Abstract
As an ecstatic modality of ritual, worship, in a real sense, is an endeavor to free one’s thoughts, to enliven one’s conscience, and to revitalize one’s heart. To be sure, worship takes place in a cultural field; that is, worship transpires in the realms of solitary reflection and complex social dealings. Worship, then, is grounded in and is conditioned by a single vision of “the winged moment as it flies” (William Blake). In other words, the experience of adoration and sacred awe is impacted by means of an unique and singular something (Rudolf Otto), by means of the spirit which both contains and revives our spirit (Howard Thurman), and by means of the ritual symbols which reflect and create anti-structures in an otherwise structured world (Victor Turner). Moreover, worship has to do with acts of sheer worthiness, reverence, and respect as these acts are associated with ritually endowed religious practices.