The story I am going to tell you happened to a renowned writer, medium and Spiritist speaker. I'll call him Richard. I prefer to preserve his identity precisely to protect him from those who err through excessive dogmatism, the subject of this article.

Once, Richard was invited to an important Spiritist event in one of the main cities of the country. These events are held in large spaces and go from morning to late afternoon. Richard was one of the speakers invited.

At lunchtime, our hero, after picking up a tray and serving himself, chose a reserved corner of the cafeteria. He wanted to have a quiet lunch, as he had been very busy all morning.

When he was in the middle of the meal, a few girls - all childhood evangelists - sat down next to him and started talking to each other. They talked for a while and one of them (let us call her Tania) said the following: a boy from the evangelization came home and found his mother having a glass of wine. He didn't like it and asked his mother to throw the wine away. The reason: the evangelization aunt had said that we attract obsessors every time we drink alcohol, no matter the amount or the occasion. The mother lovingly argued, in vain. The son, about 10 years old, was adamant. While his mother didn't pour the wine down the kitchen sink, he didn't calm down.

Days later, while child evangelization was taking place, the mother, visibly upset, reported what had happened to the president of the Spiritist center. The evangelizer was called in to explain and claimed that she had instructed the children according to Doctrine guidelines. The matter apparently died, but a constraint remained in the air that spread throughout the institution and generated buzz against and in favor of the mother.

Tania, in an intense defense of the evangelist, was sitting in front of Richard, who, until then, had had a quiet lunch, without meddling in the conversation, despite her looks calling him to take part. As the girls' opinions remained divided, Tania, believing that Richard, a respected Spiritist, would agree with her, said: - I think the boy did very well to insist with his mother to pour the wine in the sink. If she didn't, the house would be in danger of being invaded by an obsessor! Then, she turned to Richard and said, full of herself:

- Don't you agree?

- No! Said Richard.

- Hey! Exclaimed Tania, surprised.

- No! Richard continued. - Who told you that we attract obsessors every time we drink alcohol? It will depend a lot on the occasion, the behavior, the nature and the thought of the person.

And in face of Tania's astonishment, Richard, very much familiar with the life and work of Kardec and Spiritism, continued:

- Did you know that, when “The Book of Spirits” was released, in April 1857, a dinner was offered by the publisher (Didier)? And that, at this dinner, wine was served? Kardec and all those present, therefore, drank wine!

Tania, between disgusted and astonished, said:

- But Kardec certainly didn't drink until he fell!

- The boy's mother neither – not from what I heard from you! Richard answered.

- But don't you think that all excess is harmful to one’s health? She asked.

- Too much dogmatism too! Richard closed with gold key.

Tania didn't know what to say. She was surprised that she had not found support in Richard for her way of thinking; for knowing that Kardec drank wine when “The Book of Spirits” was released; for being indirectly called a fanatic and systematic fool and for having been scolded by a well-known speaker and lecturer. Feeling uncomfortable and hurt in her pride, she picked up the tray and went to sit quickly at another table. The colleagues who accompanied her remained where they were, silent by Richard's devastating argument, who continued to have lunch.

I confess to you that I love this episode. It reveals a lack of doctrinal knowledge and a hypocritical morality that unfortunately are part of the behavior of Spiritists who decided to undertake a moralist crusade within the Spiritist Centers. A kind of witch hunt for those who like to enjoy a good wine or equivalent.

Let me say what I have said in previous articles: I am not encouraging people - Spiritists or not - to drink as much as they want. Alcohol is addictive, it is largely responsible for traffic accidents, which result in deaths or in cases of temporary and permanent disability. In addition, it can attract disincarnated Spirits who, although they have left physical life, remain attached to what they have valued excessively. We can, therefore, die and stay here, wandering after supposed loves, material goods, family, honors, material privileges and vices.  

And since we no longer have the physical body to handle these attachments, we will reach them through people who make use of them too. It is what we call obsession. The hopeless alcoholic died, and despite all the help from friends over there, he doesn't want to let go of his addiction. Therefore, he sticks to an embodied alcoholic and drinks with and through him. It must be a very sad picture.

Therefore, the more we deviate from drinks, cigarettes, illicit drugs, addiction to overeating, backbiting, jealousy and so on, the better. It will be much more gratifying to detach ourselves totally from the material world when we leave the current physical body forever.

On the other hand, I believe that some Spiritists are quick to generalize. For instance, to say that we attract obsessors if we decide to have a glass of wine, according to the story told.

The boy's mother, as Richard very well observed, was not a regular drinker. In addition, she is a Spiritist, has doctrinal knowledge, knows that the consumption of an alcoholic beverage is something that must be done with elegance and moderation. So I think it is unlikely that she was attracting disincarnates to drink with her. Because attracting them depends on a number of factors.

Disincarnated spirits do not approach us just because of wine, beer or vodka which - I emphasize - should be enjoyed with moderation or not consumed, depending on the person's taste. I know a lot of people who do not put a drop of alcohol in their mouth. Good for them! However, they are prejudiced, arrogant, petty, systematic to excess. This also attracts disincarnated Spirits.

In fact, everything we do can attract them. If we are kind, cordial, tolerant, indulgent, etc., several Spirits will tend to approach us. This does not mean that they will be on our trail for every corner. They will be friends that we have won and that will come to us if we need to. If, however, we appeal to unhealthy feelings and habits, we run the risk of attracting like-minded Spirits to our company.

The Spiritist Doctrine is relatively new in the history of mankind. Although the concepts disseminated by it exist since the world is a world, it was only after the publication of “The Book of Spirits”, in 1857, that they began to be exposed and discussed in a rational and systematic way.

In addition, Brazil, where Spiritism has conquered and conquers several followers, has a strong Catholic background; that Catholicism in which everything is sin and in which everyone is liable to go to Hell before the slightest slip. Added to this is the habit that many moralistic people have of sticking their noses into other peoples’ lives and saying that the others are bad while he/she, the one who accuses, is virtuous. Therefore, it is common, even without realizing it, to take this type of habit into the Spiritist center and to hunt those who, in our opinion, are not as good Spiritists as we are, as if it were possible to compare one Spiritist citizen to another and, by means of a measurement, declare who is the one that is more Spiritist.

I believe that Tania must have been based on an episode described in the book "Action and reaction", by the spirit Andre Luiz, a psychographics by the medium Chico Xavier. In this work, the spiritual team of which Andre Luiz is part observes an episode in which disincarnated Spirits who are very fond of alcoholic beverages induce a man similar to addiction to help himself with several doses of whiskey, if I'm not mistaken. Objective: they, the disincarnated, wanted to have a drink and needed a vehicle, the embodied one, through which they would sip alcoholic fumes.

I am not saying that the episode described in "Action and reaction" should not be taken into account. However, when we embrace a Doctrine that is science and philosophy before it is religion, we must keep in mind that everything is very relative, that is, it will depend on the person, the occasion and so on. But apparently, it is easier to go for the good, old and shallow hurried generalization.

Also, it is not possible and there is no way – visible to the eye - to state categorically that any and all citizens who hold a glass of distilled or fermented drink will be surrounded by drunkard Spirits. If so, what would become of our Spiritist friends who like a white wine to accompany a fish fillet, a hand-made beer to be enjoyed with a hamburger of sirloin, or to open a bottle of sparkling wine on a family celebration day?

The best we have to do, therefore, is to learn to relativize, take care of ourselves and stop watching what others do. This includes passing this on to the children and youth of evangelization.

All excess is bad, folks! Of alcohol, meat, sugar, salt, vanity, zeal, curiosity... and so is dogmatism, as Richard well noted.

Note: where did Richard get the information that wine was served for dinner to celebrate the first edition of "The Book of Spirits? Simple: it happened in France, where wine is a cultural heritage. There is no way to think about a formal dinner without the presence of a good wine, which was certainly used to harmonize the menu, and not for those present to drink in excess. Furthermore, the Brazilian Spiritist - who has not yet learned to relativize - wanted them to serve what at a dinner of this size on French soil? Soda? Mineral water? Passion fruit juice? The country is different, and the culture is different. Let us keep this in mind.