[progressally_objectives]

Video

Lesson

Awe is a powerful, positive emotional experience, and one that we can learn to cultivate. In fact, the Greater Good Science Center at UC-Berkeley identified the research on awe as one of the most important findings of 2015 in their study of the science of happiness!

Awe involves a feeling of vastness, of being in the presence of something much larger than ourselves. Perhaps we have a sense of the enormity of the world or the universe, or of human potential. We experience awe when we have to adjust our beliefs or perspectives — humans built cathedrals THAT big THAT long ago? trees can be THAT tall??

It’s frequently outdoors, in the presence of the natural world, that we experience awe. Consider the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson,

“In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life — no disgrace, no calamity… which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part of parcel of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental; to be brothers, to be acquaintances, master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty.”

That’s awe. And like gratitude, it brings us directly to the present moment. It’s a true moment of wonder, of inquiry, of awareness.

And it’s good for us! People who regularly experience awe have reduced inflammation, less self-importance and entitlement, and are kinder to strangers.

Your Mindful Move

So how do we cultivate awe? The most obvious answer is to go outside! Spend time in nature (the researchers at Berkeley take people to the nearby Redwoods), stare at the sky, ponder the beauty and vastness of the universe. Or look at a tall building (research shows that one works, too!)

We also experience awe when we witness unexpected acts of human kindness and goodness. The next time you see someone doing something nice, stop and notice it! Or change up your Facebook feed and follow HuffPost Good News — it’s all inspiring stories about goodness and positivity and kindness.

Enjoy the AWEsome!

“The experience of awe is about finding your place in the larger scheme of things. It is about quieting the press of self-interest. It is about feeling reverential toward participating in some expansive process that unites us all, and that ennobles our life’s endeavors.”

– Dacher Keltner, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life