False comforting letters and incorrect mediumistic work

The search for communication with the Spirits of loved ones and acquaintances, by all who are aware of this possibility, has always occurred. This search is neither wrong nor improper, as long as it is done with utility and seriousness, as Allan Kardec always demonstrated to us. The way she is being “attended to”, however, through the famous “consoling letters” is incorrect and, sometimes, misleading, as we will demonstrate below.

We begin by saying that correct mediumistic work must adhere to some essential rules, as we have learned from studying Spiritist science:

• Mediumistic work must be carried out anonymously, so that the shadow of vanity does not obscure the medium's work.
• Mediumistic work must be carried out in private, that is, it must not be exposed to the public, since open access to anyone can expose the group and the medium to malevolent or frivolous Spirits, attracted by individuals with less or no constructive purposes, who find free access to the mediumistic group.
• Any supposed medium who claims to have the Spirits at his disposal is already betraying his charlatanism.

The mediumistic faculty, even when restricted to the limits of physical manifestations, was not granted for fairground displays. Anyone who seeks to have Spirits at their command for public display may be rightly suspected of charlatanism or the practice of more or less skillful sleight of hand. Let this be remembered every time advertisements for supposed Spiritism or Spiritualism sessions with paid admission appear, and remember the right one acquires upon entry. From all that has been said, we conclude that absolute disinterest is the best guarantee against charlatanism. While it does not always ensure the veracity of intelligent communications, it deprives bad Spirits of a powerful means of action and shuts the mouths of certain detractors.

Allan Kardec – The Mediums’ Book

• One should not wait for "consoling letters." The work is one of dialogue, through evocations, which, first and foremost, must be directed to the group's guiding Spirit, who can determine whether or not the Spirit to be evoked is ready for dialogue.

When one wishes to communicate with a particular Spirit, it is absolutely necessary to evoke him (see no. 203). If he is able to respond, one generally receives the response: "yes" or "here I am," or even "what do you want from me?" Sometimes he enters directly into the matter, answering in advance the questions one intends to ask.

Allan Kardec – The Mediums’ Book

• The medium should not place himself in the role of a “fax machine of the spiritual world,” being available to whoever arrives, without any control.

“[…] not calling anyone in particular is opening the door to everyone who wants to come in.”

“Spontaneous communications have no drawbacks when we control the Spirits and are sure not to let the bad ones dominate”

Allan Kardec — The Mediums' Book

• The person interested in the evocation, that is, the person who knew the individual he seeks to evoke, must be present, participating in the dialogue. It is she who will be able to attest to the identity of the Spirit, who will provide evidence of her own free will (see Spiritist Magazine — Journal of Psychological Studies — 1858 > January > Private Evocations. > Mom, here I am).

It is also advisable to only make evocations with great prudence in the absence of the people who request them, and most of the time it is preferable not to do them. Because only these people are able to control the responses, to judge the spirit's identity, to elicit the clarifications that the answers may elicit, and to ask the occasional questions that circumstances may lead to. Furthermore, their presence is a source of attraction for the spirit, who is generally unwilling to communicate with strangers for whom they have no sympathy. In short, the medium must avoid anything that could transform them into a tool for consultation, which, for many people, is equivalent to fortune-telling.

Allan Kardec — The Mediums' Book.

• To carry out the formal evocation, no more than the individual's name and date of death are required. One should be suspicious from the excess of questions asked in advance, especially well in advance, which can give rise to charlatans looking for information exposed on the Internet.
• Excessive evidence and the lack of usefulness of alleged communications should be taken into account.: Any Spirit, other than a frivolous or malicious Spirit, will not waste time talking about pleasantries and gossip from the Spiritual world. The interest will be to help or seek help, depending on the Spirit's elevation. Alleged "letters" that never go beyond "Mommy, I'm fine, I was in the Umbral, but I was rescued, taken to a hospital, and now I'm working at Nosso Lar" are mystifications by frivolous Spirits or charlatans and would-be mediums, trying to gain a foothold in the minds of religious fanatics. Furthermore, one can perceive in many "letters" a excessive desire to prove, in each sentence, that the Spirit is himself, without going further into the deeper questions, something that Spirits do not do.
• All communications must be judged, whether spontaneous or the result of evocations. This avoids the completely absurd habit of blindly believing what the Spirits say.

[…] Mr. Allan Kardec proposes a thorough and detailed examination of certain spontaneous messages and others, which could be analyzed and commented on, as is done with literary criticism. This kind of study would have the dual advantage of exercising appreciation for the value of spiritist communications and, secondly, and as a consequence of this same appreciation, of discouraging deceptive spirits who, seeing their words summarized, controlled by reason, and ultimately rejected, as long as they have a suspicious tone, would eventually realize they are wasting their time. As for serious spirits, could be called upon to give explanations and developments on the points of their communications that required clarification” 

Allan Kardec – RE60/May

It is worth remembering that the question of the identity of spirits, especially in private communications, is of paramount importance. The fruits of charlatanism, or even mystification, can undermine the faith of certain people, especially on occasions when, seeking such consolation, they are often desolate.

It is important to highlight that the abolition of evocations, by the Spiritist Movement, diverted from its essence by strong Roustainguist influence of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation throughout the 20th century, was the greatest mistake facing Spiritism. Without evocations, we cease to dialogue with the Spirits, to question, to investigate, which is precisely the necessary tool for the development of Spiritist science, now replaced by individual opinions of Spirits, blindly accepted.

Finally, we remind you that the medium's job should not be to centralize attention. They are tools of the Spirits (when they are true mediums) and should use the communications they receive, first and foremost, for their own moral development. It is not up to them, nor anyone else, to place themselves at the center of attention. The mediumistic group—again: private, small, harmonious—should be an organism in which each cell does its part, in harmony and with trust in the others.