In this episode of the Emotional Expedition podcast, we explore the complex emotions of awe and wonder. Host Meghan Thomas takes us on a journey through personal stories and scientific research to understand what these emotions are, how they manifest in our lives, and how we can cultivate more of them.
Key Points:
- Awe and wonder are emotions that are often experienced in response to nature, art, music, spiritual experiences, or ideas. They are both essential to the human experience and can leave us feeling small compared to the vastness of our universe.
- Wonder fuels our passion for exploration, curiosity and learning.
- In contrast, awe inspires the wish to let shine, to acknowledge and to unite. Awe can lead to personal change and growth and can be beneficial for our mental health and well-being.
We share responses from our Facebook community about moments of awe they experienced, which range from witnessing the beauty of nature to seeing loved ones grow and learn.
According to Dacher Keltner, awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends our current understanding of the world. The eight wonders of life that he identified are: moral beauty, nature, music, visual design, collective effervescence, spirituality, epiphanies or big ideas, and births and deaths.
Experiencing awe produces a multitude of positive effects such as making us calmer, kinder, and more creative. It reins in the ego and makes us feel more connected. Awe reduces stress, depression, PTSD symptoms in veterans, and is also good for cardiovascular health and the immune system.
Resources Mentioned:
- Atlas of the Heart Book Study with Meg: https://www.meghanthomas.com/atlas-of-the-heart
- Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown: https://amzn.to/3KQjQeW
- Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner: https://amzn.to/40YW6L0
Thank you for listening to this episode of Emotional Expedition. If you enjoyed it, please share it with someone you love and leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let's cultivate more moments of awe and wonder in our lives together!
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