Note: * this class leads to a lot of dialogue. It might be better to divide this lesson into two, depending on how many students you have in your class. It is necessary that the spiritist teacher be patient and analyze the proposed questions together with the children/youth, leading them to the correct understanding of Spiritism and Jesus’ teachings.
* Methodology is the art of directing the Spirit in the investigation of the truth.
Lesson objectives: let the children understand that evolution is a law which can not be evaded from; success in our spiritual evolution depends on our inner reform, which should happen by changing our mental attitude. Spiritual evolution is the march of progress that one is compelled to carry out through study, effort, work, perseverance and optimism in the fight against imperfections; in the pursuit of virtues.
Greetings and Opening prayer
First time – ask:
What is prosperity? According to the dictionary, the definition of prosperity is: quality or state that is prosperous, happiness, progress, wealth; evolution.
We are successful when we are progressing. When we speak of spiritual prosperity, we are referring to constant evolution. The word evolution already carries within itself the object of our prosperity: action. There is no prosperity for those who do not accept change.
The true meaning of our existence is to carry out our life plan*, which is unique, exclusive, personal and dynamic; that is, always changing so we can evolve. We evolve spiritually when we perform our reincarnation plan. Spiritual evolution is the great cosmic project of our lives and love is the most valuable currency of the universe to help us in this change.
* The topic life planning in the spiritual world (before we reincarnate into a new existence) was studied in the class Reincarnation IV.
Second - ask:
Why shall we renew our thoughts? Because everything has its origin in thoughts, i.e.:
Thought 
feeling word attitude (action).
E.g. we must first be peaceful in our thoughts to achieve world peace in every continent. We will then transmit peace to our family. Our families will then send peace to their cities and towns; which will then send peace to the countries. This will enable our world to be peaceful.
What steps should we take to improve our thinking? Taking care of what comes into our head through our eyes, ears; that is, readings, films, talks, etc. Therefore, we should select our reading, the movies we watch, the conversations we have, the kind of anecdote that draws us because it will all influence our thinking.
We must look at what we keep in our minds. There are times we can’t stop seeing a scene, or hearing a bad word or a bad joke in our mind. It's then time to select what is seen, decide what we want to keep or reject. Sometimes it's hard to forget a word or phrase that we found funny at the first. But if we really want to progress we must make efforts to throw this mental garbage off our minds, using prayer as a resource, if necessary.
How can we identify imperfections that we have well-hidden and seem to appear at the most unfortunate times? Practicing self-awareness, following the example of St. Augustine; that is, when we really want to evolve, abandoning our bad habits, we must look inside ourselves; perform a courageous and thorough self-analysis.
At the end of each day we should examine our conscience, review all that we had done, and asked ourselves whether we had not failed in some duty, whether someone might have reason to complain of us. This self-analysis will be more effective if done after a prayer, in which we ask the help of a Spiritual Friend, so that our own conscience can point out our major imperfections; the ones that require immediate work.
It is also important to look at the charges that are eventually made against us in order to check if the accuser is right or not... Someone said the enemies speak truths that friends do not dare to say.
If we are sincerely committed to our improvement, we surely will have the wise advice from Spirituality. This can happen through inspiration; perhaps during sleep when we can meet up with the Spiritual benefactors. The greater our sincerity in the desire for inner renewal, the easier the Spiritual Benefactors will find to help us.
What affects our progress? Ambition, authoritarianism, brutality, disorder, disorganization, selfishness, ignorance, misunderstanding, indiscipline, injustice, hatred, pride, laziness, etc.
What favours our progress? Tackling our imperfections through the pursuit of virtues: love, kindness, understanding, devotion, study, honesty, humility, justice, order, persistence, sincerity, solidarity, work, patience, optimism, effort, discipline, etc.
How do you explain the statement: "The word is followed by action?
As we have already studied above:
Thought feeling word attitude (action).
There is no point in criticizing or pointing out mistakes of others because this will not help out inner reform. Thus, we must value only goodness.
E.g., most people have the habit of commenting on what is wrong with them, emphasizing wrong doing; not noticing the good things they already have within themselves. This negative habit attracts evil. It is important to value all goodness that the person already has to improve life. Think about it!
Third - consider:
To perfect ourselves spiritually we should be very careful:
Use of eyes: lead our eyes towards what is good, what is beautiful and what is useful. We must strive to only see what leaves us with good images in our mind, because the pictures we see will generate thoughts. These, in turn, will generate feelings that will inspire words and consecutively actions. Jesus taught: "If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light." (Mt 6, 22).
Use of ears: pay attention only to what can provide goodness; harmony. Choose the music you listen - soothing music, elevating our thoughts, leaving aside songs that incite violence and sensuality.
Thoughts: We must be vigilant in relation to the thoughts we harbour in our minds, trying to think about goodness, peace and joy. We should avoid thoughts of anger, sorrow, mockery, sadness at the same time; that is, everything that is not good for us. We should aim to only think about good things. Those who think well, act well. Nobody renews his/her way of proceeding without renewing his/her mental field. Jesus warned: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mt 26, 41). He was not recommending that we would watch others. The Master recommends that we watch our own thoughts because all feelings, words and actions begin in our thoughts.
Use of words: aim to use noble and dignified words; do not repeat filthy, offensive words; swearing, not even as a joke. Remember that we have control of the words that are in our mouth. Once a word was said, it will produce effects that can no longer be controlled. If we can’t speak good things about someone, at least we shouldn’t say bad things. We can choose to remain silent.
We should also consider the words we speak involuntarily "without feeling or thinking about". It is often a bad word or even an unfortunate statement about someone. This bad word or unfortunate comment in fact was not invented on the spot. Once we analyze it, we will find out that these words reside in our minds and that in times of imbalance they come out, putting us in an embarrassing situation.
Jesus taught that "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Luke 6, 45).
Good manners: when we use verbal or physical violence, it shows we still have a reservoir of violence hidden within us. For us to become "meek and peaceful", as the Gospel precepts, we should work on extinguishing the violence that still resides in our inner world. This is a persistent and daily challenge. We should seek to use kindness, caring words and smile. Kindness conquers respect and admiration. It opens the door that brutality does not open.
Use of time: Use your time well. Organise your life, so that every thing is done in the appropriate time. Aim to respect your timetable. Always remember that punctuality is an attribute of well-educated people. There is the right time for everything. Each activity should be developed at the right time. The Bible teaches: "A time to sow and a time to reap."
Be disciplined: respect the laws. Comply with the regulations of your school. Well-educated people wait their turn in line and respect others in the cue. Emmanuel teaches us: "If you do not believe in discipline, watch a car without brakes".
We should always bear in mind that we are immortal spirits, temporarily incarnated in the process of evolution. But it’s not the fact we are incarnate that guarantees our progress. Without spiritual renewal, we will be stuck here on Earth, as well as in the Spiritual World.
Let us remember that God doesn’t force any one to change. Our spiritual progress depends solely on us. We can count on the help of God, Jesus and the good spirits, but the initiative and efforts depend on our decision.
Fourth: distribute numbered index cards for the children/youth. Each number corresponds to a question. The child can exchange his/her index card with another colleague if he/she doesn’t know the answer. If there are more children/youth than the number of questions, pairs or trios could be organised. The response should then be prepared by the children/youth together in their pairs/trios.
Questions:
1. What did Jesus mean by this phrase: "The mouth speaks what the heart is full"?
2. Please say whether this statement is correct: "The occasion makes the thief?" If not, how would you change this sentence?
3. Why should we be careful with what we see and hear?
4. Can a violent movie lead to the practice of violence? Give us an example, please.
5. Can anger thoughts affect physical health? Why?
6. What did Jesus mean by the phrase: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation"?
7. Can we move evil spirits from us due to our thinking?
8. Can our thoughts influence the incarnate spirits, besides influencing the disincarnate spirits?
Click here to see suggested answers.
Fifth - to conclude:
We're the builders of our destiny. We must first evaluate/check whether we are in the path of goodness to build well. We can then engage in the work of inner reform, starting with our thoughts and finally reaching our action, i.e., upon learning the power of thought, the person who wishes spiritual progress must seek to educate him/herself. Whoever thinks good things speaks with equilibrium and acts rightly.
The creative power of thought has unimaginable possibilities of achievement. It influences the mental field of our neighbour; our own physical and spiritual health. We should avoid thoughts of anger, hatred, anguish, anger, grief, anxiety, etc. All negative mental states harmfully affect the health of the physical and spiritual bodies. To our benefit, we are left with the duty to continually strive towards goodness, thinking in a positive way. Every time a negative thought comes to mind it’s important to replace it with another one! It takes a lot of mental discipline to do this. This doesn’t come from day to night; a person requires much training and discipline to become an athlete.
A real improvement in how we speak and act is not possible without an inner reform of our thoughts. If we proceed this way, we will contribute in our day-to-day lives not only on our spiritual progress but also on changes for human prosperity, eliminating pride and selfishness; practicing the law of justice, love and charity.
Closing prayer
Suggested Class suitable for: 3rd cycle (11 to 12 years old) and Youth I (13 to 14 years old).
Suggested lesson sent by Sandra Ramos Medeiros, Centro Espírita Fé, Amor e Caridade - Campo Grande/MS.
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
