Quintessence: E-Journal for the Integration of Theology in the Arts and Sciences

Quintessence, (January, 2015), Volume I, Issue 1

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE ON

WORLDVIEW, SELF-ACTUALIZATION, AND TOLERANCE IN THE EASTERN

ORTHODOX AND ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

by

The Right Reverend Doctor Andrew (Vujisić), FRAS, FRSA, FRSPH, MRSSAf, MRSNZ, CFTLord of St John and Castlerigg upon Derwentwater (UK 2013)

Ancient Seat ofThe Earls of Derwentwater

The Viscounts LangleyThe Barons Dyvelstone and Tynedale

Also,

Baron of Clanmorris in County Mayo (I 2014) Baron of Dunster in Somerset (UK 2014)

Lord of the Manor of Deandraw in Alston Moor (UK 2014)

QUALIFICATIONS

Advanced Diploma in the Study of Religion, University of Cambridge, UK Professional Certificate in [Executive and Transformational Life] Coaching, University of Cambridge, UK

Th.D. (in Practical Theology), University of South Africa, ZA Ph.D. (in Applied Linguistics), Rhodes University, ZA

Ph.D., a.b.d. (in General Psychology), Northcentral University, US D. Min. (in Family Therapy), Southern Christian University, US

M.A. Ed. (in Teaching English-as-a-Second Language), University of Phoenix, US S.T.L. (in Orthodox Theology), St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary, US

B.A. (in Humanities), Thomas A. Edison State College, US

ABSTRACT

This study highlights the similarities and differences between the mystical traditions of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam in terms of theory, method, practice, and outcomes. The purpose will be to compare and contrast the respective prototypes of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience in these two world religious systems and to review, summarize, analyze, and synthesize, using a comparative and transcendental phenomenological approach and methodology, their historically documented outcomes and effectiveness in transcending the mystic’s experiencings of worldview in relation to ontology, explication, prediction, axiology, praxeology, epistemology, and metapoiesis. These define a precise and consistent context for the interpretation of questions related to: (a) models of reality, the past, and the future; (b) theories of values, actions, and knowledge; and moreover, (c) the transcending of nature and nurture and the creation and re-creation of worldview, i.e., phronema in Eastern Orthodoxy, or al-tatawwur al-Islami in Islam, through existential choice and/or volition. Ultimately, the practical impact of the Eastern Orthodox and Islamic mystical experience on the development of worldview, and the enhanced possibilities for self-actualization and interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance, are discussed.

Key Words: Ahwāl [spiritual states], al-Nūr al-Muhammadiyyah [Muhammadan Light], al-tatawwur al-Islami [Islamic worldview], al-fanā’ [annihilation of self-centric ego], askesis [asceticism], enosis [union], Hesychasm, hesychia [quiet stillness or focus], maqāmāt [stations], nepsis [watchfulness], nous [apperceptional power of the psyche], phronema [Eastern Orthodox worldview], qalb [spiritual organ of cognition], tasawwuf [Sufism], ridā [quiet satisfaction], Taboric Light, theosis [ontological divinization]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………….. ii

Key Words………………………………………………………………………………….. ii

Contents…………………………………………………………………………………….. iii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… 1

1.1 Rationale and Background………………………………………………………….. 2

1.2 Framework………………………………………………………………………….. 3

1.3 Research Problem…………………………............................................................... 4

1.4 Thesis Statement……………………………………………………………………. 5

1.5 Purpose of the Research…………………………………………………………….. 5

1.6 Limitations………………………………………………………………………….. 6

1.7 Delimitations………………………………………………………………………... 6

1.8 Research Design and Methodology………………………………………………… 7

1.9 Definitions………………………………………………………………………….. 8

1.9.1 Worldview……………………………………………………………………. 8

1.9.2 Self-Actualization…………………………………………………………….. 9

1.9.3 Tolerance……………………………………………………………………... 9

1.10 Epilogue…………………………………………………………………………….. 10

CHAPTER II: EASTERN ORTHODOX AND ISLAMIC MYSTICISM ………………… 11

2.1 Mystical Experience in Eastern Orthodoxy……………………………….………... 11

2.1.1 Origins and Development…………………………………………………….. 13

2.1.2 Hesychastic Theory and Practice……………………………………………... 14

2.2 Mystical Experience in Islam………………………………………………………. 18

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2.2.1 Origins and Development…………………………………………………….. 20

2.2.2 Sufistic Theory and Practice…………………………………………….......... 22

2.3 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….. 27

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………… 29

3.1 Paradigm……………………………………………………………………………. 29

3.2 Framing the Study…………………………………………………………………... 30

3.3 Methodology………………………………………………………………………... 31

3.4 Limitations of the Methodology……………………………………………………. 31

3.5 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….. 32

CHAPTER IV: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL REDUCTION PROCESS………………. 34

4.1 Significant Statements……………………………………………………………… 34

4.2 Themes and Meaning Units………………………………………………………… 34

4.3 Textural and Structural Descriptions……………………………………………….. 35

4.4 Combined Textural-Structural Descriptions………………………………………... 36

4.5 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….. 56

CHAPTER V: PATTERNS OF INVARIANCE………………………………………….... 37

5.1 Creative Synthesis…………………………………………………………………... 37

5.2 Implications………………………………………………………………………… 38

5.3 Worldview………………………………………………………………………….. 40

5.4 Self-actualization…………………………………………………………………… 42

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5.5 Tolerance…………………………………………………………………………… 44

5.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….. 46

Bibliograpy………………………………………………………………………………….. 49

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APPENDICES

A. Table 1: Worldview Englightenment Continuum Scale………………………………. 64

B. Table 2: Steps and Experiences in Katharsis………………………………………….. 66

C. Table 3: The Maqāmāt………………………………………………………………… 69

D. Table 4: The Ahwāl’…………………………………………………………………... 72

E. Table 5: The Phenomenological Reduction Procedural Details………………………. 74

F. Table 6: Significant Statements……………………………………………………….. 77

G. Table 7: Theme and Meaning Units…………………………………………………… 82

H. Table 8: Combined Textural and Structural Descriptions……………………………... 89

I. Table 9: Creative Synthesis……………………………………………………………. 93

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Mystical experience in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam, as in other world

religions, is primarily phenomenological in nature, i.e., it is based upon existential experience

(Al-Qushayri, 2007; Vlachos, 1997; Vujisić, 2009). The methods are heuristic, in that the

aspirant, in both traditions, moves through a series of phases or degrees of progress beginning

with initial repentance, and subsequently advancing through a purification process that leads to

hesychia (quiet stillness) or ridā (quiet satisfaction), culminating in the apex of: (a) enosis,

commonly called theosis in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, i.e., union or ontological divinization;

or (b) al-fanā’, i.e., self-annihilation in Islam (Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007;

Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Solihu, 2009c; Vujisić, 2010). Both are equated with

transcendence and the attainment of infinite bliss and ecstasy, knowledge, and perception or

apperception, i.e., awareness and self-awareness (Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962; Al-Ghazali, 2000;

Behr-Sigel, 1992; Nasr, 2008). The processes, or mystical approaches to spiritual ascendancy

that are employed, propaedeutically suggest the possibility of patterns of ‘invariance’, (i.e., the

principle that characterizes a broad range or regularities in the theory, method, practice,

outcomes, and indeed, essence), of these experiential prototypes, in spite of the obvious

differences in religious doctrine (Bouton, 2004; Solihu, 2009c). Ultimately, the Eastern

Orthodox and Islamic processes call for the acquisition of self-knowledge and the transcendence

of the aspirant’s worldview, which is a synthesis of nature, nurture, and existential choice and

volition. The outcomes in both traditions are revealed through the self-actualization of the

aspirant and his/her transformation to full personhood and humanity, which is manifested in

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healthy relationships with the world and others (Chrysostomos, 1994; 2007; De Marquette, 1949;

Desmond, 1980; Ibn Khaldūn, 1989; Solihu, 2009c).

1.1 Rationale and Background

The justification for a comparative and transcendental phenomenological investigation on

the impact of Eastern Orthodox and Islamic mystical experience on worldview, self-

actualization, and interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance is therefore

robust (Bouton, 2004; DiLeo, 2007). In reaction to the ever-increasing compartmentalization and

fragmentation of Western civilization, and moreover, the generally perceived inevitability of an

East-West culture ‘clash’, interest abounds in the West regarding the methods of holistic inner

healing and transcendence promoted by the mystical traditions of spiritual ascendancy of the

East, including Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam (Chrysostomos, 2007; DiLeo, 2007; Gavin, 1962;

Vlachos, 1997; Vujisić, 2009). Therefore, the potential impact of these two mystical traditions on

worldview, self-actualization, and ultimately, interreligious and/or intercultural understanding

and tolerance is a significant and relevant matter for investigation. The comparison and contrast

of these methods of spiritual ascendancy, (i.e., the search for patterns of invariance), can assist in

identifying and synthesizing the ‘essence’ of the reported mystical experiencings (Moustakas,

1994; Van Heuveln, 2000). This can provide information and data that may assist in

disentangling the mystery related to the quintessential embodiment of these experiences, and

their impact on worldview and self-actualization (George, 2006; Gimello, 1983). Moreover, the

very identification of invariance itself, and the analysis and synthesis of the essence, can serve to

promote deeper interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance.

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1.2 Framework

A growing body of scientific research suggests a robust and consistent positive

relationship between mystical experience and spirituality, worldview, self-actualization, and

interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance (Chrysostomos, 2007; Heylighen,

Joslyn, & Turchin, 1995; Vujisić, 2009; 2010); and indeed, the last two decades have stood at the

interface of this new realization and consciousness (DiLeo, 2007; Richards & Bergin, 1997;

2000). Consequently, support has grown for a more holistic approach, that includes mystical

experience, in the understanding of worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious and/or

intercultural understanding and tolerance, and researchers have begun to explore mystical

experience and spirituality as one of the possible dimensions of the cognitive, emotional,

behavioral, interpersonal and psychological facets that make-up the individual (Corsini &

Wedding, 2000; McCullough, Larson, & Worthington, 1998; Richards & Bergin, 1997; 2000;

Vujisić, 2009). Although correlations between mystical experience and worldview, self-

actualization, and interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance have been

recognized in many ancient and modern cultures throughout the world, the historical schism

between religion and science in the West, has not fostered a favorable atmosphere for the study,

examination, development, and/or proposal of multidisciplinary integration paradigms

(Chrysostomos, 2007; Vujisić, 2010; Walsh, 2000). Mystical experience is intrinsically bound to

Hesychasm in Eastern Orthodoxy (Chrysostomos, 2007; Harton, 1963; Romanides, 2004;

Vlachos, 1997); and to Sufism, in Islam (Rizvi, 1988; Siraj ed-Din, 1987). Therefore, a synopsis

of the theory and practice of spiritual ascent in these two traditions, and the potential impact of

mystical experience on worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious and/or intercultural

understanding and toleration are presented.

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1.3 Research Problem

As uneasy geopolitical neighbors, Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam have had a tense and

confrontational history, which has not been conducive to the promotion of mutual knowledge

and understanding. In opposition to the potential for the development of tolerance through

contact and interaction, mutual vilification, demonization, and intolerance, culminating in

persecution and violence, have frequently resulted. Adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam

are often reluctant to recognize even the possibility of invariance between the two religious

systems in terms of theory and practice, and there is little or no agreement as to that which

constitutes the ‘essence’ of spirituality. Moreover, mystical method, experience, and outcomes

are often seen in terms of binary opposition and are a source of contention and polemics rather

than commonality. In such an atmosphere of polarization, intolerance is nurtured and grows,

fostering an atmosphere of emotional and emotionalized thinking, in which fanaticism is fostered

and engendered in predisposed individuals due to dysfunctional internal working models, or pre-

verbal relational schematas (cf. Baldwin, 1992; Baldwin, Fehr, Keedian, Seidel, & Thompson,

1993; Briere & Scott, 2006). The problem is self-evident; mystical experience in the two

prototypes of spiritual ascendancy, which by virtue of its very nature and purpose is directed

toward transcendence, becomes itself the stumbling block to transcendence, self-actualization,

and interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance. This intolerance paradigm

may also now be projected and compared with the ever-increasing polarization of Western

Christendom and Islam.

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1.4 Thesis Statement

In this investigation, it is theorized that upon highlighting the similarities and differences

between the mystical traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam, significant patterns of

invariance will become evident. Additionally, it is hypothesized that upon review,

summarization, analysis, and synthesis of the units of theme and meaning related to the outcomes

and effectiveness of mystical experience in transcending the mystic’s experiencings of

worldview, patterns of invariance will be found that will suggest compatible paradigms of

transcendence and enhanced possibilities for self-actualization, leading to increased possibilities

of interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance. Ultimately, it is postulated that

the description of the meanings and essences of the experiencings that will be constructed, are

analogous.

1.5 Purpose of the Research

This research highlights the similarities and differences between the mystical traditions of

Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam. The purpose is to compare and contrast the respective

prototypes of spiritual ascendancy and to review, summarize, analyze, and synthesize outcomes

and effectiveness in transcending the mystic’s experiencings of worldview. The practical impact

on the development of worldview, and the enhanced possibilities for self-actualization and

interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance, are discussed. This can lead to a

greater understanding of the function of esoteric interpretation of mystical experience in the

context of wider exoteric experiences.

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1.6 Limitations

There are inherent limitations in constructing a description of the meanings and essences

of mystical experience. First and foremost, the discussion addresses the direct and unmediated

experience of mystery, which includes noetic reality that is not ordinarily perceived in that it is:

(a) manifest, yet concealed; (b) immanent, yet transcendent; and (c) known in human experience,

yet indefinable and ineffable, i.e., beyond human language. Moreover, the discussion requires an

awareness of the very nature of experience, which also presents difficulties due to the impotence

of human language. This leads to the second limitation, terminology. In addition to the

researcher’s reliance on translation for the Arabic texts, the Greek terminology also poses

difficulties in that English translations often inadequately express meanings and nuances, and

many words can only be translated contextually. For example, hesychia, which is translated as

stillness, rest, quiet, silence and/or focus, can, depending on the text, refer to: (a) the departure

from the world of the senses; (b) the solitary or eremitical life; (c) the practice of inner prayer

that transcends images, concepts, and language; (d) the search for union with God through the

‘Jesus Prayer’; (e) the psychosomatic techniques used in conjunction with the ‘Jesus Prayer’;

and/or (f) the theology of Gregory Palamas (Thayer, 1963; Ware, 1973; 1993). Unfortunately,

this example is not an isolated occurrence, and, in fact, might even be considered the norm,

which necessitates copious explanation in the presentation of the theory and practice of

Hesychasm (Peters, 1970). This leads to the final limitation, which relates to the restrictions on

the length of this work and the researcher’s orientalist tendency to verbosity.

1.7 Delimitations

The following delimitations are established. The study does not:

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1. Propose to investigate the validity claims of any particular mystical experience;

2. Explore any influence and interchange of doctrine, theory, method, and/or

practice of the prototypes of spiritual ascendancy in discussion.

1.8 Research Design and Methodology

A comparative design that integrates Martin’s (in Braun & McCutcheon, 2000)

naturalistic theory for the study and comparison of religion and the transcendental

phenomenological approach and methodology are used in this investigation (Moustakas, 1994;

Van Heuveln, 2000). In terms of explicating the essences of the human experiencings

documented in the Hesychastic and Sufistic paths to spiritual ascendancy, Moustakas’ (1994)

transcendental phenomenological systematic procedure is used. This includes the following

steps: (a) the researcher describes his own experiencings of the related mystical phenomena and

sets all prejudgments aside; (b) significant information and data from the texts are identified;

(c) the evidence is grouped and/or clustered into theme and meaning units; (d) the themes are

analyzed and synthesized into textural and structural descriptions of the experiencings drawn

from the information; and (e) a description of the essences of the experiencings is constructed.

The findings are then discussed in relation to worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious

and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance. Patterns of invariance in theory, method, and

practice are proffered, together with the rejection and elimination of any competing single-factor

explanations regarding outcomes. The similarities and differences are then fully discussed.

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1.9 Definitions

Concepts are built upon presuppositions, premises, and/or assumptions. Paradigms, or

cognitive frameworks, are constituted of combinations of axioms or assumptions about reality

(Kalomiros, 1978). Therefore the following concepts are defined in order to avoid the

superimposition of alternate paradigms that could lead to misunderstanding the presuppositions

underlying this study (Vujisić, 2009).

1.9.1 Worldview

The term worldview, or weltanschauung, is frequently used indiscriminately across a

wide range of disciplines (Bahm, 1979; Heylighen, 2000; Vujisić, 2010). Notwithstanding, this

study utilizes Apostel and Van der Veken’s (1991) framework, which provides a cogent

description of worldview as: “the coherent collection of concepts allowing humans to construct a

global image of the world, and in this way to understand as many elements of experience as

possible” (p. 17). Apostel incorporates representations of ontology, explication, prediction,

axiology, praxeology, epistemology, and metapoiesis in his theory of worldview. These define a

precise and consistent context for the interpretation of questions related to: (a) models of reality,

the past, and the future; (b) theories of values, actions, and knowledge; and moreover, (c) the

transcending of nature and nurture and the re-creation of worldview through existential choice

and/or volition (Aerts, Apostel, De Moor, Hellemans, Maex, Van Belle, & Van der Veken, 1994;

Berghout, 2007; Carnap, Neurathm, & Hahn, 1929; Durkheim, 1984; Heitink, 1999; Jenson,

1998; Joslyn, Heylighen, & Turchin, 1993; Naugle, 2002; Solihu, 2009a; 2009b; Vujisić, 2010;

Wolters, 1989). This sevenfold framework provides a coherent context that facilitates the

evaluation of worldview in terms of an enlightenment continuum across five vectors, including

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empirical justifiability, psychological functionality, social cohesion, meaning and purpose, and

comprehensiveness (see Appendix A on page 64).

1.9.2 Self-Actualization

Maslow (1943), in his hierarchy of needs, which dominates the discussion on self-

actualization, proffers that his self-contrived list of ‘basic-level’ human needs must be met before

‘higher-level’ needs are fulfilled. He equates self-actualization to the universally egotistic notion

of the personal realization of self-potential. Multiple criticisms of Maslow’s ethnocentric theory

exist, and evidence suggests that human needs are ontologically universal and invariant in nature

rather than hierarchical (Hofstede, 1984; Max-Neef, Elizalde, & Hopenhayn, 1991). In this study

self-actualization will be defined as the attainment of transcendent meaning and purpose; self-

realization will refer to the achievement of self-potential (Myers, 1993; Seligman, 2002).

1.9.3 Tolerance

In its historical context, toleration signified the ‘suffering’ or ‘forbearance’ by those

holding a dominant belief-system that allowed other belief-systems to subsist, although the latter

were considered inferior, erroneous, and/or harmful. The evolution of the term has led to four

models of tolerance, including: (a) permission, e.g., the hostile neutrality of the Edict of

Galerius; (b) coexistence, e.g., pragmatic neutrality of Constantine’s Edict of Milan; and finally,

the more recent (c) respect, and (d) esteem conceptions. The respect and esteem conceptions,

(which emanate from the expansion and transcendence of worldviews with low levels of

empirical justifiability, psychological functionality, social cohesion, meaning and purpose, and

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comprehensiveness), facilitate self-actualization, and are therefore the reference points in this

work (Forst, 2003; 2004; 2008).

1.10 Epilogue

A beneficial component of the phenomenological method is that it provides the

opportunity to distill experiences into essences. It was therefore of utmost importance for the

researcher to bracket all of his preconceptions and biases when reducing the lived-experiences of

Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam to essence. However, it is similarly important for the reader to be

informed by the mystical data itself through a process of epoché, (i.e., the bracketing of

preconceptions), which provides an opportunity for a shift in the understanding of intentionality

from subject-object duality to non-duality, transcendence, and integration. The latter does not

negate the importance of embodiment, individuality, and personhood, but rather propose the

validity of a paradigm directed towards movement from the conditional and conditioned to an

awareness that is deeper, broader, and more unified with the whole. Once this presupposition is

admitted, even as a possibility, the supersensory mystical experience, which so often appears to

evade logicality, may then assist in cultivating the knowledge and understanding of spiritual

reality as encompassed in the human condition of embodiment.

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CHAPTER II: EASTERN ORTHODOX AND ISLAMIC MYSTICISM

This chapter provides a synopsis of the theory and practice of spiritual ascent in the

Eastern Orthodox and Islamic contexts, and discusses the potential impact of the resulting

mystical experience on worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious and/or intercultural

understanding and toleration. The synopsis serves as the database for this comparative and

transcendental phenomenological investigation, in which it is theorized, that upon highlighting

the similarities and differences between the mystical traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam,

significant patterns of invariance that suggest compatible paradigms of transcendence will

emerge.

2.1 Mystical Experience in Eastern Orthodoxy

According to Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos (1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997), the path

of spiritual ascendency and mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy emerge from the following

presuppositions.

(1) Reality is beyond the perception of the senses.

(2) The nous, (i.e., the apperceptional power of the psyche, or soul), through which

spiritual reality is perceived, has been darkened through sin, resulting in spiritual blindness.

(3) The darkening of the nous creates a false image of the self, based upon the

subjection of the nous to the body and identification of the nous with reason.

(4) The fallen condition of the nous results in separation from the experience and

presence of God.

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(5) The situation can be remedied through the Hesychastic method, which has as its

goal the purification and restoration of the nous to its natural movement.

The term, Hesychasm, is derived from hesychia, i.e., the stillness, rest, quiet, silence

and/or focus that lead to purity of the nous, commonly referred to as the ‘eye of the heart’.

Hesychasm involves the stilling of the thoughts, allowing the nous to descend into the ‘heart’

(Nahum, 2001; 2002; 2005). Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos (2000), states:

Hesychasm is essential for man’s purification and perfection… Through hesychia a man purifies his heart and nous from passions and thus attains communion and union with God… Therefore, hesychia is an inner state; it is dwelling with God. (pp. 63-64)

Hesychasm is then the esoteric tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy and embodies both the

path to spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience (Meyendorf, 1974; 1979; 1983). However,

while focusing on the inner life, it does not neglect exoteric religious practices. In Eastern

Orthodoxy, there is no clear distinction between theological discourse and mysticism, and all

dogma is firmly grounded in mystical experience (Florensky, 1997; Pomazansky, 1994; Popović,

1978). Similarly, mysticism is inherently bound to dogma, which frames, communicates, and

realizes the content of mystical experience (Florovsky, 1987a; 1987b; Lossky, 1985; Palmer,

Sheridan, & Ware, 1983). Consequently, the true knowledge of God is neither the intellectual

engagement with God, nor the knowledge of the dianoia, (i.e., the discursive, conceptualizing,

and logical faculty of conscious thinking and cognition) concerning God, but rather, gnosis, or

the personal experience of God, which is connected to the noetic vision of God (Symeon the

New Theologian 1995; 1980; Vujisić, 2009). The ultimate goal of spiritual ascendancy and

mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy is then the purification of the ‘heart’ through

contemplative prayer and the uprooting of passions and the renewal and enlightenment of the

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darkened nous, in order that it might return to God, and behold the uncreated Light, activating

the intoxication of the spirit and ecstasy of the mind (Telepneff & Chrysostomos, 1990;

Varvatsoulias, 1996; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000). When the faculty of ‘nous’

rests in the heart, and is restored, the words of Christ are fulfilled: “Blessed are the pure in heart:

for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8, KJV).

2.1.1 Origins and Development

Hesychasm is rooted in the Holy Scriptures and Tradition. The Old Testament alludes to

hesychasm in the accounts of the lives of Moses, Elijah, and other prophets, who removed

themselves from the distractions of the world in order to mystically receive the knowledge of

God (Amis, 1995; Andreyev, 1995; Clendenin, 1994). Moreover, the hesychastic process is

enshrined in the words of David: “Be still [i.e., surrender and empty yourself] and know that I

am God” (Psalms 46:11, KJV). In a similar manner, Christ’s command in the New Testament, to

“enter thy closet and… pray” (Matthew 6:6, KJV), is interpreted as an injunction to ignore

sensory input and withdraw inwardly for prayer (Clendenin, 1995). The example of John the

Baptist, to whom, through the practice of asceticism, the Messiah was revealed [see John 1:32-

34, KJV], and the use of the term, hesychia, by the apostles Peter and Paul in their epistles [see I

Thessalonians 3:12; I Timothy 2:2; I Peter 3:4, KJV] are also cited as being sufficient to have

given rise to the Eastern Orthodox mystical experience embodied in Hesychasm. Additionally,

the actual practice of the ‘Jesus Prayer’ is said to have been handed down from the apostles and

formalized with the rise of monasticism in fourth century Egypt (Chryssavgis, 2004; Neilos the

Ascetic, 1979).

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Notwithstanding, and as evidenced in A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Lampe, 2007), the first

patristic use of the terms, hesychia and hesychazo, occurred during the fourth century in the

writings of John Chrysostom, the Cappadocians, Evagrius Ponticus, and the Sayings of the

Desert Fathers (Vranos, 1984). In the sixth and seventh centuries, the terms, hesychia and

hesychast were used systematically by John Climacus and Hesychios the Priest, and described in

detail by Abba Philemon, an Egyptian hermit, (Chariton, 1966; Palmer, Sheridan, & Ware,

1983). However, the term, Hesychasm itself is not recorded in Lampe (2007), which may

indicate that it is of much later usage. By the fourteenth century, Gregory Palamas had

formalized the practice of Hesychasm, and the terms ‘Hesychasm’ and ‘hesychast’ were

extensively used on Mount Athos reflecting the diffusion of the practice (Bouyer, 1961; Cyprian,

1995; Gillet, 1987). The primary writings referenced by the hesychasts include: (a) the

Philokalia, (b) the Ladder of Divine Ascent; and (c) the works of Isaac the Syrian, Symeon the

New Theologian, and Gregory Palamas (Farrell, 1987; Grube, 2001).

2.1.2 Hesychastic Theory and Practice

The path of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy is defined

by three semi-successive phases of spiritual life, videlicet, (a) katharsis, (b) theoria, and

(c) theosis, (i.e., purification, illumination, and divinization, or union with God); with theosis, as

the ultimate goal and purpose of life (Hodges, 1987; Macarius of Optina, 1994; 1995; Maloney;

2003; Misiarczyk, 2007; Romanov, 1993; Rorem, 1986). The initial, or purgative, phase is

characterized by the eradication of sin and vice; the intermediate, or illuminative, phase by the

development of virtues; and the perfecting, or unitive, phase by the gifts of the Holy Spirit

(Clendenin, 1994; 1995; Evagrius Ponticus, 1981; Scupoli, 1987; Sergius, 1998). The journey

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includes many forms of praxis, (i.e., action, practice, and struggle) and multiple ‘steps’ and

experiences, or states, of which the order and number are not uniform among hesychasts

(Brianchaninov, 1965; 1983; Gregory of Sinai, 1995; John Climacus, 1979; John of Karpathos,

1979; Maximus the Confessor, 1985; Nikodemos & Makarios, 1983). The entire process that

leads to the unitive goal, theosis, is guided by the hesychastic method, which follows the triad of

askesis, nepsis, and hesychia, (i.e., asceticism, watchfulness, and stillness and/or focus on the

‘Prayer of the Heart’) and is based upon the principal of synergy, or the ‘energizing together’ of

Divine grace and human will (Bouton, 2004; Cook, 2011; DiLeo, 2007; Hoekma, 1994; Vujisić,

2009).

The three phases of spiritual ascendancy in Eastern Orthodoxy, define the progression of

spiritual life (Anonymous, 1952; Cavarnos, 1985; 1987; Chariton, 1966; Kalomiros, 1978).

These have been likened to the successive life stages of infancy, youth, and maturity, and could

be said to correspond mystically to the sapiential books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song

of Songs (Merkur, 1993). The distinction between the three phases must not be overestimated

(Clendenin, 1994; 1995; Seraphim of Sarov, 1980). Although each phase is unique, each is

relative to the others. For example, although katharsis precedes theoria, katharsis is only

fulfilled and completed in and by theoria. Apatheia, or dispassion, which occurs primarily in

katharsis, is only perfected by gnosis, which occurs in theoria. The distinctions between the

phases are therefore primarily operational rather than sequential (Evagrius Ponticus, 1981;

Nektarios of Aegina, n.d.; Neilos the Ascetic, 1979; Paisius Velichovsky, 1976; Sorsky, 2003).

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2.1.2.1 Katharsis

This initial stage is dominated by the struggle against sin and the passions. It is developed

and sustained by faith, in order to extricate the aspirant from the pressures that evil exerts

through the intermediary world and the flesh (Clendenin, 1994; 1995; Vlachos, 1992; Whelton,

1999). The purgative stage involves kenosis, or the emptying of the self, and ultimately, ‘dying

to self’; it is the purification from sin, sensuality, and the self-centric ego and will, and separation

from the world and movement toward the eternal reality of God, which precedes illumination

(Vlachos, 1992; Zacharias, 2006; 2008). The specific steps and experiences in katharsis, which

are tabularized in Appendix B on page 66, are accomplished through obedience to a gerontas, or

a spiritual director, which is a charism of eldership and the extenuation of prophesy (Zacharias,

2006). The gerontas, (fem., gerontissa), who is an image of God and represents Christ, initiates

aspirants into the journey of spiritual ascendancy, and shows them the path to theosis; through

him/her, the mystical experience is made perceptible, powerful, alive, intense, and authentic

(Isaiah, 1997; Vlachos, 2000).

2.1.2.2 Theoria

The transition from the purgative phase to the illuminative phase occurs when virtues

offset vices, and the grace of God begins to bear fruit within the heart of the aspirant in terms of

the acquisition of virtue (Clendenin, 1994; 1995; Vlachos, 1992). S/he is illumined and luminous

through theoria, which is the noetic vision of God (Clendenin, 1994; 1995). This vision is the

vehicle through which spiritual knowledge is attained, and is related to the inner essences, or

principles, of created beings (Vorpatrny, 2001). Theoria is the illumination of the nous and is

accompanied by the experiences of gnosis and diakrisis, or ‘discernment’, which refers to the

16

spiritual gift to discern inner states (Nikodemos & Makarios, 1983; Vorpatrny, 2001). Theoria

completes the purification of the nous by Divine grace, which consumes the ‘heart’ like fire,

noetically reveals the true self, or ‘eye of the heart’ to the aspirant, and effectuates the birth of

the Logos within the nous (Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986;

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993). In this phase and experience, wo/man acquires the knowledge of

God and unceasing noetic prayer (Vujisić, 2009). This, according to John Climacus (1982), leads

to the experience of tears of love, joy, and Divine eros, or ‘the yearning for God as a mad lover

has for his beloved’, which advance the aspirant along the path of this phase together with the

injunction: “Let the remembrance of Jesus be present with your every breath. Then, indeed you

will appreciate the value of hesychia” (p. 48).

2.1.2.3 Theosis

In this phase wo/man becomes divinized. S/he beholds and approaches the uncreated

Light, which is achieved through a noetic vision of the Divine Being in the form of His uncreated

energies (Cyprian, 1995; Vlachos, 1992; 1993; 1997). The experience is beyond conceptual

knowledge, which can turn into idolatry. It is the state in which the mind is placed in the heart

and the nous is focused on the immanence of God. It is an expression of noesis, i.e., insight, and

is focused on the present or ‘now’, as opposed to the past or future; it is present-moment

mindfulness (Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944). It enables free will and

conscious choice over determinism; it moves through time into the future by faith, and is the

embodiment of metagnosis, i.e., it is beyond knowledge (Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007;

Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Lossky, 1944; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000;

Vujisić, 2009). It superimposes the experience of the Divine energies over past memories and

17

experiences and places primacy of present experience and observation over speculative,

discursive, and rational analysis (GreekOrthodoxChurch, 2007; Lossky, 1944). It is photismos,

i.e., a light that permeates all things, especially inner darkness, and is called the Tabor light

(Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944; 1985). The experience is likened unto Isaiah

62:4, or the entrance into Beulah land, i.e., mystical marriage in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit

offset the exercise of virtue (Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007). The mystic comes into

communion with the angelic powers. The depths of spiritual reality and the mysteries of God are

revealed through the Holy Spirit, together with knowledge of the mysteries concealed in Holy

Scriptures (Chrysostomos, 2007). The mystic ascends to the ‘third heaven’ (II Corinthians 12:2,

KJV), and like the apostle Paul, hears ineffable words and perceives that which the natural eyes

cannot see. Love is poured out into the mystic’s heart (Lossky, 1944; 1985). S/he acquires the

Holy Spirit, which is the key to the creation of an Orthodox phronema, or worldview, and attains

self-actualization from which flow love, awareness, compassion, healing, comfort, tolerance, and

joy (Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979;

Louchakova & Warner, 2003). An example of this love and tolerance is evidenced in the

transcending accounts of the 230 miracles, (of which 35, involved Muslims), of the Orthodox

mystic and saint, Basil of Ostrog, “glory and mercy be upon him” (Radović & Nikcević, 2003, p.

59), and of whom it is said: “works miracles on those who fervently pray to God for help,

regardless of the faith they confess” (p. 59).

2.2 Mystical Experience in Islam

According to Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī (2000), the path of spiritual ascendency and

mystical experience in Islam emerge from seven presuppositions.

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(1) The apprehension of phenomenal and spiritual realities is transcendental and

supersedes the ability of the senses and mind.

(2) The qalb, which is the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, must be

cultivated through struggle and activated in order to obtain spiritual knowledge.

(3) A false image of the self results when the self is identified with the body’s motor

motives, i.e., propensities and impulses; and through satanic influence, the spirited and appetitive

powers of the soul rebel against the aql, or the soul’s rational power and first knowledge.

(4) The disharmony results in separation from the knowledge, experience, and

presence of Allāh.

(5) Purification and discipline are required to actualize the qalb.

(6) The pure qalb becomes a mirror of the likeness of Allāh.

(7) Balance is restored, and the true nature of the qalb, or self, is discovered, together

with purpose and happiness, through tasawwuf, or Sufism (Al-Kalabadhi, 1977; Martin, 2004;

Smith, 1973; Solihu, 2009c).

The term, Sufism, is derived from safā, i.e., the purity that denotes the peaceable state of

the qalb, or ‘heart’ (Martin, 2004, p. 684). Safā, in turn, is related to the word, sūf, (i.e., wool),

which alludes to the woolen garments used by early Islamic ascetics (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu,

2009c). Regarding Sufism, Ibn Khaldūn (1989), the renown Islamic historiographer, states:

[Islamic mystical experience] …is based upon constant application to divine worship, complete devotion to God, aversion to the false splendor of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, property, and position to which the great mass aspires, and retirement from the world into solitude for divine worship. (p. 76)

Sufism is then the inner and mystical dimension of Islam (Nasr, 1987; 2008; Nicholson,

1914). It seeks to uncover the esoteric aspects of Islamic teachings, and focuses more on

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intention and the inner life than on practical or external religious conduct (Arberry, 1950). It can

therefore be juxtaposed with fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, which is an expansion of the sharīah

code of conduct expounded in the Holy Qur’ān, supplemented by sunnah, (i.e., tradition), and

implemented by the rulings, decrees, and interpretations of Islamic jurists (Ali, 2006; Muhaya,

1993). Fiqh deals with the observance of ritual, moral, and social legislation in Islam and

emphasizes the exoteric characteristics of Islamic teachings, while Sufism emphasizes the path

of spiritual ascendency and mystical experience (Muhaya, 1993; Schimmel, 1983; Siraj ed-Din,

1987). The ultimate goal of the Islamic mystic is to purify and transform the soul from the

contamination of sin, vengeance, jealousy, hatred, and every evil in order that it might return to

Allāh (Brown, 1950). This is accomplished through compliance with the injunction given to Abū

Yazīd al-Bistāmī by Allāh: ‘Leave yourself and come’ (Al-Qushayrī, 2007). In this context, to

‘leave’ the self signifies freedom from desires, and to ‘come’ denotes submitting the self to the

will of Allāh alone. Sufism is then dying to self and becoming resurrected in Allāh (Muhaya,

1993; Solihu, 2009c).

2.2.1 Origins and Development

Islamic mystical experience has its origins in the Qur’ānic injunction to maintain

continual dhikr, i.e., remembrance, of Allāh. In verse 152 of the second Surah, wo/men are

commanded: “Then do ye remember me; I will remember you” (Ali, 2006). The word

‘remember’ is not an adequate translation of dhikr, which has a number of associations in Islamic

literature, including: (a) to remember; (b) to praise and continuously mention; (c) to mention and

repeat; (d) to celebrate or commemorate; (e) to magnify; and (f) to value as a precious possession

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and conversation (Ali, 2006; Solihu, 2009c). Dhikr is the fuel of love, and without dhikr, love

does not work (Ali, 2006; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c).

The injunction of continual dhikr, combined with the Prophet Muhammed’s retirement in

the cave of Hirā’ before receiving the Divine Revelation, characterizes the importance of dhikr

and fikr, or meditation, in the Islamic tradition (Martin, 2004, p. 688; Solihu, 2009c). The

eschatological message of the Qur’ān and the Prophet’s ascetic way of life provided a stimulus

and model for Sufis, who are traditionally and overwhelmingly Sunnī, to renounce and retreat

from the world (Ali, 2006; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). This retreat had its historical roots in

the second century of the Islamic era when many Muslims began to allow themselves to become

entangled in worldly affairs (Muhaya, 1993). However, the Qur’ān itself is sufficient to have

given rise to the Islamic mystical experience epitomized in Sufism (Ali, 2006; Nasr, 1987;

2008).

The first Sufi writer was al-Hārith ibn Asad al-Muhāsibī, who wrote Kitāb al-Ri‘āyah li-

Huqūq Allāh (Book of Observance of the Rites of Allāh) and who lived in the third century of the

Islamic era, or Anno Hegirae (A.H.), which corresponds to the ninth century of the Christian era

(Solihu, 2009c). However, the oldest surviving and complete account of Sufism is Kitāb al-

Luma’ (The Book of Flashes), which was written by Abū Nasr al-Sarrāj ca. 378 A.H. (Muhaya,

1993). Notwithstanding, the standard formulation of Sufi doctrine can be found in al-Risālah al-

Qushayriyyah fi ‘ilm al-tasawwuf (Al-Qushayri’s Epistle to the Sufis) by ‘Abd al-Karīm ibn

Hawāzin al-Qushayrī ca. 465 A.H. (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). As Islam came into contact

with other cultures, Sufism was exposed to foreign influences; and new schools of thought that

departed from Sunnī orthodoxy were generated (Martin, 2004; Nasr, 2008). This resulted in

Sufism being subjected to severe criticism by Islamic scholars, many of whom came to believe

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that Sufism was incompatible with Islam (Al-Qushayri, 2007; Nasr, 2008). The acceptance, (or

re-acceptance, as some Sufis prefer), and integration of the teachings of Sufism into mainstream

Sunnī theology and jurisprudence, i.e., the study, knowledge, and science of Islamic law, was

accomplished by Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī in his Ihyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn (The Book of the Enumeration

of Sciences) ca. 505 A.H. (Al-Ghazali, 2000; Martin, 2004, p. 686; Martin, 2004; Solihu, 2009c).

From that time on, Sunnī-Sufism, in its moderate expression, was accepted as a valid,

reasonable, and commendable Muslim way of life (Al-Qushayri, 2007; Muhaya, 1993; Nasr,

2008; Siraj ed-Din, 1987). Notwithstanding Sufism’s links with the orthodox Sunnī party, there

has been an ongoing strain between this spiritual dimension of Islam and the more formal

discipline of Sunnī jurisprudence, and tensions between Sufism and the Sunnī establishment still

exist (Elias, 2001; Martin, 2004, p. 685; Mayer, in Winter, 2008).

2.2.2. Sufistic Theory and Practice

Spiritual ascent and mystical experience in Islam consists of two stages, maqāmāt, or

stations, and ahwāl, or states that lead to the goal of al-Fanā’, or self-annihilation (Muhaya,

1993; Siraj ed-Din, 1987). These maqāmāt and ahwāl serve as a means of destroying the

aspirant’s ‘idols’ and reaching the unitive monotheistic experience (Solihu, 2009c). The

difference between the maqāmāt and ahwāl is that a maqām, or station, is earned through jihād,

(or struggle), and acquired through the practice of virtue, and can only be obtained through great

effort, while a hāl, or state, is a free gift from Allāh (Muhaya, 1993). Notwithstanding, this

distinction is primarily theoretical because in practice, maqāmāt and ahwāl are inseparable; the

maqām, which is earned, is encompassed by the gift, while the hāl is filled with the maqām that

is acquired (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c).

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2.2.2.1 Maqāmāt

The word maqām means ‘place of standing’ and is commonly translated as ‘station’

(Solihu, 2009c). In Islamic mysticism, maqām denotes a ‘place’ or step in the process of training

and self-mortification leading to spiritual purification (Muhaya, 1993). Maqāmāt are sequential,

i.e., the obligation of each maqām must be fulfilled and the related virtues acquired before the

aspirant proceeds to the next maqām (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). The order and/or number

of the maqāmāt are not uniform among Muslims (Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c). However,

according to Muhaya (1993) and Nasr (2008), it is generally agreed that there are seven principal

‘valleys’ or maqāmāt that must be crossed in order to attain illumination (see Appendix C on

page 69).

The maqāmāt are divided into three steps: (a) preparation or awakening in which the

aspirant fulfills religious duties, remembers Allāh, and purifies his/her soul; (b) discernment, or

watchfulness, that guides the aspirant to success in his/her journey; and (c) contemplation, or

vision, in which the aspirant is illuminated by al-Nūr al-Muhammadiyyah, or Muhammadan

Light (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). These steps are a process of purification that begin with

(a) cleaning away the dross and dust, (b) refining and perfecting, and (c) purification and the

experience of Allāh (Muhaya, 1993). During the ascent through the maqāmāt, absolute

obedience to a shaykh is required, in whose hands the aspirant must become like ‘a corpse in the

hands of the undertaker’. This is deemed necessary in order to survive the extreme trials and

temptations during the path of ascendancy, particularly during the initial forty days’ seclusion in

which the aspirant’s mind is continuously observed and scrutinized by the shaykh, who teaches

him/her how to respond to the related psychic phenomena (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). The

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aspirant who attempts to ascend the path without a shaykh is said to have Satan as his/her guide

(Muhaya, 1993).

2.2.2.2 Ahwāl’

Ahwāl are temporary states of mind experienced by the aspirant in his/her mystical

journey (Al-Ghazali, 2000). They are gifts, bestowed by Allāh as signs of favor and grace to

encourage the aspirant on the path to illumination, and cannot be attained or retained through

personal effort; the purified soul can only patiently await these spiritual gifts (Muhaya, 1993;

Solihu, 2009c). According to Solihu (2009c), although there are hundreds of ahwāl, nine are

considered fundamental (see Appendix D on page 72).

2.2.2.3 Al-Fanā’

The apex of the process of spiritual ascendancy in Islam is al-Fanā’, i.e., self-annihilation

or obliteration, of which there are three stages (Wilcox, 2011). The first stage occurs when the

aspirant’s will and self-centric ego are destroyed through contemplation, and every movement or

act of the mystic becomes a manifestation of the movements of his/her murshid, or spiritual

director (Muhaya, 1993). This stage concerns the active life, and requires perseverance in moral

training through an ascetic lifestyle over against natural inclinations and desires, which disrupt

the path of spiritual ascendancy (Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993). The second stage

commences after the perfection of the first, and involves the eradication of all pleasures,

gratifications, and fulfillment, especially, but not only, the enjoyment of fulfilling religious

duties and exercises; this leaves nothing, (i.e., no obstacles, between Allāh and the mystic), only

24

the experiences (or flashes) of ahwāl, which are the first revelations of the energies and essences

of Allāh, the self, and the world (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c).

The third and final stage involves losing consciousness of everything, even mindfulness

of union with Allāh (Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962). The aspirant’s physical body remains, but

his/her faculty of rational perception passes away, and s/he loses individual awareness (Al-

Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993). The Islamic mystic, at this point, finds that the only way to

appreciate al-haqīqa, or spiritual reality, is through the purging of the illusionary projection of

the self-centric ego, (or egoistic self), which is a veil that stands between the true projection of

the reality of the self and the Divine source of such projection (Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962;

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). Through the purification of the qalb, the aql, (i.e., the first

intelligence, which refers to the rational and inherent knowledge of Allāh that is latent in

humans), is also activated, and the al-nafs al-natiqah, or rational soul, can recognize and

distinguish truth from falsehood (Al-Attas, 2010; Muhaya, 1993). It is through this inner vision

that the Islamic mystic obtains knowledge and establishes a real connection with the rest of

Allāh’s creation. Perceived human values and definitions are redefined and the mystic realizes

and experiences the truthfulness of the syllogism, ‘I am nothing. He is all’ (Al-Attas, 2010). All

human goals and aspirations are unified. The mystic’s heart, purged of his/her egotistic being, is

lost in the contemplation of Allāh, and perishes in the majesty of Allāh (Muhaya, 1993). Such

have achieved transcendent reality and have annihilated themselves to become one with the

ONE, through the vision of al-Nūr al-Muhammadiyyah and the acquisition of al-tatawwur al-

Islami (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). This experience is not a denial of the existence of

everything except Allāh, but rather that the mystic who has reached the third stage of al-Fanā’

25

becomes oblivious to everything, including himself, except Allāh; his/her will has been dissolved

and united to Allāh’s will (Al-Attas, 2010; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c).

This doctrine is scrupulously al-Tawhīd, or monotheistic (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c).

The qualities of Allāh are not Allāh Himself (Al-Attas, 2010; Muhaya, 1993). Allāh does not

descend into the heart of wo/man, but rather faith in Allāh, belief in His oneness or unity, and

reverence for His majesty, descend (Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962). Al-Fanā’ therefore does not

involve participation in the Divine essence, nor the annihilation of the mystic’s ego or

ontological being, but the annihilation of his/her will, i.e., submission of the same to the will of

Allāh (Al-Attas, 2010; Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). The awareness

and consciousness of the lover is completely dissolved in the Beloved (Muhaya, 1993; Nasr,

2008).

From this state of Divine sukr, or intoxication, the mystic returns to him/herself, to a state

of sahw, or sobriety, after al -Fanā’ (Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962; Smith, 2010). S/he returns to

him/herself, after s/he has not been completely him/herself. S/he is present in him/herself and in

Allāh after having been existent in Allāh and absent from him/herself (Muhaya, 1993). This is

because s/he has left the sukr of Allāh’s overpowering ghalaba, or victory, and comes to the

clarity of sahw, assuming once again his/her own individual attributes, after al-Fanā’ (Abdel-

Kader, 1954; 1962; Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c). From the experiencings of

al-Fanā’, and the intrinsic unity and oneness in Allāh of everything that exists, flow love,

tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence, unity, solidarity, and mutual responsibility (Al-

Ghazali, 2000). Differences, disagreements and divisions among wo/men, and their ideologies

are illusory; they only come into existence when limited vision and biased perspectives are

unable to see the true spiritual al-haqīqa (Nasr, 2008; Nicholson, 2012). Since differences are

26

illusory, the differences between creeds and cultures are also superficial, and ultimately absurd.

Through al-Fanā’, and in the hāl of sahw, the mystic obtains al-tahqīq, or self-actualization, and

can then provide service to others, and become the ‘slave of the One and the servant of the

many’ (Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c).

2.3 Conclusion

In conclusion, the principal methods used in the path of spiritual ascendancy in Eastern

Orthodoxy are askesis, nepsis, hesychia, and obedience to a gerontas. Through these methods

and continual struggle, the aspirant ascends through the phases of theosis in which s/he:

(a) fulfills his/her formal religious duties; (b) practices asceticism and purifies his/her soul from

sin and the passions (Isaiah, 1997); (c) practices hesychia through the repetition of the ‘Jesus

‘Prayer’ together with the accompanying psychosomatic techniques (Orthodox Christian

Information Center, 2009a; 2009b; 2009c; 2009d); (d) develops watchfulness and discernment;

(e) has spiritual experiences corresponding to the phase of his/her spiritual development; (f) is

illuminated by noetic vision; (g) sees the uncreated Light; (h) enters the unitive life; (i) acquires

an Orthodox phronema; and finally, (j) attains self-actualization, which is externalized as love,

awareness, compassion, healing, comfort, tolerance, and joy (Orthodoxwiki, 2008).

In Islam, dhikr, fikr, zuhd, and perfect obedience to a shaykh, or murshid, are the

principal methods used in the process of spiritual ascendancy, and the achievement of mystical

oneness with Allāh. According to Imam Zaid Rahman (personal communication, December 11,

2011), through these methods and continual jihad, the aspirant (a) fulfills his/her religious duties;

(b) remembers and invokes Allāh; (c) ascends through the maqāmāt and purifies his/her soul;

(d) develops discernment, or watchfulness; (e) is blessed with ahwāl; (f) beholds al-Nūr al-

27

Muhammadiyyah; (g) enters the unitive life; (h) acquires al-tatawwur al-Islami; and finally,

(i) attains al-tahqīq, from which flow love, tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence, unity,

solidarity, and mutual responsibility (Martin, 2003).

Finally, the data in this chapter serves as the database for the phenomenological reduction

process. It provides both a framework for the analysis and the information needed to assess the

impact of mystical experience on worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious and/or

intercultural understanding and toleration. Chapter III identifies and describes transcendental

phenomenology and the general application of the methodology to the research problem and

thesis statement.

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CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the components of the transcendental phenomenological approach

and methodology used in this study, which integrates Martin’s (in Braun & McCutcheon, 2000)

naturalistic theory for the study and comparison of religion (Moustakas, 1994).

Phenomenological reduction is particularly appropriate to this study, (which seeks to compare

and contrast the methods of spiritual ascendancy in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam, and determine

the impact of mystical experience on worldview, self-actualization, and tolerance), in that the

phenomenological process simulates meditation and requires rigorous and persistent effort,

resulting in a radical transformation of thinking. The eidetic reduction process, which assists the

researcher in transcending frameworks and assumptions and maintaining ‘awe’ or

‘astonishment’, provides abundant ‘raw material’ for scientific inquiry (Overgaard, 2004; Van

Heuveln, 2000). The paradigm, methodology, and limitations are addressed and discussed below;

the procedural details as applied in this study are presented in Appendix E on page 74.

3.1 Paradigm

In the context of the multiple available phenomenological approaches, the question arose

as to which method was best suited to this research, and indeed the researcher. Ultimately, the

paradigm and methodology choice was narrowed down to: (a) hermeneutic phenomenology,

which involves reflective interpretation of an historical text to achieve a meaningful

understanding; and (b) transcendental phenomenology, which involves a design for the collection

of data that explicates the essences of experience (Moustakas, 1994, pp. 84-101; Patton, 1990, p.

71; Van Heuveln, 2000). Moustakas’ (1994) transcendental phenomenological method provides

29

concrete steps in the analysis process and has a more structured approach than that of

hermeneutical phenomenology (Creswell, 2007, p. 60). Therefore, transcendental

phenomenology, which has as its purpose the understanding of the meanings of experiences, was

chosen as the appropriate methodology for this research, as it provides systemic procedures that

balance objective and subjective approaches to knowledge, together with detailed and rigorous

data analysis steps (Creswell, 2007, p. 61).

3.2 Framing the Study

Moustakas (1994) considers the researcher’s review of literature as part of the initial

‘framing’ of the research problem in preparation for the inquiry. Minimal research has been

conducted exploring the similarities and differences between the mystical traditions of Eastern

Orthodox Christianity and Islam (Solihu, 2009c), and even less work has been done in the

comparison and contrast of the respective prototypes of spiritual ascendancy in these two world

religious systems and their historically documented impact on the development of worldview,

and the enhanced possibilities for self-actualization and interreligious and/or intercultural

understanding and tolerance. With the exception of Solihu, the existing literature inclines to the

professed ‘common-sense’ method, which in reality is determined by ideological commitments.

Martin (in Braun & McCutcheon, 2000, pp. 45-56), insists that such studies, in the absence of

‘comparison and reasoned generalizations’ are little more than a ‘common-sensical’ and

propagandistic restatement of the author’s ideology and/or belief system and of little

consequence to scientific research in spite of any appearances of compliance with the

conventions of scholarship. In accordance with Martin, the reasoned and scientific

generalizations in this study were then based upon the abandonment of theological concerns

30

regarding the veracity of ahistorical accounts of origins and/or any other religious speculation,

the acceptance of naturalistic theories based upon theoretical reductions, and the identification of

common cognitive psychological structures that provide a framework for distinguishing

analogous religious constructs.

3.3 Methodology

Moustakas (in Moerer-Urdahl & Creswell, 2004) focuses on the totality of experience

and the search for essences of experiences; with the subject-object in inseparable relationship. He

‘launches’ (p. 22) his transcendental phenomenological approach with epoché, i.e., the setting

aside of all prejudgments by the researcher, which enables him/her to see the phenomenon

“freshly, as for the first time” (p. 34), and to be transcendentally open to its totality. Moustakas

(1994) then employs systematic and practical procedures for analyzing the data, in which the

researcher: (a) through epoché, describes his/her own experiences, and sets preconceptions aside;

(b) identifies significant statements from the data; (c) clusters these statements into meaning and

theme units; (d) synthesizes the meanings and themes into textural and structural descriptions;

and (e) constructs a combined description of the essences of the experience (Overgaard, 2004;

Patton, 1990; Van Heuveln, 2000).

3.4 Limitations of the Methodology

Transcendental phenomenological method provides a systematic approach to analyzing

data related to experience. It eliminates the binary opposition between objectivity and

subjectivity through the development of an objective ‘essence’, which is achieved through the

aggregation of subjective experiences. The questions regarding experience, ‘what?’ and ‘how?’,

31

provide a tangible and measurable framework for investigation and documentation. However, the

method presents unambiguous challenges. First of all, a thread must flow between the significant

statements, meaning and theme units, textural and structural descriptions, and descriptions of the

essences, with the construction at each stage of increasingly general descriptions of meaning.

While the analysis progresses from the detailed to the more general, there are no checks that

ensure flow. Moreover, essences are never entirely exhausted, and essence statements can only

reflect aspects of the documented experiences (Creswell, 2007; Moerer-Urdahl & Creswell,

2004). Similarly, the process of achieving epoché, i.e., the state of being consciously present for

perceiving and experiencing in a fresh way, is also difficult to achieve, and it does not seem

possible for a researcher to completely set aside all of his/her biases and assumptions to focus

entirely on the documented experiences (Moustakas, 1994; Stroker, 1997, p. 107). Finally, the

terminology of this method, (e.g., epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, intuitive

integration, and/or textural and structural descriptions), requires some understanding of the

underlying philosophical assumptions and proficiency in their use in a given study (Creswell,

2007, p. 62). Nevertheless, transcendental phenomenology provides a systematic approach with

concrete procedures, and is a widely used method in the social and human sciences, especially

psychology.

3.5 Conclusion

This chapter describes the methodology of the study, the reasons for selecting the design,

limitations, and its general application to the research problem and thesis statement. The

transcendental phenomenological approach is appropriate to this study as it “provides logical,

systematic, and coherent design elements that lead to an essential description of the experience”

32

(cf. Moerer-Urdahl & Creswell, 2004, p. 1). The next chapter provides an overview of the

phenomenological reduction process with a focus on significant statements, theme and meaning

units, and textural and structural descriptions.

33

CHAPTER IV: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL REDUCTION PROCESS

This chapter focuses on the phenomenological reduction process in terms of the

significant statements, themes and meaning units, and textural and structural descriptions. For

the sake of concision and clarity, these are provided in tabular form in the Appendices. Details of

the epoché and ‘bracketing’ processes, which are referenced in Chapter III, are not discussed.

The creative description, or synthesis of the essences, is addressed in Chapter V.

4.1 Significant Statements

The first stage of the analysis involved the horizontalization of 50 significant statements,

which are tabularized in Appendix F on page 77. These statements reflect the manner in which

each tradition experiences spiritual ascendancy, and moreover, provide insights into mystical

experience. Each horizon is “the grounding or condition of the phenomenon that gives it a

distinct character” (Moustakas, 1994, p. 95). Reflection on the textural and structural qualities of

each horizon assisted the researcher in understanding the experience through increased self-

awareness and present-moment mindfulness.

4.2 Theme and Meaning Units

The themes and meaning units of the lived experience of spiritual ascendancy and

mysticism in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam are “the structures of the experience” (Van Mannen,

1998, p. 79). As proffered in Appendix G on page 82, a theme and meaning unit is not merely an

object, generalization, or recurrent concept found in the text; it is a fundamental meaning

structure present in the phenomenon. Using a selective approach, and reviewing the significant

34

statements with a view to determine which statements were essential and revelatory in describing

spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience, combined Eastern Orthodox and Islamic themes

and meaning units were then constructed from the significant statements (Moustakas, 1994).

These themes and meaning units reflect the transcendental nature of spiritual ascendancy and

mystical experience and offer insights into the manner in which experiential data can be

analyzed. Nine themes emerged from this analysis including: (a) self-concept and ontological

separation; (b) reality and spiritual cognition; (c) purification; (d) perfection; (e) unitive

experience; (f) knowledge and discernment; (g) enlightenment of worldview; (h) meaning,

purpose, and self-actualization; and (i) solidarity, mutual responsibility, and tolerance (see

Appendix G on page 82).

4.3 Preparation of Textural and Structural Descriptions

In accordance with Creswell (2007), from the thematic analysis, the researcher

constructed a textural description of what was experienced and a structural description of the

context of the experience. The focus included “descriptions of what people experience and how

it is that they experience what they experience” (Patton, 2002 p. 107). According to the Eastern

Orthodox and Islamic sources used in this study, the texture of the path of spiritual ascendancy

and mystical experience cannot be adequately described in terms of the sense-perception

testimonies and/or external relationships and conditions, situations, or circumstances, but can be

primarily experienced, perceived, and understood through the supersensory organ of spiritual

cognition in a place that is invisible, infinite, immutable, and empty but filled with silence, which

in turn is filled with the oneness of God. The structural description involved cognitive processing

and described the context of the experience through concrete concepts. The process of

35

‘imaginative variation’ led to the structural textures resulting in the invariant structures of the

phenomenon.

4.4 Combined Textural-Structural Descriptions

The phenomenological sequence of presenting the textural and structural descriptions

simultaneously in tabular form (see Appendix H on page 89) assisted in shifting the emphasis of

the data analysis from intuitive and cognitive to integrative, and eliminated the need for a

combined textural-structural description, which was important in view of the restrictions on the

length of this paper. The combination of the textural and structural descriptions into one table

assisted in providing a sense of balance between the spiritual and material, and the intuitive and

the cognitive in the two accounts. Nevertheless, much of which was on the agenda for

discussion, was beyond words.

4.5 Conclusion

This chapter describes the phenomenological reduction process in terms of the significant

statements, themes and meaning units, and textural and structural descriptions related to the path

of mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. Patterns of invariant structures became

evident that transcend dogma and culture as evidenced in Appendix H on page 89. The following

chapter will address the creative description, or synthesis of the essences, of the Eastern

Orthodox and Islamic mystical traditions, and discuss the impact on worldview, self-

actualization, and tolerance.

36

CHAPTER V: PATTERNS OF INVARIANCE

This chapter focuses on the creative synthesis, which is the description of the essences of

the experiencings of the mystical traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. After constructing

the creative synthesis (see Appendix I on page 93), the implications are discussed, limitations

tendered, and recommendations made. The impact of Eastern Orthodox and Islamic mystical

experience on worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious and/or intercultural understanding

and tolerance are then examined.

5.1 Creative Synthesis

The creative synthesis is constructed from the combined textural and structural

descriptions presented in Appendix H on page 89. It is accomplished by moving beyond

subjectivity to inter-subjectivity and objectivity to trans-objectivity, and moreover transcending

the aspects of the experience that are specific to either tradition, in order to identify that which is

central to the experience itself. The creative synthesis is then the invariant structure of ultimate

essence and epitomizes the meaning of the experience. In order to construct a creative synthesis:

“the researcher must move beyond any confined or constricted attention to the data itself and

permit an inward life on the question to grow, in such a way that comprehensive expressions of

the essences of the phenomenon investigated is realized” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 32). The creative

synthesis is presented in Appendix I on page 93.

37

5.2 Implications

The phenomenological reduction process reveals significant and essential patterns of

invariance between the mystical traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. These patterns

transcend the manifest similarities between the two traditions in terms of theory, terminology,

methods, practices, and/or outcomes, and moreover, any patterns of variance in terms of

religious doctrine. The invariant structure demonstrates the fundamental and relational character

of the essences in the two traditions’ underlying notions of self-concept and ontological

separation, reality and spiritual cognition, purification, perfection, unitive experience, knowledge

and discernment, enlightenment of worldview, meaning and purpose, self-actualization,

solidarity, mutual responsibility and positive human relationships, and tolerance. The invariants

themselves are co-determined by the affordances or effectivities, (i.e., the properties in the

experience that present possibilities for action based upon potentiality that can be perceived

directly through the examination of any variants). This direct perception of ‘wisdom in

differences’ (Ford, 2011), involves an unmediated process of noticing, perceiving, and encoding

specific elements from the experience.

A pivotal example of the pattern of invariance can be evidenced throughout the synthesis

in the recurring theme of the ‘true self’, which is closely linked and identified in Eastern

Orthodoxy and Islam with the spiritual organ of cognition. This theme, which is central to the

Eastern Orthodox and Islamic understanding of mystical experience, is particularly relevant to

the concept of spiritual reality. The ‘path’ is said to lead to psychogenesis, i.e., development

within the soul of the dialogical method of explication of the architecture of the psychic system

commonly called ‘self’, which is identified with the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition.

The in-depth analysis and knowledge of the structure of the ‘self’ serves to advance personal

38

development across a wide spectrum of lived experiences, based on the enrichment of the critical

elements of self-structure. Both traditions suggest that this culminates in the discovery by the

‘self’ of a new method of knowledge. Accordingly, the practice of contemplative prayer, which

consists of the systematic focusing and re-focusing of attention on the pre-reflective components

of the lived experience of the organ of spiritual cognition, is central to this method of knowledge.

In Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam, the aspirant is said to acquire, through

phenomenological, eidetic, and transcendental reductions of, and by, the organ of spiritual

cognition, the direct perception of the archetype of true ‘self-awareness’, and the gestalt of

meaning-structures, (i.e., the energies of all that which is created, and ultimately, through the

purification and activation of the organ of spiritual cognition through the vision of Light). This,

reportedly, is the perception of spiritual reality, and is primarily accomplished through

contemplative prayer, which in both traditions includes the ongoing repetition of noetic and

aspirational invocations in the dialogical interiority between the organ of spiritual cognition and

divine energy, spatially identified in the interior of the heart. The aspiration is objectively

‘located’ inside the inward flow towards the organ of spiritual cognition, progressively moving

towards its origins in pure subjectivity. It is suggested that this process causes deep

characterological, perceptual, cognitive, conative, behavioral, and epistemological

transformation, culminating in what is known as ‘purity’ or ‘purity of heart’, and the direct

apperception of the transcendent, as opposed to natural and artificial memory, which accordingly

have a diminished role. Attention and focus are not directed toward symbolic representations of

events and/or experiences, but rather toward the attunement of perceptions and actions that

transcend situations based upon the affordances of the experience and reported interaction with

the organ of spiritual cognition. Representations are therefore considered not to be mnemonic but

39

created and interpreted in energy. This attunement to affordances is believed to be the

underpinning of the building blocks of constructs, (e.g., schemata, deep cognitive structures,

mental models, and ultimately worldview).

5.3 Worldview

Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam therefore assert that mystical experience moves worldview

progressively across an enlightenment continuum and provides enhanced: (a) models of reality,

the past, and the future; and (b) theories of values, actions, and knowledge. These result in the

transformation and re-creation of worldview through existential choice and/or volition from the

standpoint of expanded methods of perceiving knowledge, models of wellbeing, inclusion and

integration, and meaning and purpose. In Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam, the actualization of the

organ of spiritual cognition and the perception of spiritual reality is seen as the basis for this

transformation. Accordingly, knowledge is no longer seen as limited to verification through the

senses, reason, assumption, opinion, theory, and speculation. It is perceived through existential

experience, and is therefore seen as energy, or action. Both traditions suggest that knowledge is

not amassed or acquired, but rather an interactive development between the individual,

experience, and environment. Consequently, knowledge cannot be separated from context and

emerges from the vision of Light as the individual develops ontological goal-directed intentional

activities across cultural contexts. The adoption of goal-directed intentional activities relates to

the direction of attention to the detection of affordances in the system that lead to

accomplishment of the goals. Knowledge is said to be expressed in the ability to act as an

increasingly competent participant in an integrated whole; and moreover, as participation

increases, knowledge evolves. Through participation and enculturation into the whole, it is

40

suggested that knowledge is expressed through experience and action; knowing is therefore

rooted in action and cannot be decontextualized. Other worldviews are therefore considered to be

impoverished methods that are unlikely to lead to true knowledge. Knowledge encourages the

expression of effectivities and the development of attention and goal-intention through rich

contexts that are believed to reflect direct spiritual experience. This form of reflective

representation of knowledge is considered to be a higher form of knowing, and is a creative

interaction with symbols in both their interpretation and expression. The representation is re-

experiencing that involves the dialectic of ongoing perceiving and action, which also involves

the activation of neural structures and schemata, which develop as the energized neural

connections become biased through repeated activations to reactivate in new lived-experience

situations.

In this mystical worldview, mental health is seen to be enhanced through the systematic

and longitudinal explication of the interior meaning-structures of consciousness, or rediscovery

of the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, which, as a persistent and constant component

of self-consciousness, can be easily differentiated from changing components in guided and

attentive introspection. This awareness of the organ of spiritual cognition reportedly becomes

available for the continuous and uninterrupted fixing of conative attention, which promotes

emotional and psychological wellbeing and increases higher-order thoughts about the self and

the world, resulting in the creation of dimensions of belonging, inclusion, participation,

recognition, and legitimacy, as opposed to social disintegration, which includes the dimensions

of isolation, exclusion, non-involvement, rejection, and illegitimacy. It is suggested that

secondary reflective thought ultimately correlates to increased consciousness. The focusing on

the sense of the organ of spiritual cognition is believed to be therapeutic. The voluntary focus of

41

attention on the constant nature of the organ of spiritual cognition decreases anxiety and

enhances knowing, and provides a context for meaning, (which validates actions), and purpose,

(in which the present is seen as advancing toward an ultimate goal), as opposed to, (from the

Eastern Orthodox and Islamic perspective), the perceived aimlessness prevalent in the modern

Western worldview.

5.4 Self-Actualization

The method of the dialogical explication of the deep cognitive structures of self-

awareness promoted by mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam, appear to affirm

that spatiality is the primary organizational principle of the self, and moreover, that this is

pervasive to the whole internal organization. The components of true self-consciousness and

self-image are believed to be structured in the interior space of introspection as layered strata

around the central experience of the organ of spiritual cognition in the process of purification.

Deeper analysis uncovers inner and vital structural groupings, (e.g., self-concept and self-

awareness, interiority and exteriority, constancy and changeability (or subjectivity and

objectivity), selfhood and transcendentality; and body-schema relatedness and unrelatedness),

which in turn promotes higher-order thinking (Louchakova & Warner, 2003).

When the organ of spiritual cognition is unactualized, it is suggested that the self-image,

which is recast in early childhood into the false self-image, becomes the basic psychic structure.

The invented self-image, (which invariably develops from the false and imputed self-image), is

multifarious and intense, and identification with it is equally intense. After consolidation in

childhood, the invented self-image provides the individual with a sense of personal identity, and

determines: (a) sense of being; (b) inner experience; (c) subsequent experience(s) of the self, life,

42

and the environment; and (d) everything else about and/or related to the self. The invented self-

image is constituted by the self-boundaries created and established by the individual, which

include spatial and essential boundaries, and all of the boundaries that determine the ranges of

experience, awareness, perception, and actions. These can sometimes serve as obstacles, or the

source of ‘stuckness’, especially in the areas related to the setting of goal-directed intentional

activities on the road to spiritual, psychic, and mental health.

The structuralization of the invented self-image in childhood, reinforced by life

experience(s), is believed to lead to the diminishing of space as part of experience, which can

dissolve the invented self-image as a rigid structure that binds experience. Along with space, and

other factors, essence in its various aspects is also diminished. Consequently, the self-image

begins to minimize space and emptiness and the fullness of essence as alternative categories of

experience. This affects the experiencings related to God, the cosmos, others, inanimate objects,

and the self. The individual then spends more time trying to ‘figure things out’, order and make

sense of them, and fit them into his/her invented self-image mold while becoming more and

more distanced from space and essence experience. Nevertheless, Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam

suggest that in the depths of the heart, i.e., the organ of spiritual cognition, there is still retained

some memory of, and nostalgia for, that pre-existing and non-existing place of space and essence

experience, which causes experiencing to be suffused with the causal activity that activates

potential. Notwithstanding, unless the latent potential is energized, the memory fades and

diminishes through the reinforcement of negative life experience concretized through

identification with material reality.

Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam affirm that attention, therefore plays an important role. The

individual must notice and become ever more aware of the fact that his/her invented self-image,

43

although an intrinsic part of his/her sense of self, is nevertheless only a construct of the mind.

The path of spiritual ascendancy in both traditions purports to enhance the possibility to deeply

explore and experience true self-image, and to notice the spatial and essential aspects that

correspond to it, namely the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition. By dying to the invented

self, (or dissolving the ego), the mystic is said to allow the mind to descend into the organ of

spiritual cognition, experiencing knowledge of space and essence, which in turn can be

experienced and enacted in the cosmos. This peak can be variously labeled as presence and/or

entering the ‘here and now’. As this unfolds, the mystic is able to experience essence in a way

that transcends the invented, (and subconscious), self-image. This essential aspect was partially

distorted when the individual developed his/her invented self-image, believing that it truly

represented the self. Moreover, darkened perception is believed to cause the self-object to be

perceived as not being completely separate from the self. Without realizing it, the invented self-

image creates physical, emotional, spiritual, psychic, psychological, and/or conceptual

boundaries that impede meaning and purpose, i.e., self-actualization. However, once meaning

and purpose are activated, both traditions suggest that a new and ontological goal-intention

dynamic is created, which is based upon the vantage point of integration as opposed to

separateness.

5.5 Tolerance

The adoption of an ontological dynamic of goal-intention, based upon integration,

reportedly enables the person, (who has attained self-actualization), to implement precise goal-

intentions when presented with any lived-reality, thereby positively interacting with the whole.

In spite of the fact that there are many levels of intentions, the mystic is focused and has one

44

primary and integrative goal-intention, and moves towards that primary goal, in terms of

perception, attention, and action. The trajectory process includes the tuning of the attention. Each

goal-intention confronted by the mystic is then meaningfully delimited, and the dynamics of that

specific goal-intention inform the mystic as to the specific goal-intention’s compatibility with the

primary goal-intention. If incompatibility exists, the mystic will then take corrective action, and

continue in the direction of his/her primary and integrative goal-intention. The process is

congruous with the theory of situated cognition, and the spiritual and material worlds provide

virtual affordances that are grounded in experience. The mystic becomes an avatar, or the

embodiment and personification of the principle of integration and non-duality.

Accordingly, both Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam affirm that, freed from worldviews that

reflect and foment psychopathology, psychosis, and moreover, object-relational pathology, the

mystic acquires self-transcendence, or a sense of self-identity that is deeper, higher, broader, and

more unified with the whole. The supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, which rests in the

‘heart’, is restored and actualized upon entering the ontological experience of unity. This unity,

which is based upon non-duality, is based upon the belief and recognition that the animate and

inanimate constituents of the universe are separate and, at the same time, connected, but not

confused. Each constituent is comprised of essences or inner principles, which are in fact the

inner principles or thoughts of God. These are believed to be connected to the intellect, wisdom,

and providence of God and constitute that which is referred to in both traditions as the unitary

cosmic principle. The unitary cosmic principle is believed to contain multiple inner principles in

accordance with which all things come into existence at the appointed times, places, and forms,

each containing in itself the principle of its own development. The unitary cosmic principle is

therefore the hidden pattern that controls being and reality. The inner principles of the

45

constituents are not concepts, but real information with self-existence, inner structure, and

organization at hierarchical levels. Every being is attached through its inner principles. Every

entity has its own inner principle, and as every entity is constituted by other entities, every inner

principle is a synthesis of other inner principles. These inner principles are revealed through the

activated supersensory organ of spiritual cognition. This view is the antithesis of modern

worldviews founded on mechanism, atomism, reductionism, and separateness. The path of

spiritual ascendancy in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam is then said to reflect a focus toward that

which is more universal and seeks to disclose and develop the source and deeper nature of

identity, being, and ‘groundedness’ based upon non-duality and self-transcendence, which do not

negate the importance of embodiment, individuality, and personhood. From this insight proceeds

four central understandings: (a) the integral health and goodness of the whole and each of its

parts; (b) the validity of self-transcendence from the false and invented self image to a sense of

identity which is more unified with the whole; (c) the absurdity of perceived differences between

humans on the individual, cultural, and/or religious levels; and (d) the inevitability of love and

tolerance. If love, and not knowledge of essence, is the highest goal of spiritual life, love,

tolerance, holism, affinity, and unity (vs. duality, separateness, and multiplicity) are the

necessary underpinning of ‘being’ and ‘consciousness’, while at the same time recognizing,

affirming, upholding, and rejoicing in the value and importance of the spatiality that comprise

and define individuality and personhood.

5.6 Conclusion

This study reveals significant and essential patterns of invariance between the Eastern

Orthodox and Islamic mystical traditions. The patterns of invariance transcend the manifest

46

similarities between the two traditions in terms of theory, terminology, specific methods and

practices, and/or outcomes, and moreover any patterns of variance in terms of religious doctrine.

This experience in both traditions is believed to culminate in a higher state of existence, which

offers opportunities for transcendence in terms of worldview, self-actualization, and religious

and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance. The explanations of this level of existence and

experience are described in and through the religious and cultural contexts, but the essences of

the phenomenon are unitive.

A fuller understanding of the path of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience in

Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam can make valuable contributions to the feasibility and desirability

of subjective investigation and method, in a manner that is totally different from the Western

approach, but that is logically coherent and extremely effective in terms of the insight, mastery

(and happiness) that it produces in the practitioner. The subjective domain is not anti-empirical

or unscientific. Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam have developed rigorous methods to arrive at valid

and reliable subjective knowledge and have reached separate but essential patterns of invariance

that reflect insight into some of the issues that are most important to humankind, i.e., love, joy,

experience, beauty, will, values, meaning, and knowledge. This is accomplished through the

diminished use of objective studies of the external, to the perfection of the subjective study of

self. Both traditions rely on a combination of two interrelated processes (a) shifting the borders

of observation inwards, and (b) refinement of the instrumental nature. It is proposed that to the

extent that the self-centric ego is transcended, a wider, purer, more powerful and integrative form

of consciousness that is aligned to the cosmos, in a manner that allows effective and wholesome

‘right action’, emerges. Although this is often regarded only from its soteriological aspect, within

both traditions, and perhaps even primarily, this is seen as a way to arrive at reliable knowledge.

47

The path of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam

might then be described as the disentanglement of the consciousness from its identification with

the false and invented self, which is materially bound, to the perception of spiritual reality,

integration, non-duality and cosmic consciousness and consequences. This study did not intend

to explore the reality of such cosmic consciousness or consequences. Nevertheless, it does

highlight the concept that material attachment distorts perception. According to Eastern

Orthodoxy and Islam, through the identification with the most sophisticated inner instrument of

knowledge, i.e., the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, the mystic transcends the filters of

his/her own interests, which are culturally and personally predetermined mental preferences that

are presumed to be innate mental structures. Both traditions suggest that it is possible to

distinguish three distinct stages in the progressive process of perfecting the organ of spiritual

cognition into a reliable instrument of knowledge, including: (a) the purification as preparation

for realization; (b) the characterological, perceptual, cognitive, conative, behavioral, and

epistemological adjustments as an immediate and automatic consequence of the central

realization; and (c) the complete transformation of the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition.

Finally, although ineffable, those mystics in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam who have traversed

the apex of spiritual ascent and mystical experience have apparently reached a shared

experiencing, knowing, understanding, and appreciating, which lead to self-transcendence,

union, integration, and non-duality, resulting in a professedly more progressive worldview, self-

actualization, and tolerance.

48

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Vujisić, Z. (2010). Transcending the limitations of worldview and achieving mental health, self-actualization and tolerance through religious psychotherapeutic methodologies: A call for scientific investigation. Glossa, 5(2), 320 - 329.

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APPENDIX A: WORLVIEW ENLIGHTENMENT CONTINUUM SCALE

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Table 1: Worldview Enlightenment Continuum Scale

Vector Description of the Worldview Evaluation Process

(1) Empirical Justifiability To what degree does the worldview originate from verifiable facts, (or observations that are substantiated by the senses, reason, and/or experience), and beliefs (for which there is significant evidence), vs. assumption, opinion, theory, and/or speculation?

(2) Psychological Functionality To what degree does the worldview foster mental health and wellbeing vs. pathology, in which the principal indicators are psychological distress and behavioral dysfunction?

(3) Social Cohesion To what degree does the worldview create dimensions of belonging, inclusion, participation, recognition, and legitimacy, as opposed to social disintegration, which includes the dimensions of isolation, exclusion, non-involvement, rejection, and illegitimacy?

(4) Meaning and Purpose To what degree does the worldview provide a context for meaning, (which validates actions), and purpose, (in which the present is seen as advancing toward an ultimate goal), as opposed to aimlessness?

(5) Comprehensiveness To what degree does the worldview respond quantitatively and qualitatively to the questions proffered by the sevenfold framework?

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APPENDIX B: STEPS AND EXPERIENCES IN KATHARSIS

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Table 2: Steps and Experiences in Katharsis

Steps and Experiences Descriptions Sources

(1) Metanoia Metanoia is the shift from ego-centered to nous-centered, (i.e., ego-transcendent, or, in hesychastic terminology, God-centered) consciousness.

Leister, 2000; Michaela, 1983; Orthodox Photos, 2006

(2) Penthos Penthos is the ‘gladsome mourning’ [see Matthew 5:4], weeping, and tears that bring joy to the psyche.

Leister, 2000; Michaela, 1983; Orthodox Photos, 2006

(3) Askesis Askesis, or asceticism, is the struggle against, sin, sensuality, the passions, and the self-centric ego, and is ultimately the emptying of the self. It includes fasting, either through total abstinence from food or moderation in eating; although the latter is considered preferable to extreme deprivation. It also involves prolonged periods of prayer in conjunction with sleep deprivation, or vigils. Prostrations are also performed in order to prevent distractions or ‘distracting cares’. Silence, in the context of askesis, refers to the avoidance of unnecessary speech.

Isaiah, 1997; Kohler & Hirsch, 2002; Leister, 2000; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

(4) Nepsis Nepsis is a state of focused attentiveness in which the object of the attention is the thoughts of the intellect. With time and practice, nepsis facilitates detachment from these thoughts.

Crislip, 2005; Leister, 2000; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

(5) Prayer and contemplation Verbal prayer consists of reading, chanting, and/or reciting hymns and psalms. Mental prayer involves repeating words inwardly with the mind, e.g., ‘Jesus Prayer’, which is associated with various psycho-physiological techniques. Prayer of the heart, which evolves from mental prayer, consists of the keeping of the mind in the heart during prayer. Contemplation involves the cessation of all mental activity.

Leister, 2000; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

(6) Hesychia Hesychia is a state of detached awareness. It involves detachment from the ego’s faculties (the senses, emotions, imagination, and intellect). It is a state of inner tranquility or mental quietude and concentration.

Leister, 2000; Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, 1983; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

(7) Apatheia Dispassion is the uprooting of the passions, which occurs when the three powers of the psyche turn to God and are directed to Him, and through which the aspirant experiences profound peace and remains undisturbed from every external assault, having been delivered from pride and the desires of the flesh

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Karganović, 1978; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

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(“Table 2 Continued”)

(8) Spiritual Gifts The Apostle Paul describes the charismata, or spiritual gifts, under 5 categories including: (a) healing and miracles, (b) gifts of proclamation, (c) revelations, (d) discernment of spirits, and (e) wisdom or spiritual knowledge.

Kelsey, 1985; Leister, 2000;

(9) Agape Progress on the path of spiritual ascendancy is associated with increasing degrees of agape and decreasing levels of fear. Eventually, fear is completely transcended and replaced by perfect love.

Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, 1983; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

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APPENDIX C: THE MAQĀMĀT

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Table 3: The Maqāmāt

Maqāmāt Definitions Sources

(1) Tawbah The first maqām is that of tawbah, or repentance. It is the abandonment of all that is forbidden and the return from disobedience, to Allāh. There are two kinds of repentance: (a) repentance for fear of judgment; and (b) repentance in shame before the generosity of Allāh. Tawbah has three requirements (a) contrition over acts of disobedience, (b) immediate abandonment of sin, and (c) determination not to sin again. Tawbah is the first and indispensable step without which the way forward to the aspirant remains closed.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(2) Wara‘ The second maqām is that of wara‘, or abstinence. There are three levels of abstinence: (a) abstinence from that which is unlawful, superfluous, and/or dubious, i.e., that which is neither lawful nor unlawful; (b) abstinence from the ‘lower soul’ or that which the conscience bids to avoid; and (c) abstinence from that which diverts the attention from Allāh. The first level is for all Muslims, the second is for aspirants, and the third is for the illumined.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(3) Zuhd The third maqām is that of zuhd, i.e., asceticism or detachment. The aspirant renounces possessions and his/her heart is without acquisitiveness. Zuhd emphasizes that all that which is renounced, including honor, fame, passions, and worldly things, are of little value in comparison to that which is received. Such knowledge enables the aspirant to detach him/herself and understand and seek the eternal.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(4) Faqr The fourth maqām is that of faqr, i.e., poverty in which the aspirant proclaims his/her liberation from worldly possessions and asserts his/her desire and need for Allāh alone. The aspirant renounces worldly goods in order not to be distracted in his/her quest of Allāh, as well as a means of self-discipline. Poverty is not merely lack of wealth and worldly possessions, but the lack of desire for the same.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

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(“Table 3 Continued”)

(5) Sabr The fifth maqām is that of sabr, i.e., patience, or perseverance. In this maqām, the aspirant remains resolute in all of life’s circumstances. Sabr includes (a) active and passive physical endurance, (b) renunciation in the face of natural impulses, (c) completing duties, (d) refraining from forbidden activities, and (e) resignation to the will of Allāh.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(6) Tawakkul The sixth maqām is that of tawakkul, i.e., trust, or surrender. Tawakkul is the core of Islamic mysticism, as Islam itself signifies surrender to the will of Allāh. Tawakkul is the reflection of pure monotheism that demands oneness of belief in the superiority of Allāh. Without this belief, the aspirant will commit shirk khafī, or ‘hidden idolatry’ for not completely depending upon Allāh. There are three preconditions (a) casting the body into submissiveness, (b) attaching the heart to Allāh, and (c) accepting with tranquility Allāh’s decrees.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(7) Ridā The seventh maqām is that of ridā, i.e., satisfaction. It is the quiet serenity and joy that come in anticipation of the long-sought union. The aspirant completely surrenders to Allāh, who in turn is satisfied with the aspirant’s submission. Because ridā requires synergy, i.e., it is reciprocal between Allāh and wo/man, it is the final maqām and the starting point of the ahwāl.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

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APPENDIX D: THE AHWĀL’

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Table 4: The Ahwāl’

Ahwāl’ Definitions Sources

(1) Murāqaba Murāqaba, or watchfulness, is the aspirant’s experiences of joy or fear, depending on which aspect of Allāh has been revealed to him/her.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(2) Qurb Qurb, or nearness, causes the aspirant to lose consciousness of his/her own acts, and to focus on the workings of Allāh.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(3) Wajd and wujūdd Wajd and wujūdd, or degrees of ecstasy and/or flashes, are often described as an intense feeling of fear, love, sorrow, joy, contentment, or restlessness.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(4) Sukr and sahw Sukr and sahw, or intoxication and sobriety, occur when Allāh fills the aspirant and impedes the awareness of his/her surroundings.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(5) Wudd Wudd, or intimacy, includes a sensation of awe coupled with contentment from the Divine presence that fills the aspirant’s ‘heart’.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(6) Huzn Huzn, (or grief, sorrow, and/or sadness) arises from wo/man’s perception of what it means to be human, and grows in proportion to the degree of insight and discernment possessed by one who is conscious of his/her humanity as part of a necessary, significant dynamic that causes him/her to turn constantly to Allāh and, seek refuge in Him.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(7) Qabd and bast Qabd, or contraction, is temporary spiritual blockage or stuckness, while bast is openness, expansion, development, relief, and freedom from spiritual blockage, through which wo/man becomes a vehicle of mercy, embracing all creation.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

(8) Qahr and lutf Qahr, or violence, is the annihilation of desires, whereas lutf, or kindness, signifies the subsistence of the heart, the continuance of contemplation, and permanence of ecstasy in the degree of steadfastness by the help of Allāh, which leads to vexation or choice beyond choice.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(9) Hubb Hubb, or love, is the final goal of the maqāmāt, and the highest of the ahwāl.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008; Solihu, 2009c

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APPENDIX E: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL REDUCTION PROCEDURAL DETAILS

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Table 5: The Phenomenological Reduction Procedural Details

Step Description

(1) Epoché Epoché was the first and foundational stage of the phenomenological reduction process in this study, which enabled the researcher to ‘bracket’ and set aside his views of the phenomenon and focus on those views reported in the data (Moustakas, 1994, p. 85).

Moustakas proffers that “no position whatsoever is taken… nothing [was therefore] determined in advance” (p. 84).

Self-reference and references to others, and all perceptions, opinions, judgments, predispositions, and biases were therefore purposively set aside in order to achieve epoché, and only the researcher’s present-mindful perceptions of the data were retained as indicators of knowledge and meaning (Moustakas, 1994, p. 88; Nitta & Tatematsu, 1979, p. 23).

This was a significant undertaking because of the latent prejudices to which the researcher was exposed as part of his ethnic acculturation as explained in section 1.3.

(2) Horizontalization The analysis began with the process of ‘horizontalization’, in which significant statements of information were harvested from the authoritative and historical texts summarized in Chapter II and then tabularized in order to identify the range of perspectives related to the phenomenon (Kolb, 1984, p. 68; Moustakas, 1994). The key quality of the statements of information, which were subjectively extrapolated from the texts by the researcher, is concreteness (Wertz, 2005).

The selection of statements followed Van Mannen’s (1997) model, who proffers that “[p]henomenological understanding is distinctly existential, emotive, enactive, embodied, situational, and nontheoretic; a powerful phenomenological text thrives on a certain irrevocable tension between what is unique and what is shared, between particular and transcendent meaning, and between the reflective and the prereflective spheres of the lifeworld” (p. 345).

The statements represented significant data assertions, phrases, and/or sentences of living and deceased persons with a widely acknowledged expertise in either Eastern Orthodox and/or Islamic mysticism.

The statements were not grouped or ordered.

During this initial stage of the analysis, the goal was to learn how each tradition views the phenomenon.

Notwithstanding the limitations of using authoritative and historical texts as qualitative data, (and indeed, the authority and/or historicity of texts are not always universally accepted), the significant statements of information nevertheless provided meaningful details about how each tradition experiences spiritual ascent and mysticism (Kolb, 1984).

(3) Themes and Meaning Units As the significant statements of information were initially treated as being of equal value, statements irrelevant to the topic, repetitious, or overlapping were then deleted (Overgaard, 2004).

The researcher examined the delimited significant constituents and then clustered them into themes and meaning units (Moustakas, 1994).

Through multiple and systematic readings of the text and the contemplation of the phenomenon through empathic immersion and reflection, recurrent themes and psychological meaning structures emerged as “an extreme form of care that savors the situations described in a slow, meditative way and… [attended] to, even… [magnified], all the details” (Wertz, 2005, p. 172).

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Excerpts from the researcher’s considerable literature review were also utilized to elucidate the terminology and themes that emerged from the analysis.

(“Table 5 Continued”)

(4) Textural and Structural Descriptions Upon review of the thematic analysis, textural descriptions were developed that provided accounts of ‘what’ was reportedly experienced.

Structural descriptions provided accounts of the ‘how’ or context of the experiences (Creswell, 2007).

These were closely examined and considered, and meanings were constructed from diverse perspectives, roles, and functions (Moustakas, 1994).

This process of ‘imaginative variation’ resulted in the combined descriptions that led to the identification of the essential structures.

(5) Essences of the Experiences The textural and structural descriptions were subsequently synthesized into composite descriptions, or a creative synthesis.

This process, which is referred to by Moustakas (1994) as ‘intuitive integration’ (p. 100), became the invariant structures of ‘essence’, and reflected what can be considered as the ultimate meaning ascribable to the experience (Creswell, 2007).

The findings were then discussed in relation to worldview, self-actualization, and interreligious and/or intercultural understanding and tolerance.

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APPENDIX F: SIGNIFICANT STATEMENTS

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Table 6: Significant Statements

From Mystical Experience in Eastern Orthodoxy

Statement Source

Reality is beyond the perception of the senses. Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

The nous, (i.e., the apperceptional power of the psyche, or soul), through which spiritual reality is perceived, has been darkened through sin, resulting in spiritual blindness.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

The darkening of the nous creates a false image of the self, based upon the subjection of the nous to the body and identification of the nous with reason.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

The fallen condition of the nous results in separation from the experience and presence of God.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

Consequently, the true knowledge of God is neither the intellectual engagement with God, nor the knowledge of the dianoia, (i.e., the discursive, conceptualizing, and logical faculty of conscious thinking and cognition) concerning God, but rather, gnosis, or the personal experience of God, which is connected to the noetic vision of God.

Symeon the New Theologian 1995; 1980; Vujisić, 2009

The ultimate goal of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy is then the purification of the ‘heart’ through contemplative prayer and the uprooting of passions and the renewal and enlightenment of the darkened nous, in order that it might return to God, and behold the uncreated Light, activating the intoxication of the spirit and ecstasy of the mind.

Telepneff & Chrysostomos, 1990; Varvatsoulias, 1996; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000

The purgative stage involves kenosis, or the emptying of the self, and ultimately, ‘dying to self’; it is the purification from sin, sensuality, and the self-centric ego and will, and separation from the world and movement toward the eternal reality of God, which precedes illumination.

Vlachos, 1992; Zacharias, 2006; 2008

[These steps] and experiences… are accomplished through obedience to a gerontas, or a spiritual director, which is a charism of eldership and the extenuation of prophesy.

Zacharias, 2006

The transition from the purgative phase to the illuminative phase occurs when virtues offset vices, and the grace of God begins to bear fruit within the heart of the aspirant in terms of the acquisition of virtue.

Clendenin, 1994; 1995; Vlachos, 1992

[The mystic] is illumined and luminous through theoria, which is the noetic vision of God.

Clendenin, 1994; 1995

This vision is the vehicle through which spiritual knowledge is attained, and is related to the inner essences, or principles, of created beings.

Vorpatrny, 2001

Theoria is the illumination of the nous and is accompanied by the experiences of gnosis and diakrisis, or ‘discernment’, which refers to the spiritual gift to discern inner states.

Nikodemos & Makarios, 1983; Vorpatrny, 2001

Theoria completes the purification of the nous by Divine grace, which consumes the ‘heart’ like fire, noetically reveals the true self, or ‘eye of the heart’ to the aspirant, and effectuates the birth of the Logos within the nous.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993

This, [i.e., theoria], according to John Climacus (1982), leads to the experience of tears of love, joy, and Divine eros, or ‘the yearning for God as a mad lover has for his beloved’.

Climacus, 1982

In [theosis] wo/man becomes divinized[;] [s]/he beholds and approaches the uncreated Light, which is achieved through a noetic vision of the Divine Being in the form of His uncreated energies.

Cyprian, 1995; Vlachos, 1992; 1993; 1997

It is the state, [i.e., theosis], in which the mind is placed in the heart and the nous Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007;

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is focused on the immanence of God. Lossky, 1944

(“Table 6 Continued”)

Statement Source

[The vision of the Tabor Light], is an expression of noesis, i.e., insight, and is focused on the present or ‘now’, as opposed to the past or future; it is present-moment mindfulness.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944

[Theosis], enables free will and conscious choice over determinism. Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Lossky, 1944; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

[Theosis], is photismos, i.e., a light that permeates all things, especially inner darkness, and is called the Tabor light.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944; 1985

The gifts of the Holy Spirit offset the exercise of virtue. Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007

The mystic ascends to the ‘third heaven’…, and like the apostle Paul, hears ineffable words and perceives that which the natural eyes cannot see[;] [t]he depths of spiritual reality and the mysteries of God are revealed through the Holy Spirit.

II Corinthians 12:2, KJV; Lossky, 1944; 1985

Love is poured out into the mystic’s heart. Lossky, 1944; 1985

[The mystic] acquires the Holy Spirit, which is the key to the creation of an Orthodox phronema, or worldview.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979; Louchakova & Warner, 2003

[The mystic]… attains self-actualization. Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979; Louchakova & Warner, 2003

[F]rom… [self-actualization] flow love, awareness, compassion, healing, comfort, tolerance, and joy.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979; Louchakova & Warner, 2003

From Mystical Experience in Islam

The apprehension of phenomenal and spiritual realities is transcendental and supersedes the ability of the senses and mind.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

The qalb, which is the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, must be cultivated through struggle and activated in order to obtain spiritual knowledge.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

A false image of the self results when the self is identified with the body’s motor motives, i.e., propensities and impulses; and through satanic influence, the spirited and appetitive powers of the soul rebel against the aql, or the soul’s rational power and first knowledge.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

The disharmony results in separation from the knowledge, experience, and presence of Allāh.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

Purification and discipline are required to actualize the qalb. Al-Ghazali, 2000

The pure qalb becomes a mirror of the likeness of Allāh. Al-Ghazali, 2000

Balance is restored, and the true nature of the qalb, or self, is discovered, together with purpose and happiness, through tasawwuf, or Sufism.

Al-Kalabadhi, 1977; Martin, 2004; Smith, 1973; Solihu, 2009c

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(“Table 6 Continued”)

The maqāmāt are divided into three steps: (a) preparation or awakening in which the aspirant fulfills religious duties, remembers Allāh, and purifies his/her soul; (b) discernment, or watchfulness, that guides the aspirant to success in his/her journey; and (c) contemplation, or vision, in which the aspirant is illuminated by al-Nūr al-Muhammadiyyah, or Muhammadan Light.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

These steps are a process of purification that begin with (a) cleaning away the dross and dust, (b) refining and perfecting, and (c) purification and the experience of Allāh.

Muhaya, 1993

The first stage occurs when the aspirant’s will and self-centric ego are destroyed through contemplation, and every movement or act of the mystic becomes a manifestation of the movements of his/her murshid, or spiritual director.

Muhaya, 1993

This stage concerns the active life, and requires perseverance in moral training through an ascetic lifestyle over against natural inclinations and desires, which disrupt the path of spiritual ascendancy.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993

The second stage commences after the perfection of the first, and involves the eradication of all pleasures, gratifications, and fulfillment, especially, but not only, the enjoyment of fulfilling religious duties and exercises; this leaves nothing, (i.e., no obstacles, between Allāh and the mystic), only the experiences (or flashes) of ahwāl, which are the first revelations of the energies and essences of Allāh, the self, and the world.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

The third and final stage [of al-Fanā’] involves losing consciousness of everything, even mindfulness of union with Allāh.

Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962

The aspirant’s physical body remains, but his/her faculty of rational perception passes away, and s/he loses individual awareness.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

The Islamic mystic, at this point, finds that the only way to appreciate al-haqīqa, or spiritual reality, is through the purging of the illusionary projection of the self-centric ego, (or egoistic self), which is a veil that stands between the true projection of the reality of the self and the Divine source of such projection.

Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

Through the purification of the qalb, the aql, (i.e., the first intelligence, which refers to the rational and inherent knowledge of Allāh latent in humans), is also activated, and the al-nafs al-natiqah, or rational soul, can recognize and distinguish truth from falsehood.

Al-Attas, 2010; Muhaya, 1993

It is through this inner vision that the Islamic mystic obtains knowledge and establishes a real connection with the rest of Allāh’s creation.

Al-Attas, 2010

All human goals and aspirations are unified. Al-Attas, 2010; Muhaya, 1993

The mystic’s heart, purged of his/her egotistic being, is lost in the contemplation of Allāh, and perishes in the majesty of Allāh.

Muhaya, 1993

Such have achieved transcendent reality and have annihilated themselves to become one with the ONE, through the vision of al-Nūr al-Muhammadiyyah and the acquisition of al-tatawwur al-Islami.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

The awareness and consciousness of the lover is completely dissolved in the Beloved.

Muhaya, 1993; Nasr, 2008

From the experiencings of al-Fanā’, and the intrinsic unity and oneness in Allāh of everything that exists, flow love, tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence, unity, solidarity, and mutual responsibility.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

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(“Table 6 Continued”)

Differences, disagreements and divisions among wo/men, and their ideologies are illusory; they only come into existence when limited vision and biased perspectives are unable to see the true spiritual al-haqīqa.

Nasr, 2008; Nicholson, 2012

Since differences are illusory, the differences between creeds and cultures are also superficial, and ultimately absurd.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

Through al-Fanā’, and in the hāl of sahw, the mystic obtains al-tahqīq, or self-actualization, and can then provide service to others, and become the ‘slave of the One and the servant of the many’.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

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APPENDIX G: THEMES AND MEANING UNITS

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Table 7: Themes and Meaning Units

Themes and Meaning Units Evidence in Text Source

(1) Self-Concept and Ontological Separation

Eastern Orthodox

The darkening of the nous creates a false image of the self, based upon the subjection of the nous to the body and identification of the nous with reason.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

The fallen condition of the nous results in separation from the experience and presence of God.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

Islamic

A false image of the self results when the self is identified with the body’s motor motives, i.e., propensities and impulses; and through satanic influence, the spirited and appetitive powers of the soul rebel against the aql, or the soul’s rational power and first knowledge.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

The disharmony results in separation from the knowledge, experience, and presence of Allāh.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

(2) Reality and Spiritual Cognition Eastern Orthodox

Reality is beyond the perception of the senses.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

The nous, (i.e., the apperceptional power of the psyche, or soul), through which spiritual reality is perceived, has been darkened through sin, resulting in spiritual blindness.

Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997

[T]he purification of the nous by Divine grace, which consumes the ‘heart’ like fire, noetically reveals the true self, or ‘eye of the heart’ to the aspirant, and effectuates the birth of the Logos within the nous.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993

Islamic

The apprehension of phenomenal and spiritual realities is transcendental and supersedes the ability of the senses and mind.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

The qalb, which is the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, must be cultivated through struggle and activated in order to obtain spiritual knowledge.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

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(“Table 7 Continued”)

Balance is restored, and the true nature of the qalb, or self is discovered, together with purpose and happiness, through tasawwuf, or Sufism.

Al-Kalabadhi, 1977; Martin, 2004; Smith, 1973; Solihu, 2009c

(3) Purification Eastern Orthodox

The ultimate goal of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience in Eastern Orthodoxy is then the purification of the ‘heart’ through contemplative prayer and the uprooting of passions and the renewal and enlightenment of the darkened nous, in order that it might return to God, and behold the uncreated Light, activating the intoxication of the spirit and ecstasy of the mind.

Telepneff & Chrysostomos, 1990; Varvatsoulias, 1996; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000

The purgative stage involves kenosis, or the emptying of the self, and ultimately, ‘dying to self’; it is the purification from sin, sensuality, and the self-centric ego and will, and separation from the world and movement toward the eternal reality of God, which precedes illumination.

Zacharias, 2006; 2008; Vlachos, 1992

Islamic

The first stage occurs when the aspirant’s will and self-centric ego are destroyed through contemplation, and every movement or act of the mystic becomes a manifestation of the movements of his/her murshid, or spiritual director.

Muhaya, 1993

This stage concerns the active life, and requires perseverance in moral training through an ascetic lifestyle over against natural inclinations and desires, which disrupt the path of spiritual ascendancy.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993

(4) Perfection Eastern Orthodox

The transition from the purgative phase to the illuminative phase occurs when virtues offset vices, and the grace of God begins to bear fruit within the heart of the aspirant in terms of the acquisition of virtue.

Clendenin, 1994; 1995; Vlachos, 1992

This vision [i.e., theoria] is the vehicle through which spiritual knowledge is attained, and is related to the inner essences, or principles, of created beings.

Vorpatrny, 2001

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(“Table 7 Continued”)

Theoria completes the purification of the nous by Divine grace, which consumes the ‘heart’ like fire, noetically reveals the true self, or ‘eye of the heart’ to the aspirant, and effectuates the birth of the Logos within the nous.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993

Theoria is the illumination of the nous and is accompanied by the experiences of gnosis and diakrisis, or ‘discernment’, which refers to the spiritual gift to discern inner states.

Nikodemos & Makarios, 1983; Vorpatrny, 2001

Islamic

The second stage commences after the perfection of the first, and involves the eradication of all pleasures, gratifications, and fulfillment, especially, but not only, the enjoyment of fulfilling religious duties and exercises; this leaves nothing, (i.e., no obstacles, between Allāh and the mystic), only the experiences (or flashes) of ahwāl, which are the first revelations of the energies and essences of Allāh, the self, and the world.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(5) Unitive Experience Eastern Orthodox

In [theosis] wo/man becomes divinized[;] [s]/he beholds and approaches the uncreated Light, which is achieved through a noetic vision of the Divine Being in the form of His uncreated energies.

Cyprian, 1995; Vlachos, 1992; 1993; 1997

[The vision of the Tabor Light], is an expression of noesis, i.e., insight, and is focused on the present or ‘now’, as opposed to the past or future; it is present-moment mindfulness.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944

It, [i.e., theosis], enables free will and conscious choice over determinism.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Lossky, 1944; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

[Theosis], is photismos, i.e., a light that permeates all things, especially inner darkness, and is called the Tabor light.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944; 1985

(“Table 7 Continued”)

85

Islamic

The third and final stage [of al-Fanā’] involves losing consciousness of everything, even mindfulness of union with Allāh.

Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962

The aspirant’s physical body remains, but his/her faculty of rational perception passes away, and s/he loses individual awareness.

Al-Ghazali, 2000; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

Such have achieved transcendent reality and have annihilated themselves to become one with the ONE, through the vision of al-Nūr al-Muhammadiyyah and the acquisition of al-tatawwur al-Islami.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(6) Knowledge and Discernment Eastern Orthodox

This vision [i.e., theoria] is the vehicle through which spiritual knowledge is attained, and is related to the inner essences, or principles, of created beings.

Vorpatrny, 2001

Theoria is the illumination of the nous and is accompanied by the experiences of gnosis and diakrisis, or ‘discernment’, which refers to the spiritual gift to discern inner states.

Nikodemos & Makarios, 1983; Vorpatrny, 2001

The mystic ascends to the ‘third heaven’…, and like the apostle Paul, hears ineffable words and perceives that which the natural eyes cannot see[;] [t]he depths of spiritual reality and the mysteries of God are revealed through the Holy Spirit.

II Corinthians 12:2, KJV; Lossky, 1944; 1985

Consequently, the true knowledge of God is neither the intellectual engagement with God, nor the knowledge of the dianoia, (i.e., the discursive, conceptualizing, and logical faculty of conscious thinking and cognition) concerning God, but rather, gnosis, or the personal experience of God, which is connected to the noetic vision of God.

Symeon the New Theologian 1995; 1980; Vujisić, 2009

(“Table 7 Continued”)

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Islamic

It is through this inner vision that the Islamic mystic obtains knowledge and establishes a real connection with the rest of Allāh’s creation.

Al-Attas, 2010

The Islamic mystic, at this point, finds that the only way to appreciate al-haqīqa, or spiritual reality, is through the purging of the illusionary projection of the self-centric ego, (or egoistic self), which is a veil that stands between the true projection of the reality of the self and the Divine source of such projection.

Abdel-Kader, 1954; 1962; Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

Through the purification of the qalb, the aql, (i.e., the first intelligence, which refers to the rational and inherent knowledge of Allāh that is latent in humans), is also activated, and the al-nafs al-natiqah, or rational soul, can recognize and distinguish truth from falsehood.

Al-Attas, 2010; Muhaya, 1993

(7) Enlightenment of Worldview Eastern Orthodox

[The mystic] acquires the Holy Spirit, which is the key to the creation of an Orthodox phronema, or worldview.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979; Louchakova & Warner, 2003

Such have achieved transcendent reality and have annihilated themselves to become one with the ONE, through… the acquisition of al-tatawwur al-Islami.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(8) Meaning, Purpose, and Self-Actualization

Eastern Orthodox

[The mystic]… attains self-actualization.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979; Louchakova & Warner, 2003

[The vision of the Tabor Light], is an expression of noesis, i.e., insight, and is focused on the present or ‘now’, as opposed to the past or future; it is present-moment mindfulness.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Lossky, 1944

[Theosis] enables free will and conscious choice over determinism.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; Lossky, 1944; Vlachos, 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1997; 2000; Vujisić, 2009

(“Table 7 Continued”)

87

Islamic

Through al-Fanā’, and in the hāl of sahw, the mystic obtains al-tahqīq, or self-actualization, and can then provide service to others, and become the ‘slave of the One and the servant of the many’.

Muhaya, 1993; Solihu, 2009c

(9) Solidarity, Mutual Responsibility, and Tolerance

Eastern Orthodox

[F]rom… [self-actualization] flow love, awareness, compassion, healing, comfort, tolerance, and joy.

Chrysostomos, 2000a; 2000b; 2007; Chrysostomos & Akakios, 1986; John Cassian, 1979; Louchakova & Warner, 2003

From the experiencings of al-Fanā’, and the intrinsic unity and oneness in Allāh of everything that exists, flow love, tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence, unity, solidarity, and mutual responsibility.

Al-Ghazali, 2000

APPENDIX H: COMBINED EASTERN ORTHODOX AND ISLAMICTEXTURAL AND STRUCTURAL DESCRIPTIONS

88

Table 8: Combined Eastern Orthodox and Islamic Textural and Structural Descriptions

Textural Descriptions Structural Descriptions

89

(1) Self-Concept and Ontological Separation

The experiencings of the physical or embodied state are transitory, and might be described as a sensation of confinement vs. freedom. The exclusive identification with the body, mind, and/or thoughts negates the ability of the ‘self’ to experience the immortal, changeless, and boundary-free existence that is unaffected by physical and/or environmental changes. This results in the experience of ontological and existential separation, or a deep sense of emptiness similar to the heartfelt feelings associated with the loss of a ‘loved one’ or of being an alien in a strange land. Nevertheless, in the depths of the heart, i.e., in the spiritual organ of cognition, there is still retained some longing and/or nostalgia for, and memory of that pre-existing and non-existing place of space and essence experience, which can cause experiencing to be suffused with energy, i.e., the causal activity that activates all potential.

(1) Self-Concept and Ontological Separation

The first step toward experiencing the immortal, changeless, and boundary-free existence that is unaffected by physical and/or environmental changes is increased attention and awareness of the fact that the invented self-image, which is based on a false and imputed self image, although an intrinsic part of the sense of self, is nevertheless ONLY a construct of the mind. ‘The next step involves ‘psychic breakdown’, or that which is commonly called repentance, i.e., (a) recognition of the false body-mind identification, (b) gladsome mourning, (c) abandonment of obstacles, and (d) determination to follow the path through positive psychic re-building or healing. Once the myth of body-mind identification is exposed, mystical experience becomes possible.

(2) Reality and Spiritual Cognition

Spiritual reality cannot be experienced by the senses. The path of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience reveal the true self and presents that self with a reality that transcends the material world. Spiritual reality is experienced through stillness, or silence, that is not empty, but rather filled with the oneness of God. It is the reality that the ‘self’ is not circumscribed by the body or the mind. This is the rudimentary and intuitive awareness of the organ of spiritual cognition.

(2) Reality and Spiritual Cognition

In order to create a structural description of spiritual reality, the common understandings of time, space, location, and relationship must be expanded to include another dimension that operates beyond the senses. Ultimately, spiritual reality is experienced through the activation of the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, which must be cultivated through attention.

(3) Purification

This is the therapeutic experience and/or flow of experiencings of (a) ‘emptying the self’; (b) ‘dying to self’; (c) purging the self-centric ego (i.e., false sense of self) and will; (d) disconnecting from the world; and (e) abandoning sins and natural inclinations and/or desires. These disrupt the path of spiritual ascendancy and mystical experience, i.e., the flow and/or movement toward the eternal reality in God. The techniques of the spiritual path facilitate the replacing of outward concerns with introspection. There is a sense of emptiness and fullness. Self-awareness expands into a place of emptiness that is both the ‘self’ and not the ‘self’; this is the first real awareness of the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition.

(3) Purification

In order to overcome identification with the body, mind, and thoughts, and thereby experience flow and movement toward the eternal, a series of steps are implemented that (a) foment detachment, (b) minimize distractions, and (c) promote movement toward God. The context is characterized by asceticism, watchfulness, and contemplative prayer. The indispensable nature of the latter, cannot be readily understood because, although it occurs as an embodied experience, (i.e., while in the body), it is not circumscribed by the body or the mind. Contemplative prayer leads to the development of a dialogical method of explication of the architecture of the psychic system commonly called ‘self’, but which is in reality, the organ of spiritual cognition. The focus then shifts from the body-mind identification to the activation of the organ of spiritual cognition.

(“Table 8 Continued”)

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(4) Perfection

This is the flow of experiencings related to: (a) the eradication of pleasures, gratifications, and fulfillment; and (b) visions and flashes of spiritual knowledge, which are the first revelations of the energies and essences of God, the self, and the world. The sensations are the manifestation of the infinite, and the ‘self’ experiences wholeness through the embracing of paradoxes that cannot be perceived or understood by the mind. The ‘self’ is empty but full of quiet satisfaction. This is the experience of the process of illuminating and/or actualizing the organ of spiritual cognition.

(4) Perfection

The context of the experience of perfection includes the systematic longitudinal explication of the interior meaning-structures of consciousness in the flow of experiencings related to: (a) the eradication of pleasures, gratifications, and fulfillment; and (b) visions and flashes of spiritual knowledge, (which are the first revelations of the energies and essences of God, the self, and the world). This can be viewed as a particular form of psychogenesis. The components of true ‘self-consciousness’ are organized in the ‘internal space’ of introspection as layers around the central experience of the organ of spiritual cognition in the process of perfection.

(5) Unitive Experience

This is the experience of oneness with the ONE. It is the experiencing of the vision of light in inner darkness, which permeates all things. It is the intuitive experiencings of oneness and the core of truth, which is accompanied by the realization that modes of self-explication that proceed from physical embodiment and/or mental states are illusion. It is a sense of fullness, completeness, contentment, and satisfaction that transcends the body and the mind. God and the cosmos are embraced and the energies surge in and through the ‘self’. The organ of spiritual cognition is showered in light and expands with joy and gladness. There is no sense of intension, only flow. This is the experience of the true ‘self’ in God.

(5) Unitive Experience

The context of the experience of oneness includes the ongoing repetition of noetic and aspirational invocations in the dialogical interiority between the organ of spiritual cognition and divine energy. The aspiration is objectively ‘located’ inside the inward flow towards the organ of spiritual cognition, gradually absorbing towards its origins in pure subjectivity. This process causes deep characterological, perceptual, cognitive, conative, behavioral, and epistemological transformation, culminating in what is known as the ‘purity of heart’, and the direct apperception of the transcendent.

(6) Knowledge and Discernment

This is the experience of tearing the veil in two. This knowledge is experience, and results from the personal experiencings of God. It is the experiencing of spiritual reality and mysteries. Truth is distinguished from falsehood, and a real connection is established with creation and the cosmos. Through this connectedness, inner states and essences are discerned.

(6) Knowledge and Discernment

Knowledge of spiritual reality and inner states is actualized, or energized, through the purging of the illusionary projection of the self-centric ego, (or egoistic self), which is a veil that stands between the true projection of the reality of ‘self’ and the Divine source of such projection.

(7) Enlightenment of Worldview

This is the experiencing of the re-creation of worldview, which is transformed along the continuum of enlightenment. The ‘self’ was once separate from others but now it knows that it is infinitely connected. This is a new interpretation and experience of the world and reality from the vantage point of unity vs. separateness.

(7) Enlightenment of Worldview

The method of the dialogical explication of the deep cognitive structures of ‘self-awareness’, especially, the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, leads to the development of an enlightened worldview.

(“Table 8 Continued”)

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(8) Meaning, Purpose, and Self-Actualization

This is the expression and experience of insight and focus on the ‘here and now’ through which the ‘self’ enters flow. This is attention to the present moment. It is expansive, empty and full of silence, and simultaneously full of God. It is the synthesis and fulfillment of eternal values and direction that result in present-moment mindfulness.

(8) Meaning, Purpose, and Self-Actualization

The supersensory organ of spiritual cognition, as a persistent and constant component of ‘self-consciousness’, is easily differentiated from changing components through guided and attentive introspection. After initial training, ‘awareness’ of the organ of spiritual cognition becomes available for the continuous and uninterrupted fixing of conative attention. This promotes well-being and increases higher-order thoughts about the ‘self’ and the world. The increase of these secondary reflective thoughts corresponds to the human experience of becoming more conscious, leading to increased meaning and purpose, which culminates in self-actualization.

(9) Solidarity, Mutual Responsibility, and Tolerance

This is the experiencings of the ‘self’ as it embraces the universe. It is separate, but at the same time one with others. From this experiencing there is ‘flow’, joy, love, awareness, compassion, healing, comfort, tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence, solidarity, mutual responsibility, and unity, and a deep awareness of the irrationality and absurdity of separation.

(9) Solidarity, Mutual Responsibility, and Tolerance

The de-structuralization of the invented self-image leads to the increase of space as part of experience, which dissolves the invented self-image as a rigid structure that sets boundaries on experience. Along with space, and due to other factors, essence in its various aspects also increases. Consequently, the supersensory organ of spiritual cognition begins to maximize space and/or emptiness and the fullness of essence as alternative categories of experience. This affects, (in a positive way), the experiencings related to God, the cosmos, others, inanimate objects, and/or the self.

APPENDIX I: CREATIVE SYNTHESIS

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Table 9: Creative Synthesis

Comprehensive Expression of Essences in Spiritual Ascendancy and Mystical Experience in Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam

93

Material reality is restricted, mortal, and time-bound.

Spiritual reality is boundary free, immortal, and timeless.

The self-centric ego is the creation of material reality.

The true self is the product of the vision of spiritual reality.

The awareness of the self-centric ego is circumscribed by the body, mind, and thoughts.

The awareness of the true self is uncircumscribed.

The self-centric ego lives in a state of separation from God and creation.

The true self lives in a state of unity with God and creation.

The self-centric ego is continually striving and dissatisfied.

The true self is still and satisfied.

Material reality is understood through cognitive thoughts and reason.

Spiritual reality is perceived through the ‘heart’ or the organ of spiritual cognition.

The lived-experience of material reality is a reaction to the external.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality proceeds from inward reflection through the path of spiritual ascendancy.

Corruption is the result of identification with material reality and distraction from spiritual reality.

Purification is the pursuit of spiritual reality and the minimization of distractions.

Material reality and its effects are characterized by noise.

Spiritual reality and its effects are characterized by silence.

The lived-experience of material reality is characterized by defocus and scatteredness.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality is characterized by focus and attention.

Extrospection is the way of material reality.

Introspection is the way of spiritual ascendancy.

Petitionary prayer is the language of material reality.

Contemplative prayer is the language of spiritual reality.

Petitionary prayer is a stumbling block to spiritual cognition.

Contemplative prayer activates spiritual cognition.

Indulgence in pleasures and gratification result in mythogenesis.

The eradication of pleasures and gratifications results in psychogenesis.

(“Table 9 Continued”)

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The lived-experience of material reality results in darkness.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality results in light.

The lived-experience of material reality is degenerative.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality is transformative.

The lived-experience of material reality blinds the ego-centric self to spiritual reality.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality ‘opens the eyes’ of the self to the essence of material reality.

The lived-experience of material reality limits knowledge and promotes deception.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality unleashes knowledge and promotes discernment.

The lived-experience of material reality creates worldview from the delusion of separateness.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality re-creates worldview from the vantage point of oneness.

The lived-experience of material reality engenders meaninglessness and purposelessness, and leads to ‘stuckness’.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality synthesizes meaning and purpose, and culminates in self-actualization.

The lived-experience of material reality engenders stuckness, frustration, hate, unawareness, indifference, injury, stress and distress, intolerance, indulgence, strife, enmity, division, and discord, and the illusion of the rationality and

logicality of separation.

The lived-experience of spiritual reality engenders ‘flow’, joy, love, awareness, compassion, healing, comfort, tolerance, moderation, peaceful coexistence, solidarity, mutual responsibility, and unity, and a deep awareness of the irrationality and

absurdity of separation.

95