Spiritual Diary: Integrating Sufi Practices into a Contemporary Cultural Context

Kangiyeva Alie Memetovna PhD in Philology Psychologist; Researcher; Research Institute of Crimean Tatar Philology, History and Culture of Ethnic Groups of the Crimea at the State Educational Institution of Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan named after Fevzi Yakubova 8 Uchebny Lane, Simferopol, Republic of Crimea, 295015, Russia aliye.kangiyeva@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Introduction

The modern digital age has an impact on the forms and content of communication. This is also evident in the practice of keeping diaries. If traditional diaries were a deeply personal and intimate form of introspection, then online diaries and blogs often reflect narcissistic tendencies, where a person strives for publicity under the guise of intimacy, losing a genuine dialogue with himself and others. Numerous online diaries are an example of such texts.

At the same time, spiritual diaries are becoming increasingly popular today. In such diaries, a person enters into a dialogue with a spiritual mentor in search of ultimate meanings, seeks to reveal his spiritual side, strengthen faith in God through connection with the metaphysical Other. These diaries can be seen as a means of deep dialogue that takes a person beyond their own ego and opens up space for spiritual transformation. Unlike online diaries, which often contribute to the destruction of authentic communication, spiritual diaries support a culture of dialogue.

The author of this article, a philologist and practicing psychologist, explores the therapeutic resource of mystical narrative and discursive practices of traditional Sufism in a modern cultural context. In his work with clients, the author suggested keeping diaries in the form of letters to a significant Other (mentors, teachers) to deepen self-reflection. In the course of psychological counseling and client management, we proposed using the therapeutic resource of the communicative space between the client and a psychic figure significant to the client, with the construction of a communicative space in the traditions of Sufi communication studies. And as a homework assignment, clients were asked to keep a diary in the form of a letter to a mentor (or mentor).

This article is devoted to the cultural and philosophical analysis of the spiritual diary as a specific type of communication, text and discourse, as a way of working with the psyche through the written word.

The analysis of the type of communication in such diaries is supported by the analysis of fragments of diary manuscripts of the clients themselves, the positive results of keeping diaries in the psychocorrective process are revealed: keeping such diaries helped to restore a sense of connection with another, overcome isolation and establish a less critical, productive internal dialogue. The inclusion of fragments of manuscripts in this study allows us to analyze how the practice of diary communication affects personal development and the formation of such a type of discourse as a metaphysical dialogue with a spiritual mentor (as with a metaphysical Other).

The object of the research is diary discourse as a form of personal and interpersonal interaction. The subject of the research is the communicative, existential and psycholinguistic transformations that occur in the process of keeping diaries both in the digital environment and in the framework of spiritual practice.

The purpose of the study is to analyze diary practices, ranging from digital online diaries to Sufi spiritual diaries, with an emphasis on the difference in their communicative functions — from narcissistic autocommunication to dialogue with Another. The author strives to show that the Sufi mystical tradition, preserved in various forms in Crimea, integrated into diary practices, can offer an alternative to modern forms of self-expression and open up new ways to build a dialogue.

In this article, fragments of diaries provided by the authors for the study will be presented to achieve the purpose of the study. In the course of the study, we collected 19 diaries, the authors of which provided their texts in handwritten form remotely for anonymous analysis. The analysis of fragments of manuscripts (FR) will be given below. The diary in the form of a letter to the mentor has already been investigated by us as a psychotechnical device ^[10]. In this article, we will focus on the type of communication and genre identity of such diaries, considering the diary discourse of a spiritual diary as a cultural phenomenon.

The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the term "autocommunication" is reinterpreted, a critical view is offered on the concept of autocommunication by Yu.M. Lotman, and its interpretation is given from the standpoint of Sufi communicative studies and communicative ontology. The diary in the form of a letter to the metaphysical other is considered within the framework of an interdisciplinary approach (at the intersection of cultural, psychological, and theological analysis), modern approaches (narrative psychology, communication theory) and traditions of Sufism are integrated, which contributes to interdisciplinary research.

The study empirically demonstrates the therapeutic value of diary practices: letters to a metaphysical Other (mentor) not only restore internal dialogue, but also become a search space for answers to existential questions, verbalization of experiences related to the ultimate foundations of being and the search for meaning, letters contribute to reducing anxiety, improving relationships with others, and building intimacy.

The work actualizes the cultural heritage of Sufism through the study of the practice of diaries in the modern world. These texts continue the tradition of metaphysical dialogue in a modern context, while retaining their spiritual significance. A critique of postmodern tendencies is given, the differences between the narcissistic orientation of modern self-presentation practices and the dialogical nature of texts based on the traditions of Dialogue are revealed. This highlights the novelty and relevance of the research and its significance for various fields of knowledge, from philology and psychology to cultural studies and religious studies.

The article offers an attempt at a new understanding of the role of diary practices as a cultural phenomenon, which may be useful both for specialists in the fields of psychology, philology, philosophy, cultural studies, and for a wide range of readers interested in communication types, diary discourse, self-therapy tools, and narrativistics. The article shows that a diary can become both a tool for alienation and breaking contact, as in the case of digital narcissism in online diaries, and a means of restoring genuine dialogue. The presented research is aimed at an interdisciplinary analysis of spiritual diaries as a tool for searching for ultimate meanings, living existential experiences, a means of self-knowledge and psychocorrection, as a type of text and discourse, and what makes it significant for philosophy and cultural studies, as well as for psychology and religious studies.

1. Literature review

The study of the phenomenon of Sufi spiritual diaries as a space of metaphysical dialogue is based on an extensive theoretical framework, including philosophical concepts, psycholinguistic approaches and cultural sources.

The article provides an analysis of the term "autocommunication", introduced by Y. Lotman. In our opinion, this term successfully characterizes the state of the collective unconscious before the communicative turn in science, formulated by Jurgen Habermas in the Theory of Communicative Action.

The crisis of scientism and positivism led scientific thought to two directions: the focus of scientists' attention shifted from the study of "objective truth", the world, to their own mental experience, deepening into themselves, on the one hand; on the other hand, there was a "turn to the Other", the manifestation of communication as a space that constitutes meanings.

The term "autocommunication" reflects the first trend, while the communicative turn, on the contrary, characterizes the second and turns a person from "I" to "You", to dialogue, to the space between "I and You" by Martin Buber.

The communicative turn in science described a shift in philosophy and social sciences in the 20th century, a shift in emphasis from the study of the external world or the inner world of consciousness and individual experience to the analysis of communication and social interactions. The idea that understanding and knowledge are formed in the course of interactions between people, and not exclusively through individual cognitive processes, that the basis of understanding is dialogue, not individual thinking, has turned not only philosophy, but also cultural studies, philology, psychology and led to the emergence of new directions.

Studying the Sufi sources of the Crimean Khanate, we introduced into scientific circulation the interdisciplinary field "Sufi communicative studies" ^[8], which reflects the communicative nature of Sufism and within the framework of which a communicative theory of meaning was formulated ^[9]. In this area, the researcher's main focus shifts to the space between communicants.

Based on the Sufi mystical tradition, the method of keeping diaries in the form of a letter to a mentor was offered to the clients of the author of this study. Sufi diaries reflect traditions based on appeals to spiritual mentors and metaphysical concepts. These texts keep in touch with the ancient practices of dialogue, where communication rituals form a space for personality transformation. Sufi texts containing samples of spiritual dialogues were used as the basis for the construction of the clients' diary technique.

Martin Buber's philosophical concept contrasts the "I–You" dialogue with the "I–It" type of communication. In the context of Sufi diaries, this idea is especially significant, since contacting a mentor or prophet through writing is an example of a metaphysical dialogue that allows the author to go beyond his own ego and gain a new form of self-awareness, overcome subject-object models of interaction with others and come to intersubjectivism.

The cultural context and postmodern aesthetics of online diaries and modern diary discourse have been studied by Anna Zaliznyak, Alexander Pertsev, and others. Modern diaries, written in the context of postmodern aesthetics, are often characterized by fragmentation, demonstrativeness and a desire for publicity. A. Zaliznyak and A. Pertsev note that online diaries have become a tool of self-presentation, losing the depth of personal reflection. Spiritual diaries, unlike online diaries, focus on the inner world of the author and his dialogue with Others.

Jacques Lacan's concept of intimacy, which describes the public disclosure of the intimate, allows us to understand the difference between modern online diaries from spiritual diary texts and from a classical diary. Unlike ecstatic practices, spiritual diaries preserve the intimacy of an internal dialogue aimed at a metaphysical connection.

The literature review demonstrates that the study of Sufi diaries makes it possible to rethink the key philosophical and cultural approaches proposed by Lotman, Buber, Habermas and Lacan, and highlight their uniqueness as a tool for metaphysical dialogue and self-discovery.

2. Research methodology

As mentioned above, the research materials (fragments of manuscripts) They were provided by the authors of diaries who are close to the Sufi worldview and who were asked to keep such diaries as part of their psychocorrective work. These diaries, provided for analysis in the form of photographs of manuscripts or printed text, are considered in the article as samples of spiritual diaries.

The study uses the method of communicative analysis, which allowed us to study diary discourse as a form of autocommunication. This method focuses on identifying the interaction between the author of a text and its intended addressee, even if the latter is a metaphysical Other. The communicative analysis allowed us to determine how the diary entries combine elements of internal dialogue and appeals to a mentor, as well as how these appeals contribute to reflection, anxiety reduction and structuring of personal experience. Using this approach made it possible to identify the features of the dialogical nature of the text, emphasizing the transition from autocommunication to the conditionally interactive form of "I am You".

The provided texts were analyzed by the method of narrative analysis. This method was used to study the structure of texts. The plotlines, the peculiarities of the presentation of the thoughts and emotions of the authors, as well as the communicative strategies used in letters to the mentor were revealed.

Discursive analysis (within the framework of Sufi discourse) helped to fit the diaries into the general religious and mystical tradition, taking into account the field dynamics formed within the framework of the traditional appeal to the metaphysical Other in Sufism, taking into account rituals and symbolic Sufi appeals. The research included the identification of metaphysical images used in the texts and their significance in the cultural and spiritual worldview of the authors.

The comparative research method helped to identify common features and differences between modern spiritual diaries and online diaries described by A. Zaliznyak and A. Pertsev

3. Results

Exploring Sufi discursivity and Sufi communication, observing the virtual lives of those who identify themselves through the Sufi worldview, we notice that modern followers of Sufism are also close to diary discourse. On the Internet, you can find pages with the name "Sufi diary", "diary of a Sufi". These diaries reflect the author's worldview – faith in God, attention to the heart. But at the same time, they include the general postmodern tendencies of modern virtual diary discourse: "fragmentation, non-linearity, violation of cause-and-effect relationships, intertextuality, self-reflection, mixing documentary and artistic, fact and style, fundamental incompleteness and lack of a unified plan" ^[7].

Communication in communicative ontology is a meeting of the Self and the Other, where both are extremely open, and thanks to this openness, there is a knowledge of the boundaries of the Self and the boundaries of You, a clash with one's own powerlessness before choosing You, and a further expansion of the limits of the Self through the mirror of You. As the author of one of the diaries writes:

"Dear Prophet, if someone asks me one day what pain is, I will answer that pain is the absence of a messenger of God. I don't think there will be any pain that will outweigh the longing for you."[fr. 14]^[1]

Is there a meeting place in the atomic communication? Who am I dating? In this article, we will not be able to answer the above questions without moving away from the main subject of the study. However, we note that in the light of communicative methodology, we will consider a diary in the form of letters to a mentor not as an autocommunication, but as a type of "I–He" connection according to Lotman, or more precisely, "Me and You" according to Buber. Because in the Sufi worldview, when addressing a prophet or saint in a letter, "O Prophet Adam!..." or "O Holy Mary..." the author is not referring to himself. The author of such a message hopes for a metaphysical answer. This "answer" cannot be the subject of linguistics research, because it is not objectified.:

"I'm not seeing you in person,

In reality, without hearing your voice,

Clenching his teeth and longing ,

I'm coming for you, Muhammad." [FR. 14]

In the Sufi's worldview, the connection between his heart and the mentor's heart, established through a speech act, can be manifested in dreams, in spiritual support, in "blessing," and, above all, it will be objectified, according to the author of the diary, in the afterlife.:

"On the Day of Judgment, I would like to be on horseback next to you [the prophet], my son and daughter, whom I gave birth to" [FR. 7].

"I hope to see you again [The Prophet] in a dream" [FR 11].

This kind of "answer" cannot be investigated within the framework of scientific philological discourse. However, already in her work on communicative ontology, Yaroslavtseva writes that objective science in its purest form, outside of the subject, his worldview and interpretation in reality does not exist ^{[24, p. 78]}. Therefore, when determining the type of communication in the diaries under study, we take into account the author's worldview.

The message itself also cannot be considered as an autocommunication, since it rather resembles a sent letter that remains for a long time without an objectified response. The very structure of such diary entries fully corresponds to the epistolary genre: the beginning of the letter, a respectful address to the addressee, the main part, the ending and, sometimes, a postscript:

«P.S. In my life, I've been rejected by everyone. And only you gave me an experience of compassion and acceptance that I didn't get from an exhausted, tired, self-lost mom.

P.P.S. You gave me a dream about Paradise. Beauty, radiance, and eternity are with You. How not to love?" [FR 12]

Thus, the analysis of the content of the texts allows us to identify key themes such as longing, the search for support, and the hope of spiritual blessing. The structural analysis revealed repetitive communication strategies such as ritual addresses and symbolic constructions.

The analysis of the texts showed that the main themes of the letters are centered around internal conflicts, the search for meaning and the hope of a metaphysical connection. The authors of diary entries often turn to the mentor as the only addressee who can understand their deep feelings. These letters become a space for expressing worries, doubts, and spiritual pursuits.

An example of such a record is an appeal in which the author describes a sense of loss.:

"There is a fire, winds and storms inside—

Here I am a traveler and a stranger.

I miss you, Prophet.

I'm coming for you, Muhammad." [FR. 14]

These lines reflect a desire to reconnect with a mentor and gain inner support through awareness of this connection.

The letters demonstrate a pronounced dialogic character, corresponding to the "Me–You" model of interaction described by Martin Buber. Authors often use forms of address that emphasize respect, closeness, and trust in the metaphysical Other. Typical formulas include: "Dear Prophet...", "O Holy Mary...", "My mentor..."

The structure of the texts is subject to epistolary norms, including the greeting, the main content and the conclusion. Some letters contain ritual elements, such as requests for blessings, apologies for mistakes, and expressions of gratitude. This highlights the symbolic importance of the text as a communication tool.

An example of a record reflecting this dialogicity:

"It's so hard that sometimes even tears don't come.… You are the One who would never betray me." [FR. 16]

Therapeutic effect

The practice of keeping diaries has shown its therapeutic importance for the authors. During the survey of the authors, it was revealed that diaries contribute to improving the emotional state, restoring inner balance and reducing feelings of isolation ^[10].

Interviews with participants confirmed that letters to the metaphysical Other help to cope with anxiety, strengthen a sense of confidence and create a space for self-reflection ^[10]. One of the authors wrote:

"Dear Prophet Muhammad, I know you won't be able to read this, but I really want to write about my pain. I miss You very much, O Prophet, I miss You terribly. I really want to say: "Read the doo for me, so that there will always be peace in my heart" [FR. 17].

The authors emphasized that the writing process brings a sense of inner integrity and spiritual growth. You can see how verbalizing love for a mentor adds a subjective sense of strength and support here.: "You know, Prophet, we are lonely without You.

My sisters and I dream of seeing You!

We live in vanity, but we grow stronger with every breath, reading Salavat for You in love" [FR. 17].

Data analysis confirms that Sufi diaries, written in the form of letters to a mentor, perform not only the function of an internal dialogue, but also become an important tool for finding answers to existential questions about meaning, intimacy, loneliness, love, loyalty and betrayal. Letters help in personal transformation, helping to reduce anxiety and strengthen spiritual connection.

4. Discussion of the results

As A. Zaliznyak writes: "... today's explosion of interest in diaries is stimulated [by the fact] ... that these texts themselves are ideally integrated into the postmodern aesthetic paradigm." And the diaries of those who identify themselves through tasawwuf (Sufism) are no exception.

The difference between the postmodern diary discourse and those diaries that were written in the past can be seen in the diary project of the historian M. Melnichenko “Prozhito". He has more than 45,000 entries in his database of 20th century diaries. Many of these diaries were "written in camps, prisons and exile, carried through wars and catastrophes" ^[13]. There is little postmodern saturation with oneself, text, and self-reflection. There is a lot of reflection about the world and about oneself, and little "pleasure from the text", which Barth writes about ^{[1, p. 462]}.

How ideas about diaries have changed over the past couple of decades is also evident from Berdyaev's comments on Poplavsky's diary. Encountering a prayer in the writer's diary: "God, God, don't leave me. God, give me strength...", Berdyaev writes: "My constant perplexity. How can you write like that?.. If this is a prayer, how did the pen not fall out of your hands? If people ever read it, how could they have enough literary shamelessness?"^[21].

Postmodern aesthetics, on the contrary, legalized posturing and performance, abolished shame.

Anyway, "the last two decades have been characterized by an extraordinary interest in the study of "auto-documentary" texts in general and diaries in particular. There was even the word diary studies, meaning a field of philology, to some extent separate from the study of related genres: autobiographies, memoirs and letters" ^[7].

Thus, it can be concluded that in the modern world, diary discourse has undergone significant changes, shifting from intimacy to intimacy, as Jacques Lacan notes. In online diaries, authors often expose themselves to an external, impersonal Other, losing touch with the real reader and genuine intimacy. Postmodern aesthetics has legalized this demonstrativeness and narcissism, replacing deep meaning with self-expression for the sake of publicity. However, Sufi diaries, despite the penetration of postmodern trends, retain their connection with spiritual roots, offering a different, dialogical approach to self-knowledge.

Speaking of spiritual diaries, let us recall the words of the writer Orhan Pamuk: "...historians and literary critics remind us that keeping a diary is not in the tradition of Islamic culture. The idea of introducing others to your notes eliminates the idea of intimacy that underlies the concept of a "diary." The diary, which is kept with the expectation of publication, suggests some insincerity, pseudo-anonymity" ^[17]. The same paradox of "online diaries" is noted by A. Zaliznyak, calling open-access online diaries "second-hand socks" ^[7], as something comical, absurd, self-denying and, thus, perfectly consistent with the aesthetics of postmodernism phenomenon.

Postmodernity has also affected the authors of spiritual diaries and believers in general. Sufi diarists are not uncommon today. Some of these letters are also published, and pages are opened on social networks where contests are held for the best letter to the Prophet Muhammad and his family.^[2] Some diaries are kept private, but the experience of keeping such diaries is often freely available. We will not analyze all online diaries of Sufis and will limit ourselves to diaries in the form of letters to spiritual mentors, which were provided to us for research and which we used in working with clients as a way of self-reflection and psychocorrection.

Defining the type of communication and genre features of the diary in general, it is advisable to take as the basis of genre education "the convention of relations with the addressee of the text, which the writer assumes" ^{[2, p. 160]}. Zalizniak's diary in the form of letters belongs to an intermediate auto-documentary genre, between the diary and the epistolary genre ^[7].

However, if we are talking about letters to deceased recipients, the publication of which is not intended by the author, then in the psycholinguistic sense, it is more likely to be a diary discourse than an epistolary one. The author of the letters to the deceased mentor assumes that these texts written on a physical medium will be read only by himself. Contacting a mentor (prophet, saint) will be the author's chosen communication strategy based on his belief about the spiritual connection between the student's heart and the mentor's heart. At the same time, this text is not physically intended to be read by anyone other than the author himself.

In one of the diaries, in the form of a letter to the prophet, we read:

"I'll write you a letter.

But I won't send it by mail.

I'll read it to you.

At your grave on a quiet night" [FR. 13]

When determining the main type of communication in diary discourse, diary researchers are based on the work of Lotman Yu.M. "Autocommunication: "I" and "The Other" as addressees" ^[19], in which the scientist for the first time introduces the term autocommunication as a model of "I –I" communication, when the addressee and the addressee coincide in the person of the author. "...we have a message transmission from "I" to "I". These are all cases when a person refers to himself, in particular, those diary entries that are not made for the purpose of memorizing certain information, but are intended, for example, to clarify the inner state of the writer, an understanding that does not occur without writing" ^[11]. It is the appeal of the author's text to the author himself, when no other reader than the author is thought of for the written text, according to Anna Zaliznyak, that is genre-forming for the diary ^[7].

The term "autocommunication" introduced by Lotman can be considered as a purely postmodern concept. This term sheds light on modern diary fashion and the fascination with selfies described by Pertsev, on the phenomenon of intimacy introduced by Lacan ^[25] and digital narcissism.

In the work "Roland Barthes about Roland Barthes" the author writes: "I live in a society of senders… From all sides, there is a rush to enjoy writing, production... Texts and spectacles tend to go where there is no demand for them.… Unfortunately, they do not meet any friends ... or partners, but only "acquaintances"..." ^{[1, p. 30]}.

Texts are written in much greater numbers than they are read. The memosphere is full of comical images of people enthusiastically rereading their comments.

Can autocommunication be considered a full-fledged type of communication, or is it more correct to call it self-reflection, internal speech in the light of communicative ontology ^{[9, 24]}? If we look at the term "autocommunication", taking into account the communicative turn in science and culture, in the paradigm of the philosophy of the Other, Habermas's theory of communicative action, is it possible to agree with Lotman Yu.M. and his statement that autocommunication (outside the context of communication with the Other) is "a factor of personality transformation and changing its code" ^[11]?

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Therefore, a diary in the form of letters, as Anna Zaliznyak writes, is an intermediate form of an auto-documentary text. We described the theolinguistic structure of such letters earlier ^[10], and here we add that such letters reflect many Sufi communicative rituals, so the type of communication in such letters is similar to the type of prayer communication described in detail by Prokhatilova ^[19], Gabriel Bunge, and Muskheshvili ^[14].

Interestingly, in one of the sayings, the prophet himself points out that prayer cannot be called autocommunication. The Prophet once addressed those who were shouting out loud prayers:

‏ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ارْبَعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَيْسَ تَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلاَ غَائِبًا إِنَّكُمْ تَدْعُونَ سَمِيعًا قَرِيبًا وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ ‏"

"O people, be calm, truly, you are not addressing the deaf ..., you are addressing the hearing, He is close to you, He is with you" ^[4]. Given the worshipper's worldview, we would call such an appeal not an autocommunication, but an appeal to You, not to I. Although the response from You will be mediated by the "language in which the book of the universe is written", events and phenomena, dreams and states of the heart.

The very term "autocommunication", in our opinion, reflects certain trends of postmodern infantilization of a person, depriving him of full-fledged authorship in communicative action: today, a person generally hears more of himself than another. He "does not hear" the Other not only metaphorically, but also physically: a person covers his ears with headphones and hears a signal transmitted by technical means much more often than he hears real Others around him. The same thing happens with monitors: looking at the monitor, a person does not see the real You sitting opposite. The illusion of intimacy with "subscribers" and "friends" deprives him of real intimacy with real people, because it requires more effort. This is how the ability of the psyche to integrate real communicative experience is lost, the ability to hear and withstand the hurting world of the not-Self, while "not crumbling" into fragments ^[6], remaining oneself, living the futility of encountering the otherness of You and, nevertheless, preserving the value of You, the value of Me and the value of the space between Me and You.

What the outstanding philologist and philosopher Lotman Yu. M. called autocommunication, we would call a certain type of speech, but not communication. In Lotman's understanding, autocommunication builds a connection not along the line of space, but along the line of time – it connects itself with itself in time (the self of the past with the present, the future). Issues of temporality are the subject of research in philosophy ^[22], and require special attention. Within the framework of this article, we only note that communication with oneself will not be a full-fledged communicative action in the understanding of Yu. Habermas, as interest in You is lost, the focus of attention directed to You is lost ^[24].

According to Yaroslavtseva, in the work "Human communicative ontology: the principle of focus", it is necessary to distinguish between the information field and communication. The latter exists in dialog forms and relies on feedback systems. Autocommunication as a "connection with oneself in different periods of time" rather reflects the reflexive function of speech as a tool of self-awareness and thinking. When it comes to the connection of an object with itself, let's assume that it is more correct to talk about identity or continuity. As an autocommunication, Lotman cites the example of an author reading aloud his own poem in a new, printed form. We mentioned modern memes about repeatedly rereading one's own comments, messages, and posts, comically counting reactions and "likes" to one's own photos: in psychoanalytic terminology, here we are more likely to talk about the regression of the adult psyche to the narcissistic stage of preschool child development, when "I and my importance" are placed in the focus of the child's attention, "I and my achievements." With such a focus of consciousness, full contact with You becomes impossible. In age psychology, this is assessed as the norm for a child, but a lack of mental maturity for an adult.

To summarize what has been written, let's say that a diary in the form of a letter to a spiritual mentor can be considered as an intermediate genre of auto-documentary writing, which has the characteristics of both a diary and an epistolary genre, in which communication takes place along the line of "Me and You". Despite the fact that such letters are a specific diary form, we consider it inappropriate to classify such texts as autocommunications. Taking into account the picture of the world of the letter writer, communication is built with Another, the author expects a response from the non-Self, for the author this is a necessary condition of letters. Otherwise, letters lose their usefulness for the author, who lives in the Sufi worldview. In Sufi communication studies, as well as in communicative ontology in general, the transition from Self to a new Self occurs exclusively through You.

Conclusions

The purpose of the study was to analyze diary discourse as a form of autocommunication and identify its psychotherapeutic and spiritual potential in the modern cultural context. Based on the analysis of theoretical sources, interpretation of Sufi traditions and empirical data obtained in the course of working with clients, the following results have been achieved.

Substantiation of the autocommunication model: The study showed that diary discourse in the form of letters to a spiritual mentor goes beyond the classical "Me –Me" model of Yu.M. Lotman and approaches the dialogical "Me – You" model of Martin Buber. This approach allows us to rethink autocommunication as a process involving the metaphysical Other, which opens up new horizons in the study of spiritual and psychological self-reflection.

Integration of mystical practices into psychological work: the practice of keeping diaries in the form of letters to a mentor has demonstrated its effectiveness as a method of reducing anxiety, working out addictive behavior and improving interpersonal relationships. This highlights the importance of integrating traditional spiritual practices into modern psychotherapeutic approaches.

The development of the genre of auto-documentary texts: the study confirmed that diary-letters are a hybrid genre combining elements of diary and epistolary literature. This opens up prospects for further study of auto-documentary texts in terms of the uniqueness of the type of communication and genre specifics.

Contribution to the study of the Sufi tradition: The analysis of Sufi narrative and discursive practices allows us to actualize their significance for modern society. It is revealed that the practices of metaphysical dialogue through diary discourse remain relevant as a tool for spiritual growth and personal development.

Comparison with modern online diaries: The key differences between spiritual diaries and the narcissistic orientation of online diaries are revealed. This highlights the uniqueness of traditional practices focused on internal dialogue and metaphysical search, which can be useful for a critical analysis of modern forms of self-presentation.

The importance of research for science and practice

The obtained results contribute to the development of religious studies, psychology, philology and cultural studies. The study shows the possibility of an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of autocommunication in diary discourse, opening up prospects for the integration of spiritual practices into educational and psychotherapeutic activities.

Practical application possibilities

The study opens up the prospect of introducing diary practices into psychological counseling in narrative psychotherapy. The acquired knowledge can be used in educational programs on religious studies and cultural studies. Based on the research, methods of working with the texts of spiritual diaries can be developed to strengthen the skills of self-reflection, self-therapy and overcoming emotional crises.

Among the aspects requiring further study are the following:

1. The study of diary discourse in the context of other traditions in order to identify universal and specific features, therapeutic effect and cultural and philosophical analysis.

2. Development of quantitative methods for evaluating the effectiveness of diary practices in psychotherapy.

3. In-depth comparative analysis of online diaries and spiritual diaries as new phenomena of autocommunication in the digital age.

Thus, the study highlights the relevance of integrating spiritual and mystical practices into modern approaches to the study of autocommunication, opening up new horizons for both theoretical analysis and practical activities.

^[1] The author's style and punctuation are preserved.

^[2] See https://www.instagram.com/letterstothebeloved/