The Role of Spiritism in the Mexican Revolution, Part One: Madero’s Secret Book, with C. M. Mayo

C. M. Mayo is a literary journalist, novelist, memoirist, short story writer, and noted literary translator of contemporary Mexican fiction and poetry. Her books include Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual; The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire; Mexico: A Traveler’s Literary Companion; Miraculous Air; and Sky Over El Nido.

Here she describes how she discovered and translated into English the Spiritist Manual written by Francisco I. Madero, the founder of Mexico’s 1910 revolution. In so doing, she came to appreciate the rich, intellectual background of early twentieth century spiritism – with roots reaching to Allan Kardec in France, the American transcendentalists, and the Theosophical Society. She points out that Madero considered himself to be a medium and he produced automatic writing. His political career and his Spiritist activities and beliefs were almost inseparable.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He serves as dean of transformational psychology at the University of Philosophical Research. He teaches parapsychology for ministers in training with the Centers for Spiritual Living through the Holmes Institute. He has served as vice-president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, and is the recipient of its Pathfinder Award for outstanding contributions to the field of human consciousness. He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities.

(Recorded on February 26, 2016)