Why You Need “Awe” in Your Life and 3 Ways to Get More of It

Awe is a relatively new field of psychological study, but it has already demonstrated robust and positive impacts on our overall well-being. Awe is when we have experiences of vastness (which can be physical, perceptual, or conceptual) and/or transcendence, which challenge our assumptions and lead us to accommodate new information into how we make sense of the world.

A recent article on awe by Maria Monroy and Dacher Keltner of the University of California, Berkeley reviewed how it works and identified ways we can capture it in our own lives. According to the authors, awe activates five processes that improve mental and physical health:

• Physiological changes. Studies have found significant relationships between awe and neurophysiological shifts, including increased vagal tone (i.e., the rest and digest of parasympathetic nervous system activity), lower sympathetic arousal (i.e., lower levels of stress responses), lower inflammation, lower default-mode network activity (a brain area associated with self-reflectiveness), and increases in oxytocin.
• Transformation of self. A heightened focus on the self has been linked to various mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, body-image struggles, self-harm, drug abuse, eating disorders, as well as social problems, including aggression, racism, bullying, and incivility. However, experiences with awe diminish self-focus, as has been documented in laboratory studies, daily diaries, images of nature or visual art, and studies conducted in nature settings.
• Prosociality. Experiences of awe, both in the lab and natural settings, spark greater cooperation, sacrifice, sharing, and other forms of altruism.
• Social integration. Awe can make people feel more connected to their social and natural worlds through feelings of common humanity with others and belonging within social networks. Having strong social networks is one of the biggest predictors of positive mental and physical health.
• Greater meaning. Meaning, or a sense of purpose, is integral to making sense of our lives, connections between our present and past, values, and relationships with others. Awe experiences can ignite engagement in meaning-making.

So how can we incorporate positive experiences of awe into our everyday lives? Drs. Monroe and Keltner identified three ways:

1. Nature. Awe in nature has been found to decrease rumination and stress, and increase well-being. Vastness, which makes people feel small, has been cited as a particularly powerful experience.
2. Mystical encounters and spirituality. Feeling connected to the supernatural and religiosity has positive effects on physical and mental well-being, including stronger social relationships, greater well-being, and decreased anxiety and depression. Awe, a core component of mystical and spiritual experiences, can induce prosociality, a greater sense of meaning, and reduce stress among other health benefits.
3. Collective movement: Music, dance, and ceremony. When groups engage in synchronous movements, like collective rituals, religious ceremonies, chanting, praying, celebrating, and enjoying music and dance, it can all bring about awe and benefit health and well-being. For example, listening to an affecting piece of music with others can make people feel small and/or transported to another world.

One of the wonderful things about awe is that it can be found all around us, whether it be through a moving piece of music, a beautiful image, or learning something new—maybe even mind-bending. With little effort and attention, we have the immediate power to elevate our own everyday experiences into something, well, magical.