When was the last time you felt small—in the best possible way?
Maybe it was standing beneath a star-filled sky, watching the tide roll in, or listening to a piece of music that lifted you outside yourself. For me, it happens with increased frequency this time of year. There is something about fall in New England- the expansive blue sky, the crisp air pierced by bright sunbeams, sparkling lakes and rainbow colored leaves. It all takes my breath away. That feeling is called awe, and research shows it has remarkable benefits.
Awe Across Time
Across history people have appreciated the power of this experience. They didn’t just stumble into awe—they sought it out intentionally as a doorway to healing, transcendence, and connection.
One powerful example is Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Between 850 and 1250 CE, the ancestral Puebloans built massive stone structures aligned precisely with solar and lunar cycles. Archaeologists now understand that this was not just architecture—it was cosmology carved in stone. Pilgrims traveled for miles across the desert to enter this canyon, gather in its great kivas (ceremonial chambers), and experience rituals beneath a sky so open it humbles even the most cynical among us.
Standing in Chaco today, you can still feel it: the vast silence, the way the Milky Way spills across the night sky, the weight of structures aligned with forces larger than human life. For those who gathered there, awe was medicine—it reoriented them to the cosmos, dissolved the small self, and strengthened community bonds.
Awe in Modern Science
Neuroscience now confirms what ancient traditions knew intuitively: awe heals.
- Awe calms the nervous system: Studies show awe lowers inflammation and reduces stress hormones.
- Awe expands perspective: It softens self-focus, opening us to humility and wonder (and giving us a break from preoccupation with our problems).
- Awe deepens connection: People who experience awe are more generous and cooperative.
- Awe boosts creativity: That “mind-blown” sensation sparks curiosity and fresh thinking.
These are the effects sought and cultivated in sacred places like Chaco, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, and even the small, local stone circles and healing sites found scattered throughotu the world. These are spaces designed to pull us out of the ordinary and remind us of our place in something vast.
Cultivating Awe in Everyday Life
The beauty is, you don’t need to travel to ancient ruins or climb a sacred mountain to access awe. It’s available in your daily life if you know how to look:
- Nature: Watch the sunrise, lie under the stars, or marvel at a thunderstorm.
- Music & Art: Listen deeply to a symphony or stand before a painting that takes your breath away.
- Sacred Places Near You: Visit a cathedral, a labyrinth, or even a quiet local forest grove with intention.
- Simple Attention: Notice the intricate design of a leaf, the complexity of a spider’s web, or the way light filters through trees.
Each of these moments opens the same pathways in the brain that once guided pilgrims across deserts and mountains. Awe is both ancient and immediate—it’s medicine we carry with us, waiting to be noticed.
So today, pause and let yourself be amazed. Whether in a canyon built for the stars, or your own backyard, awe is an invitation: to heal, to connect, to remember the wonder of being alive. 🌌
___________________
Begin Within
and align with the rhythm of nature and self.
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