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Lauret Godoy:
“We are part of a
connection whose wires
are closely linked”
The well-known Brazilian
writer talks about her
books
and her passion
for historic research
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Our interviewee this
week is the writer with
the pen name of Lauret
Godoy (photo). She is
from the coastal city of
Santos and lives in the
state capital, São
Paulo. Lauret Godoy is a
Physical Education
teacher, with a
specialisation in Sports
Management and many
books published on
sports. She is also
known for her passion
for history. Lauret
Godoy
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became a Spiritist
20 years ago and works
as a volunteer at the
Batuíra Spiritist Group
in São Paulo, where she
is involved in
mediumship and healing
activities. |
Tell us first about your
involvement with sport.
I am from Santos, a
seaside city where
sports is part of life.
In my youth, I played
and took part in
tournaments basketball,
volleyball and athletic
competitions for Canada
School. I represented
the city of Santos in
athletics, having begun
in training for track
competitions aged 10.
When I moved to São
Paulo, I joined
Paulistano club and was
state, Brazilian and
South-American champion,
in Peru. After that, I
gave up competitive
sports. I needed to look
after my life…
When did you get
interested in research?
And how did you come
about the idea of
publishing a book about
the Olympic Games?
I went to Montreal, in
Canada, in 1976, to
watch the Olympics. I
was amazed by the
international atmosphere
of the event and the
level of organisation. I
fell in love with the
subject and began to do
research, not knowing
that that would keep me
so busy for the next 20
years. I got in touch
with the late Greece
historian Cyro Del Nero
to get images of Greece.
He loved my work and
sent it to a printing
company. That is how my
first book was
published.
How about your research
about the life of the
great Brazilian aviation
pioneer, Santos Dumont?
I am led to believe that
research is an
addiction. It all began
with my research on the
life of a little known
scientist and inventor
from Santos, Bartolomeu
de Gusmao. In 1993, I
began to research his
life and try to make him
better known. That led
me into Alberto Santos
Dumont, and there you
are, I had more
“trouble” for another 20
years. But it has been a
joyful and fully
gratifying experience to
find out more about the
aviation pioneers in
Brazil. I have
discovered amazing
stories and fascinating
people.
From a Spiritist point
of view, there seems to
be a number of
interesting events in
the life of Santos
Dumont…
He was only three years
old in 1876 when a
medium from Silveiras,
in Rio de Janeiro state,
received a message from
Étienne Montgolfier
(who, with his brother,
Joseph Michel, invented
the hot air balloon)
saying that the man who
would get men to cross
the ocean with the speed
of a cannonball had
already been born in
Brazil. And he added:
the “metal bird” might
look like an unrealistic
idea, but it will be a
reality in a few years.
Thirty years later,
Santos Dumont’s 14-BIS
flew in Paris (in what
Brazilians and the
French at the time
thought was the first
airplane flight in human
history). That message
was published in the
official Spiritist
magazine at the time,
Reformador. Isn’t that
fantastic? Historically,
Alberto Santos Dumont is
among the men who had a
greater impact on our
planet.
Tell us about the book
you published based on
your experiences with
mediumship.
On September 1st
1993 I met an amazing
medium, Dulcemar Augusta
de Rezende. Many spirits
sent messages through
her. I was amazed by
their wisdom and asked
for permission to record
the messages. There were
388 messages in 14
years. I selected the
most relevant and
published a book, “Irmão
Lourenço e Legionários
do Além”, as well as a
CD with selected
recordings. It was an
amazing experience.
That book has very
interesting stories. If
you had to highlight one
of them, which one would
that be?
On September 11th
2001, we were holding
our meeting, one of the
spirits was talking,
when he left, all of
sudden, in despair. When
the meeting was over, we
found out about the
attack on the Twin
Towers in New York. The
same spirit returned
years later and talked
about the incident.
There is another
interesting case, which
took place a few days
ago. I was reading a
book by Clóvis Tavaris,
on the mediumship of the
saints, and came across
a name I did not know
but sounded familiar. I
began looking for it and
there it was, on page
102 of the book by Irmão
Lourenço (Brother
Lourenço). I could not
hold the tears.
Your latest work is
about the approach
different religious take
on God. Tell us about
that.
Geraldo Ribeiro,
president of the Batuíra
Spiritist Group, asked
me once to replace
someone who could no
longer come to us and
was due to speak about
God. I read about it, I
mentioned several
authors and looked into
ancient religions.
Again, the passion for
research was stronger. I
prepared a few questions
and sent them to
different people: an
evangelical preacher, a
Catholic priest, an
agnostic person, a drug
addict etc. The result
was amazing: whatever
the approach, it is
clear God is the Supreme
Being.
What would you like to
say about your
experience as a
Spiritist speaker and in
the Spiritist Movement?
I really enjoy doing the
talks and lectures. It
is an immensely
gratifying experience.
You have immediate
feedback from your
audience. As for the
Spiritist Movement, I am
increasingly aware that
we are part of a
connection, whose wires
are closely linked and
attached to each other
regardless of our will.
My contact with the
Spiritist Movement has
widened my cultural and
social perspective. The
messages I had the
privilege of receiving
opened my eyes about the
real values of our
current life and their
importance to our future
life. I would like to
make a final mention to
all the people I met
from the Boa Nova Radio
network in Brazil, who
have been so helpful and
put me in contact with
amazing people such as
writer Saara Nousiainen
in the city of Fortaleza.
Is there anything else
you would like to add?
I would like to thank
you for the opportunity
of doing this interview
and to thank specially
the Spiritual
Benefactors, who have
helped me during all my
research work. And above
all, I thank the Lord
for making it possible
for me to live
situations that I could
never have envisaged. I
pray to God to keep me
helping all the way so I
never let down those who
have enjoyed the result
of my research. To
finalise I would like to
quote Madressilva: “We
need to help people
wherever they are. May
each person stick to
their beliefs, but let
us be sure that life
goes on.” We should not
worry about the label.
Whatever religion people
embrace, good deeds will
always be good deeds.
Interviewer’s note:
Lauret Godoy’s books (in
Portuguese) are
available at the
following addresses:
Distribuidora Aliança : http://www.editoraalianca.com.br/
Loja virtual de livros
da Meca: http://www.acasadoestudante.com.br/vendas/
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