• the spirits' book by allan kardec

page 81

• "What about the idea that attributes the first formation of all things to an accidental combination of matter, i.e. to chance?" “Another absurdity! How could anyone with any common sense believe that chance is an intelligent agent? Moreover, what is chance? Nothing.”

page 83

• "God is supremely just and good."

page 89

• “It is not easy to explain spirit in your language. For you, it is nothing because it is not something palpable; nevertheless, for us it is something. You must realize that nothing means nothing and nothing does not exist.”

page 99

• "[...] the man known as Adam was neither the first nor the only one to populate the earth."

page 100

• "Are all the globes spinning through space inhabited?" “Yes, and contrary to what earthlings believe, they themselves are far from being first in intelligence, goodness and perfection. Nevertheless, there are individuals who think they know the whole truth of the matter and imagine that this little planet is the only one privileged enough to be inhabited by reasoning beings. Pride and vanity! They fancy that God has created the universe only for earthlings."

page 101

• "Since the physical composition of all the various worlds is not the same, do the beings inhabiting them have a different physical organization?" “Of course, just as on yours fish are made for living in the water and birds for living in the air.”
• "Do the worlds farthest from the sun lack light and heat since the sun would appear only as a distant star to them?" “Do you believe that the sun is the only source of light and heat? What about electricity? On some worlds, electricity plays a role unknown to you, which is much more important than the role it plays on earth. Besides, we have never said that all beings are made of the same matter as you, with organs similar to yours.”

pages 102 to 106

• "With the support of science, reason has recognized the improbability of some of these theories." (Adam being the first man; the earth being created in six days; Noah's ark; etc.)

page 117

• "Are spirits beings distinct from the Divinity or are they only emanations or portions of the Divinity – the reason why they are called the children of God?" “Good gracious! Of course they are God’s work. It is like a man who builds a machine, for example; the machine is the man’s work but it is not the man himself. You know that when individuals make nice and useful things they call them their children, their creation. Well then, it is the same with God. We are God’s children because we are products of the divine work."

pages 128 to 129

• "Tenth class. IMPURE SPIRITS. These are inclined toward evil and make it the object of all their preoccupations. [...] Certain cultures have transformed them into malevolent deities, while others have designated them as demons or evil spirits. [...] Ninth class. FRIVOLOUS SPIRITS. These are ignorant, mischievous, thoughtless and mocking spirits [...]. To this class belong the spirits commonly designated by the names of hobgoblins, imps, gnomes and pixies."

page 138

• "Do the beings we call angels, archangels and seraphim form a special category that is different in nature from that of the other spirits?" “No, these are the pure spirits: those at the highest degree of the hierarchy and inwardly perfect in every way.”
• "Have the angels also passed up through all of the degrees?" “They have passed up through all of them, but as we have already said: some accepted their mission without grumbling, and thus were able to arrive more quickly; others took a longer or shorter amount of time to reach perfection.”
• "If the opinion holding that there are beings that were created perfect and superior to all others from the start is erroneous, how does one explain their presence in the traditions of nearly all cultures?" “You need to understand that your world has not existed from all eternity, and that long before it existed there were already spirits of the highest degree; hence, people assume they have always been perfect.”
• "Are there demons in the usual sense of the word?" “If there were demons, they would nevertheless be the work of God. But would God be just and good in creating unfortunate beings that are eternally turned towards evil? If there are demons, they reside on your less evolved world and on other similar ones: they are the hypocritical men and women who portray a just God as an evil and vindictive one. They are those who imagine they can please God by the abominable behaviors they commit in the divine name.”

page 147

• "Does the soul have a defined and circumscribed seat within the body?" “No, although it resides more particularly in the head among great geniuses and all those who think much, and in the heart of those who feel much, who dedicate all their actions to humankind.”

page 169

• "According to some spirits, of all the globes that comprise our solar system, the earth is one of those whose inhabitants are the least physically and morally advanced. Mars, as a planet per se, is even less advanced, whereas Jupiter is far superior in every respect. The sun is not inhabited by corporeal beings, but is a meeting place for high order spirits, who radiate their thought from there to other worlds, which they govern with the aid of low order spirits by communicating with them through the universal fluid. Regarding its physical constitution, the sun could be a focus of electricity. It appears that all suns operate in the same way. Size and distance from the sun has no necessary bearing on the degree of the other planets’ development, because it appears that Venus is more evolved than Earth, and Saturn less so than Jupiter."

page 174

• "Why is life so often cut short in childhood?" “The length of a child’s life can be, for its spirit, the remainder of a former life that had been cut short before its due term. Moreover, the death of a child is often a trial or an expiation for the parents.” " [...] can the spirit of a child be more evolved than that of its parent? “That is very frequently the case. Haven’t you yourself often witnessed it?”

page 175

• "Can a spirit who has animated the body of a man animate the body of a woman in a new existence, and vice versa?" “Yes, since the same spirit can animate both male and female bodies.”

page 180

• "During their different incarnations, do individuals retain any vestiges of their physical character from previous lives?" “The body is destroyed and the new one has no connection with the old. Nevertheless, the spirit is reflected in the body. Although the body is only matter, it is molded by the spirit’s qualities, which impress it with a certain character that is mainly visible in the face. For this reason, the eyes have been rightly described as the mirror of the soul, which means that the face most particularly reflects the soul. [...]”

page 182

• "What is the origin of the extraordinary abilities of those individuals who, without any previous learning, seem to have an intuition about certain areas of knowledge such as languages, mathematics, etc.? “A memory of the past and the soul’s previous progress, of which it now has no awareness. Where else could such abilities have come from? Bodies change, but the spirit does not – it merely changes its garment.”

page 215

• “The spirit itself chooses the kinds of trials it will undergo. Its free will consists in doing so.”

page 229

• "Does the affection that two beings had for each other on earth always continue in the spirit world?" “Yes, of course, if it is based on true sympathy; however, if physical attraction has had more influence than sympathy, it will cease with the cause. Affections among spirits are more solid and lasting than on earth because they are not subject to the whims of material interests and self-centeredness.”

page 258

• “Could two individuals who have already known and loved each other meet in another corporeal existence and recognize each other? “Recognize each other, no; feel attracted to each other, yes. Frequently, intimate connections founded on sincere affection arise from no other cause. Two individuals are drawn together by apparently fortuitous circumstances, but it is actually the result of the attraction of two spirits who have been searching for each other amidst the crowds.”

page 260

• “Why does the incarnate spirit lose the memory of its past?” “Human beings cannot and must not know everything. God, out of divine wisdom, wills it to be this way. Without the veil that hides certain things from them, they would be dazzled, like one who passes suddenly from the darkness into the light. By forgetting their past, they are more fully themselves in the present.”

pages 268 to 274

• “How can we confirm the fact that a spirit is free during sleep?” “By dreams. While the body rests, the spirit enjoys more of its faculties than in the waking state. It remembers the past and sometimes foresees the future. It acquires more power and can communicate with other spirits whether on this world or another. You frequently say, ‘I had a bizarre dream, a horrible dream, but there is no likelihood of it being true.’ You are mistaken. It is almost always a memory of places and things which you have seen, or which you will see in another existence or on another occasion. Since the body is dormant, the spirit tries to break its chains in order to probe into the past and future. […] Sleep partially frees the soul from the body. When humans sleep, they momentarily find themselves in the state which they will be in permanently after death. Spirits who quickly free themselves from matter upon death had intelligent dreams during earthly life. Such spirits, while their body is sleeping, rejoin the company of those who are more evolved; they travel with, converse with and learn from them. They even work on projects that they find completed upon dying. From these facts you should once more learn not to fear death, because you die daily – as a saint once stated. This applies only to more highly evolved spirits; however, the mass of spirits, who at death must remain in a state of confusion for some time – that uncertainty of which we have already spoken to you – either go to worlds even less evolved than earth, where former affections call to them or where they seek out pleasures that are perhaps even baser than those they indulge in here. They go to take in doctrines even viler, more ignoble and more noxious than those they profess among you. What engenders sympathies on earth is nothing other than the fact that upon awakening, they feel linked to the hearts of those with whom they have just spent eight or nine hours of happiness or pleasure. Moreover, the insuperable antipathies they feel at the bottom of our heart for certain individuals may be explained by the fact that they have a consciousness that is different from their own; they recognize these individual without having ever seen them before. It is furthermore what explains people’s indifference when they do not seek to make new friends – they know that those who love and cherish them are elsewhere. In a word, sleep has more influence than you think on your life. During sleep, incarnate spirits are always in touch with the spirit world, and that is what leads high order spirits, without too much aversion, to consent to incarnate among you. During their contact with earthly vices, God grants them the freedom to re-strengthen themselves during sleep at the source of the good in order not to fail in their commitment to instruct others. Sleep is the door that God opens to them for contacting their friends in heaven. It is their break after work while they await the great deliverance, the final liberation that must restore them to their true environment. A dream is the memory of what your spirit has seen during sleep. However, notice that you do not always dream, because you do not always remember what you have seen, or everything that you have seen. This happens because your soul is still under development, so that frequently you retain nothing more than the confused memory that accompanies your departure and your return, which is mixed in with the memory of what you have done or what concerns you have had while awake. Otherwise, how do you explain those absurd dreams that both the wisest and the simplest individuals endure? Evil spirits also use dreams to torment weak and cowardly souls. Furthermore, you will soon see another type of dreaming develop; a type as ancient as the kind you already know about but of which you are ignorant. It is the dream of Joan of Arc, the dream of Jacob, the dream of the Jewish prophets and certain Indian seers: this sort of dream is the remembrance of the soul entirely disengaged from the body, the memory of that other life of which I have just spoken to you. Try hard to distinguish between these two types of dreams among those that you remember. […]”
• “Why don’t we always remember our dreams?” “During what you call sleep, you only experience the repose of the body because the spirit is always in motion. During sleep, it recovers a little of its freedom and communicates with those who are dear to it either on this world or on others. But since the body is composed of heavy and dense matter, it is difficult for it to retain the impressions received by the spirit because the spirit did not receive them through the body’s organs in the first place.”
• “What should we think about the various meanings attributed to dreams?” “Dreams are not true in the sense that fortune-tellers, for example, understand them, for it is absurd to believe that dreaming about one matter necessarily foretells another. They are true in the sense that they present real images to the spirit, but these images often have no relation to what occurs in its corporeal life. Furthermore, as we have stated, many times they are a memory of the past. Lastly, they may also sometimes be a presentiment of the future if God allows it, or a vision of what is occurring at the moment in another place to which the soul has gone. Don’t you have numerous examples of persons who appear in dreams to warn relatives and friends about what is happening to them? What are these apparitions if not the soul or spirit of these persons communicating with you? When you confirm that what you have seen has really occurred, isn’t it evidence that the imagination has had nothing to do with it, especially if the event was absolutely not in your thought while you were awake?”
• “Frequently, things are seen in dreams that appear to be presentiments about matters that end up not occurring. Where do these come from?” “They may occur for the spirit if not for the body, which means that the spirit sees what it desires because it goes looking for it. You must not forget that during sleep the soul is always more or less under the influence of matter, and consequently it is never completely free from terrestrial ideas. Therefore, the concerns of wakefulness may give what you see the appearance of what you desire or what you fear. This is really what can be called a trick of the imagination. When you are strongly preoccupied with an idea, you connect it to everything you see.”
• “Is complete sleep necessary for the emancipation of the spirit?” “No. The spirit recovers its freedom whenever the senses become sluggish. It takes advantage of every moment of respite that the body offers it to emancipate itself. As soon as there is a prostration of the vital forces, the spirit disengages itself; the weaker the body is, the freer the spirit will be.”
• “Often, while we have our eyes shut during a state that is not yet sleep, we see distinct images and figures in the minutest detail. Is this an effect of vision or of imagination?” “The body being numb, the spirit tries to break its chains – it travels and sees. If sleep were complete, this vision would be a dream.”
• “Can two people who know each other visit each other during sleep? “Yes, and many others, who do not think they know each other while awake, meet and converse. Without even suspecting it, you may even have friends in another country. The phenomenon during sleep in which you visit friends, relatives, acquaintances and individuals who may be useful to you is so frequent that you experience it almost every night.”

pages 306 to 313

• “Are there spirits who link themselves to particular individuals in order to protect them?” “Yes, spirit friends; what you call good spirits or guardian spirits.”
• “What is a guardian angel?” “A protector spirit of a high order.”
• “What is the mission of protector spirits?” “Their mission is that of parents toward their children: to guide their wards along the path of the good, to help them with their counsels, to console them in their afflictions and to sustain their courage in the trials of earthly life.”
• “Are protector spirits connected to particular individuals from birth?” “From birth to death. They frequently accompany them after death in the spirit life and even through numerous corporeal existences, because these existences are no more than very short phases in the life of a spirit.”
• “Is the mission of a protector spirit voluntary or obligatory?” “The spirit is obliged to watch over you because it has accepted the task; however, it is allowed to choose beings who are attuned to it. For some, it is a pleasure; for others, a mission or a duty.”
• “In linking itself to an individual, does the spirit refrain from protecting other individuals?” “No, but it does so less exclusively.”
• “Is the protector spirit indissolubly connected to the person who has been entrusted into its care?” “Certain spirits often leave their position to carry out different assignments, but in such cases they are replaced.”
• “Do protector spirits sometimes abandon their ward when the latter is heedless of their warnings?” “They withdraw when they see that their counsels are useless, and that the ward’s will is set on submitting to the influence of little-evolved spirits. They do not abandon them entirely, however, and always try to make themselves heard. Their wards are the ones who shut their ears. Their protectors return as soon as they are called. If there is a doctrine that should convert the most incredulous by its charm and sweetness, it is that of guardian angels. Isn’t it a very consoling idea to know that you always have at your side beings who are more evolved than you, who are always there to counsel, sustain and aid you in scaling the rugged mountain of the good, who are more reliable and devoted friends than the most intimate connections that may be contracted on earth? These beings are there at God’s orders. It was God who has placed them at your side; they are there out of love for God and they fulfill a beautiful but laborious mission alongside you. Wherever you may be, your angel will be there with you: in prison, in the hospital, in dens of iniquity, in solitude; nothing separates you from that friend whom you cannot see, but from whom your soul nonetheless receives the gentlest impulses and hears the wisest counsels. […] All guardian angels have their wards, whom they watch over as parents watch over their children. They feel happy when they see them on the path of the good but mourn when their counsels are despised. Do not fear tiring us with your questions; rather, remain in contact with us always: you will thus be stronger and happier. […]”
• "Do protector spirits all belong to the order of highly evolved spirits? Can they sometimes be found among average orders? Can a father, for example, become the protector spirit of his child?" “He can, but protection presupposes a certain degree of elevation, and additionally, a power or virtue granted by God. A father who protects his child may himself be assisted by a more evolved spirit.”

page 318

• "Is a presentiment always a warning from a protector spirit?" “A presentiment can be the inner and secret counsel of a spirit who wishes you well. It can also be an intuition about a choice made prior to incarnation – it is the voice of instinct. Before incarnating, a spirit has knowledge of the principal phases of its coming existence, i.e. the kind of trials in which it will be engaged. When these are of a marked character, it preserves a type of impression in its inner consciousness, and this impression – the voice of instinct – awakens when the moment arrives. It then becomes a presentiment.”

page 348

• "Since animals have an intelligence that gives them a certain freedom of action, is there in them a principle independent of matter?" “Yes, and it survives their body.”
• "Is this principle a soul similar to that of humans?" “It is a soul, if you’d like; it depends on the meaning you attach to the word. It is much less evolved than that of humans, however. Between the souls of animals and humans there is as great a difference as there is between the human soul and God.”
• "Does the animal’s soul retain its individuality and selfawareness after death?" “Its individuality, yes, but not its self-awareness. Its intelligent life remains in a latent state.”

page 374

• "Does God have any preference for those who worship in this or that manner?" “God prefers those who sincerely worship from the bottom of their heart, doing good and avoiding evil, to those who think they honor God through ceremonies that do not render them any better than their neighbor. [...]"

page 376

• "Is prayer pleasing to God?" “A prayer is always pleasing to God when spoken from the heart, for intent is everything to God. A prayer from the heart is preferable to one you read no matter how beautiful it may be if you read more with the lips than with the thought. Prayer is pleasing to God when it is offered with faith, fervor and sincerity. Do not believe, however, that God is touched by the prayer of vain, proud or selfish people, unless their prayer represents an act of sincere repentance and true humility.”

page 441

• "Are all people equal before God?" “Yes, all tend toward the same goal; God has made the divine laws for everybody. You often say, ‘The sun shines the same on everyone’ and you thereby state a greater and more general truth than you might think.”

page 447

• "Are the functions for which women are intended by nature as important as those conferred upon men?" “Yes, and even greater – women give men the first notions of life.”

page 457

• “[...] Remember: ‘where there is a will, there is a way.’”

pages 551 to 556

• "Is the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh a reference to reincarnation as taught by the Spirits?" “How could it be otherwise? This expression is similar to so many others that only appear to be nonsensical to those who take them literally and are driven to disbelief. However, give it a logical interpretation, and those whom you call freethinkers will accept it without difficulty precisely because they are able to rationalize it. [...]”
• "Are there circumscribed places in the universe that are intended for the punishments and pleasures of spirits according to their merits?" “We have already responded to this question. Punishments and joys are inherent to the degree of a spirit’s perfection. Each spirit carries within itself the source of its own happiness or unhappiness, and since spirits are everywhere, there is no circumscribed or enclosed place for one or the other. As for incarnate spirits, the degree of their happiness or unhappiness depends on the evolution of the world they inhabit.”
• "Accordingly, would heaven and hell not exist as humans have represented them?" “They are no more than figures of speech – happy and unhappy spirits are everywhere. Nevertheless, as we have also told you, spirits of the same order gather together through their mutual sympathy. When perfect, they can meet wherever they desire.”
• "What is to be understood by 'purgatory'?" “Physical and mental suffering; it is a period of expiation. It is almost always on the earth that you make your own purgatory, and that is where God enables you to expiate your wrongs.”
• "In what sense should the word heaven be understood?" “[...] It is universal space – the planets, the stars and all the highly evolved worlds on which spirits enjoy all their faculties without the tribulations of material life or the anguish inherent to less evolved stages.”

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