Awe
Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world,”
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Vastness can be challenging, unsettling, and destabilizing. In evoking awe, it reveals that our current knowledge is not up to the task of making sense of what we have encountered. And so, in awe, we go in search of new forms of understanding.
Dacher Keltner • Awe
Awe is a unique emotion. According to many positive psychologists, it’s the single most overwhelming and gratifying positive emotion we can feel. In fact, neuropsychologist Paul Pearsall calls awe “the orgasm of positive emotions.”11
Jane McGonigal • Reality Is Broken
Awe can literally stop you in your tracks, and it induces significant physical effects. You might shiver. Your pulse quickens. You might feel a warmth in the chest and tears in your eyes brought on by awe’s influence. When you are in these heightened states, default mode network regions of the cortex of your brain downregulate. You stop analyzing.
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