Personal Spiritual Experience Research Articles

Слово как событие в буддийской и даосской культурах

The article is devoted to a special attitude to the word as a corpuscle of a cultural event which not only forms the ancient Eastern traditions, but is also one of the mechanisms of the system of non-local connections that create a philosophical understanding of a particular text, event and culture in general. The paper discusses the problem of interpretation and understanding of texts which is inextricably linked with the reach of the fundamental principles of the Eastern philosophy, focuses on the attitude to the word in Taoist and various directions of Buddhist cultures, and also describes the differences in the comprehension and perception of ancient Eastern philosophy between European researchers and Buddhist scholars. The author notes that the discrepancy in the meanings of understanding Buddhist texts lies much deeper and comes not only from the difference in mentalities, since the semantic load of a philosophical treatise correlates with the concept of ‘spiritual integrity’, but is also significantly related to differences in understanding and comprehension of the alphabetic and hieroglyphic writing systems. The question is raised that a holistic perception of the text for a European researcher will inevitably slip away, since he/she tries to reveal the meaning of the canon only by the categories of rational presentation. The influence of the Taoist terminological apparatus in the translation of Buddhist canonical texts into Chinese is shown. It is emphasized that the main principle of the translation of the early texts of the Mahayana is the selection of a Taoist term that is suitable in meaning. In this context, attention is focused on the fact that the relationship between the semantic and stylistic content of Buddhist and Taoist canonical texts is one of the basic elements necessary for a deep understanding of the primary sources of ancient Eastern philosophy. The text pays special attention to the teachings of the Madhyamika, notes its role in the history of Buddhism as well as the certain mechanisms of deprofanation of the word developed by this philosophical school are considered that they contribute to a high ‘inclusion’ in the natural world and are based on the Mahayana postulate of the primacy of personal spiritual experience over all other epistemological strategies. Attention is paid to the fact that focusing on nature itself is basic among Buddhist ideas that came from China in the philosophy of Zen Buddhism in Japan. As a result of the study, the author notes that the obvious semantic load of the word led the Buddhist and Taoist cultures not only to the formation of a strong immunity to the profaning of the word itself, but also to the practice of limiting the written and verbal activity of representatives of these cultures.

19.3 Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for MDD: Current Evidence and Clinical Considerations

19.3 Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for MDD: Current Evidence and Clinical Considerations

From qasida to treatise: philosophical analysis of stories about the conference of the birds

The article traces the evolution of the “bird” topos (murgh) from its direct understanding (haqiqa) to the allegorical (majaz) in the most representative works of the Persian literary tradition of the 10th–12th centuries. The research involves methods of philological analysis, as well as the method of historical and philosophical reconstruction of the text. It was found, that in the early samples of the classical qasida by Rudaki and Manuchihri birds were one of the necessary elements for marking the “spring” theme. Later in qasidas of Sanai and Khaqani the topos “soul-bird” (murgh-i jan) was firmly entrenched in the poetic dictionary of Persian-speaking Sufis. In the texts of the Brethren of Purity the description of the properties of various animals and birds that entered into an dispute with a person provided the basis for discourse about the properties of the soul. This line was continued by Ahmad al-Ghazzali. In a treatise about bird-souls seeking to find their king, he presented a peculiar description of personal spiritual experience. As a result of the study, author identifies the main themes of the conference of the birds and Sufi concepts that are embodied in specific literary plots.

Guest Editorial: Prayer

Prayer is an intensely personal subject - like childbirth - and so can be hard to speak about. For the modernist liberal tradition this can be especially so. It is suggested that a refocusing on personal spiritual experience may be helpful both in decolonising our theology/ies of prayer, and in moving from de-mythologisation to re-mythologisation.

Influence of Religious Practice and Church Interpersonal Trust on Spiritual Experience during COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic not only increased the risk of poor physical health but also brought about a crisis of spiritual health through restrictions on worship services. This study examined the spiritual health of Christians living in the era of COVID-19 and analyzed the role of personal religious practice and interpersonal trust in the church. To this end, 600 Christian adults were surveyed. This study found that women’s spiritual experience was higher than men’s and tended to be higher with older age and the length of faith. These results were linked to church duties, as duty holders had more spiritual experience than laypersons. Regarding individual religious practice and interpersonal trust, the group who frequently prayed and read the Bible and the group with high interpersonal trust in the church had high daily spiritual experiences, respectively. A comprehensive analysis through decision tree analysis showed that prayer was the variable showing the greatest difference in daily spiritual experience, while Bible reading was the second most important personal religious activity. Regarding church interpersonal trust, interaction-based trust and institution-based trust contributed to enhancing personal spiritual experience. Personal religious practice was reported as a more important variable in the promotion of spiritual experience than interpersonal factors during COVID-19.

Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Found to Improve Depression, Offer Other Benefits

Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Found to Improve Depression, Offer Other Benefits

METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS IN THE POLEMICAL VERSE COMPLEX OF THE 1580—90S

The aim of the paper is to justify the correlation between polemical motifs in verses and the metaphysical principle of causation. It is possible due to revealing that the mainstay of polemical discourse lies in the images by which God, as the Cause of all things, manifests His presence in the world, according to the teachings of medieval metaphysics. This gives grounds for interpreting the emotional tension of polemical discourse and its inherent figures of reduction or simplification not as an alternative to the inner metaphysical sense but only as a kind of decentralizing and translating it into the language of other circumstances or the language of personal spiritual experience. The metaphysical dimension of polemical poems correlates with the prospect of restoring their broader literary context and broader reception.
 The paper is to investigate the extent to which the structure as a choice, focused on the publication and perception of texts in certain historical circumstances, makes it possible to manifest certain metaphysical factors by causing a special nonlinear nature of interrelationship, the reverberation of individual motifs and voices between the texts, which are quite different from each other. This historical-literary and hermeneutic approaches let us observe the manifestation forms of metaphysical sense not only in relation to the literary subtext but also in terms of the development and functioning of sovereign metaphysical motifs. Interpretation of the praxis of religious life and the nature of church confrontations and heresies discloses the ‘inner’ image of the individual in the light of Christology and the Christian concept of the Word. The study of the metaphysical foundation of polemical verse complex determines general tendencies in Ukrainian poetry and their transformation in certain milieus. At the same time, it testifies to the changes and development of poetic discourse, the awareness of God’s Word, and human responsibility for the said and written.

Efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted treatment for major depressive disorder: Prospective 12-month follow-up.

Background:Preliminary data suggest that psilocybin-assisted treatment produces substantial and rapid antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but little is known about long-term outcomes.Aims:This study sought to examine the efficacy and safety of psilocybin through 12 months in participants with moderate to severe MDD who received psilocybin.Methods:This randomized, waiting-list controlled study enrolled 27 patients aged 21–75 with moderate to severe unipolar depression (GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (GRID-HAMD) ⩾ 17). Participants were randomized to an immediate or delayed (8 weeks) treatment condition in which they received two doses of psilocybin with supportive psychotherapy. Twenty-four participants completed both psilocybin sessions and were followed through 12 months following their second dose.Results:All 24 participants attended all follow-up visits through the 12-month timepoint. Large decreases from baseline in GRID-HAMD scores were observed at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up (Cohen d = 2.3, 2.0, 2.6, and 2.4, respectively). Treatment response (⩾50% reduction in GRID-HAMD score from baseline) and remission were 75% and 58%, respectively, at 12 months. There were no serious adverse events judged to be related to psilocybin in the long-term follow-up period, and no participants reported psilocybin use outside of the context of the study. Participant ratings of personal meaning, spiritual experience, and mystical experience after sessions predicted increased well-being at 12 months, but did not predict improvement in depression.Conclusions:These findings demonstrate that the substantial antidepressant effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy may be durable at least through 12 months following acute intervention in some patients.

Spirituele voorkeure en die ervaring van ere-dienste in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk1 Spiritual preferences and the experience of worship services in the Dutch Reformed Church

OPSOMMING Daar is 'n wêreldwye tendens van afname in lidmaatgetalle van hoofstroomkerke. Hierdie artikel fokus op die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) in Suid-Afrika. Dit ondersoek of die hoofsaaklik rasionele verstaan van God eerder as 'n persoonlike spirituele ervaring 'n rede vir die afname in die spesifieke Gereformeerde kerklike tradisie kan wees. Die gewildheid van charismatiese en pinksterkerke in die konteks kan toegeskryf word aan hulle klem op subjektiewe ervaring, wat ook kenmerkend is van die postmoderne kultuur. Mense woon eredienste by met die verwagting dat hulle spirituele behoeftes bevredig sal word. Mense se spirituele en emosionele behoeftes verander saam met hulle leefwereld. In die moderne era was die klem op rasionele kennis terwyl die klem in 'n postmoderne era meer op subjektiewe ervaring is. Hierdie paradigmaskuif beïnvloed die wyse waarop mense godsdiens ervaar en beoefen. Die ondersoek maak gebruik van Corinne Ware se spirituele tipologie om insig te verkry in mense se ervaring van eredienste in die NG Kerk. Die resultate dra by tot 'n beter verstaan van lidmate se spirituele behoeftes met betrekking tot eredienste om by te dra tot hulle geestelike groei. Die vraag is hoe die NG Kerk getrou kan bly aan die gereformeerde tradisie terwyl 'n meer holistiese en inklusiewe benadering gevolg word, spesifiek wat eredienste betref. Trefwoorde: gereformeerd, spiritualiteit, spiritualiteitstipes, erediens, eredienservaring, liturgie, katafaties, apofaties, modern, postmodern ABSTRACT Membership of mainstream churches is declining all over the world. This article focuses on the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in South Africa. It investigates whether a reason for the decline in this specific Reformed ecclesial tradition could be the predominantly rational understanding of God rather than that of a personal spiritual experience. The popularity of charismatic and Pentecostal churches in the context could be attributed to their emphasis on subjective experience, which is also characteristic of postmodern culture. People attend worship services with the expectation of having their spiritual needs met. People's spiritual and emotional needs evolve as their lifeworld changes. In the modern era, the emphasis was on rational knowledge. In this era people resonated with the rational approach of the mainstream churches. The influence of the postmodern era is visible in the emphasis on subjective experience. This paradigm shift influences how people experience and practice religion. They tend to search for congregations that address their needfor a fulfilling spiritual experience. Many prefer worship services where they have a personal, emotional experience of God. Every person has unique spiritual needs and experiences God in unique ways. Therefore people exercise their faith in different ways. Spirituality plays an important role in people's lives. A qualitative approach was used to gain insight into people's experiences. The empirical part of the study was based on responses from volunteers who participated by completing spirituality questionnaires and took part in semi-structured interviews. The aim was to ascertain whether the DRC is experienced to be exclusive regarding spiritual preferences and, if so, whether this could be a contributing factor when it comes to the decline in membership of the Church. In 1980 Urban T Holmes wrote a handbook on spirituality, titled A history of Christian spirituality. Holmes' valuable contribution is a typology of spiritual preferences, specifically focused on prayer. In 1995 Corinne Ware used this typology and expanded it. She specifically focused on the way people responded to worship patterns. She explained differences in spirituality and spiritual preferences by distinguishing between four groups. She called the spirituality preferences "spirituality types" and named them "head", "heart", "mystic" and "hand". Ware developed a questionnaire to determine a person's "spirituality type". This investigation utilised Corinne Ware's spiritual typology to gain insight into people's experiences of worship services in the DRC. The results contribute to a better understanding of members' spiritual needs with regard to worship services in order for these experiences to contribute to their spiritual growth. The question is how the Dutch Reformed Church can remain true to its Reformed tradition while taking a more holistic and inclusive approach to spirituality, specifically with regard to worship. Keywords: reformed, spirituality, spirituality-types, worship service, worship experience, liturgy, cataphatic, apophatic, modern, postmodern

Kajian Teologis Kegagalan Pendangan Umum Yang Mengusung Yohanes Pembaptis Sebagai Mesias

Jesus asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt. 16:13, Mark. 8:27), then John the Baptist was the top answer, followed by Elijah, Jeremiah. This study uses a biblical study of the meaning of the whom do men say (general opinion) by using a qualitative writing method that is studied by biblical exegesis supported by various sources related to this research. Here it is found that public opinion greatly influences one's personal belief and confession of their faith in Jesus Christ. There is a meaning behind the rejection of Jesus' messiahship by carrying the popular John the Baptist figure. Perhaps if he announced himself as the Messiah, and waged a rebellion against the Roman empire which was colonizing Israelit at that time, it would be inconceivable if that happened. Researchers found the answer that the importance of personal spiritual experience closely with God between times when the truth became unpopular. By adhering to the Word of God, the Church of God can stand firm which is built on a solid rock foundation (Petra), namely Jesus Himself.

Justice is Ready for Consciousness. Lawyers with Vertical Lives. Are We Really Ready?- Personal Physical Mental and Spiritual Coherent Experience

Justice is Ready for Consciousness. Lawyers with Vertical Lives. Are We Really Ready?- Personal Physical Mental and Spiritual Coherent Experience

The Spirituality of Kawruh Begja to Achieving the Reality of Life According to Ki Ageng Suryamentaram

This study focuses on analyzing the spirituality of Kawruh Begja for the realization of the authenticity of life based on the life and thoughts of Ki Ageng Suryamentaram. To explore the data used qualitative analysis methods and literature study. This study aims to find aspects of Kawruh Begja's spirituality in the study of cultural philosophy. Sebastian Painadath's thoughts on spirituality and its aspects were used as a framework for collecting data and analyzing it. The result of this research is the discovery of the notion of spirituality and its aspects in Kawruh Begja. In Ki Ageng Suryamentaram's meaning of life movement, Kawruh Begja is a system of philosophy and spirituality that encourages the process of living together to achieve the authenticity of life. Kawruh Begja are also values that are believed and lived which include awareness of the mysteries of life, understanding of life as a whole, personal spiritual experience, spiritual discipline, sensitivity to a harmonious environment, and compassion and concern for living together.

Theistic Psychology as a Methodological Principle of the Study of Religious Experience

The article investigates the genesis of psychologism as a methodological basis for the study of religious experience. The authors show that the first experience of consistent applying psychologism for the purpose of radical criticism of religion was carried out by D. Hume, who reduced the religious experience to the emotional and mental nature of man. As a result, in the philosophy of Hume, the sphere of religious experiences was completely desacralized and the concepts making up the core of spiritual and religious-ethical life of man, such as "personality", "spiritual substance", "mystical experience" were declared meaningless. In the research of F. Schleiermacher the principle of psychology was used to identify the grounds of religiosity. According to Schleiermacher, the sacred is rooted in the very nature of man in the form of original, undifferentiated "religious feeling." The type of psychologism developed by Schleiermacher is theistic because it comes from the recognition of the ontological nature of the divine spark, which is initially presented in religious experience and is not brought into it by faith, a specific creed or metaphysics. According to Schleiermacher, it is not the higher mental functions and rational consciousness that are responsible for the feeling of belonging to God, but the prethought experience together with the psychosomatic structures that provide it. Thus, theistic psychology finds the primary elements of religiosity, components creating precognitive content experienced by the human sense of the sacred beyond the usual manifestations of religion, namely faith, thinking and behavior. Later, psychologism was criticized by representatives of phenomenology, who argued that mental phenomena can be recorded as a direct evidence beyond self-consciousness. This led to the formation within the phenomenology of religion of a new kind of psychologism – transcendental psychologism, representatives of which consider religious feeling as a unity of transcendental (categorical scheme of "the sacred") and psychological (religious experience as a mental phenomenon). The significance of theistic psychologism as a methodology for the analysis of religious experience lies in the fact that it, firstly, served as the basis for the formation of the phenomenology of religion as the leading direction of the study of religious experience and, secondly, opened the possibility of studying the universal psychosomatic basis of religious feeling. This basis can be distinguished by comparison and comparative analysis of descriptions obtained as a result of conscious self-observation of personal spiritual experience of representatives of different religions and spiritual practices.

Генри Мoр как критик «харизматической религиозности»

The paper addresses the conflict between two types of religiosity, which is typical for all “religions of Revelation”; that is the conflict between “regular religiosity” which bases on some sacred texts and their interpretation by established authorities and “charismatic religiosity” the cornerstone of which is personal spiritual experience and the revelations of leader, who takes the place of the “founder” traditionally honored in the frame of regular religion. The research focuses on the clash between Protestantism (young but already undergone “regularization”) and radical groups, born in its wake and represented charismatic type of religiosity. The contribution of Cambridge Platonist Henry More (1614‒1687) to the development of comparative typology of contemporary religious groups and the creating of terminology for describing their peculiar features is discussed.

The Spirit of Early Evangelicalism: True Religion in a Modern World

‘Is it possible for women and men to experience the presence of God in the modern world?’ This is the fundamental existential question posed at the beginning of Bruce Hindmarsh's brilliant and insightful study of early evangelicalism. Hindmarsh addresses the question by reflecting on evangelical faith and experience in the context of the evolving intellectual culture of the eighteenth-century British North Atlantic world, a world poised on the threshold of modernity. In the process he draws on anthropology and the social sciences, and the history of science, law, and art, as well as offering a close, careful, and sympathetic reading of the works and lives of a range of evangelicals, principally John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards.The book begins with Whitefield, focusing on the years between 1734 and 1744 in which he was converted and embarked on his remarkable ministry as a preacher. Using Whitefield's manuscript diary (1735–6) and his letters to explore the influences that brought him to conversion in 1735 allows Hindmarsh to show the role of Oxford Methodism, Pietism, and the ‘practical divinity’ of Matthew Henry's biblical commentaries and also the vital importance of personal spiritual experience in turning Whitefield into ‘a flaming fire’ (42) of evangelical devotion.The next two chapters, set against the backdrop of contemporary debates about the superiority of ‘ancient’ or ‘modern’ societies, explore evangelicalism as a ‘modern’ phenomenon and also as heir to classical Christian patterns of devotion. Thus evangelicals appropriated the spiritual resources of previous generations, including medieval and Roman Catholic mystical works, but expressed and practised their faith in the modern social conditions of an open public sphere and a world of voluntary groups and networks (‘connexions’). The ‘worked examples’ of ancient sources aphorized by writers like Henry Scougal, and then abridged by John Wesley and published in cheap editions are very telling: Hindmarsh presents evidence of Wesley's abridgement of Scougal being carefully read by Cumbrian Methodists in the 1750s (83–6).Attention then turns in chapters 4 and 5 to evangelical attitudes to science and the natural world. Most evangelicals accepted a Newtonian outlook, albeit cautiously, while resisting the implications of a mechanistic philosophy that threatened to banish God from the world. In the metaphysics of Jonathan Edwards, the poetry of Anne Steele, and the art of John Russell, evangelicals were able to sense God in all things and respond with ‘wonder, love, and praise’.From moral philosophy Hindmarsh moves to the law (chapters 6 and 7), discussing the place of the biblical law in evangelical theology and preaching and the backdrop to evangelical ministry afforded by England's ‘century of law’ and notorious ‘bloody code’ of capital crimes. An analysis of Charles Wesley's preaching in Newgate, the work of Silas Told in London's prisons, and John Wesley and Henry Venn's assize sermons adds depth and particularity to the breadth of the treatment here, as evangelicals insisted on the ‘spirituality and extent of the law’ (194).In the final chapter, Hindmarsh discusses art, using the debate between Reynolds and Gainsborough over beauty and truth to shed light on the Calvinist/Arminian conflict in evangelicalism. He captures the sense of different ‘schools’ within the same frame of discourse before offering a reflection on Calvinism as a religious version of the sublime—resting in the contemplation of God—and the Wesleys' Arminianism as a religious version of the heroic—resting in victory after struggle, summed up in Charles Wesley's hymn ‘Wrestling Jacob’. Commenting on the vocabulary of ‘striving’ in John Wesley's letters and sermons, Hindmarsh notes, with typical grace and insight, that ‘the mood of most of his sentences was the imperative’ (263).The Spirit of Early Evangelicalism weaves together an amazing breadth of scholarship with depth of knowledge in detail. Its analysis is subtle and suggestive, as well as comprehensive in synthesis. The thesis presented—that evangelicalism represents ‘a distinctive form of traditional Christian spirituality that emerged in the eighteenth century highly responsive to the conditions of the modern world’ (276)—is made persuasively and elegantly. This is a lucid and beautifully written book, and an important one.

How Children Describe the Fruits of Meditation

Using an interdisciplinary approach and a phenomenological, hermeneutic, mystagogical methodology, this paper explores how children describe the deep fruits of meditation in their lives. Seventy children, aged 7 to 11, from four Irish primary schools were interviewed; all had engaged in meditation as a whole-school practice for at least two-years beforehand. The study sought to elicit from children their experience, if any, of the transcendent in meditation. It concludes that children can and do enjoy deep states of consciousness and that meditation has the capacity to nourish the innate spirituality of the child. It highlights the importance of personal spiritual experience for children and supports the introduction of meditation in primary schools.

Spiritual awareness and interfaith relations

ABSTRACTThis article is based on presentations and discussion that took place at a Symposium entitled Promoting Spiritual Life: An Interfaith Perspective, held at Sarum College, Salisbury, UK, on 4 February 2016. The event was organized by the World Congress of Faiths to launch the celebrations of its 80th Anniversary. The concept and importance of spirituality in an apparently more secular society are explored, and the holistic nature of personal spiritual experience is argued on the basis of accounts collected and analysed. The debate then moves on to a consideration of these observations in the context of interfaith encounters being required to reject false dichotomies; and the engagement of religions in civic space, of which interfaith dialogue and activity is a vital part. It concludes that the potential for spiritual connection can play a powerful role in challenging traditional blocks to relationships between faiths.

ПРОБЛЕМА ДОБРА И ЗЛА В ФИЛОСОФИИ И.А. ИЛЬИНА

The article is devoted to the study and analysis of the ethical concept of IA. Ilyin - the doctrine of the essence and nature of good and evil, the means of opposing evil. In the Russian philosophy of the early twentieth century, the deliverance of the world from evil was declared the main task of mankind. Therefore, in the teachings of the greatest philosophers of this period, attempts to solve the problem of good and evil are often expressed in the desire to identify evil, to find its sources, to show mankind ways and methods of fighting it. In the creative heritage of the outstanding Russian philosopher Ivan Aleksandrovich Il’in, an important place is occupied by the study of the question of the nature of good and evil, the origin of evil, and, most importantly, methods of combating it. Ilyin’s ethic is very relevant, it is of interest to the modern reader precisely because it embodies his personal spiritual and moral experience. The objec-tivity and scientific approach to its study excludes the possibility of its unambiguous evaluation. On the one hand, the present reality and social existence of the first decade of the 21st century. Continues to talk about the human right to use force in the fight against evil. On the other hand, the fact that the path to good lies beyond all violent actions becomes more and more understandable. Outside the non-violent per-spective, the further development of human civilization is impossible, both in terms of interpersonal relations, and at the level of interstate relations and world politics.

Children’s spirituality and the practice of meditation in Irish primary schools

This paper uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore the child’s experience of meditation in Irish primary schools and its impact on children’s spirituality. Using a phenomenological, hermeneutic, mystagogical methodology, it describes how children experience the practice of meditation, the benefits they consider they gain from it and the nature of its impact, if any, on their spirituality. Seventy children, aged 7 to 11, were interviewed. The study is original in that the interview protocol contained novel processes designed to elicit from children their experience, if any, of the transcendent in meditation and in its depth of analysis of the spiritual fruits of the practice. The study concludes that meditation does have the capacity to nourish the innate spirituality of the child. It offers a heuristic model outlining the key elements of the child’s experience of meditation, stresses the importance of personal spiritual experience and supports the introduction of meditation in primary schools.

The Mujaddid of His Age: Al-Ghazali And His Inner Spiritual Journey

Imam al-Ghazali has been regarded as the mujaddid (the reviver or the Islamic reformer) of the 5th century AH of Islam, and has been credited with various titles, of which the most famous is as Hujjat al-Islam (Proof of Islam). This article investigates the development of al-Ghazali’s thought and spiritual journey through different stages of his life. Employing library research and historical analysis, this article divides al-Ghazali’s life into three main periods, namely, before, during, and after seclusion. Initially he was mainly jurist and theologian, but radically transformed to become a personal Sufi during the seclusion period, leading to his subsequently becoming an active public Sufi. The result from the analysis of the first phase of al-Ghazali’s life shows that al-Ghazali experienced a radical spiritual and intellectual transformation, which led him to discover Sufism, but without neglecting theology, jurisprudence, and philosophy. There was significant evolution in al-Ghazali’s life towards a spiritual orientation as shown by the analysis of his second phase, in which he later sought to share with others after seclusion. If in the phase of seclusion al-Ghazali was personal—namely, focused on personal reformation, devotion, and inner spiritual self—the phase of al-Ghazali’s life after seclusion marked the beginning of an active spiritual public life. The result shows that this new al-Ghazali actively tried to reform every class of society (the public, elites, theologians, philosophers, mystics, and others) through teachings, writings, and by sharing his personal spiritual experience. It is evident that with all his efforts and achievements, al-Ghazali offered a great and abiding contribution in reviving the spiritual dimension of Islam, furnished and served it to the Muslim world.