Moments of awe: why they matter
Allowing time and space to pause and notice expands our perspective and brings us out of our own thoughts.
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; or you can live as if everything is a miracle. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”
Experiencing awe can have significant benefits for mind body wellbeing: as well as simply helping us feel good, moments of wonder enhance our cognitive function and creativity, boost our mood and expand our perspective. Feelings of awe are even associated with the release of various ‘happy’ chemicals in the brain such as dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. Moments of awe are closely related to being present, and arise when we pause to step outside our thoughts to tune into what’s around us. Lucia Cockcroft, mindfulness teacher and co-founder of Satvada retreats, explores why allowing ourselves to feel awe matters.
What is awe?
Awe can be described as ‘a feeling of reverence mixed with wonder’, produced by a sublime or extremely powerful experience. Closely allied to transcendence or amazement, it is the feeling that arises when we are in the presence of something vast that brings us out of ourselves and challenges our understanding on the world.
Very often, awe is experienced when we are immersed in the natural world: perhaps we are standing underneath a velvet night sky scattered with stars; or at the top of a hill or mountain we have just climbed as we’re rewarded with a breathtaking view. Perhaps we are on a yoga and walking retreat in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains or taking a mindful solo walk without the distractions of headphones or a smartphone.
If we are attentive and allow ourselves to pause every once in a while, moments of awe can also be found in the apparently ordinary every day: noticing the first crocus appearing towards the end of winter; listening to, and feeling, a moving piece of music; tuning into an inspiring podcast; watching the birds glide gracefully in the sky - isn’t it miraculous that they can fly?.
As Jon Kabat-Zinn, scientist and groundbreaking mindfulness teacher famously said: ‘The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.’
According to scientists, awe may be part of our survival mechanism, having helped our ancestors survive in the face of situations and environments that needed group action. In our modern day, scientists are recognising the benefits of awe for our mind body wellbeing, for clear thinking, maintaining perspective and even for our relationships.
Being Mode
In our western cultures, with their obsession with speed, noise and striving, we can easily feel that moments of awe are sorely out of reach. Alas this is very normal - and if there are occasions when we are not rushing around or trying to achieve, fix or analyse, we tend to fill any space with more activity!
That familiar ‘tired but wired’ feeling is often a manifestation of this addiction to speed and being busy: our nervous systems are frayed and we have forgotten how to physically and mentally switch off.
In this ‘always on’ Doing Mode is almost impossible to tap into our innate capacity for awe. We do not have the attentional capacity to tune in sufficiently to what’s in front of us, or the downtime (moments of non-doing are filled with checking the smartphone again…) that allows us space to notice and feel. We are in always-on survival mode.
The intrinsic - and incredible - human qualities of curiosity, presence (mindfulness) and attention need to be in place for us to feel awe. For this, we need to offer ourselves permission to slow down at times and find space. Here are a few activities that may help us create the conditions from which wonder can arise.
Laying the path
Take a mindful walk in nature without your smartphone: whether this is your garden, patio or in the local park, the process is the same. Spend regular time - even just five or ten minutes - in nature, whether it’s in your garden, at a park, or on a beach. Tine into what your senses experience: the colors, the sounds and the smells. Just observe what you see, experience and feel without needing to achieve anything. Expect this to be challenging (habits of busyness are extremely addictive and hard to break) until you get a little more used to it!
What makes your heart sing? Perhaps it’s engaging with photography, music or art? Perhaps you’re unsure yet? Spending time listening to music or visiting an art gallery is an opportunity to allow mystery and awe to arise. We have to be immersed in the experience first.
Learn something, or go somewhere, new: Learning new things and exploring new places can naturally ignite our curiosity and sense of presence, leaving space for awe. This needn’t necessitate travelling far or taking big steps - for example, changing the route for your daily walk to work, or to the station, opening your senses; noticing what you see, hear, feel along the way.
Cultivating openness, gratitude, presence: There’s a famous saying that goes: ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s, there are few’ (Shunryu Suzuk). Unfortunately it can take a big health scare, personal loss or tragedy, to remind ourselves that life is precious, precarious and finite. What if we could train ourselves to cultivate qualities of openness, gratitude and mindfulness in everyday life? A mindfulness retreat or course such as the groundbreaking eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction can be a wonderful place to start.
Training ourselves to remain present, grateful, open to awe and to whatever life brings, can be some of the greatest gifts of fully embracing this life. Go well. Savour your moments. They won’t last forever. Those enduring words from Einstein again:
‘There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; or you can live as if everything is a miracle. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.’
Taking it further:
Satvada retreats runs luxury mindfulness weekends and yoga and walking escapes in the awe-inspiring setting of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Go here for more.
UK meditation and mindfulness retreats and weekends: a handy guide