André Luiz - Astral City GEAE – Grupo de Estudos Avançados ...

1 1st Electronic edition Andr Luiz - Astral City GEAE Grupo de Estudos avan ados Esp ritas 1. october 15 2000 . commemorative edition . GEAE 8th year Andr Luiz - Astral City 2. Nosso Lar . THE Astral CITY. The story of a doctor's odyssey in the Spirit World. By the Spirit Andr Luiz Through Francisco C ndido Xavier Ist Electronic edition by GEAE. Andr Luiz - Astral City 3. Translated from the 25th Portuguese edition entitled Nosso Lar . First Portuguese edition published in 1944 by FEDERA O ESP RITA BRASILEIRA. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. First English edition by Christian Spirit Center, P O Box 114, Elon College, N. C., 27244, USA. Revision and editing by Lauren Speeth Luczynski 1st Electronic edition by Ant nio Leite (New York, NY, USA). and GEAE (Advanced Study group of Spiritism). Cover design by Ademir Xavier, Jr and Christine Fernandes.

2 Andr Luiz - Astral City 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Preface to the first electronic edition , 6. Acknowledgments, 8. Introduction to the first English edition , 9. A New Friend, 11. A message from Andr Luiz, 9. Chapter 1 In the lower zones, 16. Chapter 2 Clarence, 19. Chapter 3 Collective prayer, 23. Chapter 4 The spirit doctor, 27. Chapter 5 Under treatment, 31. Chapter 6 Precious advice, 34. Chapter 7 Lysias explains, 37. Chapter 8 Administrative organization, 41. Chapter 9 The problem of nutrition, 44. Chapter 10 The water park, 48. Chapter 11 Learning about the Astral City, 52. Chapter 12 The lower zone, 56. Chapter 13 With the minister of assistance, 60. Chapter 14 Clarence explains, 65. Chapter 15 My mother's visit, 69. Chapter 16 A confidential talk, 73. Chapter 17 Lysias' home, 77. Chapter 18 Love, the food of souls, 81.

3 Chapter 19 The newcomer, 85. Chapter 20 Notions about the home, 90. Chapter 21 Interesting conversation, 94. Chapter 22 The hour-bonus, 98. Chapter 23 The art of listening, 103. Chapter 24 A soul-stirring appeal, 107. Chapter 25 A generous initiative, 111. Chapter 26 New perspectives, 115. Andr Luiz - Astral City 5. Chapter 27 Work at last, 119. Chapter 28 On duty, 124. Chapter 29 Francis' vision, 128. Chapter 30 Inheritance and euthanasia, 132. Chapter 31 The vampire, 137. Chapter 32 Learning about Veneranda, 142. Chapter 33 Curious observation, 146. Chapter 34 Newcomers from the lower zones, 151. Chapter 35 An unexpected meeting, 155. Chapter 36 The dream, 159. Chapter 37 Veneranda's lecture, 163. Chapter 38 Tobia's home, 168. Chapter 39 Consulting Laura, 173. Chapter 40 As you sow, so shall you reap, 177.

4 Chapter 41 A call to the struggle, 182. Chapter 42 The governor's address, 187. Chapter 43 An informal conversation, 192. Chapter 44 The dark regions, 196. Chapter 45 The music fields, 200. Chapter 46 A woman's sacrifice, 205. Chapter 47 Laura's return, 210. Chapter 48 The home prayer meeting, 214. Chapter 49 Returning home, 220. Chapter 50 A citizen of the Astral City, 225. Andr Luiz - Astral City 6. PREFACE TO THE FIRST ELECTRONIC edition BY GEAE. News from the afterlife reach us since time immemorial. They teach us, alert us and give us solace. From Saul consulting the dead Samuel (Samuel 28:1) on the direction of Israel, to the disciples in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-28:20) visited by the Master after crucifixion. From Peter freed from prison by an angel of the Lord (Acts 12:1-12:10) to the voices which guided Joan D arc for the salvation of France.

5 Messages on the state of the human spirit after death often remains hidden in these news. Messages translated into the proper language and customs of their times speak us about heavens and hells, where human beings find themselves and the results of their actions. These are more or less happy resorts according to the spiritual state of their inhabitants. In many instances they are covered with poetry, as in Dante s Divine Comedy, or hidden under the symbols of the great mystics. Even recently, at a time of positivist science, the flux of news did not stop. On the contrary, starting in 1848 it has grown increasingly, finding elucidation in the gigantic effort of analysis and compilation carried out by Allan Kardec. Starting with The Spirit s Book (1857) they continued through Posthumous Works (1890), strongly intertwined by the Revue Spirite' (1858-1859).

6 To be born, to died, to be born again and always move forward the several plans of human existence are unveiled, each one endowed with its proper aim within the great work of evolution. Spiritism, the set of teachings contained in Kardequian works, has organized and spread the interchange of news among incarnate and discarnate. Groups were established in several countries. In the Brazilian lands however a propitious environment for good mediumnistic work and practical application of the Spiritist postulates was found. Bezerra de Menezes, Caibar Schutel, Eur pedes Barsanulfo and many others vividly spread the Good news , that actually death does not exist, that we found ourselves under transitory study in this material world, that opportunities of work and improvement abound in the many Father s mansions.

7 In a continuously changing world, in which the domain of matter takes place and the human inner universe remains unknown, materialism seems little by little to triumph over all the spiritual conquests, reducing to pious myths all the religious creeds. In this world, Spiritism stands up straight, marching forward in the enlightenment of people. At the very moment when man find himself far from God, a masterpiece shows him his supreme target, shaping forever the behavior of future generations. Nosso Lar (or The Astral City in the present English version) appeared on Earth in 1943 through the mediumship of Francisco Xavier and edited by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB). The book tells us the odyssey of a recently departed physician who introduces himself under the pen name Andr Luiz (see forewords by Emmanuel and J Haddad).

8 The author discloses a spiritual society, a colony of work located in the vicinity of the Earth surface, where one finds the happy of sad results of one acts after reaching the other side of life. Far from abstractions or purely philosophical argumentation, Andr Luiz speaks about the actual reality of imperfect spirits still alive, working and preparing themselves for the next life's struggles. Nosso Lar is an evolving society, much similar to the terrestrial one. It displays many patterns of the Brazilian society at the time, forecasting other ones that would arise in the following years. Using a comparison, Nosso Lar is a kind of spiritualized Andr Luiz - Astral City 7. Rio de Janeiro or, more exactly, Rio is a material Nosso Lar in so far as many of its inhabitants come from this spiritual colony.

9 Putting aside the Brazilian feature of the colony, Nosso Lar is an universal example. Wherever the human spirit goes after death, be it a spiritual colony of an English speaking country or a spiritual town in ancient India, it always meets itself, carrying its conquests or past mistakes, beloved affections or inner enemies. In one word, it goes to a place with which it has strong affinities. And then, perhaps under different customs or dressings, the spirit finds a reality much similar to the one revealed by Andr Luiz. So we strongly recommend to all our dear friends the reading of this work. We also hope that it can consolidate the certainty in the afterlife and in the maxim without charity there is no salvation as it did to many Brazilian fellows. We remark that just after the edition of this book, as if reinforcing a practical teaching by Bezerra de Menezes, Brazil saw the appearance of many Spiritist groups attached to the ideal of social and spiritual assistance works.

10 In this way, Spiritism became one of the leading schools of thought in Brazil. Thanks to this book, we find today assistance works everywhere, no matter how small the Spiritist group . Finally, we would like to recall one of the strongest messages of this book: work appears when the worker is ready . Let us be in the service of our beloved sisters and brothers, that God will open the closed gates, placing us at the exact position where required hands lack. Sincerely, Carlos A Iglesia Bernardo, GEAE editor. october 15th 2000 . Andr Luiz - Astral City 8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The desire to have this classic of Brazilian Spiritist literature available in an English edition was first manifested in the early 60`s. Ever since that time, several dedicated friends, moved by a sense of duty to translate such an important story, had progressively submitted their manuscript for evaluation.