Originally, when I received the different keys for this non-academic series of personal empowerment, or becoming the best version of yourself and living a life in abundance, the Power of Awe was not one of them.
However, during the course of the past year, I’ve been randomly bombarded with this key – from a radio talk show that I accidentally stumbled upon, a sermon in church, an article I was given to read by a friend, to a podcast that was shared on a random social media group which I would normally never visit. I’m telling you: bombarded! So much so, that I couldn’t ignore the Power of Awe any longer. And what a pleasant surprise I got when I started digging into this key and the neuroscience behind it! And once again: it is completely free of charge and available to anybody anywhere.
What is Awe?
Awe is described as a positive emotion somewhere between admiration and fear. It is that jaw-dropping ‘wow!’ feeling when you realize you are in the company of something much bigger than yourself. Something so majestic, mysterious and unexplainable that you momentarily forget about your own existence. Awe can be provoked by different scenarios depending on your personal interests.
You might experience awe when:
- You witness an exceptional sunrise or sunset
- You are in nature – the ocean, a majestic mountain, a rain forest
- You are star gazing
- You stand before an exceptional piece of art
- You listen to a musical masterpiece performed by a symphony orchestra
- You are part of a research team that makes a scientific breakthrough
As you enter the awe state, you suddenly feel small in the presence of something you don’t understand. Something you struggle to put words to. Something so much bigger than yourself and your problems; something almost holy. This realization is referred to as the “small self” – a healthy sense of perspective between your own self, your problems and your circumstances and the bigger picture of the world around you.
An interesting result of the Power of Awe from a 2020 research study (Sturm et al., 2020)
Researchers Virginia Sturm and Dacher Keltner took a control group on 15 minute “awe walks” for eight weeks. During these walks, participants were encouraged to become mindful and notice the small wonders of nature around them. Their assignment was to take selfies before, during and after these walks. The researchers were amazed to find the visible differences in how the walkers presented themselves in these photos, and the size of their smiles.
The faces of the walkers were prominent and clearly the main focus in the first photos, while they could see how the focus shifted to the background and their faces presented much smaller in the later photos. Also, the smiles in the photos widened as they entered the awe state.
“What we show here is that a very simple intervention—essentially a reminder to occasionally shift our energy and attention outward instead of inward—can lead to significant improvements in emotional well-being.”
Benefits of entering the “small self” state:
- Boosts positive, prosocial emotions
- Reduces stress, making you calmer
- Increases feelings of altruism, making you kinder
- Increases creativity
- Feels more connected and less rushed and impatient
- More inclined to help others
- Feels less narcissistic and entitled and more attuned to the common humanity
- Enhances feelings of generosity, well-being, and humility.
- Reduces signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety
Unfortunately, thanks to technology, longer working hours and an indoor lifestyle our experience of awe and all the associated benefits are on the decline.
How to bring awe back into your life
We were all born with a substantial amount of awe in our nature. Just look at children. Take them to an amusement park, nature reserve or any place outside their usual environment, and look at the wonder and contagious excitement pouring out of them. Unmasked awe is written all over their faces.
But then they become teenagers, and all of a sudden, it’s not cool to be excited any more. And awe is suppressed in order to keep up with the image. Sadly, as we grow older and wiser, the awe emotion keeps eluding us, unless we intentionally make a decision to change the bad habit and bring awe back into our lives.
Although witnessing something jaw-dropping magnificent automatically puts you in an awe state, it is fortunately not a requirement. You can learn to experience awe in the everyday, mundane life. And the more you allow the awe emotion back into your life, the easier it becomes to access that state. Before you know it, experiencing awe will be another one of the successful habits you are cultivating in order to access your life in abundance.
How to Trigger Awe
Here are a few practical tips to trigger the awe emotion:
- Increase your mindfulness. Learn to live in the moment; get out of your head and become more present in the now. You will become more aware of the hidden wonders all around you.
- Find your passion. If you appreciate a piece of art, you will enter the awe state much easier when looking at an exceptional artwork than listening to a symphony orchestra, and vice versa.
- Spend time in nature. Go for a walk in a park, at the beach or if you’re lucky enough in a nature reserve. Look at the untamed nature in all its glory and search for hidden treasures. Just smell the soil and the vegetation and exchange the TV screen for a real life adventure.
- Read an inspiring autobiography. Reading how other people managed to rise above their circumstances and conquered a difficult challenge can indeed encourage a state of awe.
- TURN OFF YOUR PHONE. The constant notifications are a distraction when you want to experience awe. Looking at the world through the screen of a technological device limits your perspective and experience to the size of that screen. Trust me, it’s much better in real life, and no photo will ever give justice to what you are seeing, feeling and experiencing anyway. Take a mental screenshot of what you are witnessing, and file it somewhere in your memory.
The Power of Awe for the believer
“O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have displayed Your splendour above the heavens. Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease. When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have established, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You have crowned him with glory and honour. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!” Ps 8 (AMP)
What an awesome scripture to help us feel closer to God and to enter the “small self” state! It’s when we turn our energy and attention outward to God, away from our own problems and circumstances, that we also improve our relationship with God. When you feel far from God, meditate on His character, His goodness, His omnipresence, His unselfish love, His indescribable GRACE and allow the Holy Spirit to overwhelm you with awe. God instructs us in His Word to honour Him, to worship Him, to glorify Him. Not because He needs it, but because He knows WE need the awe emotion that comes from it! Once again neuroscience proofs that His instructions are so, so good for us, thank you Jesus!
After completing the 20-hour virtual online Transformation Coaching System™ that I use, you will automatically enter the awe state much easier without any further effort from your side. As soon as you drop your mental and emotional baggage and Travel Lightly through life, you will experience the power of awe in your day-to-day life, guaranteed!
Contact me TODAY for a free 30 min online Session!
I am a certified Transformation Life Coach operating in Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape of South Africa. I also do virtual online life coaching sessions, so no matter where you are situated, all you need is an internet connection, a mobile phone or computer, and a space where you can meet with me uninterruptedly once a week for two hours.
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The next key #14 to personal empowerment (becoming the best version of yourself) is the POWER OF HEALTHY LIVING.
REFERENCES:
https://www.sacap.edu.za/blog/applied-psychology/what-is-awe/, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/202009/the-surprising-power-seeking-daily-dose-awe, https://hbr.org/2023/01/the-power-of-everyday-awe,
