Vast Mysteries

Over the last couple of days, we’ve been reflecting on the awe and wonder we experience in the natural world. 

I’ve been reading this great book about the science of awe, written by Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. Keltner conducted a tremendous amount of research on this topic – including collecting some 2,600 stories from people and cultures all around the world. 

The question he asked was this: What is an experience of awe that you have had when you encountered a vast mystery that transcends your understanding of the world?  

Out of that study, he collected stories about experiencing awe through moral beauty, birth and death, music and art, collective movement, and in nature – which he called “wild awe.”

What the study found is that the experience of this particular emotion brings us joy, meaning, and community, along with healthier bodies and more creative minds.

When we experience awe, the boundaries that separate us from the outside world fade, and we begin to sense we are a part of something much larger than ourselves. On top of that, the regions of the brain that are associated with obsessive thinking, including self-criticism, anxiety, and even depression, quiet down. 

The author claims that we can find awe just about anywhere. Doing so doesn’t require money or even much time. Research suggests that just a couple of minutes a day will do. Just take a moment to go outside and wander. And wonder. Again, if you can’t physically get outside, then perhaps sit by a window to the outside world – and allow your mind to wonder. 

Let us pray: We thank you, Holy God, for vast mysteries that transcend our understanding of the world. We thank you for the emotion of awe which leads to wonder and curiosity and opens our hearts and minds in new ways. As we look at the world around us, as we contemplate the world within us, as we dare to approach the mystery of you, may we sense again the oneness deep down at the heart of all that is. And may we know your love; through Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.