The thought above is by Pedro Lúcio Pereira Girio Moreira (photo), from East Timor⁽¹⁾ and based in Switzerland for many years. He is the current vice-president of GEEPE (Spiritist Study Groups Paul and Stephen) and secretary of Fesuisse (Swiss Spiritist Federation). In this interview, he explains how he found Spiritism and talks about his work in the Spiritist Movement. 

When and in which circumstances did you have your first contact with the Spiritist Teachings?  

After the death of someone I loved so much, I met a friend who gave me books by the Brazilian medium, Zíbia Gasparetto, and who took me for the first time to GEEPE. 

Which of the three apices of the Spiritist Teachings - Science, Philosophy and Religion – attracts you the most and why?

All three attract me, but what really moves me is the religious aspect, as we can feel in all Spiritist events a positive and healthy form of energy around us. 

Have you had any special or remarkable experience in all those years in Spiritism? 

Yes, many. Especially during the mediumship meetings, when we really cease having any doubts about the existence of life after death and the capacity that the Spiritual Benefactors have to help those who suffer so much in the Spiritual World. 

What, in your opinion, has the Swiss Spiritist Movement learned from the experience with coronavirus pandemic?

Concerning specifically our Group, GEEPE, the pandemic has prompted the development of our social media presence (YouTube and Facebook) and also I believe it has made people open their eyes, at least a bit more, to the Spiritual and less material side of life.  

More than five million people across the world have passed away because of Covid and leaving orphaned children, parents and grandparents without their children. That has caused so much physical and psychological damage, including the absence of physical contact. What can we, Spiritists, do to help heal those wounds in the souls of so many people?

I think that the absence of physical contact is hugely painful and I speak from experience, as I’ve suffered so much with that in my life. That is an intrinsically human need. But I think that this is a way the Spiritual Benefactors have found to show that the physical body is transient and temporary. Also, that we don’t need our body to convey our feelings, as we are able to love from a distance, even from a very big distance. This is our opportunity to show that to the unbelieving.    

Leave us with a thought or word that can express how much Spiritism is worth in your life. 

Never do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you. The Law of Action and Reaction makes us become aware of the fact that we will reap all that we sow, either through our actions or even our thoughts. 

⁽¹⁾ East Timor, the home country of our guest this week, was colonised by the Portuguese Empire in the 16th Century and it was known as Portuguese Timor until it ceased to be a colony. At the end of 1975, East Timor declared its independence but later that year it was invaded and occupied by Indonesia. In 1999, after a self determination act backed by the United Nations, the Indonesian government relinquished control and on May 20th, 2002 East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st Century. After independence, the country joined the UN and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries.