1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Awe
Have you ever been amazed by a sunset, a rainbow, or a sweeping mountain vista? Have you been dumbstruck by a musical performance, a painting, or an architectural wonder? How often do you feel your spirit lifted by other people, either by seeing someone overcome a challenge or by being part of an energized crowd? The sensation you feel in these moments is awe, a unique feeling that draws us out of ourselves and puts us in touch with something greater.
In Awe, published in 2023, psychology professor Dacher Keltner explains that finding and experiencing awe is the key to living better, happier lives. He argues that if you can tap your sense of wonder for even a few minutes every day, you can significantly improve your well-being. Awe quiets the ego, brings joy and meaning to our lives, and encourages a sense of community. Better...
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Awe Summary A Way to Think About Awe
Keltner's research on awe began with the challenge of defining and studying an emotion that seemed elusive and difficult to measure. As Keltner sees it, awe is a feeling of connection with something grander than your personal experience of life and the world around you. That larger “something” can be physical, intellectual, or emotional, but invariably, it challenges your existing knowledge and expands your understanding of reality. In this part of the guide, we’ll explore the reasons we feel awe—how this specific emotion manifests in the brain and what purpose it serves for individuals and human society as a whole.
(Shortform note: The feeling of transcendental connection that Keltner characterizes as “awe” is fundamentally an emotional experience, but science educator Neil DeGrasse Tyson describes something similar from an intellectual point of view—what he calls the cosmic perspective.Like Keltner’s sense of awe, Tyson’s cosmic perspective gives us a vital ego-check by forcing us to realize that our differences are trivial compared to the things we have in common. In *[Astrophysics for People in a...
Awe Summary Sources of Awe
If awe is so beneficial, how can we feel it during the daily humdrum of work and sleep? Keltner argues that it isn’t hard at all. Opportunities for awe are everywhere, and you don’t have to book a vacation to experience this most uplifting of emotions. Keltner points to many sources of awe around us—art and music, natural wonders, spirituality, and the wondrous things we see everyday people doing when we slow down enough to notice.
(Shortform note: In addition to the uplifting, transcendental benefits of awe, experiencing wonder on a regular basis may cultivate a more focused and rational outlook on the world. In The Daily Laws, Robert Greene explains that because of the modern world’s constant distractions, it’s easy to worry about things that don’t really matter. Greene says that if you reconnect with your childhood sense of wonder and reopen your eyes to the grand scale of life, you can focus on what’s most important to you and feel more motivated to achieve your life’s purpose. To do this, Greene recommends becoming an explorer by...
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Shortform Exercise: How Has Awe Shaped Your Life?
Keltner suggests that the purpose of awe is to lift us out of our ego-driven perspectives to put us in touch with something greater than ourselves. Reflect on the times you’ve felt awe in your life and how those experiences framed your thoughts about the world, even if only for a moment.
What was a musical or artistic performance that deeply moved you on some level? During the performance, were your thoughts about yourself, the emotional experience conveyed by the performer, or the energy of the other people around you? After the performance, how long did your feelings last?
