Our brains are wired for awe says scientist Dacher Keltner*. This openness to wonder is neither naïve nor exclusive to mystics, artists, philosophers, and anthropologists. We can all walk the path of awe.
First, the definition. Keltner and scientist Jonathan Haidt define awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.”
Awe blurs the boundaries of self with something larger. The default self - in control, distinct, independent – becomes the small self.
No longer are we listening to, as Aldous Huxley described it, “the interfering neurotic who, in waking hours, tries to run the show." Quieting this incessant voice, this "mean egotism" as Ralph Waldo Emerson called it, yields a deeper yet more diffuse perspective.
Keltner and scientist Yang Bai summed up their research behind the why of awe - what inspires it and how to find it – by pointing to eight wonders of life.
Moral beauty – the kindness and courage of others
Collective effervescence – what binds us together
Nature – including natural disasters
Music – evoking memories in time and transcending place
Visual design – Notre Dame comes to mind
Spiritual and religious stories
Stories of life and death – birth and dying
Epiphanies
To their surprise, moral beauty was the leading cause of awe in their cross-cultural survey of 26 countries. Stories of both little acts of kindness and extraordinary examples of resilience made people feel awe.
As we enter this new year, may we both observe and create moral beauty. I think this is a thoroughly doable and awesome resolution.
And in our yoga practice, let’s experience that collective effervescence that come from moving in unison together and letting go of the default self. Or slow down and notice the beauty of the world around us, little mysteries beyond explanation. Or find the strength within to face a cancer diagnosis. Maybe we can dissolve the boundaries of our individual self and connect with something much larger.
* Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner
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