Lesson Objectives: Lead the adolescents to realize that although we can’t know the principle of things, some things are being presented so we can learn and evolve. We have the two general elements of the universe among them, which are: matter and spirit; above both there’s God, the Creator and Father of all things. Conclude that God is the beginning of all that exists. Two other principles came from God: the spiritual principle and the material principle, forming the Universal Trinity.
Resources for the spiritist teacher: The Spirits' Book, Chapter II, General Elements of the Universe.
Greetings and Opening prayer
First - ask the questions below:
* What is God? God is the Creator of all things, i.e. God is the principle of everything that exists in the universe.
* What is meant by the Universe? It’s the myriad of worlds we see and can’t see: Earth, stars, galaxies and all matter disseminated in space.
* How did the Universe begin? According to cosmologists and astronomers, the solar system resulted from a "big bang" about fifteen billion years ago. This was the beginning of the Universe. It seems that at one time, most of the matter in the universe was compressed into a smaller area. After the matter condensed as much as it could, a huge explosion took place. This was known as the "big bang".
* What are the general elements of the Universe?
* What is the spirit? The spirit is the intelligent principle of the Universe.
We are all Spirits but we, who live here on earth, need the union between spirit and matter in order to give life to the matter.
* What is matter? Give examples. Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space. According to this concept, everything that can be weighed, measured, etc., is considered matter.
According to Spiritism, matter is all on which the spirit exerts its action.
Second - exposure through dialogue:
We are all Spirits but we, who live here on earth, need the union between spirit and matter in order to give life to the matter. Human beings are composed of soul and physical body. The physical body corresponds to matter, so we can say we have a physical body. The soul represents the incarnate spirit – we can’t say we have a spirit, but say we ARE a Spirit. The soul (Spirit) is the principle of life in us; that is, the principle of intelligence, will and love. The physical body (matter) is the flesh made of material elements, subject to change, to dissolution and death, because this is the instrument that the Spirit needs to fulfil its destiny. The Spirit uses the body to be able to live in the material world and act upon the material things. Thus, for example, we need hands to plant a seed that will grow into a tree full of fruit; we also need the physical body to act in the world in which we live. The matter, although formed by a single primitive element, has different properties such as: flavours, odours, colours and among others.
The Spirit is immortal. We are all created equal, simple and ignorant. We also endow faculties to be developed through the reincarnation experiences. The matter itself doesn’t think; so it’s logical to conclude that there is in us, beyond the material body, something else, which is the agent of our thinking. It’s called soul or Spirit.
Third: talk about the universal cosmic fluid.
It plays the role of intermediary between spirit and matter. We can understand the universal cosmic fluid as primitive elementary matter, dispersed all around the universe. It’s an extremely subtle matter; its modifications and changes will constitute the innumerable variety of natural bodies.
Fourth: talk about the Spirit (The Spirits' Book, 76).
Spirits are the intelligent beings of creation. They inhabit the universe in varying stages of development and different types of worlds. Spirits were created simple and ignorant; that is, without knowledge and without the consciousness between good and evil. They are endowed with skills to acquire intellectual and moral knowledge through reincarnations. The Spirit is not divisible, nor has sex; it’s not palpable.
The Spirit also evolves in erraticity. In this period, it acquires special knowledge that couldn’t be learned on Earth.
The Spirit then modifies its ideas. The material and the spiritual state are two sources of progress for it. This is why it alternates through these two modes of existence.
Fifth - talk about the matter (The Spirits' Book, question 22-a).
Matter is the way through which spirits manifest their potential and develop their work. Allan Kardec says that matter is the agent, the intermediary, through which, and upon which, spirit acts.
Sixth: talk about the universal trinity.
**There are two general elements of the universe: matter and spirit, and above all is God, the creator of all things in the universe.
Seventh: put questions and statements individually written in a box. Get all adolescents to sit in a circle – once one of them gets the box, he/she will need to take a question or statement and answer/ comment it. Each question or statement will be worth 10 points each. Should they pass the question (because they don’t know the answer); the next adolescent can answer or explain the issue. Once a question or statement is passed, its value should be doubled.
In the end, add up all the adolescents’ points, classifying them from 1st position until the last position, according to the number of adolescents. The spiritist teacher may grant awards if he/she feels appropriate.
Note: When the first adolescent wanted to pass his question, the other adolescents disagreed. They said there should have a consequence for it; they argued that this person had the same learning opportunities than the others. We stipulated that those who wouldn’t respond would loose 10 (ten) points every time they passed their question or statement.
Click here to see suggested questions.
Closing Prayer
Suggested Class suitable for: 3rd cycle (11 to 12 years old), Youth I (13 to 14 years old) and Youth - 2nd Cycle (15 to 17 years old); it can be adapted in accordance with the knowledge and maturity of the adolescents.
Suggested lesson sent by Sandra Ramos Medeiros, Spiritist Center ‘Fé, Amor e Caridade’.
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
