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“However, pain and weeping, do not allow
That your sublime faith deform itself...
Embrace the fight and move on,
Before it's too late."
Spirit Joao Coutinho *
"It should be noted that, at all times in History, major
social crises have been followed by an era of progress."
- Allan Kardec, 1868.
The Good Spirits warned us that we are leaving behind a
period of trials and atonements to enter, within a few
centuries, a new level. The Planet follows its rhythm,
calling us to changes, each time faster. The perception
that everything has accelerated is undeniable, the daily
life sometimes presents itself in a frantic rhythm. And,
with no reflection about it and following a superhuman
routine, we have fallen ill.
The number of people affected by mental problems is
alarming. But it is not only this! Our planet complains
about human insanity regarding the extraction of natural
resources, in an endless way, in a limited world.
Precisely because we are in this gap between what we
have done with ourselves and the world and what we need
to do (urgently), we have witnessed crises of all kinds,
from the individual to society and nature.
First, it is important to try to define “crisis” in
terms of its temporal aspect (amount of time) and depth
(quality and intensity of the emotions mobilized, within
this space of time).
Here the word crisis - different from the concept of
psychopathology, where it is seen as something of short
duration, although of strong intensity (Dalgalarrondo,
p. 297) - is placed as a phenomenon that can encompass
one or several facts, various emotions linked to pain,
during a long period of time.
It is true that, in our daily lives, we experience small
setbacks, which can go from a toothache, or a flat tire,
to a rough answer in the supermarket. All of this can
cause discomfort, however, momentary, and can be quickly
solved.
When we talk about a crisis, the situation is
longer and intense. These are the periods when we
find ourselves overwhelmed, feeling as if “aimless in
life”, often upset with ourselves, with God, with
others, with Life, in general.
So, when we talk about crisis, we are referring
to a period of time in life when difficult things happen
(or the way we see them is distorted), causing pain,
anguish, intense fears.
- There are no paths!
- It looks like I'll never be happy again!
- Has God forgotten me?
- I do not know what else to do!
- Nothing good is going to happen...
They are common phrases in times of a crisis...
In the text Luto e Melancolia (Mourning and
Melancholy), from 1915, Sigmund Freud comments that
the great difference between mourning and depression is
that in mourning there is the perception of the
world's impoverishment (which loses its brightness),
linked to pain. In depression, on the other hand, it is
the person who loses his value, his light. Therefore, in
normal mourning, we experience deep, constant pain,
which then becomes intermittent, until it becomes
possible to manage it, while in depression, the pain, in
addition to being deep, brings the aggravating factor of
low self-esteem, little self-worth in the world,
undermining forces to overcome the process.
Therefore, there are aggravating factors in the
emotional field, when we talk about crisis. When in
depression, the person will have greater difficulties to
overcome the moment lived, whether or not she is in
mourning. I could write a separate article on this, but
still in this text I will seek to bring paths, both for
those who have lost hope in the world and for those who
have lost hope in themselves.
In the Gospel of John, in the entire chapter 16, we find
words of Jesus that bring an exact X-ray of what the
disciples would have to face. In this chapter, we see
the Master speaking openly about current events and the
future. In fact, at that moment things were going from
bad to worse - despite all the blessed words, all the
healings and blessings distributed during his three
years of contact with the people, Jesus knew that he was
persecuted by the religious of the time; his followers
were also threatened and a whole work seemed to fall
apart in the eyes of these simple men - but not for the
Rabbi of Galilee, who, possessing a maximum spiritual
gaze, knew about the developments and the need for
everything to be done exactly as it was .
Then, He announces that he would leave the material
sphere, returning to the Spiritual plane, soon. We can
imagine how those poor were: they left their families,
their professions to follow Jesus. At a time when the
sword was the law, when religion was put into politics,
mixing with each other. To propose something that was
outside the status quo was also considered an act
of insanity. What would their lives be like from then
onwards?
And, the worst news, in the face of the scenario: “I
left the Father and came to the world; now I leave the
world and go to the Father” (16:28). Religious
persecution, divided people, old dogmas that conflict
with what they have just learned... And the one who
heals, calms, clarifies, loves, announces that He is
leaving!
How can we go on without the physical presence of Jesus?
We can infer the anguish present in those hearts of good
will, but of a not so robust faith...
It is Jesus, who called them friends, who also brings
consolation: “I say that you will weep, but your
sadness will become joy (16:20). I will see you
again and your heart will rejoice and no one takes your
joy from you” (16:22).
And, in the face of everyone's pain and astonishment, he
shows the solution, in a few words: “In the world you
will have trials, but be encouraged, I have overcome the
world” (16:33).
To overcome the world has
a different meaning than winning in the world.
The first concept concerns being above the cultural
tendencies that tend to drag us to an unnatural life,
based on gain, consumption, exhibitionism. Jesus was a
revolutionary in his day: he did not bow to the
impositions of Pharisaism, he fought pride, fought for
the oppressed, welcomed the marginalized. He was never
in communion with what he disapproved of in his culture.
To overcome the world is something like “being at
peace despite…” that is, being able to respect your
own needs, preserving yourself from what is bad. Winning
in the world is about achieving a place of status, of
power - which can be diametrically opposed to the needs
of the Spirit. When, in the face of vicissitudes, the
one who has the tools to overcome the world is the one
who presents firm faith, positive action, constant
patience and a focus on the good.
The spiritual benefactor Emmanuel, in the book Palavras
de Vida Eterna (Words of Eternal Life), a
psychographics by Francisco Candido Xavier, chapter 136
(In Vitoria Real), from this part of the Gospel of John,
comments that Jesus “saw Himself at a few steps from
death, to which He would bow down, condemned without
guilt. However, He said: “be of good cheer; I won the
world”. (P. 289). Then He concludes: "When you
are in crisis, remember the Master". (P.
289)
What can we think about this phrase of Emmanuel?
Remembering Jesus, in crises, does it mean praying to
Him for help, as we usually do? Yes, we can pray, in the
certainty that our prayers will be answered. But is that
enough? We have seen that no. To remember Jesus is to
use His life story (Gospels / rational field) and his
own heart (to seek Jesus in our soul, in the field of
feelings).
Going to the Gospels we can find several lessons,
ranging from patience to unconditional forgiveness,
passing through acceptance, meekness and charity.
In our hearts we can find the Beloved Master's energy,
understanding His magnitude and Love through the ways of
feeling. Thinking about Him, evoking Him and feeling His
presence, His peace, His knowledge, without reasoning.
And, along with such guidelines, whether through reason
or the heart, we can infer that crises, whether personal
or social, call us to:
• Realize
the quality of our faith: Is
it strong? Is there a certainty of Divine Guidance, of
good in every situation, even in the most terrible ones?
Are we sure that there is no injustice in what life
proposes to us, nor an unnecessary fact? “Anyone,
therefore, who hears these words of mine and puts them
into practice, will be compared to a prudent man, who
built the house on the rock.” (Matthew, 7:24.)
• Exercise
patience: Uprisings,
anger or complaints do not solve, on the contrary, it
weakens us even more in the face of challenges. "Blessed
are those who are gentle, because they will possess the
Earth." (Matthew, 5: 5.) "Blessed are the
peaceful, because they will be called children of God."
(Matthew, 5: 9.)
• Avoid
passivity in the face of the crisis: many just
lament and shrink, like snails in their shells. The
amplified vision, the reality test and the unremitting
work on the good are important. "My Father works today
and so do I!" (John 5:17.)
•
Saying prayers: The
power of prayer made from the fibers of the heart, our
most refined emotional field, is undeniable. Logically,
we will receive what is necessary to draw strength, when
not the perception of new possible paths or even the
dissolution of the challenge. Everything depending on
what is best for us. Jesus thus asserted: “Ask and it
will be given you; seek and you will find; knock on the
door and it will be opened to you; because he who asks
receives and he who seeks finds, and he who knocks at
the door will open” (Matthew, 7: 7).
• Highlight
the positive points in the here and now:
Searching in the mind for what is good in our day helps
us to reduce our anxieties, bringing the possibility of
exercising gratitude. Look at Life's blessings. "Look
at the birds of the sky, which do not sow, mow, or stock
in the barns; and yet your heavenly Father supports
them." (Matthew, 19:21.)
• Review our mental functioning: Many behave like
tantrum or fearful children in the face of crises.
Others like severe judges, either against God or against
Life, in general (people, events, etc.). Only our less
emotional, more balanced adult ego can achieve better
results. Calm down to have strength on the journey. “Do
not judge, therefore, lest you be judged; because with
the judgment that you judge others, you will be judged;
and as you measure, they will also measure you.” (Matthew,
7: 1-2.)
• Review our routine: Sometimes
we want different results by doing the same things.
Life, when necessary, asks us for strength for change,
both in thoughts and feelings and in actions. This
sometimes happens through pain. Choosing the wrong door,
the tortuous paths, repeatedly, obviously brings the
same results. “Enter through the narrow door, because
wide is the door, as well as the path that leads to
perdition, and many are those who enter through it. The
door is so narrow and tight is the path that leads to
life, and how few get right with it!” (Matthew, 7:
13-14.)
• Accept the impermanence of things: Many want
the good to last forever. They do not understand that it
is necessary to realize detachment, acceptance so that
the new can come. They think and see things only from a
material point of view, forgetting that we are souls on
a human journey, that our true life is in the spiritual
world and that sometimes giving up elements in today is
essential for greater gains. "For what will a man
benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"
(John, 12: 25.)
• Search for wealth in pain: It is important to
identify what we are learning or have already learned
from crises. They always appear to propel us to
evolution, never to annihilate us. Understanding Divine
didactics, we adjust better to the will of Life (which
is the will of God) and let things flow, without so much
resistance and suffering. Understanding what Life tells
us through events is of paramount importance and denotes
wisdom. And, even if we don't know the whys in the
details, we know that, whatever and whatever, it comes
to make us grow. “Blessed are those who mourn, for
they will be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. Blessed
are those who suffer persecution for the sake of
justice, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew,
V: 5, 6 and 10.)
Allan Kardec, in the work “Genesis”, commenting on the
new generation that must replace the shape of the
current planet of trials and atonements that we inhabit,
clarifies that “in that time it will no longer be a
partial change, a revolution limited to a region, a
people, a race; it is a universal movement that operates
towards moral progress” (Chap. XVIII, p. 355).
The Encoder of the Doctrine of the Spirits, after
collecting the data sent by the Benefactors of
Spirituality, concluded that, for the planetary
transformation to occur (and that certainly is already
happening), a new order of Spirits must appear on the
scene, or even, that those who are here mature in the
moral sense. Therefore, the crises that seem chaotic to
us are, in truth, windows to new perspectives, both from
the point of view of the individual and in the
collectives.
Personal, family, global crises are happening. Now is
the time to continue firm, supported by our solid,
strong faith, understanding that we are workers at the
last minute and that, therefore, we must place ourselves
as peace workers, at all times, since peace,
effectively, begins in each one. For Jesus also spoke of
this to us: "The Kingdom is in you!" (Luke, 17:
21).
It is up to each one to find him, in the imperishable
conquest of the immortal Spirit. Let's go!
Bibliographic references:
DALGALARRONDO, P. Psychopathology and
semiology of mental disorders. Editora
Artes Medicas do Sul; Porto Alegre, 2000.
FREUD, S. Mourning and melancholy,
1917 [1915]. In:
The history of the psychoanalytic movement. Rio de
Janeiro: Imago, 1996. p. 243-263. (Standard Brazilian
edition of the complete psychological works by Sigmund
Freud, 14.)
KARDEC, A. The Gospel according to
Spiritism. Translation by Guillon Ribeiro from the
3rd ed. French rev., corr. and mod. by the author in
1866. 124th ed. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2004.
______. The Book of Spirits:
principles of the Spiritist Doctrine. Translator:
Guillon Ribeiro. 86th ed. Rio de Janeiro:
FEB, 2005.
NEW TESTAMENT; translator Haroldo Dutra
Dias; revised by Cleber Varandas de Lima; Brasilia (DF);
Conselho Espírita Internacional, 2010.
XAVIER, F. C. Palavras de Vida Eterna. Dictated
by the Spirit Emmanuel, 17th ed. Uberaba
- MG - CEC. 1992. |
