144 actas del ii congreso internacional de literatura mística 2.8 essences of the experiences The textural and structural descriptions were subsequently synthesized into composite descriptions, or 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. 2.9 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?’, 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
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