It is interesting to note that there is still a certain
amount of surprise with the attention devoted by
Spiritism to the theme of intimate reform. To
better understand and accept this renewing Spiritist
proposal, we just have to remember that the final
destination of all Spirits is to achieve relative
perfection and this is enough to convince ourselves that
the theme is a relevant and fundamental matter. Without
the inner transformation, which leads to reaching the
last evolutionary stage, when we will become pure
Spirits, we will never reach the goal defined by God,
which is not allowed, that is, when He created us, this
divine purpose was determined, one of the very few
fatalities in the order of the Creator.
However, following Christ through His valuable and
immortal examples and lessons, a conduct that
materializes the intimate reform, will always be
an immense challenge, as long as societies continue to
organize themselves based only on competition between
individuals, in order to maintain their materialistic
proposals at any cost. Therefore, how shall we do it?
Recalling the good fight so well defended by
Paul, which makes the construction of the intimate
reform feasible, it should be conducted with balance
and common sense, considering that, in addition to the
societies that generally live under principles based on
taking advantage over others, whatever the price is, we
still maintain countless matrices of conducts not
aligned with the divine rules, all built on past
existences - our shadow. Thus, the effort is
double: we will need to fight against the consolidated
selfish behaviors widespread in the environment in which
we are inserted and, simultaneously, to fight ourselves,
the latter being perhaps the most difficult obstacle to
be overcome: the ancient man. It is because of these two
reasons that the intimate reform cannot take
place without many struggles: with victories and, also,
with unwanted setbacks.
A very simple way of approaching this work can be
suggested, however, a surmountable challenge: to choose
a characteristic of personality known not to be
conforming to the Christ's principles and to improve it,
constantly, over time, without truce, observing the
progress and the failures, the triumphs and the defeats,
whenever the path of life puts us in a position to, once
again, act according to this failure of conduct in our
individuality.
As time goes by, we get to know ourselves better in
relation to this particular aspect, improving the way we
act in the face of the tests that life gives us,
gradually improving our attitude on this specific point
and, if there is indeed commitment and sincerity on our
part, successes will appear and, as a result, we will
feel stronger to attack other facets that are different
in our character in relation to morals and ethics.
Within the competitive scenario that surrounds us, we
will need to make the right choices, as society
encourages its members to compete with each other,
unfortunately, since the child stage. By educating our
children along this line of wrong action, we make them -
when they reach adulthood - have difficulties in healthy
relationships with their peers, and more, if the
individual does not express this competitive attitude,
in some cases, even predatory, he is immediately put on
the sidelines of the group, often alone and unable to
live within the principles of his noblest ideals. It
definitely is an intense fight.
However, everyone must
learn how to conduct themselves in society, within the
Christian principles, without the need to leave the
world, learning to live on the same planet that
currently requires, in general: in the work environment,
within the family, in the social environment, among
others, incisive attitudes, sometimes even aggressive,
sometimes almost with contempt for the ones who are less
adapted, all defined within the maxim that there
is no time for the weak.
Another field of difficulty in social interaction is
that of honesty, ethics, in maintaining high moral
standards. Today, there is a widespread inclination
within society to act dishonestly, unethically,
self-justifying itself that the final objectives fully
legitimize the means, thus, we act shamelessly,
intrigue, lie, create false news, are frivolous all in
the name of: business survival, financial profitability
of the company, victory of the political party, social
projection in the environment in which we live, conquest
of the desired person, among other reasons. We want to
be winners at any cost, regardless of the damage and
aggression caused to those who are, perhaps, obstructing
our paths, that is, they are temporarily considered our
enemies.
The Spiritist Doctrine is entirely in favor of material
growth, in fact, the Law of Progress is one of the
principles that govern life, certainly a divine
guideline, so, we can never even imagine that Spiritism
is contrary to evolving in labor relations, or in any
other area of expertise. No, what is wanted is that
this evolution, this development, or this material
improvement does not occur through immoral attitudes or
through indecorous conduct, with a clear prejudice to
others, or even to oneself.
There is only one Spirit that we must always keep
special attention promoting healthy competition: in
relation to ourselves, observing our bad inclinations,
to try to overcome them as quickly as possible, as well
as, writing down the positive behaviors that we have
already managed to strengthen them.
We have to constantly overcome ourselves, improve our
moral standards, increase our knowledge, use the time
available, take advantage of the opportunities for
evolution, that is, carry out the intimate reform.
This challenge is not only related to our relationships
in society, it is also applied to Spiritists working in
the institutions in which they work.
Unfortunately, there are inadequate behaviors of some
Spiritists, acting in associations as if the teachings
they receive from the Doctrine were, perhaps, for the
future and not for the present.
In this way, some Spiritists become vain about their
modest knowledge wishing, or almost demanding, even
considering their narrow doctrinal knowledge, prominent
in the movement, preferably crowned with applause and
tributes and many photos in the Spiritist media; they
form groups inside the house to defend their points of
view politically, even if they are distanced from the
Doctrine; they do not excuse themselves from raising
untruths against their supposed opponents in order to
weaken them before others; they previously agree on who
they will vote for, if there is an election to choose
positions in the house in which they militate; they
boycott Spiritist activities when they are carried out
by the supposed adversaries; when they have the power to
do so, they choose workers to occupy positions
considering only the degree of friendship, even though
they know that they are not qualified to perform the
tasks well, they do so in order to maintain dominance
towards certain sectors of work; that is, they proceed
as if they had not heard anything new through Spiritism,
thus becoming natural candidates for compulsory exile in
lower worlds, during this phase of Regeneration that
crosses the Earth.
A relevant fact to consider is that today, societies are
basically guided by selfish conduct, however, as we
know, in this transition process experienced by Earth,
there is a renewal of the Spirits currently linked to
the orb: many will be taken from here to worlds
materially and morally even more backward than ours,
taking into account the evolutionary stage of the
planet, that is, all those who are firmly opposed to the
planetary renewal process; on the other hand, many more
moralized Spirits are being brought in from other
worlds-schools to help us in this phase of improvement
experienced by the Earth. What's more, this flow of
Spirits coming and going has continued for decades.
As a result, it will become easier and easier to reform,
since many of the new Spirits that now arrive on Earth
will bring noble and significant examples of life,
greatly facilitating our own intimate reform,
which requires effort and sacrifice, without these, we
will not rise to the highest planes.
Let us not be complicit in error and dishonesty, under
the pretext of displeasing others. Let us resist as much
as we can to the unseemly proposals, the future will
show that we have acted well in not agreeing with the
falsehoods and tricks created by fools. Let us use
patience when we have our noble desires disregarded. It
is better to have a clear conscience in the duty
accomplished than a burning mind because of the harm
caused to others. Slander and revenge should never
influence us, let us remain calm without being
discouraged, convinced that good will win sooner or
later.
It is also important to
note that, if we are observed in our efforts to act only
in the good, others may become stimulated by our conduct
and, who knows, may come to see us as models, also
changing, as a result, the way they live: that is, we
can set the trend for the future.
If we sincerely wish to change for the better, as a
final suggestion to reconcile the various conflicting
situations that we will still face, we must always
remember to ask in times of doubt and uncertainty in the
way of acting, no matter which sector of society we are
in: at this time, how would Jesus act in my place? The
answer must appear crystal clear, after all, He is the
model and guide of Humanity.
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