The Power of Awe

For decades, most psychological research has focused on the study of negative emotions.  Over the years researchers primarily studied depression, anxiety and various other mental illnesses.  They were trying to find tools to help people overcome these challenges; which explains the need to focus on the negative issues. But in the last 10 to 15 years, there has been a new branch of psychology that is emerging.  It’s literally called “Positive Psychology”.  Those who are studying this field are looking for things that cause us to experience more joy and peace in our lives so that we can live life to the fullest.  Most people are aware of the studies on gratitude.  These studies have shown that just writing down 5 things you are grateful for every day has a positive effect on your mood and your life

This study of positive psychology has led us to a new current topic regarding the benefits of experiencing “awe” in our lives.  How is awe defined?  Awe is when we come across something so vast, or profound, that it transcends our understanding of the world.  I think awe is the magical feeling everyone is looking for in Christmas and many other special occasions.  Research is showing that awe if very powerful.  Awe can transform our lives!  If we can get more awe in our daily lives, we will be less stressed, more healthy, happier and more connected to people around us.

Awe is universal.  It is seen in every culture, and the facial expressions for awe are almost identical in every culture.  When we experience awe, it lowers our blood pressure, reduces inflammation in our bodies and helps us relax.  Awe actually calms the part of the brain that stimulates our fight or flight response. 

Awe not only creates physical change.  It also takes us outside of ourselves mentally.  It causes us to no longer focus on the minute details and concerns of our lives.  It causes us to be less materialistic.  It causes us to see life in perspective, and I believe it connects us to God.

Research has shown that when we experience awe in our lives, we move towards other people and to something or someone larger than ourselves.  Awe causes us to be less selfish and less self centered.  

A study on awe was done on a college campus in California.  The study had two groups of people.  One group was asked to look at a beautiful grove of eucalyptus trees, some of which were over 200 feet tall, for one minute.  The other group was asked to look at the science building for one minute.  The researchers then had a person walk by each group and drop a box of pens.  The ones who were gazing at the trees were far more likely to help pick up the pens than those in the other group.  Not only that - The group that looked at the trees showed a higher degree of ethical decision making, had much more patience after the experiment and reported that they were more likely to volunteer or donate their time to help others.  

Awe causes us to see ourselves in perspective.  Our lives and our problems are not nearly as large as they appear in comparison to the world of God.  It somehow reminds us that we are connected with people around us rather than being completely set apart. 

How do we experience awe in our day to day lives?  It requires intention and attention.  Most people experience awe in nature, art or beauty.  I have experienced awe while whale watching.  I experienced it while stargazing in South Africa when there was very little light pollution to dilute their beauty.  But awe can be found while looking at a beautiful sunset, watching rabbits playing in the backyard or even seeing a flower that has somehow grown in the crack of a sidewalk.  We can experience awe by looking at works of art or architecture.  We can also experience it by hearing or reading about a heroic or brave act or a miraculous story of healing or rescue.

If we can just get the mindset that awe is all around us, we can begin to see it and hear it more and more frequently.  Most of the time we are thinking about things like traffic, the bills that need to be paid or what to have for dinner.  We have to choose to look for awe.  Choosing to be intentional about looking for awe helps us live happier and healthier lives.  You can begin today!  Look around you at nature.  Seek out places where there is natural beauty.  Here is an “awesome” fact that may surprise you.  Just looking at something in a photograph or even remembering and thinking about something awe inspiring has the same impact as actually being there! 

Awe can enrich your life and help you be happier and healthier

If you want to read more on the power of awe, here are some resources

The Power of Awe by Jake Eagle, LPC and Michael Amster, MD

Awestruck:  How Embracing Wonder Can Make You Happier, Healthier and More Connected by Jonah Paquette

In Awe:  Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning and Joy by John O’Leary

Dealing with Life’s Inevitable Losses

One of the things we all have in common is we all will suffer loss at several times in our life time.  Actually we can count on it being a rather consistent part of the human journey, it is inevitable.  For these losses not to impact us and challenge us would be to expect ourselves to be “not human”.  It’s not about “will we grieve”, it’s about “how healthy will we grieve” that will allow these to be opportunities for growth and strength rather than times that our soul diminishes and we get stuck in elements of grieving.   

When we think about grief, we usually think about the death of a loved one. But, there are many types of grief.  We grieve over loss of a job, moving away from your home town, loss of a friendship, everyone is grieving over the impact of the Pandemic in our lives, or even life not turning out exactly how we thought it would.

Even good things in our lives can have an element of grief.  Graduating from college is an accomplishment, but can also include grieving over loss of your college life.  A child’s wedding brings joy and a sense of loss or grief as they transition into a new stage in their lives.

Often we experience cumulative losses and therefore cumulative grief.  Moving to a new city means giving up our house, our friends, our children’s school, your church, gym and even your grocery store. 

Recognizing the various griefs we experience in life doesn’t mean we wallow in misery and don’t recognize the positive.  But, we do need to acknowledge loss and grief and allow ourselves to process through it.  Often, with cumulative grief, people wonder why they are feeling down, or are irritable, having trouble finding joy in their lives, or are feeling particularly anxious.  Even a number of very small losses can affect your emotions or sense of well-being.  

It may be as simple as acknowledging that you are sad over a loss in your life, that you wished it had turned out differently.  Allow yourself to feel that, talk with a friend about it, see a therapist.  Or journal about it.

Large losses, such as a loss of a loved one or infertility, loss of a significant job, diminishing health or bankruptcy especially take time to work through.  Many in our culture expect us to “snap out of it” or “move on.”  Or if we have enough faith then it wouldn’t bother us.  Grief is a process and it takes time. We can’t hurry ourselves through it. We have to walk through it.

Everyone processes grief differently as every individual is unique but we do see that most people will have moments of shock and denial, we usually feel some level of anger which is normal and to be expected, times of discouragement or depression and physical mourning responses like tears.  People generally go in and out of these stages, back and forth but if we know how to process them well then the next time we hit a stage the intensity will slowly diminish and the stages will begin to spread out and eventually we begin to accept what has happened and see the future more hopefully.  If we grieve in a healthy way we can ultimately find meaning in our human experience of loss and actually find growth and strength in the journey.

We must think marathon and not a sprint however when it comes to grief.  We don’t speed grieve.  Studies suggest the death of a close loved one can be a two to five year process.  Many would say we never get over some losses.  That is true, we don’t get over loss, we get through it.

A therapist can offer support through the process. For many people, just knowing that what they are feeling is normal and learning the stages of grief and how to walk through them helps tremendously.

If you are experiencing loss of any kind, we encourage you to find therapist or pastor who will walk with you through your grief.