Espirita 

First of all one has to address the question : 'What is Spirituality'? Let us offer a definition : 'Spirituality is the direct personal experience of one's own universality'.

Every conscious human being has this potential, so whether or not an individual actually becomes aware of ‘their own universality’ depends on the number and the difficulty of the obstacles in their way.

Through various media and in an entirely independent manner, Espirita seeks to present as unobstructed a view of the world as possible. In so doing , we affirm the great spiritual quality of Dispassion.

Other than universal values agreed upon by all the world's cultures, we are non-didactic and do not promote or are attached to any particular set of values or beliefs - in this sense, our mission is to avoid being constrained by a sense of mission. Other than the fundamental requirement of saying 'Be ye informed about our world', from that point on, it is up to the individual to decide.

We respect the right of any viewer of our films (www.inspirita.org) or any traveller on our itineraries to make up their own minds on what they see. It is our duty to present as independent and unbiased an account of a culture as possible in order to facilitate a greater awareness, in order to situate the world, no matter how complex and contradictory, in a richer, more universal and ultimately more realistic perspective. 

'Inclusivity' is key and the world enquiry has to be willing and able to work at an absolute level and to countenance all that is contained therein. After taking in the essence of the various world cultures, an individual would acquire their own unique, personal 'world view'. We would not wish to interfere with that individual's conclusions and what then proceeds from their own viewpoint is entirely up to them. We believe that this approach best assists an individual towards a genuine spiritual freedom.


En-flight-enment ? 

The question arises as to whether or not travel and contact with other cultures leads to a more ‘enlightened’ world ? Crammed into a budget airline at some ungodly hour of the morning, it’s not entirely clear that one is participating in a cultural upgrade of the planet.

Espirita is an interest based organization offering perspectives on world culture and whilst its itineraries are designed to reach the central issues of the cultures visited, in the end, whether or not this happens will still depend on the individual traveller. Some travellers thoroughly research their destinations beforehand, others don’t want anything to interfere with an intuitive relationship on site, as it happens. Sometimes, a culture will make a direct hit. On other occasions, a stored memory will resurface many years later, when one finally makes sense of an event that was previously witnessed.

Naturally we believe in everyday civilities and in ensuring that our clients are well taken care of but, as we are interest based, our main objective is to address the culture in question. As such, in certain circumstances, this goes beyond whether or not a culture is liked or disliked at a personal level; it is about understanding what that culture is. Even if what one is witnessing may seem strange or weird, one can still be fascinated by its otherness, by the variety of natural and cultural forms in the world - looking at a culture in its own terms is to affirm the right of ‘the other’ to exist. 

Espirita’s itineraries work best with a receptive and open mind that, albeit temporarily, agrees to suspend its own point of view. Along such lines, travel can make a contribution to the general process of enlightenment.