Restoring Awe

There is often an intuitive recognition of that which we can otherwise put into words to better articulate the concept of awe, wonder, and beauty. We can feel its power upon our hearts as we embrace its effects. Whatever evokes moral disdain and revulsion can be considered obscenity, but that which stirs delight and produces moral approval can be defined as awe-provoking in the beauty of its nature. There is a potency upon the human soul with being held in the power of awe, and its beauty is shrouded in mystery. Words are insufficient to provide clarity as to why the awe-evoking subject captivates, tantalizes, and stirs us. It touches the core of the soul and enflames the thoughts, emotions, passions, joys, and desires to the extent that beholding the awe-evoking subject cannot be further expounded upon. 

Awe, wonder, and beauty maintain a peculiar capacity to awaken the soul in a manner that little else is fully capable of; the experience of encountering awe draws us into a fuller and more transcendent exposure to a greater splendor than ourselves. Whether through the experiences of smelling a sweet-smelling and pleasing aroma, being overwhelmed with the scent of a flower and the fragrance of a perfume, listening to the audible properties of the pitch, rhythm, harmony, and resolution of a concert, or simply becoming breathless with the magnificent displays of summer sunsets and rolling meadows on interstates, it becomes apparent that aesthetic qualities are more difficult to describe in their elusive nature than mere mathematic formulae. All-satisfying, thirst-quenching, and soul-evoking pleasure will await for those that desire to take delight in beholding awe and wonder from the galactic cosmos to the microscopic glories of creation. 

As a fuller spectrum of emotions in their inexpressibility to understand, encountering awe and wonder can bring forth admiration, gratitude, love, and affection whereas this can also bring forth dread, fear, and confusion. Dacher Keltner, professor and director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab, regularly realizes through his research and interaction with the California communities that opportunities for awe provide forward movements in creative thinking, enhancements in overall health, and an inter-connectedness to the community of origin and increases positive and pro-social behaviors as sharing personal resources, acting in kindness, demonstrating heroism with self-sacrifice, and maintaining cooperation. 

Additionally, awe and wonder bring a transformative experience that results in a full immersion into the present moment and reorientation with time. Gazing upon the depths of the Grand Canyon, viewing a smiling infant taking the first steps, listening to jazz being played at a street corner, protesters crying out against various social injustices, and observing the gentle cascade of autumnal leaves can all lead to these experiences of awe and wonder. Whether at the cosmic levels of grandeur in astronomy or at the microscopic and majestic levels of splendor in creation, we are continually invited into more encounters with awe. Vastness and transcendence are frequently ascribed to awe-inspiring experiences that cause individuals to expand in understanding themselves more, extend knowledge structures, and develop new capacities to assimilate these awe-inspiring experiences into a larger framework of new perspectives, thoughts, and ways of processing. This can invigorate personal growth and promote a new way of relating to our values and beliefs. Essentially, awe-inducing moments and experiential encounters with awe and wonder produce a re-conceptualization of ourselves in relation to society at large

Physicists and cosmologists alike are continually in search for the Theory of Everything (T.O.E.), an all-encompassing hypothesis that has an ever-expansive explanatory power to convey understanding of both the subatomic world of particle physics as well as the galactic expanse of supernovae and black holes. Human language inadequately articulates the joys of beholding awe and wonder, and we must cultivate emotional and intellectual dimensions worth relishing through a variety of terms worthy of such an experience. In beholding awe, wonder, and beauty in creation, we are fashioned to be: enamored, enchanted, engrossed, enthralled, enraptured, entranced, enticed, enravished, and excited, astonished, amazed, astounded, and absorbed with agog, beguiled and bedazzled, startled and staggered, smitten and stunned, thrilled and thunder stuck, obsessed and preoccupied, overwhelmed and overwrought, intrigued and impassioned, enthused and electrified, fascinated, intoxicated, infatuated, and mesmerized, charmed, consumed, and exhilarated. Living in awe and wonder while beholding beauty have massive implications for our subjective well-being, and these terms are some of the signature marks within the multi-faceted rays of this brilliant diamond of being held in the power of awe. 

Quieting the chattering mind, practicing silence, and retreating into solitude with the natural world are all necessary exercises with integrating a lifestyle of encountering awe. This has been lost in the process of becoming an adult through the passage of time and must be recovered. Awe invites us into greater capacities of perception to more fully participate and attend to the subject beheld in openness and curiosity. We have capacities for emotional, physical, and mental pleasures. Encounters with awe lead us into receiving a richer meaning and more enchanting light of all that is around us. It has been part of our nature to long for true beauty and establish an authentic preoccupation with awe. Mankind has consistently been seen to search for something behind things, that which is deeply hidden. This desire drives us to explore, discover, and ignite fascination that leads us into awe and wonder with cognitive freshness, mental clarity, and emotional inspiration. 

Here are some benefits of pursuing awe-inducing experiences and wonder-supplying encounters: 

• Sociological research literature emphasizes that awe-inspiring moments bring people together and enhance collaboration, cohesiveness, and mutual encouragement as we identify that we are part of a larger narrative, greater than ourselves 
• Awe and wonder bring us into novel experiences that evoke curiosity and summon a greater desire to journey into the fringes and borders of unchartered territories yet explored 
• Based upon the reflections of the Shiota Psychophysiology Laboratory for Affective Testing at Arizona State University, awe and wonder can bring soothing and comforting physiological alterations to the body 
• Throughout human history, there are countless examples of poems, sonnets, essays, and paintings that reflect the creative genius of hearts that are inspired through awe and wonder. These creative works reflect new perspectives as well as demonstrative mental flexibility after beholding awe 
• Narcissism melts in the face of awe: it creates amazement with a dosage of fear. Experiencing awe becomes associated with the vanishing self that connects to the larger world and transitions the egocentric self into a more transcendent view of the individual in the world 
• Awe and wonder support new patterns of thinking that encodes, processes, and assimilates new information into an open and non-judgmental manner that can be likened to the effects of mindfully observing the awe-inspiring object. It creates an openness to new information and stillness related to time as if time ceased in the awe encounter 
• Awe and wonder continue to be noted as improving altruism as people give to others as part of being involved in a bigger storyline beyond themselves 
• Those that experience positive emotions associated with awe and wonder are also observed to have lower levels of Interleukin 6 (IL 6), a physiological marker that inflames depression, stress, and cardiovascular disease
• Beholding and accessing awe can stimulate hope as awe-inspiring moments can bring exhilaration and instill positive emotions in seasons of dryness and mundaneness. This ultimately will lead to newer expressions of happiness