THE SPIRITIST SOCIETY OF FLORIDA
AUGUST NEWSLETTER 2014
EDITORIAL: MENTAL ILLNESS & SUICIDE
Written
by Yvonne C. Limoges
Why does it seem that only
when a famous person commits suicide that we start, in my opinion, only a brief societal conversation about
mental illness and suicide? Then we seem to move on...
We are more open and
continuously sympathetic for people with physical illnesses. However, if
someone has a mental illness (chronic depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, those
suffering addictions, etc.), we tend to feel very uncomfortable talking about
it.
Some people may not believe
the person who says they suffer from it, because they cannot “see” it. Some
think they are just imagining things. Some people just view the person as
“crazy” and instead of trying to understand them or help in any way, they just
distance themselves.
People don’t believe that mental
illnesses are legitimate medical conditions. The prestigious Mayo Clinic
website states, for example, people cannot just “snap out” of depression!
So, unfortunately, we end up
not really having a very productive conversation since many do not understand mental
illness AND the people with mental illnesses are reluctant to talk due to fear
of the stigma of having it.
Therefore, so many suffer in
pain (yes, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually) without treatment
and in silence!
Yet, in the year 2011 - every
13.3 minutes - someone died by suicide (the last year the Center for Disease
Control has this data). And, 20% of suicides in the US are military veterans
according to the American Association of Suicide Prevention.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. http://www.afsp.org/understanding-suicide/facts-and-figures
We are all individuals, so each
person reacts differently to the many treatments currently available but it can
take a long time for a person to find something that even just alleviates their situation. Many need someone’s
assistance to get started. Besides
medical treatments, prayer is very helpful - a soul-mind-body connection exists in all humans.
We have no right to judge those
who suffer in ways we have no idea what they are going through.
Yes, we have brought into
this lifetime some of our inclinations acquired from past lives, and we have chosen
what family and physical body we would have, as well as the types of tests and
trials we would be exposed to in order to progress. Also, we all are subject to
varying influences from the spirit world; many want to persecute us out of
spite or out of vengeance due to circumstances from our past lives.
Those with mental illness
have free will (some limited by their illness) and each situation is different.
Those who unfortunately succumb to suicide (since God is all love and the
divine laws are perfectly just) all mitigating circumstances are taken into
consideration in these cases upon their return to the spirit world.
In conclusion, let us be more observant to those who
may be in distress, and more compassionate and understanding to those who
suffer mental illnesses.
PRAY
& HAVE FAITH
Spirit Communication received
by
Alysia Pape
There seems to be quite a few
people on this planet, either single people or groups of them, which believe they
are alone. That no one else has gone through what they have gone through, that
they have it the worst, that no one can or will help them.
Now, think of how the people of
this earth throughout the ages have lived. There have been far more situations
where people, alone or en masse, have been catastrophically worse off than most
people on the earth now.
Now these poor souls no longer
have faith, not only in themselves, but in God and the good spirits.
Everyone on the planet has a
degree of help, some more than others, due to many things. The pure good
intent, the higher morality and true sincerity of a soul, is what draws help.
Doing good will bring the good spirits; doing nothing will bring ignorant and
not so good spirits.
However, doing wrong will certainly
not bring any help, but attract more evil or ignorant spirits, to the person
that is doing wrong.
God helps those that help
themselves!
People cannot sit in pity,
sadness, hopelessness, and despair. If everyone quit when things didn't go
their way, a lot of good in this world would not have come to pass.
People have to learn to believe
in themselves. Once they can do this, God and the good spirits are better able
to help, as then the ignorant spirits leave. People must also have faith in God
and the good spirits.
God never gives us a load too
heavy for our shoulders. Gods knows what each person can handle and not handle,
also when things need to happen and when it is time to wait.
In a time when the world seems
in turmoil, in more than a few places, everyone needs to have faith. Everyone
needs to believe in themselves and not give up on the trials going on in their
life. Everyone needs to trust in God and the good spirits. Everyone needs to
pray to God and the good spirits to help everyone along.
Prayer, no matter the words
spoken aloud or in thought, it is the intent, morality and true sincerity of
the prayer that matters the most.
FAITH TRANSPORTS MOUNTAINS
And Jesus said unto them…if
ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto the mountain,
remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you. (Bible: Matthew, 17:14-20).
Jesus uses
the above example to teach strong faith:
“The mountains which faith can transport are the
difficulties, the resistances, the ill will, in fact all those things which Man
has to face, even when we refer to good things. The prejudices, routines,
materialistic interests, selfishness, the blindness of fanaticism and the
prideful passions are but a few of the mountains which block the way of those
who work for human progress.”
“Robust faith gives perseverance, energy and resources
which allow us to overcome these obstacles, be they large or small….”
“Faith which is real and sincere is always calm; it
permits patience which knows how to wait, because having its foundation in
intelligence and the understanding of life, it is certain of reaching the
objective to which it aspires to…”
“True faith is linked to humility; those who have it,
deposit more confidence in God than in him or herself, as they know they are
but simple instruments of Divine Purpose and can do nothing without God…”
(Excerpts from the Gospel according to Spiritism - Chapter
19, items 1-3 – translated from the French by Janet Duncan)
MEDIUMSHIP IN
CHILDREN
“Mediumship is the natural human faculty by which relations between men
and spirits are established…Mediumship belongs to the field of communication.
It develops naturally in those having greater sensitivity for the mental and
sensorial capture of things and facts from the spiritual world which surround
us and affect us by psychic and affective vibrations. In the same manner as
intelligence and other human faculties, mediumship develops in a process of
relationship.”
“Its development is generally cyclical, meaning it is proceeds in
successive stages…Children are very sensitive to it, but are shielded by the
beneficial and controlling influence of protective spirits which religions call
guardian angels. In this infantile phase, mediumship manifestations are more of
an animic [psychic][1]
character; the child projects its soul onto the things and people surrounding
it, receiving the guiding intuition from its protectors, sometimes seeing and
telling of the presence of spirits and, not rarely, transmitting information
and messages from spirits to the family, either in a positive and direct
manner, or indirectly and symbolically.”
“When turning seven or eight they integrate better into the
conditioning of earthly life, progressively disconnecting from spiritual
relations and giving more importance to human relations. The spirit adjusts
itself within its diving helmet [its
physical body] to face the problems of the world. The first mediumship cycle
shuts down to be followed by the second. It is then considered that the child
did not have mediumship. The previous phase is taken as imagination and
childhood fables.”
“It is generally in adolescence, from twelve or thirteen that the
second cycle begins. In the first cycle you should only intervene in the mediumship
process with prayer and passes to calm down the child’s natural excitement,
nearly always charged with strange reminiscences from a material or spiritual
past. The adolescent’s body has already matured sufficiently for the mediumship
manifestations to become more intense and positive. It is time to send them on
their way with more precise information concerning their mediumship situation.
You should not try developing them in sessions, unless an obsessive case is
being dealt with. But even in this case, care is necessary to guide the
adolescent without stirring up his imagination, and getting him used to the
natural process driven by the laws of growth.”
“Passes, prayers and meetings for study of the doctrine [the nature of mediumship,
discernment of spirits, knowledge of the Divine laws, and proper moral conduct]
are the means to help the process along without forcing it, giving it all the
necessary attention…” preferably at an experienced Spiritist group.
(Excerpt above from the 2014 newly translated into English book – Mediumship - Life and Communication written by - J. Herculano Pires – Brazilian philosopher, author, journalist, translator and Spiritist. It can be bought on-line at: http://www.sgny.org/catalog/other-authors/mediumship-life-and-communication/ )
SITUATIONS WITH CHILDREN
Written
by Yvonne C. Limoges
I had my own personal childhood experiences and dealt with situations with of other children. Most of them heard strange noises in the home, had vivid and/or prophetic dreams, and sensed spirits (not knowing it).
One saw auras, then it stopped, eventually she became a hearing & writing medium in the late teens; another saw spirits as completely materialized people (not being able to tell the difference) always asking what strange people were doing in the house; another involved a child of 2 who woke up at night and nap times in a definite trance-like state, with non-stop screaming. After having a spirit session, this child’s mediumship was closed by spirit guides, and in their early 20’s eventually became a hearing & writing medium. Only time will tell if dynamic mediumship will develop. Early problems of a spiritual nature can mostly be alleviated by commonsense, not alarming the child and sincere prayer to the child’s spirit guides and God, with guidance from Kardec’s The Mediums Book.
For teenagers, I highly recommend
the book: Looking Beyond:
a Teen's Guide to the Spiritual World written by well-known spiritual medium James Van Praagh and available on www.Amazon.com.
A TRUE SHORT STORY
Written
by Yvonne C. Limoges
Years ago, I was sitting on my bed reading the newspaper
when my precocious 3 year old entered my room. Looking curiously to the side of
me and pointing, he asked, “Mommy, who is that man sitting in your bed?”
I could see or feel nothing.
Used to spontaneous spirit manifestations, I just calmly
said, “I’m not sure, but let’s just go have breakfast.” Wherein I just took my
little boy’s hand and headed to the kitchen.
He did not bring it up again, and neither did I.
And, this would not be the last such incident.
RESIGNATION
A SPIRIT COMMUNICATION
“Come
to me those who are overwhelmed and ponder their sadness,
I will alleviate you and go to the
Father, for you need not wealth
or titles, but unselfishness, love and sacrifice; ask for me
and I will come.
I
come from the Father who loves us
all, and is with us if we are with Him.”
“Do not complain about your tests, because who are you to murmur? Give thanks to God and be resigned to the divine law.”
“Do not complain about your tests, because who are you to murmur? Give thanks to God and be resigned to the divine law.”
(A spirit communication taken
from the book - Hechos Que Prueban (Acts
That Prove) by Amalia Domingo Soler, a famous Spiritist writer and poet from
Spain and translated by Yvonne Limoges)
DESTINY AND
RESPONSIBILITY
Written by Narciso
Trevilatto
Life…can be compared to a large school of immense
resources where we learn, through numerous reincarnations, disciplines that help us to overcome our
pride, vanity, dishonesty,
envy, jealousy, tyranny, in short, all
lower feelings of our ego…God help us...!
WHAT’S YOUR SONG?
By Julie L. Harper
The gift
of free will allows for personal choice in mental, emotional, and physical
action.
You can
be likened to a song writer that inspires oneself and others via the tone and
energy of the music. Does your song make you want to sing and dance?
A change
in mind brings a change of heart that delivers a change in circumstances.
TRUTH
By
Julie L. Harper
Blessed are those who believe
beyond earthly illusions for they recognize Truth.
***********************************
Edited by Yvonne Crespo Limoges,
Director
E-mail: ylimoges@aol.com
Spiritist Society of
Florida
5042 22 Avenue North,
St. Petersburg, Florida 33710 Website: www.spiritistsocietyfl.com
[1] In this
context the Portuguese word “animic” is equivalent in meaning to the English
word “psychic.” - Tr.
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