The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume Spirits acquire knowledge through the experiences offered with each physical life and will continue to reincarnate periodically for as many times as is necessary Earth afflictions are remedies to the soul The y are salve for the future, like a painful surgical treatment, which relieves a sick person’s life and brings back health For this reason, Christ said, “ ” It is for this very purpose that reincarnation exists Perhaps we are correcting past mistakes that we made against others; on the other hand, perhaps we are being helped and upheld by those who, in the past, caused us harm The progress achieved by each spirit during the many experiences it has passed through is not only intellectual but, most of all, moral It is exactly this aspect of growth that permits the spirit to approach ever closer to God As we evolve, we gradually awaken to new levels of understanding about life and the meaning of our existence Like growing children, we develop a hunger for knowledge, and at each stage of development, we ask questions that demand a new level of explanation Those who are more advanced have more desire to learn and grow Every communication, no matter of what type, should not be accepted blindly It is imperative to regard all communications with a certain reserve and examine them with care so that we not become victims of spirits who wish to deceive and mislead us The Spiritist doctrine alerts people to the dangers of untruths within communication and to be aware of false mediums or mediums of poor moral character who attract spirits of a different nature.20 The basic doctrine of Spiritism is defined in five books written and published by Allan Kardec, collected communications received from enlightened spirits: ǯǤ It defines the guidelines of the doctrine and clarifies its roots and relationship to similar or namesake doctrines Ǥ It details the mechanics of the spiritual world, the processes involved in channeling spirits, techniques to be developed by would-be mediums, etc It is intended to demonstrate that Spiritism clarifies and extends the most important teachings of Jesus The book attracted a lot of reaction from the Catholic Church and was indexed (added to the list of prohibited books) ~ 207 ~