We often associate awe with once-in-a-lifetime moments such as seeing the Northern Lights, standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, or witnessing a birth of a child. But what if awe was actually a lot more accessible than we think?
That’s the argument that Dr. Dacher Keltner makes in his book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder. Keltner is a world-renowned psychologist, professor and founder of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, the leading research institution for the study of happiness and well-being.
In his book, he shares groundbreaking research that shows awe isn’t just a rare feeling. It is a powerful, everyday emotion that shapes how we see ourselves, how we connect with others, and how we find meaning and create purpose in our lives.
After collecting over 2,600 stories of awe from people around the world, Keltner found that awe consistently arises from eight universal “wonders” of life. These are not abstract concepts; rather, they are daily doorways into presence, purpose, and profound connection.
Keltner’s work shows that awe reduces stress, quiets the ego, improves health, and makes us more generous and cooperative. More than just a pleasant feeling, awe helps us dissolve the walls of the self so we can feel part of something larger. That feeling is what researchers call self-transcendence.
Here’s how Keltner brilliant describes the connection between awe and wonder:
“Wonder, the mental state of openness, questioning, curiosity, and embracing mystery, arises out of experiences of awe. In our studies, people who find more everyday awe show evidence of living with wonder. They are more open to new ideas. To what is unknown. To what language can’t describe. To the absurd. To seeking new knowledge. To experience itself, for example of sound, or color, or bodily sensation, or the directions thought might take during dreams or meditation. To the strengths and virtues of other people. It should not surprise that people who feel even five minutes a day of everyday awe are more curious about art, music, poetry, new scientific discoveries, philosophy, and questions about life and death. They feel more comfortable with mysteries, with that which cannot be explained.”
— Dacher Keltner
The eight wonders below are practical, beautiful, and often hiding in plain sight. Here’s how to start noticing them more. I’ve also included some of the best insights from Dacher Keltner’s book.
1. Moral Beauty
“What most commonly led people around the world to feel awe? Nature? Spiritual practice? Listening to music? In fact, it was other people’s courage, kindness, strength, or overcoming.”
— Dacher Keltner
Moral beauty is the awe we feel when witnessing acts of courage, compassion, forgiveness, or integrity. It could be a stranger risking their safety to help someone, a child caring for a grandparent, or someone standing up for justice even when it’s unpopular.
It’s often quiet and uncelebrated. But when you see it, you feel it. It moves you because it reflects the highest potential of human nature.
This kind of awe opens the heart and reminds us we’re wired for goodness. It often leaves us feeling emotional, inspired, and more connected to our own values.
5 activities for experiencing moral beauty:
- Watch true stories of everyday heroes or humanitarian efforts
- Read memoirs about forgiveness, resilience, or moral courage
- Reflect on a time someone showed you unexpected kindness
- Practice random acts of kindness and observe the ripple effect
2. Collective Effervescence
Awe heightens our awareness of being part of a community, of feeling embraced and supported by others. A second wonder of life is collective effervescence, a term introduced by French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his analysis of the emotional core of religion. His phrase speaks to the qualities of such experiences: we feel like we are buzzing and crackling with some life force that merges people into a collective self, a tribe, an oceanic “we.”
— Dacher Keltner
This awe arises when people come together with shared purpose, movement, or emotion. Think of dancing at a festival, chanting in protest, or singing with a group. The energy builds. The boundaries between individuals blur.
This is also referred to as Group Flow. It happens when you feel part of something bigger. It’s not about performance. It’s about rhythm, presence, and co-regulation with others.
Collective effervescence strengthens belonging. It reminds us that we are not isolated individuals, we are social, rhythmic beings who thrive on connection, collaboration and community.
5 activities for experiencing collective effervescence:
- Join a community dance, yoga, or movement class
- Attend a live concert, spiritual gathering, or sports game
- Organize a group ritual like a full moon circle or fire ceremony
- March or volunteer with a cause you care about
- Sing with others around a campfire or in a living room
3. Nature
“Tap into your childlike sense of wonder. Young children are in an almost constant state of awe since everything is so new to them. During your walk, try to approach what you see with fresh eyes, imagining that you’re seeing it for the first time. Take a moment in each walk to take in the vastness of things, for example in looking at a panoramic view or up close at the detail of a leaf or flower. Go somewhere new. Each week, try to choose a new location. You’re more likely to feel awe in a novel environment where the sights and sounds are unexpected and unfamiliar to you. That said, some places never seem to get old, so there’s nothing wrong with revisiting your favorite spots if you find that they consistently fill you with awe. The key is to recognize new features of the same old place.”
— Dacher Keltner
Nature stirs awe through beauty, vastness, mystery, and rhythm. From sunsets to thunderstorms, moss to mountain ranges, nature reminds us that we are part of something ancient and alive.
You don’t need a national park to feel it. Even a small forest trail or a patch of sky can do the trick when you’re fully present.
Spending time in nature consistently has been shown to reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and restore attention. But more than that, it invites awe that softens the ego and stirs gratitude.
5 activities for experiencing nature connection:
- Hike at sunrise or sit quietly outside at twilight
- Gaze at the night sky or watch clouds shift shape
- Explore a local forest, beach, river, or canyon
- Study tiny natural details like insect wings or tree bark
- Watch nature documentaries with immersive visuals and sound
4. Music
“Music offered up a fourth wonder of life, transporting people to new dimensions of symbolic meaning in experiences at concerts, listening quietly to a piece of music, chanting in a religious ceremony, or simply singing with others.”
— Dacher Keltner
Music reaches into the soul without needing words. A single note, harmony, or drop can bring you to tears or chills. Across cultures, music has been used for healing, celebration, mourning, and transcendence.
It stirs awe because it connects us emotionally, physically, and collectively. It can feel like something flows through you.
This type of awe activates the emotional brain, brings us into the present, and often connects us to memory, meaning, and movement.
5 activities for experiencing music:
- Listen to a song that once gave you goosebumps
- Attend a live performance and let yourself be fully present
- Explore a new genre or global music tradition
- Sing or play music alone or with friends, even if imperfectly
- Lie down and do nothing but listen deeply to one album
5. Visual Design
““Visual design proved to be a fifth wonder of life. Buildings, terra-cotta warriors in China, dams, and paintings appeared in stories of awe from around the world.”
— Dacher Keltner
Art, architecture, symbols, and beautiful design evoke awe when they blend creativity, precision, and meaning. A cathedral, a sacred mandala, or even a minimalist logo can all create that spark of wonder.
This awe often comes from admiration. You feel the human intention and skill behind the form. You sense something beautiful was made from thought, care, and inspiration.
It reminds us what humans are capable of creating when they are moved by vision, devotion, or beauty.
5 activities for experiencing visual design:
- Visit a museum, temple, or historical building with unique architecture
- Sketch, paint, or sculpt something from inspiration, not perfection
- Study design patterns in nature like spirals, fractals, or symmetry
- Notice visual details in your surroundings, even in everyday items
- Watch a short film or animation focused on visual storytelling
6. Spiritual or Religious Experience
“It also merits considering what was not mentioned in stories of awe from around the world. Money didn’t figure into awe, except in a couple of instances in which people had been cheated out of life savings. No one mentioned their laptop, Facebook, Apple Watch, or smartphone. Nor did anyone mention consumer purchases, like their new Nikes, Tesla, Gucci bag, or Montblanc pen. Awe occurs in a realm separate from the mundane world of materialism, money, acquisition, and status signaling—a realm beyond the profane that many call the sacred.”
— Dacher Keltner
Spiritual awe arises in stillness, silence, and sacred presence. It is not limited to a specific religion. It could come through chanting, meditation, communion, ritual, or a spontaneous moment of connection to something larger.
You feel held. You feel expanded. You feel a quiet knowing that you are not alone, and that there is meaning even if you cannot explain it.
This awe can bring comfort during difficulty, clarity during confusion, and humility during pride.
5 activities for experiencing spiritual or religious experience:
- Meditate in silence for 15–20 minutes with no goal other than presence
- Light a candle or incense and say a prayer or intention
- Read sacred poetry or passages from mystical texts
- Spend time in nature as a form of living prayer or devotion
- Attend a spiritual service or ceremony and stay open to emotion
7. Big Ideas Or Epiphanies
“Rousseau’s epiphany was that in our natural state, we are endowed with passions that guide us to truth, equality, justice, and the reduction of suffering—our moral compass. We sense these intuitions in music, art, and, above all, being in nature. It is institutions like the church and formal education that disconnect us from our nobler tendencies. In that experience outdoors in the hills outside of Paris, Romanticism was born.”
— Dacher Keltner
Big ideas or epiphanies provoke awe by stretching how we think. It might be a physics concept, a spiritual teaching, a psychological insight, or a metaphor that changes how we see reality.
You feel like your mental framework just expanded. Something clicks. It’s not just interesting—it’s humbling, exciting, and deeply moving.
Mental awe awakens curiosity. It reminds us how much we don’t know, and invites us to explore with wonder instead of control.
5 activities for experiencing big ideas:
- Watch a TED talk or documentary that challenges your thinking
- Read books or essays on consciousness, cosmology, or complexity
- Learn something completely new, like sacred geometry or quantum physics
- Journal about a moment when an idea changed your worldview
- Discuss big ideas with others and see how their perspectives stretch yours
8. Life and Death
“Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world… Awe is about our relation to the vast mysteries of life.”
— Dacher Keltner
Few things touch awe as deeply as the moment of birth, death, or deep transformation. These are liminal moments. Time slows. Your heart opens. You feel both fragile and powerful.
This awe is often emotional and layered with grief, gratitude, reverence, and clarity. It strips life down to what matters most.
It is not always comfortable. But it is always sacred. These experiences teach us how precious and interconnected life truly is.
5 activities for experiencing life and death:
- Reflect or journal about a time you experienced loss, birth, or deep change
- Attend a birth, memorial, or coming-of-age ceremony with presence
- Volunteer in hospice or elder care to witness life’s thresholds
- Create a ritual to honor someone you have lost
- Sit in nature and meditate on impermanence and renewal
Awe Is the Gateway to Self-Transcendence
“When our default self reigns too strongly, though, and we are too focused on ourselves, anxiety, rumination, depression, and self-criticism can overtake us. An overactive default self can undermine the collaborative efforts and goodwill of our communities. Many of today’s social ills arise out of an overactive default self, augmented by self-obsessed digital technologies. Awe, it would seem, quiets this urgent voice of the default self.”
— Dacher Keltner
In every one of these everyday wonders, awe helps you reduce the pull of the egoic self that keeps you stuck in thought and reconnect with something larger.
Whether it’s the vastness of the stars, the generosity of a stranger, or a chant vibrating through your chest, awe dissolves separation and awakens a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in life.
This experience is not abstract. It is grounded, emotional, and real. It connects the heart, the mind, the body, and the world in one expanded breath.
Self-transcendence is not about escaping life. It’s about remembering how sacred and interconnected life already is. Awe brings you back to that truth. Not with words, but with presence.
Let awe guide your attention. Let it soften your heart. Let it widen your world.
I built DIY Genius to help entrepreneurial people find their sweet spot for deep focus and flow states where passion meets purpose and profitability.
I believe the future of education starts with helping people find their "zone of genius" so they can develop their uniquely human ability to create meaning, connection and community (that A.I. can't replicate).
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