Harnessing the Power of Awe

By Anne Decore, lmft

I recently attended a psychology conference in California where I had the opportunity to learn about the science of awe from Jonah Paquette, a clinical psychologist and author of the book “Awestruck: How Embracing Wonder Can Make You Happier, Healthier, and More Connected.”

So, what is awe and why is it important in our lives?

According to Paquette we can define it as “the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world.”

Vastness (perceptual or conceptual) and transcendence (assumption-challenging) are the two key components of awe. Awe is a universal human emotion found across all cultures, though there are individual differences in frequency of experiencing awe, and in sources of awe.

I invite you to try this quick mental exercise:

Think about a particularly awe-inspiring memory that you can recall.

Where were you?

Who were you with?

What was the experience like? How did your body feel?

How did you feel toward others?

What perspectives did you have?

You may have noticed from your personal recollection how awe served as a pathway into connection, compassion, curiosity, gratitude, optimism. In other words, awe increases important positive mood states. Studies show that awe activates areas in the brain linked to interpersonal bonding and the release of oxytocin. And, it reliably leads to a feeling of smallness relative to the world around us, a phenomenon known as “the small self”, where we feel linked to something greater than ourselves, increasing our sense of meaning.

In other words, awe induction is really good for us. How can you experience more awe-inspired moments? Look for it in the everyday. As Dr.Paquette puts it, “how many things in your field of vision are actually wondrous, but that we overlook every day?”

Here are some places likely to yield results:

Nature, science, timelessness & vastness, courage & inspiration, the arts, gratitude, social connection, new learnings.

While I was in California for the conference, I got to see fireworks light up the night sky beside a dear longtime friend of mine. The only thing better than awe is sharing it with others.

The Power of Gratitude

By Nicole marino, amft

Hearing something as simple as “practicing gratitude is so important” seems so obvious and self-explanatory, but it is a practice that is often overlooked. In our current world that is full of social media comparison, it is even more important to disconnect and remind yourself about the life that you are living. Big or small; we all have things in our lives to be grateful for every day. It is so easy to go on tik tok or Instagram and see a perfectly curated video or feed of someone’s life full of beautiful vacations or a successful career or a perfect relationship, but social media is a highlight reel. Social media only shows the good parts of our lives. It doesn’t often show the down days full of stress, sadness, loneliness, or defeat. Don’t fall into the comparison trap and assume that everyone else’s lives are so much better than yours, especially seeing it through the lens of social media content.

Reflecting at least once a day on the things that are positive or make you happy in your life can really help reframe your mindset and overall mental health struggles such as anxiety and depression. People can assume that in order to be grateful, we need to have a lot of exciting things going on outside of the mundane tasks of daily life. But that is not true. You can express gratitude for something as simple as the sun shining today, your walk with your dog, your warm comforter, or cooking your favorite meal. It does not have to be anything unique or outrageous!

Some ideas for practicing gratitude:

• Wake up and create a list first thing in the morning either in your head or on a piece of paper/journal

• Do a daily reflecting meditation

• Talk out loud with someone and share things you both are feeling grateful for

• Create a gratitude jar where you add at least one thing per day

• Call a friend or family member and express your gratitude for your relationship with them

• Create a list of gratitude affirmations to read/recite each day to yourself

• Lay in bed at the end of the day and reflect on the aspects of your day that you are grateful for

Ideas of things to be grateful for:

Like I stated before, the things that you feel grateful for do not have to be out of the ordinary. It is important to reflect on the simple things in life that bring an extra spark of joy if we were not able to do it. This may be different each day given your routine or schedule, and that is okay! Just reflect from whatever the day was, even if it was a horrible day in your opinion. I bet you can find at least one thing to be grateful for.

• Health

• Friends or family

• Laughing today

• Connecting with someone you normally wouldn’t

• Listening to your favorite podcast or music

• Getting to work on time

• Coming home after a long day and changing into your pajamas

• Someone holding the door for you

• Tomorrow being a new day and a fresh start

• Finding a new book or show

• Getting outside and connecting with nature

• Having positive self-talk during a tough day

• Coping the best you could with stress and being proud of that effort

These are just some examples of things that you can potentially feel grateful for on a given day. Just remind yourself that big or small, your life matters and the things that happen matter! When we take a step back and reflect, we can find that we have so much more to be grateful for than we sometimes give credit for. Try this and see how you feel! You might find yourself having a different outlook on your life and notice yourself comparing less to others.