New Spiritist Society of Bordeaux Since June 1866, a new Spiritist Society, already large, has been formed in Bordeaux, on bases that attest to the zeal and goodwill of its members, and a perfect understanding of the true principles of the doctrine. We extract from the annual report, published by the President, some passages that will show its character.
After having spoken of the vicissitudes that Spiritism has experienced in that city, of the circumstances that brought about the formation of the new society and of its organization that "allows those of its members who feel the strength to do so, to develop through talks, at the beginning of each session, the great principles of the doctrine, principles that many only fight because they do not know them”, and he adds:
“It was these talks that have so far attracted many listeners from outside the Society. Certainly, I do not pretend to believe that all our listeners come to us to learn; many, no doubt, come here seeking to find our faults; it is their business. Ours is to spread Spiritism among the masses, and experience has shown us that the best way, after putting into practice the sublime morality that results from it, and the communications of Spirits, it is to do it by speaking.
Since we were formed, we have had two weekly sessions. This double task was imposed on us by the need to dedicate a particular session (on Thursdays) to obsessing Spirits and to the treatment of the diseases they cause, and to reserve another session (on Saturdays) to scientific studies. I would add, to justify our Thursday sessions, that we are fortunate to have a healing medium among us, with well-developed faculties, and known for his charity, his modesty and his selflessness; he is also known outside and within our society, so that he does not lack patients.
There are, moreover, in Bordeaux, many cases of obsessions, and one session per week, specially devoted to the evocation and moralization of obsessing Spirits, is far from sufficient, so that the healing medium, accompanied by a writing medium, of an evocator and often of some of our brothers, goes to the homes of the sick in order to make contact with the obsessing Spirit, and to come to terms more easily.
To the healing medium came to join one of our brothers, a magnetizer of great power and unfailing devotion who, also helped by the good Spirits, helps the first, so that we can say that the Society has two healing mediums, although in different degrees."
There follows the account of several healings, among which we will quote the following:
Ms. A…, twelve years old.
This orphan child, dependent on very poor relatives, was introduced to us in a deplorable state. Her whole body was seized with convulsive movements, her constantly contracted face made horrible grimaces; her arms and legs were constantly agitated, to the point of wearing down the sheets of her bed in the period of eight days. Her hands, that couldn't grasp any object, kept rotating around the wrists. Finally, because of her illness, her tongue had become extremely thick, leading to a complete muteness.
At first glance we understood that there was an obsession, and since our guides confirmed this opinion, we acted accordingly.
In the opinion of a doctor that was incognito in the patient's home, while we were giving her a fluidic treatment, the disease was to be translated, within three days, into a dance of St. Vitus and, given the state of weakness in which the patient was, to remove her mercilessly in no more than eight days.
I will not detail here the innumerable incidents to which this treatment gave rise. I will not speak of the obstacles of all kinds, piled up under our feet, by contrary influences and that we had to overcome. I will only say that, two months after our meeting with the doctor, the child spoke like you and me, used her hands, went to school, and was perfectly healed.
Here, adds Mr. Peyranne, the main lessons that we got from the sessions devoted to the obsessing Spirits:
To act effectively on an obsessing Spirit, those who moralize him and fight him with fluids must be better than him. This is better understood when we consider that the power of the fluids is directly related to the moral advancement of the one who emits them. An impure Spirit called into a meeting of moralized men is not at ease there; he understands his inferiority, and if he tries to defy the evoker, as it sometimes happens, be persuaded that he will quickly give up this role, especially if the people composing the group where he communicates join the evoker by the will and faith.
I believe that we do not yet fully understand all that we can about the impure Spirits, or rather, that we do not yet know how to use the treasures that God has placed in our hands.
We also know that a fluidic discharge made on an obsessed by several Spiritists, by means of the magnetic chain, can break the fluidic link that connects him to the obsessing Spirit, and turns into a very effective moral remedy to the latter, by proving his helplessness.
We also know that every incarnate, driven by the desire to relieve his fellow human being, acting with faith, can by means of fluidic passes, if not cure, at least appreciably relieve a patient.
I end with the Thursday sessions, noting that not one obsessing Spirit has remained rebellious. All those we have cared for have come to recognize their wrongs, abandon their victims, and have entered a better path."
Regarding the Saturday sessions he says:
“These sessions are open, as you know, with a talk given by a member of the Society on a Spiritist subject and end with a summary given by the President.
In the chat, all freedom of language is left to the speaker, provided however that they do not depart from the framework traced by our rules. They consider the various subjects from their personal point of view; they develop them as they see fit and draw from them the consequences that they consider appropriate; but with that they could never hold the Society responsible.
At the end of the session, the President sums up the work, and if he does not agree with the speaker, he objects to that, pointing out to the audience that, no more than the first, he engages no other responsibility than his own, leaving to each person the use of their free will and the care of judging and deciding, in their own conscience, on which side the truth is, or at least, which one is the closest, because for me, the truth is God. The closer we get to him (that we can only do by purifying ourselves and working for our progress) the closer we will be to the truth."
We again draw attention to the following paragraph:
“Although we have excellent instruments for our studies, we understood that the number had become insufficient, especially in the presence of the ever-increasing extension of the Society. The shortage of mediums has often come as an obstacle to the regular progress of our work, and we have understood that it was necessary, as much as possible, to develop the faculties that lie dormant in the organization of many of our brothers. That is why we have just decided that a special session of mediumistic experiments will take place on Sundays, at two o'clock in the afternoon, in our meeting room. I thought it to be my duty to invite not only our brothers in belief, but also strangers who would like to become useful. These sessions have already given results that have exceeded our expectations. There we do writing, typtology, and magnetism. Several very diverse faculties were discovered there, and there emerged two somnambulists who seem to be very lucid.”
We can only applaud the program of the Society of Bordeaux and congratulate it on its dedication and the intelligent direction of its work. One of our colleagues, passing through that city, recently attended some of its sessions and reported the most favorable impression. By persevering in this direction, it can only obtain more and more satisfactory results, and will never lack elements in its activity. The way it goes about on dealing with obsessions is both remarkable and instructive, and the best proof that this is a good way is that it is successful. We will come back to this later in a special article.
It would be superfluous to stress the usefulness of the verbal instructions that she designates by the simple name of talks. Besides the advantage of exercising the handling of speech, they have the no less great one of provoking a more complete and serious study of the principles of the doctrine, of facilitating their understanding, of bringing out their importance, and of shedding light on controversial points through discussion. It is the first step towards regular conferences that cannot fail to take place sooner or later, and which, while popularizing the doctrine, will contribute powerfully to change public opinion, distorted by malicious criticism, or ignorant of what it is.
Refuting objections, discussing divergent systems, are essential points that must not be overlooked, and that may furnish the material for useful instructions; it is not only a means of dissipating the errors that could be accredited, but it is also to strengthen oneself for the particular discussions that one may have to support. In these oral instructions, many will undoubtedly be assisted by the Spirits, and speaking mediums cannot fail to emerge from them. Those who would be held back by fear of speaking in front of an audience, should remember that Jesus said to his apostles: “Do not worry about what you say; the words will be inspired in you on time."
A provincial group, that can be classified among the most serious and best managed, has introduced this method in its meetings, that also take place twice a week. It is exclusively formed by officers of a regiment. But this is not an option left to each member; it is an obligation imposed on them by the regulations, that each one speaks on their turn. At each session the speaker designated for the next meeting should prepare to develop and comment on a chapter or point of doctrine. This results in a greater ability for them to propagate and advocate the cause when necessary.
