COMMENTARY: THE MEDIUMSHIP OF CHICO XAVIER
Our recent article about the movie Nosso Lar (Our Home) received a great deal of response. It seems that many people loved the movie that depicted a very earth-like afterlife, where people have a solid body, live in communities, and are reunited with friends and loved ones.
The movie has credibility in Brazil because of the high esteem in which Spiritist medium Chico Xavier is held. He was a natural medium and from the earliest age was able to see and hear spirits. This brought him into conflict with his family and the Catholic Church. Once he learned about Spiritism and understood his gift, he began to sit with a pencil in his hand and his eyes closed. He would then write pages of hand-written books, always without a mistake, on highly spiritual and esoteric subjects way beyond his very basic primary school education. In this way, he produced more than 100,000 pages of spirit writing that were published in more than 400 books, including some in foreign languages in which he was not fluent. 13 of those books, including Nosso Lar, were dictated by the spirit of Andre Luiz.
SELFLESS SERVICE
Apart from his incredible mediumship, Chico Xavier was regarded as a model of integrity and selflessness. He refused to take any money for his books which sold an estimated 25 million copies. Instead, working full-time as a clerk in a government department, he donated the royalties, gifts, and bequests he received to Spiritist charities to help the needy. In 1981 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the petition being signed by over two million Brazilians. Psi Encyclopedia article The Top 10 Teachings of Chico Xavier. 7 films inspired by Chico Xavier
SPIRIT LETTERS CONFIRMED 99% ACCURATE
As well as writing books dictated by spirits, Chico Xavier psychographed more than 10,000 personal letters from spirits to their loved ones. He never accepted payment and, because of this, his house was always full of people. Many times he slept only 4 hours a day. The contents of his psychographed letters were accepted in Brazilian courts 3 times - in 1979,1982, and 1985.
In 2014 a group of experimenters analyzed a set of 13 letters allegedly written by the same spiritual author (J.P.). They checked the accuracy of 99 items of verifiable information contained in the letters. 98% of these items were rated as "Clear and Precise Fit" and no item was rated as "no fit." See this journal article.
WHAT IS SPIRITISM? In France, Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail investigated mediums between 1854 and 1856. He compiled a list of questions about the spirit world and about the purpose of life that he put to spirits who seemed highly evolved. In 1857, using the pen name Allan Kardec, he published his first book The Spirits' Book, comprising a series of 1,018 answers to these questions. This was followed by The Medium's Book (1861); The Gospel According to Spiritism (1864); Heaven and Hell (1865); and Genesis – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism (1868). These books became the foundation of Spiritism.
One key feature of Spiritism is its acceptance of reincarnation which certainly in the early years was strongly rejected by Spiritualists.
You can learn more about Spiritism, Kardec, and Chico Xavier in Ana Castro' weekly Zoom group called Spiritist Literature: Directed Study (SLiDS) held every Saturday at 5 p.m. Eastern time (see details below).
A PERSONAL REFLECTION ON CHICO XAVIER
Many people who knew Chico Xavier personally talk of continuous miracles - all the gifts of mediumship including precognition and knowledge of past lives, and even materialisation, as well as healing, spiritual teaching, and devotion to others. Luis Sergio Marotta and Dr. Livia Dias, from Belo Horizonte, have been involved in teaching the philosophy of Spiritism from their home in Belo Horizonte in Brazil for many years. Here they share their personal experiences with Chico Xavier and Brazilian mediumship.
SCENES FROM THE MOVIE NOSSO LAR (OUR HOME/ ASTRAL CITY)
The film is an adaptation of the 1944 book of the same name, dictated by the spirit Andre Luiz. The book is considered a great classic of Spiritist literature. The film with English subtitles can be viewed on Gaia and Amazon TV.
THE FILMMAKER'S CHALLENGE
Wagner de Assis who wrote and directed the movie titled "Astral City: A Spiritual Journey" talks with Bob Olson about some of the difficulties of turning the beloved book into a movie including the 1944 book author's controversial view of "unconscious suicide" and the "Umbral" (purgatory). He is also writing and directing the follow-up movie Nosso Lar 2: Os Mensageiros, now scheduled to be released in January 2024.
ARE THERE REALLY CITIES IN THE AFTERLIFE? Many people who loved the movie Nosso Lar were impressed by the depiction of the city and buildings and wondered how authentic they were. Detailed drawings of the city "Our Home" as well as the architecture of the buildings, ministries, and homes, were created by the medium Heigorina Cunha through her observations made during her travels outside of the body in March 1979, led and guided by the spirit Lucius. Her drawings were clarified and confirmed by Chico Xavier that this was really the spiritual city of Rio de Janeiro called "Our Home".
These drawings served as inspiration to create the visual architecture of the city, that is seen in the movie. It was shot on location in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, during July, August, and September 2009, with its post-production taking 9 months to be completed. It was released on September 3, 2010, in Brazil to great critical acclaim and more than one million viewers in its opening weekend.
THE FLYING COW When "The Flying Cow" was first published in 1975, it revealed a world of psychic wonders in Brazil hitherto barely explored by outsiders. Author Guy Lyon Playfair had spent two years as a member of the Brazilian Institute for Psychobiophysical Research (IBPP), the first group of its kind to investigate and document the wide range of inexplicable phenomena - from poltergeists and psychic surgeons to trance artists and children who recall previous lives. "The Flying Cow" was followed by its sequel "The Indefinite Boundary" in 1976. Material from the latter has been included in this edition, making it the most comprehensive survey available of the paranormal world of Brazil.
Read more.
HOW MICHAEL NEWTON INVESTIGATED THE JOURNEY OF SOULS When Dr. Michael Newton (1931-2016) began regressing his clients back in time to access their memories of former lives, he became interested in seeing into the spirit world through the eyes of clients who are in a hypnotized or superconscious state; these clients in this altered state claimed to be able to tell him what their soul was doing between lives on Earth. His book, Journey of Souls, presents ten years of his research and insights to help people understand the purpose behind their life choices. His follow-up book, Destiny of Souls, continued this work.
Read a summary of his findings about the life between lives.
"RADIO OUT THERE" YOUTUBE PANEL DISCUSSION
Our friend Barry Eaton conducts a wonderful weekly podcast series on all things "out there". This week's was a panel discussion on the impact of spiritual transcendence via Afterlife and Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy with The Michael Newton Institute. The speakers are Peter Smith – Australia, Dr. Sarina Volare – Paris, Dr. Matt McKay – US, and Dr. Diana Paque – US.
EXPERIENCE CHICO XAVIER'S LEGACY IN BRAZIL Ana Castro is hosting a SLIDS Group Gathering in Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, Brazil from September 7th to 10th 2023. People will meet in Pedro Leopoldo City - 21 miles north of Belo Horizonte - where Chico Xavier started his mediumship and charity work, living there for many years. Circle Meetings will be held in the process of trying for a connection with the enlightened spirits. Sonia Rinaldi will conduct a lecture, a Q&A session, and an experiment during one of the Circle Meetings.
Ana Castro and Luis Sergio Marotta will be sharing details at the Zoom Global Gathering next Sunday 12th August at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Check time in your city. Just click this link to join.
PREACHER'S DAUGHTER DIES IN A CAR WRECK - THE AFTERLIFE WAS NOT WHAT SHE OR HER FATHER EXPECTED
Dr. Mary Helen Hensley was involved in a car accident that prompted an NDE that changed her life forever. She was taken out of her body before the accident and witnessed it from above. A very special video with several fascinating insights. She has also written some great books.
Saturday August 12th 2023/ Sunday August 13th Australia
The Angel Guidance Group
Every second Saturday of the month (Sunday in Australia and New Zealand) with Angel Medium Nancy Freier,
Author of "Angel Guidance: Wisdom for Navigating Life's Challenges" and publisher of The Inner Voice e-magazine, leads the group into a growing awareness of those in the higher realms of Spirit, and the ways they guide us through the lessons and challenges we face.
Each meeting is unique. We explore the methods of communication with The Greater Reality, share enriching real-life stories with Spirit, and discuss enlightening Q&As about the communication process and the messages we receive. You are welcome to join this angelic-inspired conversation
Times:
Pacific time 11 a.m. Saturday
Phoenix time 1 a.m. Saturday
Mountain time noon Saturday
Central time 1 p.m. Saturday
Eastern time 2 p.m. Saturday
London 7 p.m. Saturday
Rome 8 p.m. Saturday
Sydney/Melbourne 4 a.m. Sunday
New Zealand 6 a.m. Sunday Check time in your city
Co-ordinator: Steve Freier
sgfreier23+AngelZoom@gmail.com
Saturday August 12th 2023 / Sunday August 13th in Australia
Spiritist Literature: Directed Study with Ana Castro.
A free Zoom group about Spiritism, Kardec, and Chico Xavier. See videos of previous meetings
Times:
Pacific time 1 p.m. Saturday
Phoenix time 1 p.m. Saturday
Mountain time 2 p.m. Saturday
Central time 3 p.m. Saturday
Eastern time 4 p.m. Saturday
London 9 p.m. Saturday
Rome 10 p.m. Saturday
Sydney/Melbourne 6 a.m. Sunday
New Zealand 8 a.m. Sunday
Check time in your city
Co-ordinator: Ana Castro
Just click this link to join.
Sunday August 13th 2023 / Monday August 14th Australia
Mediumship Development with Dr. Susan Barnes. Developing the skills of mental mediumship and blending with spirit.
Meetings: Every 2nd and 4th Sunday
Times
Pacific Time 10 a.m. Sunday
Phoenix time 10 a.m. Sunday
Mountain Time 11 a.m. Sunday
Central Time 12 noon Sunday
Eastern Time (New York) 1 p.m. Sunday
London 6 p.m. Sunday
Rome 7 p.m. Sunday
Sydney/Melbourne 3 a.m. Monday
New Zealand 5 a.m. Monday Check time in your city
Coordinator: Dr. Susan B. Barnes, CSNU susanbbarnes@gmail.com
Online in Zoom https://zoom.us/j/8738817733
Sunday August 13th 2023 / Monday August 14th Australia
Global Gathering - Spiritism - Chico Xavier and the Upcoming SLiDS Meeting in Brazil
Guests - Ana Castro and Luis Sergio Marotta will talk about the planned visit to the early home and Spiritist Centre of Chico Xavier and all the wonderous things that happened there.
Times:
Pacific Time 2 p.m. Sunday
Phoenix 2 p.m. Sunday
Mountain Time 3 p.m. Sunday
Central time 4 p.m. Sunday
Eastern time 5 p.m. Sunday
London 10 p.m. Sunday
Amsterdam 11 p.m. Sunday
Sydney/Melbourne 7 a.m. Monday
New Zealand 9 a.m. Monday Check time in your city
Co-ordinators: karynjarvie@ozemail.com.au and wendyzammit@gmail.com https://zoom.us/j/7595442928
Sunday August 13th 2023/ Monday August 14th Australia
Spiritualism Today with Dr. Norma Turner Every Sunday - a combination of a presentation of some aspect of Spiritualism and spirituality followed by open discussion. If you have questions about Spiritualism or spirituality or religion, bring them here.
Times: Pacific 4 p.m. Sunday
Phoenix 4 p.m. Sunday
Mountain time 5 p.m. Sunday
Central (Illinois, Texas) 6 p.m. Sunday
Eastern (New York) 7 p.m. Sunday
London 12 midnight Sunday
Sydney/Melbourne time 9 a.m. Monday
New Zealand 11 a.m. Monday Check time in your city
Contact: njturner@earthlink.net
Norma’s Room: https://zoom.us/j/3499782616
Monday August 14th 2023 / Tuesday August 15th Australia
Kim Parker's Gatherings Over Strange Happenings Every two weeks on Mondays (UK EUROPE and USA) and Tuesday 7 a.m. (Sydney).
A small group that meets to share and explore the meaning of strange experiences like missing time, seeing scenes from another time, interacting with a person who suddenly wasn't there, bi-location etc. If it's something you cannot share easily with others, bring it to this group to get validation and speculate on its cause. See short video about GOSH
Times:
Pacific Time 2 p.m. Monday
Phoenix 2 p.m. Monday
Mountain Time 3 p.m. Monday
Central time 4 p.m. Monday
Eastern time 5 p.m. Monday
London 10 p.m. Monday
Amsterdam 11 p.m. Monday
Sydney/Melbourne 7 a.m. Tuesday
New Zealand 9 a.m. Tuesday Check the time for your city
Email: Kim at kmrainbow57@yahoo.com https://zoom.us/j/7595442928
Wednesday August 16th 2023 / Thursday August 17th Australia
Automatic Writing and Mediumship Etc. Discussion with Sheila Lowe
Share resources and discuss what participants are experiencing
1st and 3rd Wednesdays.
Guest this week:
Caren Hahn, who wrote a terrific fiction book called What Comes After
Times:
Pacific Time 5.30 p.m. Wednesday
Phoenix 5.30 p.m. Wednesday
Mountain time 6.30 p.m. Wednesday
Central time 7.30 p.m. Wednesday
Eastern Time 8.30 p.m. Wednesday
London time 1.30 a.m. Thursday
Perth 8.30 a.m. Thursday
Sydney/ Melbourne 10.30 a.m. Thursday
New Zealand 12.30 p.m. Thursday Check time in your city Coordinator: Sheila Lowe sheila@sheilalowe.com https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87248527074?
pwd=cXNNZERDbGtSc3VWU3hCQ05OSlFndz09
[if the room is not open email Sheila]
Wednesday August 16th 2023 / Thursday August 17th Australia
Physical mediumship development group Every Wednesday with Rob Blackburn and Craig Hogan. Participants sit in a darkened space in their own homes; the group has been going for some time and members are experiencing phenomena.
Pacific and Arizona time 6 p.m. Wednesday
Mountain Daylight time 7 p.m. Wednesday
Central Daylight time 8 p.m. Wednesday
New York time 9 p.m. Wednesday
London 2 a.m. Thursday
Perth 9.a.m. Thursday
Sydney/Melbourne 11 a.m. Thursday
New Zealand 1 p.m. Thursday Check time in your city THIS GROUP IS CURRENTLY NOT TAKING NEW MEMBERS
Email r.craig.hogan@afterlifeinstitute.org
Thursday August 17th 2023/ Friday August 18th Australia
August Goforth is on holidays this month so next meeting of the Exploratorium will be in September.
WE SHOULD CHERISH OUR PHYSICAL BODY
The Universal Spiritual Brother & Sisterhood (USB) emphasizes that
the physical body that envelopes us should be cherished while we inhabit
it and express through it. For whatever its appearance, it is a holy vessel,
containing, while we occupy it, the spark of the divine that each of us is
blessed with.
It is our responsibility to care for our
vehicle of expression and to preserve it
well, and those who deliberately subject
the physical body to injury or enjoy such
displays of violence lower their level of
consciousness and retrogress spiritually.
The full teachings of The USB are
contained in the book Spiritual Light, published by USB Vision Press.
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT "The Power of the spirit is here to stay in your world. Every centre, every group, every individual who is aware of these truths and has become a repository for them, spreading them wherever they can, is a lighthouse of the spirit. Its rays will enable pilgrims who have lost their way to find the truth that has brought you spiritual and mental freedom."
"More Philosophy of Silver Birch" p. 141
FEEDBACK: 4 only
1) "The timing of this post is so perfect for me. You are a day ahead of USA. Tomorrow is my precious daughter in spirit Amber's birthday. I'm getting your message a day earlier which will help prepare my day for tomorrow. Thank you." Candy
2) "Thank you for your wonderful Afterlife Reports. I look forward to every Friday because I know a new one’s coming. Every week I discover new areas to research. I’m very grateful to you both". Brendan
3) "Thanks Victor - so often these quotes are just what one needs. It's as if the universe is listening - maybe it is." Louisa
4) "Thanks for sharing the video 'Death is an Opportunity' in the Friday Afterlife Report. I found it most inspiring. Even though I have read Buhlman's books and
heard him speak, I found this particular message to be very important!" Steve
INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC: 'MY LOVE'
A really beautiful song magnificently presented and eloquently expressed by Julio Iglesias and Stevie Wonder.
Some of the really beautiful lyrics:
" ... Let my love shine throughout the world
To every mountain top and steeple
Let It be felt by every soul
'Til love's all over
Let it reach out to every heart
To every disenfranchised people
'Til it is present and no more is
Pain all over ..."
FRIDAY
AFTERLIFE REPORT 
COMMENTARY: THE MEDIUMSHIP OF CHICO XAVIER 
The movie has credibility in Brazil because of the high esteem in which Spiritist medium Chico Xavier is held. He was a natural medium and from the earliest age was able to see and hear spirits. This brought him into conflict with his family and the Catholic Church. Once he learned about Spiritism and understood his gift, he began to sit with a pencil in his hand and his eyes closed. He would then write pages of hand-written books, always without a mistake, on highly spiritual and esoteric subjects way beyond his very basic primary school education. In this way, he produced more than 100,000 pages of spirit writing that were published in more than 400 books, including some in foreign languages in which he was not fluent. 13 of those books, including Nosso Lar, were dictated by the spirit of Andre Luiz.
In France, Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail investigated mediums between 1854 and 1856. He compiled a list of questions about the spirit world and about the purpose of life that he put to spirits who seemed highly evolved. In 1857, using the pen name Allan Kardec, he published his first book 
When "The Flying Cow" was first published in 1975, it revealed a world of psychic wonders in Brazil hitherto barely explored by outsiders. Author Guy Lyon Playfair had spent two years as a member of the Brazilian Institute for Psychobiophysical Research (IBPP), the first group of its kind to investigate and document the wide range of inexplicable phenomena - from poltergeists and psychic surgeons to trance artists and children who recall previous lives. "The Flying Cow" was followed by its sequel "The Indefinite Boundary" in 1976. Material from the latter has been included in this edition, making it the most comprehensive survey available of the paranormal world of Brazil. 
When Dr. Michael Newton (1931-2016) began regressing his clients back in time to access their memories of former lives, he became interested in seeing into the spirit world through the eyes of clients who are in a hypnotized or superconscious state; these clients in this altered state claimed to be able to tell him what their soul was doing between lives on Earth. His book, 
Ana Castro is hosting a SLIDS Group Gathering in Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, Brazil from September 7th to 10th 2023. People will meet in Pedro Leopoldo City - 21 miles north of Belo Horizonte - where Chico Xavier started his mediumship and charity work, living there for many years. Circle Meetings will be held in the process of trying for a connection with the enlightened spirits. 
The Angel Guidance Group
Spiritist Literature: Directed Study with Ana Castro.
Developing the skills of mental mediumship and blending with spirit.
Every Sunday - a combination of a presentation of some aspect of Spiritualism and spirituality followed by open discussion. If you have questions about Spiritualism or spirituality or religion, bring them here. 
Mondays (UK EUROPE and USA) and Tuesday 7 a.m. (Sydney). 
Automatic Writing and Mediumship Etc. Discussion with Sheila Lowe 
Every Wednesday with Rob Blackburn and Craig Hogan. Participants sit in a darkened space in their own homes; the group has been going for some time and members are experiencing phenomena. 
It is our responsibility to care for our
vehicle of expression and to preserve it
well, and those who deliberately subject
the physical body to injury or enjoy such
displays of violence lower their level of
consciousness and retrogress spiritually.
The full teachings of The USB are
contained in the book 
"The Power of the spirit is here to stay in your world. Every centre, every group, every individual who is aware of these truths and has become a repository for them, spreading them wherever they can, is a lighthouse of the spirit. Its rays will enable pilgrims who have lost their way to find the truth that has brought you spiritual and mental freedom." 
FEEDBACK: 4 only