Vanessa M. de Godoy (photo), from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, lives in New York City, where she works as a children’s educator and therapist using the ThetaHealing technique. She is also a volunteer at New York’s Allan Kardec Spiritist Centre, where she works with youth groups and gives talks and lectures as well as healing. In this interview, she shares her views about the Spiritist Movement in NY and the United States and gives us an update on the Virtual Spiritist Centre her group has set up. 

How did you get involved with Spiritism?

When I lived in Brazil, I knew about Spiritism but didn’t attend the activities of any Centre. After moving to the United States about 24 years ago, I had a difficult time, emotionally, and joined a Spiritist Centre, the Allan Kardec Doctrinal Society, with the help of my grandmother, who was here at the time. I found the consolation I needed. From then on, Spiritism became a guiding light in my life. 

And how is the experience of being an active member of the Spiritist Movement abroad without prior experience in Brazil?

Well, I believe that the practice of the Spiritist principles will be the same anywhere in the world. But the Spiritist Movement in the US is indeed quite new. We don’t have here the big Spiritist Centres with a vast number of activities that we see in Brazil. We are a pioneer movement, gradually building our identity in American lands. That demands a great deal of effort and dedication, as we are still very few. Despite all the obstacles, it’s a very rewarding process. 

When you look back at your own past and the mediumship we had as a child, how do you interpret that in the light of what you know now?

The mediumship I had in my childhood had a great impact in my life. I always believed in life after death, as I could see the Spirits around me and I could feel their presence near me. I was certain then that our true existence was in another plane of existence. That encouraged me to seek spirituality in many periods of my life. 

And how is the daily life in a Spiritist Group in the USA?

We are like a big family! As we are still very few, we rely on one another to make things happen. The cooperation and fraternity among the different Groups is a necessity for the survival of the Spiritist Movement here. We need a lot of goodwill and patience. It’s without any doubt a continuous learning process. 

Tell us more about the Virtual Spiritist Centre. 

We created the Virtual Spiritist Centre during our Family Spiritist Retreat, an event that we’ve held in the north-east of the United States for the past 18 years. As we had to do it online in 2021, because of the coronavirus pandemic, we came up with the idea of reproducing the experience of being inside a Spiritist Centre for Americans who don’t yet know anything about Spiritism. The Virtual Spiritist Centre offers a number of activities: we have a library, Spiritist films, talks and lectures, healing, counselling or fraternal assistance, Kardec Radio etc. You can also walk through a Spiritist Centre with an avatar, but when you enter the different rooms you interact with other people, live. You must experience it to really understand what it is. It's fantastic! Even at the times of the day when there are no live activities taking place, you can visit the Virtual Spiritist Centre, by clicking here.

Would you say that the virtual interaction that has become available on the portal is only the beginning of a process that will lead to a greater interaction with the Spiritist Teachings?

Absolutely! The Spiritist Movement has a lot to gain from the dissemination of Spiritism in other countries. In the US, the online platform will allow us to reach and interact with an audience in areas where there aren’t any physical Spiritist Centres. We are now planning to offer a schedule of activities in the Virtual Centre, with study groups and even children groups. The future is here! And it feels great to be a part of all this.

Do you think the online aspect of the experience will attract more children, teenagers and young people? Will that lead to the formation of an American way of thinking Spiritism?

That is one of our goals. Technology is like a second nature for children and young people. They can easily access and navigate the system. We are planning the creation of a study group for university students who live away from home and don’t have access to a Spiritist Centre. We are very optimistic about the new generation of American Spiritists. The ideal is to have in the future American citizens who grow up learning and practising Spiritism in the English language. So we have begun sowing the seeds of the promised consoler in US soil. 

What would you like to say to Brazilian Spiritists in Brazil?

I would urge them to remain confident despite all the problems of our times. They must believe, always, that better days will come. They must put into practice the true principles of Spiritism, living according to the Teachings. When we leave Brazil and settle down abroad, we then realise how precious the spontaneous joy of our people is. So appreciate life with all the great things it can offer us.