can be intuitively guided toward our goals by the Superior Forces, as long as we conduct our lives with lucid thought, righteous action, valor, and courage, without despair in the face of our struggles.

The dense fluidic atmosphere that envelops the Earth, stores countless numbers of disturbed spirits. Even though the Superior Astral, supported by enlightened individuals within Christian Rationalism houses, carry out the physic cleansing of the planet, the harmful influences of the obsessed spirits over the incarnated individuals let inferior thoughts and sentiments lead them, causing them to deviate, sometimes momentarily, from the plans made on their corresponding spiritual planets, which were imprinted in their subconscious minds.

Therefore, we affirm repeatedly that spiritual enlightenment is essential so that individuals can convince themselves that they are composed by the binomial Intelligent Principle and Matter and become aware that they have spiritual attributes to be improved upon, such as intelligence and reasoning, to analyze what they hear and read, arriving at their own conclusions. A well-developed will power makes one able to resist the vices and the mere instinctual impulses, gaining control over themselves in order to control their emotions and longings since the spirit does not incarnate for material conquering but to battle for its own evolution.

It is fundamental to have discipline in life, to exercise one’s thoughts toward the practice of the Good, because every thought, being a vibration of the spirit, has an unknown potential. Evil thoughts attract negative influences that interfere in the righteous use of free will, causing difficulty with making decisions. Those who have virtuous thoughts have good intuitions, as they have spiritual assistance.

Hence, practice the strengthening of Thought, exercising the free will faculty towards the Good. Incarnation is a wonderful opportunity to evolve, as there are interactions among many different people with different levels of spirituality. Enjoy the exchange of experiences, learn from them, and open your minds while avoiding pre-conceited ideas and eliminating prejudice. All in life is learning, experience, and the search for understanding.

Therefore, do not dwindle among difficulties since the spirit has setbacks in order to evolve. Do not feel as if you are a victim and do not attach yourself to sentimentalisms, almost always exacerbated and improper. Everything happens for a reason and occurs in life in a determined moment according to the use of the free will. Spiritual enlightenment eases this understanding, helping us to face facts naturally and with resignation so that we can have mild difficulties in life.

It’s important to have emotional control

By Antonio Cottas

Human beings have battles to face their entire lives, have work to be done that brings worries, and to a certain point these are justifiable concerns as they are a part of living. However, we should know that everything in excess is detrimental. One may suffer by anticipation, bringing anxiety into problems that are not real, that are far from even happening, and that do not occur. So, it is important to have emotional control, to not suffer a psychic draining that weakens our physical and mental health.

On Earth, this grand and beautiful planet, many individuals crisscross their paths daily without knowing each other entirely. Enemies from past existences may now become friends or are even dear relatives. The transcendent understanding assists us to sculpt our souls on this school planet through forgetting past existences while incarnated.

Christian Rationalism teaches liveliness during the meetings at our spiritual houses and in our published books, and how individuals should sociably relate to each other and cultivate friendship, striving to be pleasant and also avoiding conviviality when there is no affinity of temperaments.

Nature makes no leaps. Therefore, one should not do anything in haste. It is important that one analyze everything carefully in other to have assorted conclusions. The spiritualized person walks confidently, having self-confidence and leaving behind non-worthy things. The ones who visit a Christian Rationalist house with the desire to learn what spirituality is will truly benefit. Just as they are invigorated, they begin to have self-assurance, not dreading anything, because from fear and uncertainty comes negative thoughts that lead to psychic dysfunction.

High thoughts create a fluidic barrier around the individual that emits them, hindering malicious spirits from the inferior astral to practice their malice. On the contrary, one who is mentally weak and does not know how to think in an elevated way, will see obstacles everywhere and will only observe flaws in their counterparts. The inferior astral easily manipulates this person, especially the young who depend on him or her since they do not have conditions to defend themselves.

Attend our public meetings frequently in order to change for the better your way of living by applying Christian Rationalism’s principles and disciplines that strengthen our souls, enabling us to act with wisdom and conviction, heightening our thoughts at the right moments.

Know yourself

By Valdir Aguilera

Most likely you know the phrase that gives this article its title. It is also likely that you have seen or heard comments about what it is referring to, and you have your own opinion about it. Even so, perhaps there is something you have missed and it requires further analysis. That's what we're going to do.

First of all, it should be clear that it is not known who the author of the sentence was. Some mention Thales of Miletus, Pythagoras, Heraclitus and even Socrates among several others. It was written (in Greek) in the entrance courtyard of the Temple of Apollo, where the Oracle of Delphi was located. The author was probably none of those remarkable philosophers. It certainly was not Socrates. Why do we believe this? Let us consult Plato.

In Plato's Fedro, Socrates says: "I have not yet, as the Delphic inscription recommends, been able to know myself", it being clear that he saw the phrase "Know thyself" in Delphi. [1]

For the students of Christian Rationalism, knowing oneself means being aware that one is Force and Matter. In other words, we understand each one of us is a dual being composed of a spirit and a body. Not the physical body, but the fluidic one. The physical body belongs to the Earth and remains here after its death, while the fluidic body belongs to the spirit and follows it through eternity. The Christian rationalist knows that he is not his physical body.

Is that what it means 'know yourself'? Yes, but it's only part of the story. There's more to it. Let's see.

As important, or even more important, as knowing yourself as Force and Matter is to be conscious of being in an endless process, to be better, to learn more, to evolve. This learning requires, among other things, to constantly watch over our feelings.

What do feelings have to do with our subject? Everything to do with it, because they are important factors that directly influence our thoughts and guide our actions. Consequently, guide our life.

However, how many pay attention to their own feelings? Not many, and often they do not even notice them. Take, for example, a jealous person. What kind of thoughts is he subject to as a result of this feeling? No righteous thoughts, surely. And it turns out that this person may not realize that he is jealous, he does not know himself.  

Other equally negative feelings can go unnoticed. Many of them you can imagine yourself, like selfishness for example. As a result, the gradual process of evolution is undermined, and this has a price, it generates a debt to be paid.

It follows that in addition to knowing that you are a spirit with a fluidic body, knowing yourself requires being aware of your feelings and, you may add, your emotions. And we cannot forget our habits. Do we spend our lives criticizing others and looking for their flaws? 

In conclusion, to know ourselves, in its broadest sense, it is necessary to make a daily analysis of our behavior, feelings and habits. A good time for this healthy practice is a few minutes before bedtime.

So, do you know yourself?

References

[1] Fedro ou da Beleza, Guimarães Editora, Lisboa 2000, p. 16 (Book in Portuguese)

Prepare yourself for what is coming

By Luiz de Mattos

Many occurrences unfold in the world so that people can awaken. There are many individuals who are asleep, not acknowledging the reality that surrounds them or that happens to them. When these persons awaken to spirituality, they are frightened to face a world that they did not know existed – they regret the life they used to live and lament the time they wasted.

Due to the exacerbated materialism that plagues our lives, people easily stumble in difficulties that delay their spiritual evolution on this planet. Therefore, it is necessary to extend spiritual wisdom to humanity in a way that invites individuals to become more interested in spiritual values than material ones. For human beings, the physical body is a manifestation of the spirit. It is the spirit that gives richness and beauty; it is the spirit that gives life.

It is time to free ourselves from materialism and to follow spiritual principles. It is essential to face life without engaging our existence in malice. It is important that we analyze the past, think of the future, and spiritually prepare ourselves for what is coming, good or bad.

If there is no preparation to tackle the social, economical, cultural, and religious changes coming in the future, humanity will suffer a lot longer than necessary from a delay in spiritual understanding and we will be disappointed with what we encounter going forward.

The ones who are tired of the lives they are living, of the inertia they find themselves in, of the little importance they give to the serious aspects of their own existence, should awaken for spirituality and begin to journey through life on a different path. Since the majority of people do not understand each other or the purposes of their existence, we insist that it is necessary to be prepared for anything.

Therefore, it is essential that people with little direction, going through errant paths, awaken and grow, leaving behind selfishness and arrogance. Become spiritual and dependable, free to follow your own convictions. Be conscious that you are an Intelligent Principle expressed as Matter so that you can be happier. This is what we wish for you.

The meaning of life and universal laws

By Humberto Rodrigues

Many individuals ask themselves, “What is the broad meaning of life? Who are we and why do we live in this context? What is God relative to the universal space? Why are there so many different individuals with diverse tempers in the same family if they were raised the same way?” These are reflections of a transcendent nature and questions of universal philosophical inquiry.

Christian Rationalism is a philosophy that originated from the answers to these questions derived from Luiz de Mattos’ spiritual self-questioning. Integrating conclusions that responded to the spirit of our noticeable humanist need to answer these questions in his last incarnation in this world, its principles approach such metaphysical concepts with answers derived from mediumnity research and reflections on many philosophers’ studies of the human condition. Our purpose is to bring Christian Rationalism to light in order to benefit humanity.

The essential book of this philosophy called Christian Rationalism has answers to philosophical inquires such as who the individual is (Intelligent Principle and Matter), what constitutes the Great Focus (God), what the influences of evolutionary laws are in the whole universe, and so on. As soon as the individual begins to find answers to their questions, they awaken to the spirituality that Christian Rationalism encloses in its clarifying contents, in which reason prevails and (vague) belief is undone.

Christian Rationalist houses are spiritual schools at which attendees of the public meetings arrive with many questions and leave with the answers they receive from our president or his assistants. The teachings are clear and understandable. However, the various subjects available in the essential book (Christian Rationalism) will benefit attentive students who wish to put into deeper practice their knowledge.

It is fundamental to understand the existence of the evolutive laws, such as the Law of Reincarnation, the Law of Cause and Effect, and the Law of Attraction, which are the three most important ones. These are natural and immutable laws to which the Whole is subjected. It is also important to comprehend that the spirit has faculties and attributes such as free will and willpower. When associated with high thoughts, which are vibrations of the spirit, individuals will attract the Superior Forces and gain strength from them to practice the Good.

It is due to the Law Of Attraction that individuals harmonize with sentiments and thoughts similar to theirs, such as sympathy, tolerance, fairness, goodwill, and love towards our counterparts.

Christian Rationalism provides answers to the question of what life is in the physical world and the astral world, and offers explanations for the whys of everything that each individual faces in his or her life on Earth. This philosophy brings spiritual truth through its principles and its soul-strengthening discipline, which accompanies the spirit in its continuous and eternal evolutionary path and can be put into practice by everyone in their earthly existence.

It is truly beautiful to observe individuals spiritually attracted to truth and enlightened! It is wonderful to understand that we are responsible for our own actions – just as we improve our understanding, we become ever more responsible! Life, for ourselves and for those around us, becomes easier if we act this way. Christian Rationalist philosophy is implemented on Earth in a perennial way for the purpose of assisting the human family to follow the evolutive spiritual path with perseverance, conquering the happiness they deserve, which is the purpose of all beings on our planet.

The solutions to our problems come from us

by Antonio Cottas

The great majority of people, who do not have an understanding of spirituality, do not see life as a vast school. In a traditional school, there are many subjects to be studied, such as maths, biology, languages, and so forth, and many questions to be answered in each lesson.

As the individual begins to understand spirituality, he or she commences to understand the immense classroom that Life is and the innumerous personal lessons to be learned each at a time.

Therefore, it is necessary to make use of reasoning with tranquility and willpower with intensity to resolve each problem as it appears, one by one, with valor and courage, understanding that setbacks exist for us to overcome, to teach us life’s lessons, and not to run away from.

As many individuals are unaware of spiritual true reality, many might think they are not the ones to blame for the problems that surface or not the ones responsible for the difficulties they have caused for others.

From the moment people study themselves following Christian Rationalism’s philosophy, they strengthen their souls with these spiritual principles and discipline and they begin reasoning about every difficult situation that they have been through, having in mind that their problems will be resolved by themselves and not by divine entities.

The attendees of the public meetings at Christian Rationalism’s houses should not believe that they have arrived at a place where their individual dramas will be resolved by superior entities and that everything will be all right when they come back to their homes. This is not the way that problems are solved. It is essential that one bring spiritual understanding to life in order to attract the Superior Astral and their beneficial fluids. In order to overcome setbacks, the Superior Forces’ intuitions should be put in practice with optimism.

Therefore it is important for people to be mindful of spiritual reality. Do not harbor illusions with vain promises, thinking that divine entities will solve our life’s problems. It is crucial to have self-confidence, understanding that the solution comes from us as long as we have good thoughts, rational reasoning, and willpower.

Good thoughts and actions attract the Good

By Humberto Rodrigues

The way that individuals vibrate their own thoughts and demonstrate their own sentiments reflects their level of spiritual development. The spiritual baggage of each individual is revealed in his or her actions. Hence, everyday thoughts and sentiments lead to success or to failure in life.

The one who has righteous thoughts attracts the Good and, in general, practices Good deeds. The one who has evil thoughts attracts evil. As a person emits damaging thoughts towards oneself or others, he or she will be feeding the negative currents that crisscross Earth’s fluidic atmosphere and begin to be influenced by these deleterious forces that they attract to themselves.

It is understood that Earth is a school-planet in which individuals of heterogeneous spirituality interact. Therefore, we should not look back or to the side but look forward, passing straight through human malice, because there is a lot of work to do intimately on our own selves such as (amending negative) tendencies of our character, to improve our attributes in order to grow spiritually, conquering happiness as a result of the fulfillment of our duties.

The one who practices evil will not have peace of mind since the spirit incarnates with one’s individual disposition to practice the Good in order to evolve. When individuals distance themselves from the objectives planned in their astral worlds, they contract spiritual debts, which are deviations of conduct to be eliminated from the fluidic body at any cost — even if our negative actions bring delusive material gains — because the real gains are the spiritual ones conquered in our path of progressive evolution.

Study spirituality; study the evolutionary laws, such as the laws of attraction and cause and effect, in order to shape your own lucid, reasoned conclusions. Face setbacks naturally; do not overthink your difficult moments nor give too much importance to your obstacles, as they are all part of life. Do not live with exaggerated sentimentalism, as it will not lead down to any useful path. Face life’s realities with optimism, courage, and valor. We are all spiritual, intelligent principles, not just physical bodies. As long as we have discipline in our lives, putting our will power into action, we all have the capacity to respond appropriately to life’s hindrances and get up from the knockdowns of life’s difficulties.

Therefore, do not dread anything, as fears are vibrations attracting disincarnated spirits stagnated on Earth’s fluidic atmosphere, which will influence you negatively. React against the stumbles of life, make good use of your free will, have your thoughts and your will power aimed towards the practice of the Good.

Practice psychic cleansing daily in your homes and this practice will keep away harmful influences and attract good intuitions, fulfilling your existence, which is always moving forward.

Every individual has a role to fulfill

by Luiz de Mattos

The aim of Christian Rationalism is to awaken individuals to spirituality and, in this way, to free them from the thought of malice, which induces psychic and physical disorders. Our philosophy recommends that everyone reason about their actions and observe their surroundings in such a way that they can justifiably progress.

In life’s daily battles, every individual has a role to fulfill. It’s a shame, though, that not everyone knows how play his or her part. Having love for one’s work is a spiritual duty, but there are many individuals who work as a matter of necessity and not for the duty of being productive or doing something useful in this world.

For too many people, work is merely a mandatory task required to pay their bills and to accomplish their own needs only. Once they have their very basic essentials satisfied, they do nothing. One of the evils of humanity is work disaffection and the dreadful fear of assuming responsibilities.

There are many individuals who do not want to make a sacrifice: they are indolent; they look for the easiest part of the work in the hope of not overworking their bodies. But they are misled. Acting this way, they are deceiving their spirits and delaying their spiritual evolution. Sometimes, it is necessary to speak this truth a little harshly so that these inattentive individuals can awaken. Too much courtesy will not allow them to grasp this life’s reality.

Everyone can find, within Christian Rationalist philosophy, the necessary enlightenment one needs to conquer their spiritual evolution and their material progress. In spiritual awakening, one will notice their mistakes and will head towards a new path. Those who study Christian Rationalism will find within our principles something new that serves them as guidance in life.

Nothing in this world is easy: there is a great deal of bitterness and suffering. However, men and women have the duty to endure and to surpass setbacks with dignity and integrity and without fearing anything. A good fighter has no fears, faces life with strength and determination, ending up victorious.

When the time comes for humanity to become spiritually enlightened, when human beings learn to value their own individual personalities, they will discover intimately their superior traits and begin to live with tranquility. One’s ideal is conquered with valor and courage, but cowardliness is natural for those who do not have an ideal in life. Hence, genuine Christian Rationalists are courageous spiritualists.

Yes, it is possible to predict the future

By Valdir Aguilera

Since humanity started gathering historical information about human societies, one can notice the interest and desire to know about future life and what to expect from it. Will the dreams come true? Will expectations be fulfilled? Is something terrible about to happen? Questions for which they sought answers.

In this regard the Greeks stood out. Moved by the eagerness to get answers to those questions, and others of the same kind, they sought to know the future in various ways, being specific religious rituals the most common. In order to fulfill this desire, pythonesses and their oracles emerged, that is, their answers to the questions that were asked of them. The oracle was also the name of the place, considered sacred, where the pythonesses praticed their craft. The most famous is the Oracle of Delphi, located in the city of the same name, which no longer exists.

Another way to satisfy this hunger to know the future was to look for the answers in the stars or in fortune telling cards. As a result then came the horoscopes and the tarot. We also have the reading of the hands (palmistry), the interpretation of the coffee grinds at the bottom of the cup (cafeomancy) and other means that the fertile human imagination was able to create. All are still in vogue. The clientele is still large and faithful. But let us put these practices aside and turn our attention to people known as clairvoyants.

Is it possible that clairvoyants foresee the future? The answer is 'yes'! And the question of free will? Doesn't a person determine his or her own future? Or is there a destiny already mapped out? Let us examine those doubts in parts.

Clairvoyants are not the only ones who can predict the future. Let's imagine a situation where someone drops a glass. Anyone can predict what will happen to it. What it cannot be said is that when the glass was made it was already destined to fall and crash. If this happened, as in our example, it was because someone got careless and a law of nature was triggered, the Law of Gravity.

Even so, this "destiny" may not come true and our glass may not shatter, because someone could have caught it when it was still in the air. The glass was saved thanks to the intervention of a person's will, perhaps the same one who dropped it.

In a more interesting situation let us imagine a person at the top of a building from where he can see the intersection of two streets. In one of them he can see a car quickly approaching the intersection. He also sees a second car on the other street approaching the same point. He can foresee the future, a collision. What he cannot say, because it is an untruth, is that the two drivers were destined to suffer that car accident.

What, then, is fate? Fate must be interpreted as the plan that the spirit projected before reincarnating in order to advance his evolution. Nothing beyond that. He may or may not succeed in carrying out that plan. It will depend on how he conducts his life. One example that can clarify this subject is that of a person who decides to undertake a course. He enrolls in the course with the intention of finishing it and getting a diploma. Will he finish the course as planned? We know the answer, don't we?

Let us now turn our attention to clairvoyants. If one of them, sought by a client, foresees an event that involves the customer, if he is not making it up he will be receiving intuitions from spirits that see the course that the client has given and continues to give to his life and the resulting consequences. Even so, the future foreseen by the clairvoyant may not come true. The client may consider the prediction as an alert and reshape his life. This is where the question of free will comes in.

The important point to note is that all events, without exception, are governed by universal laws. One of the best known is the Law of Cause and Effect. This law teaches us that there isn't a single effect that does not have a cause behind it. Therefore, our future is determined by our own actions, past and present. Nothing is written in the stars, or anywhere else.

The Law of Attraction is another law that plays an important role in a person's future. An example of the action of this law is the so-called self-fulfilling prophecy. What's that supposed to be? Let us clarify it with a simple example. Let us imagine that a clairvoyant, mystifying, tells his client that a terrible illness is about to manifest itself. It was a malicious invention, but the customer, not realizing the cruelty, is so impressed that he starts thinking about illnesses day and night and ends up being affected by a disease that normally would not occur. What the clairvoyant said resulted in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We quote two laws responsible for events in a person's life: the Law of Cause and Effect, and the Law of Attraction, both well known to researchers of the Christian rationalist philosophy. If there are others, and it is possible that there are, they are not yet known. However, those two are already enough to be remembered and seriously considered in our daily life.

Correct your children without violence of any kind

by Humberto Rodrigues

Family is the fundamental pillar of a well-established society and should be preserved at all costs. Marital misunderstandings, disputes, and arguments can be avoided with mental balance and self-control so that family unity, spiritual love, and mutual respect are intact.

If families have children, the responsibilities of fathers and mothers are even more important. Parents ought to strive to guide their children because they have welcomed into their families these incarnated souls who came to continue their evolution on Earth. Therefore, we recommend analyzing the positive and negative tendencies of your children from an early age, correcting them without verbal or physical violence but through dialogue and good examples, so that when they are adults they can be constructive and productive spiritualists.

Unfortunately, we observe that many youngsters are being raised in ill-mannered families, many in contact with criminality and vices of all sorts. They will become adults with no sense of boundaries or self-conscience, taking from other individuals their belongings and not giving any value to other human lives. Besides the extreme cases of urban violence, there are a series of moral deviations that weaken the behavior of part of the population in big city centers, due to a lack of parenting during their infant ages, leaving deep marks on their souls that are hard to remove from their astral bodies.

All that has been mentioned so far reflects a lack of spiritual enlightenment among these people living as outsiders, a lack of knowledge of the Universal evolution laws, in which all the malice they spread will have to be repaid through a lot of sacrifice. Disorganized living and extreme immediacy bring about arduous consequences for the spirit.

The duty to educate children is one of the most important goals of parents, one which they should never neglect. Paying attention to current trends and keeping an open mind to analyze and understand the behavioral changes of each generation is important, as not all that is new is detrimental. Therefore, it is imperative to abandon all preconceived or radical ideas and maintain an open dialogue with your children while understanding their aspirations through a modern worldview.

Maintaining respect and discipline at home and involving children in everyday chores are basic tasks that parents should adopt. Understand that luxury is not necessary, but good examples, mutual understanding, and engaging spiritual love are. During times of anger or incomprehension, look for spiritual serenity elevating your thoughts, so that dialogue can begin. The daily practice of psychic cleansing will greatly assist family tranquility.

Parents, do your spiritual and material duties by striving to keep your families together, for much of the world’s ills is the result of the dissolution of households. We can assure you that Christian Rationalism’s philosophy offers many useful teachings to each and every one who uses them everyday, in order to help you conquer happiness in this school-planet called Earth.

A better future full of accomplishments

by Antonio Cottas

When an individual goes through upsetting psychological moments it is time to look forward and search for answers to the “whys” of our existence. It is time to head for a new path and rebuild life, leaving behind the worst of what has happened. It is important to hold intimately only to what could be beneficial for the future, which is the knowledge we acquire, the ripened fruits picked from the tree of experience.

Christian Rationalist houses are spiritual schools that teach each attendant of our public meetings to walk through the path of evolution, to live with dignity, and to overcome daily problems through wisdom, facing them with valor and courage.

Life becomes a wonderful experience for the spirit, when the individual knows the reason (s)he came to Earth, placing oneself above any human malice, and leading life through the practice of the Good. Keeping high thoughts, one searches for pure and crystal clear inspiration that comes from the high levels of spirituality. Enlightened spirits who, during their corporeal life, have conquered elevated evolutionary plateaus, nowadays work in astral planes, assisting those who know how to attract them with useful intuitions and beneficial (astral) fluids, which are truly empowering balms for dispirited individuals.

Learn how to have thoughts focused on the practice of good, based on fraternal love, towards a better tomorrow than the past. Build your lives with the binder of spirituality.

Christian Rationalism is a code of conduct aiming at the spiritual evolution of humanity. Therefore, attending a meeting at a Christian Rationalist house is a wonderful opportunity to spiritualize yourself. The individuals who seize this opportunity will gain the necessary assistance to free themselves from the past and engage their efforts on behalf of a better future full of accomplishments.

Help individuals to help themselves, help humanity

by Humberto Rodrigues (February 2015)

Does Christian Rationalism offer a way of life for everybody? Is it a spiritual philosophy above all the others, with a true supremacy of knowledge, capable of offering a model of a talented organization to the attendees of the public meetings ministered at Christian Rationalism’ houses? Of course these are not exactly what this Philosophy proposes to the people who seek our houses or to the ones who study spiritualism.

Pay close attention to what happens during a public meeting: they are comprised of thoughts emanated by attendees relating their psychic difficulties. There are disembodied spirit manifestations exposing their anguish and longings, which keep them tied to the Earth’s fluidic atmosphere. All of this is received and transmitted by disciplined Mediums assisted by the Superior Forces through the formation of a fluidic current. To each statement transmitted by the Medium, there are explanations directed to the public from the person presiding the meeting at the head of the table, in order to clarify doubts.

There are many ways of life presented during the public meetings; therefore, we do not offer a unique solution to solve all human problems. Instead, Christian Rationalism recommends a pathway that leads people towards their spiritual growth so that they can plan their own lives.

Yes, that is what we said: plan your own lives. And we may ask: what does that mean? The answer is that planning your life starts with spiritual awakening. It is essential to know the spiritual truths stated by Christian Rationalism; for instance, that the spirit is an emanation of the Universal Intelligence and therefore eternal. The human being in evolution on Earth is comprised of the binomial Intelligent Principle and Matter, which are as dense as they are fluidic; that the spirit, astral body, and physical body are all subject to Evolutionary Laws that are natural and immutable. It is also important to know that the Act of Thought, being a spiritual vibration, becomes the foremost mechanism that the individual has, within their own capabilities, to expand their self-awareness.

Understanding these teachings and all that this philosophy explains, every person can obtain the happiness desired from life. Having a stable family, work that brings broad satisfaction, and trustworthy friends are all distinct possibilities through true spirituality.

To be excessively concerned with daily problems, thinking they are unsolvable, is a mistake that many commit. Not following a method of self-help but equipped with the teachings of this philosophy, each person can, however, resolve their difficulties.

Christian Rationalism does not have a life plan ready for anybody, because individuals are in different degrees of evolution and each one understands these teachings according to their spiritual advancement. One will put these teachings into practice, as he or she accepts them and develops their will power, an attribute that if well exercised, leads towards success.

What are the initiatives taken in Christian Rationalist houses to help the attendees hit by sufferings of spiritual nature? Not only they are offered the books available at hand but in a one-on-one type of assistance, they are invited to come and voice their problems and questions. The assistants offer all the necessary information, so that the attendees can act accordingly to their convictions and level of spiritual enlightenment.

The real battle is not against any person, but against our own ways of living that afflict us. There are negative thoughts and feelings to be fought against and exchanged by thoughts fortified by good deeds and feelings based in the foremost moral qualities, which will harmonize with the Whole Universe and will bring inner peace.

In fact, we can shed light on Christian Rationalism’s objective in just a few words: help individuals to help themselves, help other people, help humanity. We need each other during our evolutionary path which life on Earth present us with its challenges, moments of happiness and sadness. All of these are necessary in our steps forward toward fulfilled spirituality. Our goal, at the end of our journey, is to grasp what has real value, leaving Earth’s fluidic atmosphere and rising towards the Astral Worlds, where we belong, in order to glorify our own accomplishments.

Never give up in face of life’s struggles

By Humberto Rodrigues

Do not feel discouraged due to life’s battles and burdens! Discouragement shows a lack of confidence when it comes to human capacity to resolve their own difficulties. Setbacks are a natural consequence of living in this world; they are a response from the evolutionary laws when those laws are infringed, given that they rule the Universe.

Dismay weakens the spirit, which is the keeper of valuable attributes that ignites the creation of ideas and images, enabling cohesive conclusions and adequate solutions through logical reasoning and common sense in order to create a well balanced life, deprived of extravagance but provided with modesty, moderation, and justice.

Being in touch with our own selves, human beings are able to access their spiritual background experiences earned through multiple existences of the spirit as well as access to the pool of Universal Knowledge via intuition, provided they are able to tune in to the superior levels of spirituality. For this, it is necessary that individuals place importance on what is relevant in life, not attaching themselves to a vile existence and human wickedness.

Do not ever react to negative attitudes of others with similar thoughts or sentiments but act instead with upstanding behavior as that is the only way to guard against adverse influences. Do not expect miracles or divine protections because they do not exist.

Human beings are capable of facing all that confronts them in their lives with valor, courage, and the competent use of their free will, harvesting the fruits that the sowing of the seeds of good, produce, such as serenity, tranquility, and inner peace desired by each and every one. Everything is conquerable in the world as long as people are persistent in the fight to achieve their spiritual goals, which should hold primacy over material ambitions.

Therefore, there is no reason to succumb to discouragement. Everyone has spiritual resources needed to thrive on Earth. Study spiritualism, enlighten yourselves, utilize the pool of attributes developed accordingly to each one’s degrees of spirituality, and one will be able to seize life’s existence by strengthening positive vibrating currents. Behaving in this manner, people will be assisting themselves and others to attain the happiness which comes from the certainty of having fulfilled their duty, which always satisfies the soul.

Psychic Cleansing: The meaning of the words

By Antonio Cottas

We recommend, as a central practice for everyone attending public meetings at any Christian Rationalism house, to concentrate their utmost attention on the psychic cleansing words, since every word has its unique importance. The higher our level of attentiveness to words, the higher our understanding of their genuine meaning becomes, and the more thoroughly we can understand what they represent. If we do not understand deeply the meaning of the words of the Irradiations, our practice will become nothing more than mechanical.

The Irradiation A asserts that it is through study of the Christian Rationalism’s principles, adequate reasoning, and spiritual growth derived from the struggle against moral imperfection that the individual evolves and reaches enlightenment. Once one understands the meaning for this assertiveness, one is ready to embrace the spirituality promulgated by Christian Rationalism’s philosophy.

Therefore, it is important that every single one of us read this philosophy attentively, reeducating our way of thinking subjecting it to rational reasoning in order to avoid attracting negative thoughts that reverberate within the earth’s atmosphere, causing suffering. As soon as the individual grasps a full awareness of himself as Intelligent Principle and Matter, he or she cannot consent to everything that is told to them, but will reach an appropriate spiritual balance, becoming capable of dealing with difficulties while avoiding failure and discouragement. The endeavor is for the strong-minded souls.

The individuals who have confidence in themselves, the individuals who can take the instructions in this philosophy seriously by practicing them, they can rest assured that they will succeed in any endeavor. Christian Rationalism’s philosophy does not promise anything to anyone; it merely states the reality of spirituality. By paying attention to the meanings of these irradiations during our daily psychic cleansings, we become equipped to perceive everything that is happening around us and to put into practice the Christian Rationalism’s principles.

Do not be ashamed of your weaknesses

by Humberto Rodrigues

Changing behavior requires effort, determination, and discipline, aptitudes that those who decide to alter their habits must develop. Numerous individuals attending the public meetings at Christian Rationalism houses intend to amend the way that they conduct themselves. They observe all that is occurring as they listen to and agree completely with the recommendations provided in the course of our public meetings. However, they surrender when faced with their very first obstacle, putting aside their willingness to change and failing to make the effort to step forward. These individuals simply do not trust themselves.

We recommend that individuals who desire to modify the way that they handle problems, behave, and perceive the world around exert the effort to succeed. They ought to discipline their own thoughts and prevent misguided ideas from ruling them. At the end of every day, they must reflect on their actions and their outcomes.

Each of us is constantly making decisions throughout the day – what to eat, how to dress, what time to leave, and many others – that are a part of our daily lives. Consequently, if we really decide to candidly change for the better, we must strengthen our spiritual willpower in order to eliminate what is not worth keeping inside of us, what is not truthfully worth feeling. On every occasion that individuals seek virtuousness in their lives they can only triumph because they enlighten their own existence.

After reflecting upon our lives, we should not be ashamed to name our weaknesses. In fact, we should confront them, understanding that if not conquered, they will hinder our spiritual growth. For this reason, it is in our best interest to be honest with ourselves, facing up to our difficulties through rational reasoning, determination, discipline, and, foremost, striving to succeed.

Those who aspire to change their behavior cannot retreat when they encounter their very first difficulty. Life is a daily practice toward spiritual enlightenment. Thus, those who are observant will perceive what is frail in their personality and what is being tested continuously. Many unwilling to examine their own mistakes will point out others’ faults and, when criticized, will not admit their own weaknesses, even if the criticism is provided constructively. It is therefore of utmost importance to be courageous in acknowledging our oversights and subjecting ourselves to necessary improvement through disciplining our frame of mind.

Spiritual enlightenment to face sentimentalism

by Luiz de Mattos

Spiritual enlightenment is the force that empowers human beings and helps them overcome the hardships of life. There are people with different personalities and the sentimental ones are the ones who suffer the most. For them to go through life without any major misfortunes they must find a middle ground way of living. They can neither be too sentimental nor too indifferent. Given that sentimentalism is inherent to human beings, it is difficult to eliminate, but it can be contained and controlled. One of the ways to face life in a more rational and less painful way is to elevate your thoughts.

There are facts and events that leave an unpleasant impression, but these impressions disappear when people use their thoughts and free will along with actions that are generally beneficial. There are good things in this world but it is necessary to have the spiritual strength needed to face evil. You will find the power that you need if you are willing to fight. There is a reason for everything. Search outside and inside yourself and you will better understand the troubled cases of moral and physical nature that you are going through, which will lead to also finding the support and comfort that you need to solve your problems.

Life on earth is difficult and painful for most, but the difficulties are understandable when there is spiritual enlightenment. It is a spiritual relief when problems are more clear because it makes your spirit strong enough to overcome whatever may affect you. Enlighten yourself and face the world the way it is and meet anything with valor and courage. Everyone goes through struggles in their life and as a result experience emotional and physical pain, but all of that is necessary to achieve spiritual growth.

Face everything with courage, so you can go through life without becoming spiritually weak. There is nothing better than to be busy, so keep yourself occupied. Try an activity that is pleasurable and useful to others to help overcome your tendency to become sentimentally weak.

Therefore you need a better understanding of your life’s purpose to become spiritually stronger in order to face anything with courage and no vacillation.

Be yourself and learn how to think

by Antonio Cottas

You can admire a person for their strength, honesty and excellent character, thus following their good examples is important. What you do not need is to compare yourself with them and try to become exactly like the person you admire. You are unique. the Universal Intelligence would not exist without you and you would not exist without the Universal Force which is the Great Focus.

Wanting to improve and to have legitimate means to help yourself shows spiritual advancement but you should always be yourself. We are all equal before the Universal Intelligence but each one of us has our own individuality. Comparing ourselves with others may open the door to the chance of attracting inferior sentiments.

When you look inside yourself, you will discover that spiritual evolution does not occur by leaps and bounds. You must climb the ladder of evolution step by step. The Superior Astral supports this idea because we are all interconnected and we depend on each other.

The spiritual values that you recognize around you are the same values that exist within you. If you see good moral values in another individual that compel you to be better, it is because the same good values are inside of you in a dormant state, in need to be awakened. If you trust your potential and your will to do better, you will improve with the support of the Superior Forces.

It is an ongoing struggle for the Superior Astral to remove the Inferior Astral of the earth’s fluidic atmosphere, because they are consumed by the misuse of their free will. This will come to an end when humanity begins to look inside themselves and experience a spiritual awakening. When people realize that spiritual evolution is a must and see themselves as part of the Universal Intelligence. In the distant future, disincarnated spirits will no longer stay in the earth’s atmosphere because human beings (incarnated spirits) will stop acting as their poles of attraction in this physical world. What still retains those spirits in the Earth’s fluidic atmosphere are the incarnated spirits (people) who still do not know how to use their thought.

So, my friends learn how to think, because there is so much to discover and so much to do. Remember that you are unique and if you keep your thoughts elevated you will always have the assistance of the Superior Forces.

The spiritual reality of life

by Luiz de Mattos

The doors of Christian Rationalism houses are open to the public for the attendees who are eager to find enlightenment, spiritual well-being and relief for their pain. Come and find out for yourselves. Spiritual enlightenment brings health to the body and nourishes the soul; that soul forgotten by so many people who think only about the material side of life and forget to live it using their spiritual attributes.

Christian Rationalism is a doctrine that shows the spiritual reality of life that empowers the spirit through the written and spoken word giving psychic strength, which permeates into the innermost part of the individual. Study gives you a better understanding of all things and reading is something more than just skim through the pages of books. To actually read is to investigate, ponder, think and conclude. Therefore, we recommend that you read the books published by Christian Rationalism, to become more spiritually informed.

We want human beings to walk firmly knowing what they are doing in this world in order to have better days and be aware of their responsibilities while incarnated on Earth. Life for those who know how to live is filled with spiritual wealth. To achieve this, it is necessary to conduct oneself in a correct manner, and to enjoy life with honesty. Suffering is the result of life’s struggles and who does not go through difficulties in life? They are the product of life itself.

Christian Rationalism teaches us to overcome suffering and teaches how human beings should be prepared for everyday’s life. People should be able to go through everything in this world, always looking within to see if it is right or wrong, getting rid of the harmful influences that arise from misguided thoughts, trying to correct mistakes, and re-educate themselves. In simple words to be understood by all, we always say: to think well is to attract good, to think evil is to attract evil. Those who criticize others often forget their own flaws and hide their own imperfections, thus not thinking well.

We alert and advise so that people may live as spiritually knowledgeable individuals. For years, Christian Rationalism has been enlightening humanity through their published works, doctrinations of the Superior Astral and guidelines from its leaders in public meetings. Attending our houses with just the expectation of warding off spirits of the inferior astral is not enough. One must learn how to put into practice what they know spiritually, in order to fulfill their duties, live selflessly, and be useful to their fellow man. In doing that, you will always be well assisted, you can be sure of that. Helping is there for those who need help. Put into action the principles and discipline of Christian Rationalism and practice Psychic Cleansing which is recommended to strengthen the soul.

Home: A sanctuary of harmony and spiritual evolution

by Antonio Cottas

Home should be like a sanctuary where family members cooperate with each other for spiritual progress. When spirituality is lacking, the family environment becomes a target for inferior forces to induce disputes, where selfishness reigns and the opinions or some self-centered individuals prevail over other family members. This is not good because it brings instability to the family and trades away peace for disharmony.

There is nothing worse than arriving home after a working day only to find a climate of confrontation, disagreements and misunderstandings. There is nothing that can justify this kind of environment. Only the lack of spiritual judgement can make some parents act with so much selfishness and irresponsibility. Everything they do, can spread like a wildfire and greatly affect their children. The innocent suffer the consequences because they see their parents feuding in irrational disputes, which can only delay spiritual growth.

How often altercations among adults are passed on for generations because all children see at home is disrespect, disputes, and bitter fights! This kind of behavior do not make the environment healthy for anyone. It is possible that one of the spouses wants to break ties and commitments voluntarily assumed to each other in the past. In that case why have they disregarded each other’s personal flaws before committing themselves to marriage? Lack of truthfulness with each other can lead to an unloving and unstable home.

Christian Rationalism which is a spiritual school welcomes people with marital problems to visit our houses so they can learn how to live in a more friendly way in group, and to practice spirituality at home. Many, many people arrive at our houses tormented by the erroneous behavior patterns of spouses, children and other family members. By developing their spiritual awareness, they will be able to sanitize around them the harmful atmosphere they live in. This way, waves of obssessor spirits giving rise to all sorts of spiritual unrest, will be driven away and as result harmony will be brought back into their homes.

Often this work can be done in silence, just by one member of the family elevating their thoughts, irradiating in favor of family members so they can mentally perceive and avoid errors, conducive to improving the atmosphere around them, for the sake of an happy marriage and well-being, which means the fostering of spiritual evolution without discord.

Everything can be achieved in life as we become more spiritually enlightened. The beacon that lights the way to a better understanding of our purpose in this world, is spirituality. This will not be achieved with fights and feuds, but with elevated thoughts and good deeds, so that everything can fall into place and people understand that they were on the wrong path.

Those family members who feel isolated at home should not be discouraged, especially when they have the support of a spiritual doctrine like Christian Rationalism. In their struggles their spirits will gain more enlightenment as they discover the vast knowledge that this philosophy can supply, encouraged by the Superior Astral who will inspire them to do everything to promote the welfare of their families.

One day, when members of a family disincarnate and ascend to their spiritual worlds, they will then see the spiritual valor of the one who fought alone in the family. How many lessons will they learn, recognizing that one family member was on the path of spirituality all along, everyday. They can then use those lessons in future incarnations. With patience and perseverance, much can be achieved in the long term. Then they will be able to form families made up of people who are more knowledgeable and spiritually evolved.

Open new horizons on Earth

by CR (166)

It is not easy to eradicate the wrongdoings of religious sectarianism related to spiritual life, because they are too deeply rooted.

It should be noted that religious fanaticism have generated such hatred among men, that a segment of humanity have been led to perpetrate the most appalling acts of violence and cruelty.

Only the knowledge of spiritual life, and the common origin of all beings, will give man the strength to open new horizons on Earth, through which humanity will be able to find the paths that will lead them to the long dreamed peace and fraternity aspired by many, and as a result to the creation of a new world. 

This is why Christian Rationalism works for all human beings who want to enlighten themselves about incorporeal life, and want to learn the reasons why we live in this physical world.

The truth is that we live in this world to fulfill the Law of Evolution. Spiritual Evolution must continue no matter what, for the evolution of the spirit is part of the Natural and Immutable Laws that govern the Universe. 

The sole objective of all the previous writings is the enlightenment of humanity about certain spiritual truths, so that all individuals can give a superior orientation to their lives, in order to improve their personalities, and thus transforming individual lives in this world for the better and in the process, shorten the progress of their spiritual evolution. 

References

[1] Christian Rationalism, 1st Edition, Rio de Janeiro 1984

[2] Compilation, paraphrasing, translation from original texts in Portuguese

Famous people and the Law of Reincarnation

By CR

Krishna

Three thousand years before Christ, Krishna in India proclaimed the existence of a Universal Intelligence, maintaining the immortality of the soul and its evolution through successive reincarnations. And the great thinker clarified: "The body is finite, but the soul which lives in it is invisible, imponderable and eternal."

Pythagoras

Among the ancient Greeks, reincarnation was a doctrine closely associated with the followers of the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. According to Pythagorean teaching, the soul survives physical death.. After a series of reincarnations each one following a period of psychic cleansing in spiritual environments the soul becomes free eternally from the cycle of reincarnations.

Jack London

The American writer Jack London in his book The Star Rover, a collection of related stories dealing with reincarnation, wrote: "I did not begin when I was born, nor when I was conceived. I have been growing, developing, through incalculable myriads of millenniums."

Richard Bach

Richard Bach wrote this in Jonathan Livingstone Seagull: "Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power in the Flock? A thousand lives, Jon, ten thousand!... We choose our next world through what we learn in this one... But you, Jon, learned so much at one time that you didn’t have to go through a thousand lives to reach this one."

Jalalu Rumi

Islamic Poet of the 13th century wrote: "I died as a mineral and became a plant, I died as a plant and rose to animal, I died as animal and I was man. Why should I fear ? When was I less by dying ?"

Napoleon

Napoleon was fond of telling his generals that he believed in the law of reincarnation and even told them who he believed to have been in a previous life.

Benjamim Franklin

One of the America's founding father's believed in the idea of reincarnation and once wrote: "Finding myself to exist in the world, I believe I shall, in some shape or other always exist."

Honore Balzac

French writer Balzac wrote an entire novel about reincarnation, Seraphita. There he stated: "All human beings go through a previous life... Who knows how many fleshly forms the heir of heaven occupies before he can be brought to understand the value of that silence and solitude of spiritual worlds?"

Arthur Schopenhauer

Were an asiatic to ask me for a definition of Europe, I should be forced to answer him: "It is that part of the world which is haunted by the incredible delusion that man was created out of nothing, and that his present birth is his first entrance into life."

Ralph Emerson

Ralph Emerson also believed in the law of reincarnation and once wrote: "The soul comes into a temporary abode, and it goes out of it anew... it passes into other habitations, for the soul is immortal."

Henry Ford

In an interview he said: "I adopted the theory of reincarnation when I was 26. Genius is experience. Some think to seem that it is a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience in many lives".

Paul Gauguin

In his final years in Tahiti, Paul Gauguin wrote that "when the physical organism breaks up, the soul survives. It then takes on another body."

Mahatma Ghandi

Ghandi once said: "I cannot think of permanent enmity between man and man, and believing as I do in the theory of reincarnation, I live in the hope that if not in this birth, in some other birth I shall be able to hug all of humanity in friendly embrace."

J. D. Salinger

In one short story, Salinger wrote about a young boy who recalls his reincarnation experiences and speaks forthrightly about them. "...All you do is get ... out of your body when you die. ...everybody's done it thousands of times. Just because they don't remember, it doesn't mean they haven't done it."

George Harrison

The ex-Beatle, George Harrison's serious thinking about reincarnation is revealed in his thoughts: "Friends are all souls that we've known in other lives. We're drawn to each other. Even if I have only known them a day, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to wait till I have known them for two years, because anyway, we must have met somewhere before, you know."

Hermes

Hermes in Upper Egypt asserted thousands of years before the Christian era that: the Universal Intelligence is the only creative power in the Universe.

Gabriel Delanne

In Animistic Evolution Dr. Gabriel Delanne states based on careful research: "... the duration of one’s life is but one moment in eternal evolution."

Plato

Also from the ancient Greece, Plato maintained that the soul is eternal, preexistent, and wholly spiritual and retains some knowledge of former existences. Plato believed that the cycle of reincarnations would cease only after the soul went through thousands of physical lives to continue its existence in spiritual planes.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

The Polish-born American writer and Nobel laureate, Isaac Singer in his Stories from Behind the Stove wrote the following: "There is no death... The soul never dies and the body is never really alive."

Leo Tolstoy

The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy was a profound social and moral thinker and in his writings one can find this: "As we live through thousands of dreams in our present life, so is our present life only one of many thousands of such lives which we enter from the other more real life... and then return after death. Our life is but one of the dreams of that more real life, and so it is endlessly, until the very last one, the very real life..."

Pinheiro Guedes

Scientist and physician, Dr. Pinheiro Guedes in his book Spiritualistic Science wrote about spiritual principles and laws and stated that: "moral and intellectual advancement is accomplished through the process of reincarnation – and that those laws: prove the pre-existence and survival of the human soul". Dr. Pinheiro Guedes has always believed that by analytical demonstration it is possible to prove that Spiritualism is a science; a science of observation which also resorts to experimental methods.

Walt Whitman

This american poet wrote: 

"I know I am deathless...

We have thus far exhausted

 trillions of winters and summers,

There are trillions ahead, and trillions ahead of them."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

One of the greatest German poets, and also a dramatist and scientist, also believed in reincarnation and may have envountered the idea in his readings in Indian philosophy. He once remarked: "I am certain that I have been here as I am now a thousand times before, and I hope to return a thousand times."

Henry Thoreau

The philosopher of Walden Pond wrote: "As far back as I can remember, I have unconsciously referred to the experiences of a previous state of existence".

James Joyce

Reincarnation is a recurring theme in Ulysses, by Irish novelist and poet James Joyce. In one passage of the book, Joyce's hero tells his wife: "Some people believe that we go on living in another body after death, that we lived before. They call it reincarnation. That we all lived before on the earth thousands of years ago or on some other planet."

Erik Erikson

Erikson is a psychologist who is convinced that reincarnation goes to the very core of every man's belief system. He wrote: ";Let us face it: 'deep down' nobody in his right mind can visualize his own existence without assuming that he has always lived and will live hereafter".

John Masefield

The British poet John Masefield, in his well-known poem about past and future lives, writes: 

"I hold that when a person dies

His soul returns again to earth;

Arrayed in some new flesh disguise,

Another mother gives him birth

With sturdier limbs and brighter brain

The old soul takes the road again."

Herman Hesse

Nobel laureate Herman Hesse wrote: "He saw all these forms and faces in a thousand relationships to each other... None of them died, they only changed, were always reborn, continually had a new face..."

Multisecular deceptions and spiritual schools

by CR (165)

Are human beings able to assimilate the teachings of this Spiritual Philosophy, to put them into practice in their daily lives? Unfortunately not everybody is. Most do not yet admit life without divine protection. Most can't conceive a Universe ruled by natural laws that make no special distinctions and grant no privileges or favours to anyone. This type of World and Universe is difficult to be accepted by those who, led by their parents or tutors, grew up with the mental images of gods and saints crowding their childhood. 

It is said that the time has come for the awakening of humanity. However, there is a marked prevalence of material values ​​over spiritual ones.

Youth is beginning to repel, and rightly so, the concept of heaven and hell, in a Universe that scientific research is striving to unveil. And by observing the multisecular deception of which they have been a victim, youth have been letting themselves be influenced by the dangerous seductions of materialism or mystical superstitions, thus being at risk of replacing a lesser evil with a greater evil. 

Now imagine what the world would be like today if the temples of all religions, instead of teaching how to plead, pray and worship, would instead minister the rational and enlightening spiritual principles disclosed in these collection of writings, aiming at a sound, fulfilling life?

Do you have any idea of ​​what it would mean for humanity to transform these temples into schools of high spiritualism?

The main problem of life is for human beings to learn to trust themselves, have confidence in the process of willpower and in the prodigious, immeasurable force of their thoughts. 

How humanity's creative power would then develop! And what splendid material human beings would have available in order to improve their moral attributes and develop upstanding, conscious and strong personalities! 

References

[1] Christian Rationalism, 1st Edition, Rio de Janeiro 1984

[2] Compilation, paraphrasing, translation from original texts in Portuguese

Studying past writings

by CR (164)

After reading all or most of the previous texts, the readers may be asked some questions: how will they behave or react to the explanations they have received? Will they be willing to review its most important topics, in order to permeate that knowledge, to better understand what life is all about, and the principles, the laws, the foundations by which we are all governed?  

Will our previous writings be given the importance, the value, the regard they deserve? Will the readers come back to read them once again and use them for regular consultation, or will they relegate them, just like a short story they've read to pass the time, into oblivion? 

The greatest evil in the world lies precisely in the indifference with which the serious problems of life are dealt with. The mind, which evolves so much with the constant exercise of reasoning, is seldom utilized by human beings, because they are accustomed to accept, without further examination, explanations that explain nothing about the whys of life, because religious obscurantism, powerless to provide any serious clarification, tell its followers that the divine decrees which govern life are mysterious and impenetrable.

It should be emphasised that Christian Rationalism does not have material interests to protect. Leaders and assistances of Christian Rationalist Centres live off of their honest work. In these Centres they learn to discipline material and spiritual activity, so that one will not conflict with the other, and they are happy to be able to make a contribution to their fellow man that they also received when they had the good fortune of encountering Christian Rationalism.

References

[1] Christian Rationalism, 1st Edition, Rio de Janeiro 1984

[2] Compilation, paraphrasing, translation from original texts in Portuguese

Synthesis of Christian Rationalistic Principles

by CR (163)

The entire universe is governed by common and natural laws. Such laws, from which the well-known axiom "as you think, so you will be" is derived, are immutable, and among them, special mention is made to the law which regulates the action of thought. 

Once this truth is recognized, that is, the importance of thought as a powerful force of attraction for both good and evil, human beings, for their benefit and for those with whom they live, should guide their lives so as to put into practice their acquired knowledge. 

For this purpose, people need to adopt, as normative rules of conduct, as behavioural guidelines, the Christian Rationalist principles best suited for each occasion. This will ensure success in their undertakings and good spiritual assistance.

Some of the most important principles, can be summarized as follows:

01 - strengthen the will for the practice of good; 

02 - cultivating uplifted thoughts in favour of one's fellow man; 

03 - lend a helping hand to whoever needs it, when the means and the opportunity allow it, but do not contribute to sustain the idleness and vices of anyone;

04 - maintain the balance of emotions in the analysis of the facts, so as not to affect the necessary serenity;

05 - behave respectfully in language and attitudes;

06 - respect other points of view, especially when expressed with sincerity;

07 - eliminate heated discussions or aguments from everyday habits; 

08 - not wanting for others what you don't want for yourself;

09 - fight against backbiting, calumny, backstabbing, slander; 

10 - do not to connect yourself by thought to evil, disturbed and inconvenient people;

11 - exercise the power of the will against irritation;

12 - adopt, as a disciplinary norm, the healthy habit of only making decisions that are inspired by the firm purpose of doing justice, always acting with consideration, serenity and valour;

13 - drive away evil thoughts; 

14 - exercise moderation in speaking, dressing, working, sleeping, nourishment and recreation;

15 - do not neglect politeness and punctuality, as these are reflections of good upbringing; 

16 - impose mental and physical discipline on life's demands;

17 - forget those who have committed offenses, betrayals and ingratitude;

18 - refrain from social contact with people who lack moral character; 

19 - reduce to a minimum, time spent with inconvenient individuals in business dealings or other more materialistic interests, forgetting them afterwards;

20 - cultivate the habit of good humour, through which organic cells receive healthy influences; 

21 - promote longevity by all means, including spiritual ones, paying attention to the principle that the health of the body is dependent on a good state of the soul and therefore an healthy mind; 

22 - be fully committed to the safety and stability of the home; 

23 - Keep full mental and physical hygiene; 

24 - refine to the maximum the fraternal feeling of friendship towards good people, with the purpose of intensifying the harmonic or affinitive current in our Planet, for the common good.

As there are two currents that involve the Planet, one of good and one of evil, human beings will have to vibrate in harmony with one or the other, not being able to remain neutral. Therefore it is logical and sensible to acquire all the necessary moral qualifications, in order to become connected to the current of good.

References

[1] Christian Rationalism, 1st Edition, Rio de Janeiro 1984

[2] Compilation, paraphrasing, translation from original texts in Portuguese