André Luiz Peixinho (photo) was born in the Brazilian city of Serrinha and lives in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia. He has university degrees in Medicine, Psychology and Past Life Therapies and a PhD in Education. He is a lecturer on Family Medicine and also works as a psychologist. He has been an active member of the Spiritist Movement for many years and is the current president of the Spiritist Federation of the State of Bahia. 

When and how did you become a Spiritist?

I was born into a Spiritist home and I was named after the author of the book, Nosso Lar - Our Home, which my father, Aristóteles, was reading at the time. I began attending the children’s group at the age of five, in my hometown, Serrinha. When I was 15, I moved to Salvador to continue my education here and I joined the Spiritist Youth Group at the Caminho da Redenção Spiritist Centre (Mansão do Caminho). I also began working as a volunteer at the Spiritist Federation. I continued to work regularly at the Youth Group, known as JENA, for 26 years until it closed down. But I have carried on with my work at the Spiritist Federation of Bahia and at Hólon Society, which works with universities to introduce spiritual ideas and thoughts to future professionals. 

Which aspect of Spiritism attracts you the most?

After reading and thinking about it for many years, I have come to the conclusion that Spiritism is a paradigm or cosmovision that has come in order to include and transcend materialism. It is, therefore, its main critic. As a cosmovision that is focused on the spiritual aspect, it contributes towards the development of all cultural spheres -- Science, Philosophy, Religion and Arts. It also brings us the guidelines for the development of a unique form of existential wisdom. In this regard, my understanding is that its aim is to enable a new connection between the knowledge contained in the cultural spheres in order to build up a major synthesis of all knowledge, as proposed by Léon Denis. That synthesis of knowledge will be based on the development of the Spiritist phenomena and its inter existential and palingenetic movements. Its evolutionist approach helps me understand the holarchy of the various forms of human knowledge and praxis and enable me to foresee a future when the concepts that form the structure of our social institutions, currently dominated by the materialistic paradigm, will be renewed. 

Tell us about your experience as a director in the Spiritist Movement in Bahia and particularly as president of FEEB, the Spiritist Federation of the State of Bahia. 

I have tried to honour and give continuity to the legacy of José Petitinga, who founded the federation, then known as União Espírita Baiana (Bahia Spiritist Union), in 1915. He was someone who brought everyone together, showing always lots of affection for the people and the organisations around him. His ideas were followed by remarkable figures like Jaime Batista dos Santos, Ildefonso do Espírito Santo e Francisco Bispo dos Anjos. They have now passed away but I had the privilege of working with them when they were in charge of the federation. I feel that we are now moving towards a different approach of work at the federation, a network approach which gives room for collective thinking. And it’s important to highlight that in the past 20 years the members of previous boards of directors remained active in the federation even when they didn’t hold a formal post. 

The most recent and important investment we have is the expansion of our Spiritist Federation Network, online, with the possibility of liking about 7,000 leaderships in Spiritist Centres across the state of Bahia. It is a two-way education and learning experience between the federation and the Spiritist Centres. 

What is your best memory from all these years in the Spiritist Movement?

I have huge admiration for the dedication of those who have persevered in the Spiritist ideal along the decades. I keep with me a list of many volunteer workers who preceded me and have become a model and example by some aspect of their personalities or the way they lived. So many people have influenced me but, for personal reasons and at the event of his centenary, I would like to mention Aristóteles Peixinho as an example of a generation who was seriously committed to Spiritism and reinvented it at every new decade through its actions and projects. 

Also, it was very important for me to discover that Spiritism was much more than we normally see within the Spiritist Movement. By understanding that Spiritism was a cultural synthesis focused on the evolution of the spirit in its manifestations has enabled me to deal with the academic world without being influenced by its materialistic limitations, to the point of creating new subjects and training programmes in medical courses that talk about the spirit. I believe that Spiritism is a treasure that we haven’t yet fully explored.