A Different Kind of Love

INTRODUCTION

A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE

Are we simply actors on a stage? As William Shakespeare wrote … To be or not to be…

All of us are actors interpreting roles, playing out parts. But, most of the time we don’t let our true selves come through, hiding our weakness and faults. We forget we are living on a planet which is going through a transformation.

Many of us attend churches, mosques, synagogues or other types of spiritual communities. When we sit in the pews or listen to the sermons, we play the roles of saints; taking on Sunday morning virtues.

How many of us band together in religious sanctity telling ourselves we have found the truth, the light and the way; condemning those who believe or act differently, forgetting God is the only one who can pass judgment.

Deep down inside, many of us know we don’t practice what we preach. We keep our true self locked deep inside while we live in out what is expected of us; suffocating our true hopes and desires.

We don’t truly love each other as brothers because we don’t really love ourselves and if we don’t love what we are, how can we really love our neighbor or God?: If we truly loved, we’d respect our differences. .

When Christ met the prostitute, he did not throw stones. He loved the sinner but not the sin. Through his love he showed her the way. We are here on this planet to discover our true selves, accept each other’s differences, faults and egos. We are here to learn from each other and to work on perfecting ourselves Instead of hurting ourselves and each other, why not help one another?

Dare to be different; dare to be yourself. Love yourself and begin to change your inner self. Once you do that, the world around you will change, too. Once we begin forgiving and ourselves, we are on the road to accepting others we come across during our lifetimes; remembering no one comes into our lives by accident.

We are here, on this planet to learn and evolve; not to suffer. Once we begin to learn from our pain, we stop suffering.

Each one of us has a past. Some parts we are not too proud of.

But each one us has a future too; one which we can make without guilt, anger or regret, a future where we begin to love ourselves and each other.

As we journey down the path of evolution, we discover there are different ways to love. The most sublime is brotherly love: a love which is caring, encouraging and helps bring out the best in another person. There are many ways we show or demonstrate our love for each other. This book is about one of them.

The Spirit of Augusto Caesar Vanucci

Channeled by Joao Alberto Teodoro

PREFACE

Sexuality is the creative energy in all of us. It is the presence of God and is a determining force in all human relationships and with how men and women relate to nature, the arts, sciences and the world. Sexuality is one instrument Divine Law uses to promote both individual and human progress and evolution.

However, one only has to look back in time to see how human beings have lost themselves through sexuality, missing opportunities to grow and learn.

For some, they’ve lost themselves in a frenetic search for pleasure without affection. Then there are those on the extremes: abstinence or prejudice and judgment. Most of us have forgotten the teaching of Christ, who said Love should be paramount in everything we do.

Augusto Cesar Vannuci, channeled by Joao Alberto, brings us this book called A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE, which is in my opinion, obligatory reading for those of us who want to live a life free of prejudice and judgments.

This easy to read book is about the power of our sexual energy. It shows us how, if used without love, it can lead to violence and conflicts; but it also tells how if this energy is lived with love, it can bring a feeling of completeness and wholeness to our beings. It can, in both cases, lead us further down the path of evolution and growth.

The Spirits’ Book, written by Allan Kardec, teaches we as eternal spirits have no sex; we are neither male nor female. We have lived as both male and female and in reality we can re incarnate as either a man or a woman. It makes no difference, because the gender we pick to live our lives is directly linked to the trials and the lessons we must learn on the road to our evolution.

And this sum of experiences leads us to live, as individuals with free will, our lives with either feminine or masculine traits.

Many times, when the lessons to be learned ask that the spirit incarnate in a sexual body which is different from its sexual energy, internal conflicts occur and these conflicts are manifested by homosexuality. This is natural and understandable since sexual preference is in the mind. Sexual organs are simply instruments for the completion of the sexual act but it is the mind which controls the type of act.

A spirit, whose psychological energy is feminine, even though incarnated in a male body, will continue to think as a woman. The opposite is also true.

And we mustn’t forget this: if this inverse of energy and roles was programmed and planned out on the spiritual side of life even before the spirit incarnated, there must be a reason for it. And that reason always is linked to the spiritual evolution of the incarnated spirit.

All spirits, at one time or another (often many times) live through this situation. It is all a part of our spiritual journey.

Free will is always present; it is a part of us. And sometimes, through the use of free will, a spirit living its incarnation in this inversion of energies chooses to be homosexual, having relationships with members of the same sex.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE teaches us whether straight or gay promiscuity leads to even more conflicts and suffering. But, this book also shows that whatever lifestyle is chosen, if lived with love, fidelity and respect any lifestyle can bring happiness, completeness and growth.

As Jesus, the rabbi of Galilee preached: love is the recipe for happiness and evolution.

Bill and David’s story of the times we live in.

Please, open your hearts to their love.

Marcos Alberto Ferreira

State Supreme Court Judge

Minas Gerais, Brazil

CHAPTER ONE

MAKING A FRIEND

The place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The time: the 1950’s.

David, a cheerful seven year old, is home from school, throwing his books on the living room coffee table, running to his room to take off his school clothes and put on a t-shirt and shorts. His friends are waiting at their improvised soccer field. The game is about to begin. He runs out the door of his house, the screen door slamming behind him.

His mother, Clara, who’s worked all day hunched over her sewing machine, follows him, and yells out for him to get something to eat.

Ma, I already ate at Roger’s house. Don’t worry, the kid answers, already meeting up with Roger on the street. The two boys have been friends forever and they make their way to the soccer field running after the ball they’re kicking in front of them.

Clara smiles as she watches her son and his best friend playfully pushing and shoving each other on their way to the field. She turns her back on them, making her way back to her sewing machine; she has to finish the work for her customer.

Meanwhile, the two boys arrive at the make shift field. The kids call the field the Pond, because it’s located next to a creek which runs into a pond. They’ve been playing here for years and the ritual of picking sides begins: David and Roger, as always, play on the same side. They’re inseparable. The boys who are left over stay on the sidelines, cheering on their friends.

The game begins.

David plays offense, Roger defense. Their team is behind 1 to nothing, but they don’t give up. Their team has never lost.

Clouds of dust rise from the improvised field, as the kids run back and forth, looking for a way to outfox the opponent. Suddenly, Roger cuts through the opposing team’s offense, and sends the ball flying to David. The kid gets the ball under control, dribbles past two defenders and finds himself face to face with the goalie. Dave feints a kick to the left, the goalie anticipates the kick and is fooled. The seven year old easily kicks the ball into the net for a goal.

His team celebrates, they cheer and hug each other and they raise David on their shoulders. Victory is in sight, the game is tied.

Atop of his friends’ shoulder, David sees two men approach. One is his father, James. He’s being held up by the other man. James is drunk.

As he sees his father weaving, supported by the other man, David knows that for him, the game is over. He leaves the field and walks towards the two men. He wonders how long he and his mother will have to go through this.

His friend Roger runs to his side. Come back and play. Where you going?

The seven year old, head bowed, tells his buddy to put Lou in his place. No one noticed what was going on; the kids are too interested in the hotly disputed game. David continues in a straight line towards the two men. Behind him the game goes on.

You’re drunk again, the boy says, holding back his tears.

Don’t bother me, kid, the drunk brushes the kid off.

He had a bit too much, Ralph, his father’s drinking pal says. He’s okay.

Hey, don’t owe this brat any explanations, the father slurs. We were celebrating.

David sighs. He’s been through this a million times before. Take him down to the Pond, on the other side of the field. He’s smashed. Let’s wash him up. If he goes home like this, he’ll end up hitting my mother. I’ll take him home when we get him sobered up.

Ralph looked at the boy, then at the father. You mean he hits your mom?

David simply nodded, his eyes looking at the ground.

Ralph felt a twinge of guilt. He was used to having a few with his friend but he didn’t know Jim beat up on his wife. The three of them walked over the stream which emptied into the pond. Once they got there, Ralph made Jim sit down on the grass, and David got a can the kids used to drink from during the game. He brought some water for his father.

Drink it, the seven year old ordered.

Jim looked at the cup, then at his son. He swatted the cup out the boy’s hand, the water spilling around them.

Don’t want your damn water, brat, he said getting up to threaten the boy.

Ralph was shocked to see what was happening, but for David, this was the norm. The friend lunged at the father, holding him to the ground.

Come on man, your boy is trying to help, he said.

Don’t want his help, Ralph slurred, besides he’s not my son.

The boy was shocked. He stayed behind, his eyes filling with tears. He tried hiding his face with his hands. The father’s words had cut through him like a knife.

Ralph saw what was happening. He left the drunk on the ground and went to sit by the sobbing seven year old. He began stroking the boy’s hair, trying to comfort him.

Hey, don’t get upset with him. He drank too much and has no idea what he’s talking about.

David kept on crying, hiding his face in between his legs. Ralph, moved by the boy’s anguish, pulled him closed to his chest, not saying a word simply trying to calm the kid down, running his hands through the seven year olds hair.

A paternal feeling gushed through the man, thinking for a second this kid could be his very own son.

The pair stayed this way for a while, David wrapped in the man’s arms.

The soccer game ended, the players went home and David’s father was in a drunken sleep, snoring and mumbling loudly.

David and Ralph walked to stay in the shadow of a large tree and, feeling like two old friends, began to talk. At first, the boy held back. He had never spoken with the man; he had only seen him from a distance when he would help his father home. But, the boy felt he could trust the man.’

What you smiling for, David asked.

At you, the man replied, looking at the boy’s tear streaked face. Why don’t you go clean yourself up at the Pond? Your face is all messy; you look like a little clown.

David began to laugh and walked down the edge of the Pond where he washed up. Every once and a while, he looks over at Ralph, who’s made his way to the boy to help out.

Come on, he said, Let’s put this face in the water. You’re pure dirt behind those ears, he joked.

As he said those words, a weird sensation took hold. Ralph felt he had lived this moment before. He thought he was dreaming.

But, at that exact same moment, David had the same feeling, too. He felt he had known Ralph all his life. As each second passed, the two felt they were closer, and both them began to laugh.

Ralph took off his shirt. He mind as well clean himself off, too.

David, being a mischievous kid and feeling close to his new found friend, immediately took advantage of the situation and pushed the man into the water. The sight of Ralph in the Pond was too much, David burst out laughing. So did Ralph and as he splashed water back at the kid, he exclaimed he’d get the kid and throw him in too. And, without any further notice, he pulled the boy into the Pond with him, where they spent a few moments horsing around in the cool water.

Suddenly, they heard voices. It was two women, with jars, who had come to the Pond to collect come water. Ralph and David hid behind some bushes, trying to stifle their giggles as the two ladies approached.

Look what those kids did, one of them complained. "The water’s all muddied up.

The other woman, taking a quick look around, saw Jim snoring away in a drunken sleep. Wasn’t kids, she answered, must have been him, sneering and pointing at the drunken man.

The older woman walked over to the prostrate man. She recognized him.

Drunk as a skunk, she affirmed. Poor Clara’s in for it again.

The other woman nodded. It’s that good for nothing Jim isn’t it?

In the flesh, her friend answered.

While the two women were gossiping, Ralph and David hid behind the bushes and stifled their laughter. They didn’t want to be blamed for muddying the Pond’s water. After they left, Ralph said he couldn’t leave there all wet, so he stripped off his clothes, stretching on the bushes to dry.

David imitated his new found friend and began wringing his clothes too, before setting them on the bush.

Ralph held out his arms and offered to do the wringing for the boy.

David took in the man’s strong, naked body. The boy realized he was naked too, and by reflex, he covered his genitals. Ralph pretended he didn’t notice the boy’s stare.

In a bit, the man said, our clothes will be dry. It sure is hot out. Come over her, let’s sit down, no one will see us.

The two of them sat and continued their conversation as David’s father slept and snored on the other side of the bushes. This was the first time Ralph and David actually had spoken to each other; Ralph had always watched David as he played with soccer or marbles with his friends.

Many times Ralph had taken the boy’s father home and David would always come over, no matter what he was doing, to take his father into their house. Ralph was always touched by this scene; how the kid would take care of the drunken man.

As they waited for their clothes to dry, Ralph had made a new friend. The kid was happy being with the older man, and secretly wished this was his father.

Why did God give me such a lousy one, the seven year old wondered to himself. Why couldn’t Ralph be my dad? Things would be a lot better.

The man seemed to read the boy’s mind.

"You know something, kid? I was supposed to have a son, he’d