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.

Awe also alleviates existential anxiety, a troubled state of mind for which the only other known remedies are religion, medication, denial, and distraction.

What is an experience of awe that you have had, when you encountered a vast mystery that transcends your understanding of the world?