Mediumship and human development

an investigation with spiritist mediums from Uberaba-MG, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reflect on the human development processes of people who work as mediums in spiritist communities in the city of Uberaba, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The bioecological model was used both to understand human development and the experience of mediumship according to the narratives of nine mediums from three different spiritist houses, all of which were submitted to reflective thematic analysis. The proximal relationships established in the spiritist centers were pointed out as important for the understanding of the mediumistic experience, with emphasis on the learning provided not only by the study of the doctrine within the institution but also of the assistance work present in the microsystem. In spiritism, the temporal character goes beyond the limits of the earthly experience, capable of bioecological understanding, being necessary that the chronosystem considers the spiritual progress through different incarnations. Mediumship marked, in these participants, an important ecological transition responsible for highlighting the occurrence of human development.