Most of us have heard of Diogenes, the philosopher, during the time of Socrates and Plato, about 300 years before Christ, who rejected material goods and was reported holding a lamp looking for one honest man in the city of Athens.

None of his writings survived, only scattered reports of his sayings and activities. The most famous is when Alexander the Great came upon Diogenes. Here is the account according to Wikipedia:

It was in Corinth that a meeting between Alexander the Great and Diogenes is supposed to have taken place.^[30] The accounts of Plutarch and Diogenes Laërtius recount that they exchanged only a few words: while Diogenes was relaxing in the sunlight in the morning, Alexander, thrilled to meet the famous philosopher, asked if there was any favour he might do for him. Diogenes replied, “Yes, stand out of my sunlight”. Alexander then declared, “If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes.”

In the book, The Spiritist Review – 1859, Allan Kardec published an account whereby a group of mediums evoked Diogenes. Here is the report of the account:

14. Is it true what they say about your interview with Alexander?

• Very true. History has even truncated it.

15. What is it that history has truncated

• I refer to other conversations between the two of us. Do you really think that he came to see me to tell me one word only?

16. Is the statement attributed to him true that if he were not Alexander he would be Diogenes?

• He might have said that but not in my presence. Alexander was a crazy, vain and proud young man. In his eyes, I was nothing more than a beggar. How could the tyrant be educated by the miserable?

17. Have you reincarnate on Earth after your life in Athens?

• No, but in other worlds. I currently belong to a world in which we are not slaves. It means that if you were evoked in a state of vigil you could not attend the request. As I do tonight.

18. Could you delineate to us the qualities that you were looking for in man, how you conceived it then and how you conceive it now?

• In the past: courage, boldness, self-confidence and power over people by intelligence. Now: abnegation, kindness and power over people by heart.
  • [The Spiritist Review – Journal of Psychological Studies – 1859, 2015, United States Spiritist Council, p. 33]

There are two significant revelations in the spirit communication above. First is when Diogenes says he lives in a world where people are not slaves. This sounds to me like a remark made to a college freshman, who is regulated when he or she can enter or leave the dorms from a person who has graduated and moved on. I believe this short sentence from Diogenes perfectly illustrates our plight on earth. We are students, closely monitored, with little freedom of action, during our required period in our school of life.

Once we are done with our mandatory training, we will be given the luxury of increased freedom of movement. We will be trusted citizens of the spirit universe.

The second important statement is Diogenes’ refactoring of his original list of qualities, from courage and boldness to abnegation, a rejection of the glory and riches that quickness of action and power over people brings us. Power from the head is replaced by motivation from the heart. All central to the principles of Spiritism.

Learn more about Spiritism, in my book, 51 Disclosures from Spiritism – The 3rd Revelation. Discover what the spirit world is telling us, about ourselves, our planet, and our future.