JANUARY NEWSLETTER 2025 THOSE WHO ATTEND SPIRIT SESSIONS Spirit communication received By Yvonne Crespo Limoges Blessed are those who have the very fortunate opportunity to hear from the spirits in the world wherein you came from, and wherein you will return to. Search your hearts and clarify within your mind the reasons you attend which can renew your spiritual convictions and faith. We appreciate those mediums that transmit messages from the spirit world, and who come with serious resolve to fulfill a sacred duty as instruments to be used for moral teachings and to help suffering spirits. We cherish those attendees who, in active contemplative communion with positive thoughts and good feelings, provide for a higher spiritual ambiance. At the sessions, those seeking advice about your material lives, may receive it, and other times no. For your faith may be tested, or responsibility for decisions, may rest in your hands for your soul’s growth. Yet, your presence is acknowledgement you understand the Divine laws. And, do not doubt it, you are always helped, but in ways you may not detect or understand. All those who seek consolation for sufferings receive a spiritual balm from us to help sustain you. However, remember suffering serves a Divine purpose which is the purification of your soul. We always provide inspiration to lift up your moral courage to support the tasks you have chosen for yourself in this lifetime. At sessions, how comforting it feels to know your spirit guides are by your side and to hear them say how much they care for and love you. Open your ears and hearts at spirit sessions. Be mentally and emotionally receptive to better receive the spiritual benefits of spirit communion. Having humility and a loving heart provides an easier assimilation of beneficial vibrations we bring to ease the pain within your souls and bodies. Concentrate and study what happens at the sessions and leave your mundane cares behind. Sincerely seek spiritual knowledge and relief. Listen carefully and learn from the spirits. Some bring wise teachings and advice. Others lament their poor life choices and are full of regrets. Others suffer due to ignorance and their failure to pursue knowledge. Some come in anger and are in moral suffering. Some are wanderers, wasting valuable time, not being productive. Some are frivolous, some are of ill will. And, there are those spirits trying to obsess people. All teach valuable lessons and can act as warnings to you. May the mediums be faithful to their duty in providing charitable service to help all troubled souls. God bless you all! SPIRITS THAT SUFFER Written by José M. Meseguer Among the many tasks entrusted to the exercise of mediumship is the assistance to suffering spirits; those who, finding themselves in the spiritual world, needing help to get them out of their spiritual situation of difficulties, rebellion or ignorance… There is a very extensive bibliography on the subject, starting with the works of Allan Kardec, in The Spirits’ Book. He speaks to us of the [moral and intellectual] scale of spirits, and in the book Heaven and Hell, in the second part he collected testimonies of spirits in different spiritual conditions … [how their lives were in the material world and their conditions in the spirit world] However, …in another of his works; What is Spiritism? in Chapter 3, concerning death and the situation of souls when they leave their physical body it states: “At the moment of death, everything is suddenly in confusion; the soul needs some time to recognize itself; it is as if stunned…the memory of the past returns to it as the influence of matter is erased… The time of disturbance that follows death is very variable; it can be hours or even years… The sensation that the soul experiences at that moment is also very variable, depending on whether it has been a good person or rather material…” Based on knowledge and accumulated experience, we can provide some ideas regarding this subject, leaving it for granted in advance that the true work of this assistance is directed and carried out mostly by higher spirits [at sessions]. From this point, we can easily realize that those spirits who are taken to mediumship meetings for their enlightenment are carefully selected. These spirits, due to their characteristics, need close contact with matter and the incarnated [humans] for their spiritual freeing; at the same time, they need to understand their [spiritual] state, which will lend themselves to a new phase of recovery in suitable places [in the spirit world], adapted to their most pressing needs. On the other hand, there are those souls who awaken to spiritual life in fullness and happiness; those who have persisted in goodness and have controlled wrongful inclinations; for whom their transition is like a light sleep, getting rid of a heavy and bothersome body that they no longer need. For there are those spirits that need different methods at some point in their transition; an enlightenment that allows them to acquire lucidity and thus get out of the spiritual impediments that prevent them from moving forward. This means there are spirits who find light and clarity in their situation by simply listening to spirit guidance, while others find it necessary to attend a mediumship meeting and observe what happens and is said there. Many spirits, with more difficulties … need to pass through a material, physical body, to receive what they need which allows them to recognize themselves, to understand that for an instant they have been in a body that is not their own, in order to from there, complete their enlightenment in the spiritual world, either by their loved ones who have already passed on, or through specialists in these selfless functions. There are also large groups of spirits in lamentable conditions, that need a direct dialogue with that person of the mediumship team who performs this work, taking advantage of the spiritual force, the vibrations and the thoughts of the others in the group, in tune with the spirit workers on the other side. Also, there may be spirits that [communicate] picked up at the moment of their death; that are bewildered, stunned. Others do not understand that, suddenly, no one pays attention to them, no one in their family speaks to them; wandering from one place to another, or staying at their favorite places as if they were still incarnated. Many are picked up from places where they have remained for a long time due to vibratory affinity. There are those who have lived for and by material life; they have been able to harm their fellow men or have simply lived for themselves, without contributing anything to others. There is also the case of obsession; those spirits of a perverse nature, some leaders of the shadows; or those who simply have not forgiven past insults and believe they have the right to indefinitely get even, causing torment to their victims [those reincarnated in the material world]. In these cases, it is very common that they are forced to go to mediumship sessions one or more times, depending on the situation of each particular spirit, of their degree of rebellion, to be gradually sensitized. Living and breathing, even if momentarily [using the medium’s body], in a harmonious, balanced environment, which may help them to reconsider [their behavior]; and with the help of loving spirit helpers (often their own relatives from the past) to help them make some fundamental changes. It is less complicated with those souls of good faith who hope for a heaven with its angels, who have no knowledge of the transition to the other life and the circumstances that surround it; and since they have a different vision of the afterlife due to their religious upbringing and culture, they some believe they are not dead. Many pieces of the new spiritual reality do not fit and some are stunned, disoriented and even distressed. We cannot forget the atheists either; those who throughout their lives were skeptical, reluctant to accept anything after life. The surprise is huge, needing in many cases, spiritual help. For all this, having some spiritual knowledge in material life…can be of great benefit in the transition from material death to the spiritual life… However, it is very important to emphasize that, above all: “…The disturbance that follows death is not painful for the good man; it is calm and is similar, in all respects, to that which accompanies a peaceful awakening.” (Kardec’s book - What is Spiritism?) This means that, above beliefs or knowledge, there are facts, feelings, and good works. It is the type of life the person has led throughout his physical existence [that is most important]. At the same time, in all situations, heartfelt prayer is very useful to all spirits, especially to suffering ones, because depending on their situation, it serves as relief, encouragement and helps support them to bear their struggles much better. As indicated in the same reference…in item 161: “Prayer is recommended by the good spirits and is also requested by those who suffer… The soul for which one prays experiences relief… through prayer it is led to repentance and the desire to do what is necessary for it to be happy…” (Article dated 08/23/17, website: www.amorpazycaridad.es of the Villena Group Association for Spiritual Studies, Alicante Spain) A MINDFUL PAUSE Written by Julie L. Harper Before any action, it is wise to take a moment to touch into your inner being. Here lives an innate knowing of right from wrong. It is where you may access intelligent guidance toward right action.  A pause to check in with your internal essence will enable a response that is mindfully proactive versus emotionally reactive. Right acts can at first sometimes seem difficult, but after a mindful pause, an understanding of right from wrong may come easier.  A loving sentiment encourages internal growth and aids external peace.  Right action exists as a spiritual personal responsibility, and all the while, the benefits from good acts may be far reaching.  GUIDELINES TO BEING VIRTUOUS Commentary by Allan Kardec The truly virtuous man is he who practices the law of justice, love, and charity, in its greatest purity. If he interrogates his conscience in regard to the acts accomplished by him, he will ask himself whether he has done nothing wrong, whether he has done all the good in his power, whether no one has cause to complain of him, and whether he has done to others all that he would wish others to do to him. Being filled with the sentiment of charity and kindness for all, he does good for its own sake, without hope of reward and sacrifices his own interest to justice. He is kind, benevolent, humane, for all, because he sees a brother in every man, whatever his race or his belief. If God has given him power and riches, he considers them as a trust confided to him for the general good; he is not vain of them, for he knows …it can take them from him. If the constitution of society has made other men dependent on him, he treats them with kindness and benevolence, as being his equals in the sight of God; he uses his authority to raise them, and not to crush them by his pride. He is indulgent for the weaknesses of others, knowing that he too needs indulgence, and remembering the words of Christ, “Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone." He is not vindictive, but remembers only benefits; following the example of Jesus, he forgives all offences… He respects the rights of others, as established by the law of nature, as scrupulously as he desires those rights to be respected in his own case. Question 919. What is the most efficacious method of ensuring one’s own moral improvement in the present life, and resisting the attraction of wrongdoing? Spirits replied: “One of the sages of antiquity has told you: ‘Know thyself.’” (Above from The Spirits’ Book, 3rd Bk, Ch. XII, the commentary of item 918 & item 919, question & answer) ************************************ Edited by Yvonne Crespo Limoges, Director Email: ylimoges@aol.com Society of Florida (est. 1982) 5042 22 Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33710 Website: www.spiritistsocietyfl.com