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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBeing in Awe Can Expand Time and Enhance Well-Being
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120719161901.htmBeing in Awe Can Expand Time and Enhance Well-Being
ScienceDaily (July 19, 2012) It doesn't matter what we've experienced -- whether it's the breathtaking scope of the Grand Canyon, the ethereal beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or the exhilarating view from the top of the Eiffel Tower -- at some point in our lives we've all had the feeling of being in a complete and overwhelming sense of awe.
Awe seems to be a universal emotion, but it has been largely neglected by scientists -- until now.
Psychological scientists Melanie Rudd and Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management devised a way to study this feeling of awe in the laboratory. Across three different experiments, they found that jaw-dropping moments made participants feel like they had more time available and made them more patient, less materialistic, and more willing to volunteer time to help others.
The researchers found that the effects that awe has on decision-making and well-being can be explained by awe's ability to actually change our subjective experience of time by slowing it down. Experiences of awe help to brings us into the present moment which, in turn, adjusts our perception of time, influences our decisions, and makes life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.
G_j
(40,366 posts)that without a kick, this would most likely disappear.. (lol)
surrealAmerican
(11,359 posts)... the nature of awe is that one can't experience it frequently. Awe is, almost by definition, a rare phenomenon.
G_j
(40,366 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)All I have to do is stop and look/listen/feel/touch/think...
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)not a gift, and a sharpened talent for such things can cause continued states of 'awe'.
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)RagAss
(13,832 posts)The Buddha lived in awe for hours during his enlightenment. The Gnostic view of Jesus inferred this about his teachings as well, in the Gospel of Thomas.
malthaussen
(17,183 posts)... and I don't need the Grand Canyon for it -- I can feel awe looking into the face of someone I love.
-- Mal
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Ya know, G_j, didn't Einstein say time contracts when having a good time, like when a pretty girl is on one's lap?
PS: Totally understand the awesomeless. Science.
G_j
(40,366 posts)inspiration......joy... where would we be without it?
Enrique
(27,461 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)It's part of why I live in Alaska. The auroras last winter were astonishing.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)really makes all the bullshit seem awfully unimportant.
cali
(114,904 posts)recognized this and developed paths toward this state of mind- from the Sufis to the Kabbalists to Tibetan Buddhists, etc.