Aylton Guido Coimbra Paiva:

“We need to value all work opportunities Spiritism provides us with”

A book was published recently with messages from different spirits who are well-known on our movement such as Meimei, Cairbar Schutel, Maria Dolores and Hilário Silva. These messages were archived for 30 years and only released to the public now. The book also pays homage to Sebastião Paiva, who is a spiritist in action from Bauru (São Paulo, Brazil) that reaches 100 years of existence this year.
 

Since I was 20 years old of age, I developed psychographic and incorporative mediumship and performed them in public and private meetings at spiritist centres. In these activities, the messages are directed to the person who asked for it or to whom the spirits indicate. In other meetings I would receive messages that were meant to everyone present, which some were kept on my personal archive. Sidney Frances Fernandes who is a dedicated militant to our movement from Bauru (São Paulo, Brazil), became aware of them. He was the one who insisted on publicising these messages on a book. Sidney used to collect messages from the Spirit Hilário Silva. He explains us why in the preface of the book. 

O Consolador: It’s very interesting to see your approach in regards to the spirit Hilário Silva. Can you please tell us more about it?  

I started to psychograph some stories in which the spirit would identify himself as Hilário Silva, at the end of it. Several messages were transmitted, but after a while they ceased. I really enjoy his style and conclusions, so I asked mentally my spiritual mentor Carlos why they have been discontinued. Carlos didn’t give me any specific reason, but said that as an ‘incarnated’ spirit, I needed to develop my potentialities, such as writing. He gave me an idea that is available on the book.  

O Consolador: In 2009, our dear Sebastião Paiva reaches one century of existence. He still lives in Bauru (São Paulo, Brazil). Tell us more about this man who is so important in your life, please.  

My uncle Sebastião Paiva plays an important role throughout my incarnation, as I mention in a chapter of the book. When I was in my teenage years, he gave me my first spiritist book: Do Calvário ao Infinito (From the Mount Calvary to the Infinite), from the spirit Victor Hugo and psycographed by the extraordinary medium Zilda Gama.  

Sebastião Paiva founded in Bauru, the following spiritist institutions: Christian Beneficent Society for the support for old people, widows, and mental patients; the Society for the Protection of Motherhood and Children, which assists orphans, and children who are abandoned by parents; Spiritist Society for Rural Beneficence, also for the assistance and education of orphan or abandoned children by parents.  

He retired, after 30 years of work, from the old Railway Company from São Paulo. Since he is single, he dedicated his entire life to spiritist institutions. In April 2009, he will complete 100 years of existence. Nowadays, he still lives at the Christian Beneficent Society and remains lucid, always wanting to know how things are going. 

O Consolador: Your book pays homage to Mr. Paiva, and even offers us his biography. The launch of your book almost coincides with Mr. Paiva’s centenary, which we believe was not a mere coincidence. In your opinion, what is the most remarkable influence Mr. Paiva gave to the spiritist movement in Bauru? 

I would say, with no doubt, in the area of assistance. He always followed the saying written at the Gospel According to Spiritism: "Without Charity there is no Salvation ". He dedicated a lot of his life to the study of Spiritism. He was even one of the pioneers in making Esperanto public in the Bauru region. During many years he was a delegate from UEA - Universala Esperanto Asocio, where the Head-Office is based in Rotterdam, Holland. I learned this international language, Esperanto, with him. 

O Consolador: Mr. Paiva founded Lar Tito Paiva in the city of Dois Córregos (São Paulo, Brazil). Is Tito a spiritist worker? Can you please tell us more about him?  

Yes, he founded in 1936 a Spiritist Society for Social Assistance together with Ângelo Rico, whose nickname is Tito. This society focuses on distributing food to families in need. Mr. Paiva says that, at the time, he sent a letter to all spiritist centres he knew of in Brazil, incentivising social assistance. He got an answer back from the Professor Herculano Pires, and they started to swop letters. When Herculano used to speak at Bauru he wouldn’t miss any of his seminars. Nowadays the institution is fully functioning and the name has been changed slightly to Lar Tito e Paiva. 

O Consolador: Are you still receiving messages from the spirits mentioned on the book you have just published? Can you please comment on the perceptions in the view of these spirits? 

Life is very dynamic, and changes happen not only in the physical world but also in the spiritual world. Some of these spirits have not been transmitting messages anymore. It could be that some of them are working on other activities or even have reincarnated. During the process of receiving these messages from Benefactor spirits, I need to follow the development and flow of thoughts from the spirit. I am a medium in which the process of psychography oscillates from semi-mechanic and intuitive psychography. I can assure you it’s a very different from the process of writing, since that takes an immense effort of elaboration and structuring the way of expressing thoughts. 

O Consolador: The spiritist movement in the Bauru region has always been very dynamic. This region has had many influent names, at different times, such as Simonetti, Nazil, Mr. Paiva and the Previdello family. What is your view regarding the work of these spiritist workers? 

Sebastião Paiva and Roberto Previdello are among the spiritist pioneers in the region. At that time, you needed to be really brave and they were. They cemented Spiritism in the region, disclosed spiritist books and social assistance. Roberto Previdello also collaborated on the foundation of USE – Union of Spiritist Societies from São Paulo.  Two of Previdello’s nephews distinguished themselves in the movement, especially with the work among youth departments: Ademar Previdello, who is an excellent spiritist speaker, and João Durval Previdello, who disincarnated quite young and gave us a message that is listed on the book. These colleagues were active workers within the youth departments at Bauru. 

O Consolador: The spirits authors of your book, such as Cairbar Schutel, Meimei and Leopoldo Machado, dictated messages with a high spiritual significance. They are spirits who are notably dedicated to the spiritist cause since they were incarnated. How can we awake the spiritist movement for the need of work within Spiritism? We are faced with several appeals in your book and in many others, but there is still resistance and even indifference to the message brought by Spiritism.  

We need to persist on making the spiritist doctrine, which was codified by Allan Kardec, public. The ways are expanding to achieve this; either via the media or through all reflections Spiritism brings us regarding life. It’s important to keep on working seriously, constantly and with firmness on the noble objectives of life that the Spiritist Doctrine reveals and unveils.  

O Consolador: Please tell us about your experience as a speaker and as a worker for USE. 

I was encouraged by my uncle, Sebastião Paiva, to make small talks relating histories from Humberto de Campos, Emmanuel, André Luiz and others messages received from Chico Xavier, for our brothers from the Christian Beneficent Society.  

I then went on speaking for the Spiritist Youth department in Bauru. My first talk outside Bauru was done at Jaú, when Dr. Luiz Francisco Giglio invited me to speak about the theme: The three aspects of the Spiritist Doctrine. My activities at USE started in Bauru, at UMEB – Municipal Spiritist Union from Bauru. When I moved to Lins I began to participate at Inter-municipal Union of Spiritist Societies from Lins, where I had several roles. I was a Director of the Doctrinal department at USE São Paulo, at the time of Antonio César Perri de Carvalho’s administration. I am still the President of Regional USE Bauru. 

O Consolador: What about Casa Espírita de Lins? When was it founded and by whom? What about its activities? 

A Casa dos Espíritas was founded on 7th January 1945, under the name União Espírita de Lins - Deus, Cristo e Caridade – UEL. This name was changed to Casa dos Espíritas on 15th September 1968, with the creation of União Municipal Espírita de Lins - UMEL since a lot of people got these two institutions mixed up when looking at the abbreviations: UEL and UMEL. Nowadays the institution develops the following activities: study and disclose of Spiritism, help to incarnated and disincarnated spirits, and the incentive to Christian experience, through its specific departments. The spiritist centre’s door is always open, since we follow what Emmanuel/Chico Xavier affirmed: the spiritist centre should be a hospital, school and work office. 

O Consolador: Is there anything else you would like to say or tell us about?   

We need to value all work opportunities Spiritism provides us with. Let’s keep determination and happiness for the construction of good, using the “brush” to clean or the “tribune” to orientate and clarify. Each opportunity of action in the spiritist movement is always valuable and we can’t waist it.