Phosphorescence - Winner of the Australian Book Industry BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021
by Julia Baird
updated 6d ago
by Julia Baird
updated 6d ago
A sense of community can also make us more resilient, not only improving our current state of mind but also protecting our mental health in the future.
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
‘awe produces a vanishing self. The voice in your head, self-interest, self-consciousness, disappears. Here’s an emotion that knocks out a really important part of our identity . . . I think the central idea of awe is to quiet self-interest for a moment and to fold us into the social collective.’
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
Today, scientists are trying to measure awe by goosebumps. (Only cold, adrenaline or strong emotion are more likely to cause goosebumps in a human being.) In an increasingly awe-deprived culture, when we are more likely to get lost in our screens than in the woods or public galleries, when we hedge our children’s explorations with our anxieties and
... See moreMatthew Carey added 1mo ago
when dwarfed by an experience, we are more likely to look to one another and care for one another and feel more connected.
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
a theory put forward by co-author Michael Tipton: ‘If you adapt to cold water, you also blunt your stress response to other daily stresses such as road rage, exams or getting fired at work.’
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
We spend a lot of time in life trying to make ourselves feel bigger — to project ourselves, occupy space, command attention, demand respect — so much so that we seem to have forgotten how comforting it can be to feel small and experience the awe that comes from being silenced by something greater than ourselves, something unfathomable, unconquerabl
... See moreMatthew Carey added 1mo ago
resources conferred by social connectedness can act as a ‘social cure’ for psychological ill-health’.
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
people who regularly feel awe are more likely to be generous, helpful, altruistic, ethical and relaxed.
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
social connection and relationships are the single greatest predictor of health and happiness throughout your life.
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago