A magnificent archive that facilitates access to the Spiritist Teachings

Ulisses Baptista (photo) lives in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, where he works as a financial consultant. He is also a volunteer worker at the Nosso Lar (Our Home) Charitable Institution. In 2015 he began publishing a Spiritist blog, Regeneração do Bem (Regeneration for Good), which has expanded its content and has become a valuable research tool for those who want to know more about Spiritism. That’s the main subject of the following interview:

How did you come up with the idea of writing a Spiritist blog?

The idea came from a friend who had a blog on personal financial advice and sent me an email with the suggestion. I began publishing the Regeneração do Bem blog (click here) – in January 2015, with the aim of disseminating Spiritism. There was a special concern with making sure we provided a clear and reliable reference of where the material published came from. Eventually, I began using social media, including WhatsApp, to get a wider access to the blog’s content. 

How does your blog differ from others available online?

In one word, “RELIABILITY.” I’m very strict about how we approach the work and every message is checked against the original, to avoid common errors that we unfortunately see on social media. We find, very often, that extracts shared online have been modified or misquoted. The blog’s aim is to become a reliable database for research and reference. 

What are the blog’s best features and highlights?

We have a wide range of material available in the blog, from Spiritist and Spiritualist films and documentaries to self-help messages, extracts from books, talks and lectures. Another popular tool is a button that people are able to press online if they want to bring up a random message or text, which is very often used for the Gospel in the Home.

Do you have figures showing how many people access the blog and where it’s more popular?

The blog was first published on January 14th, 2015 and we’ve had 3.27 million views so far. Most viewers are in Brazil, the United States, the Netherlands, Portugal, Moldova and the Czech Republic. We also get a significant number of people viewing our content in Peru, Mexico, Mozambique and Angola. 

I would like to draw attention to two items:

·  The most popular post on the page on the website is a two-minute extract from the film, Nosso Lar - Our Home, which shows a situation that most of those who watched the film have missed. It is entitled Surpresa em cena do filme Nosso Lar (Surprise in a Nosso Lar scene). 

·  And the most popular item accessed through Google search is O quadro de São Dinis no Panteão de Paris (The St Denis painting in the Pantheon, in Paris), by André Luiz, which comes from chapter 16 of Os Mensageiros (The Messengers).

Is the blog updated daily? And what is the criteria used to post new material?

Yes, we update it daily and post new content every day. Another feature we have is what we call the “jewel in the crown”: we choose a different in-depth article to be posted every Thursday. We also add new documentaries, films or talks to the website regularly. As for the criteria used, we make sure the content chosen follows the principles of Spiritism and we try to select material connected to issues and themes that are current in the media. We get suggestions and recommendations from friends and readers and we make a concerted effort to rotate the authors, mediums and different types of messages for the sake of diversity. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to stress our commitment to what is in the Bible: “Freely you have received, freely give.” All our services are offered free of charge. We don’t have any income or profit. It’s been suggested many times that we change our model to be able to receive donations. But I’m not sure we would be able to do it in a clear and transparent way. So we will carry on with our free of charge model. 

Leave us with your final thought.

I would like to thank you for the invitation to be here and to share the work that we do. Finally, I would like to stress that the goal of Spiritism is to achieve the moral development of our planet, which, of course, demands that we all develop as individuals. I would like to leave you with a thought by Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Author’s note:

Here are the contacts and links to access the Blog and other related online addresses:

Blog: click here

Facebook: click here-2

Youtube: click here-3

WhatsApp: + 55 11 995485062 – readers are welcome to send messages to this number; they will posted on the blog