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What is awe exactly? - Awe is defined by many psychologists and neuroscientists as the emotion we feel in response to something that defies our existing frame of reference in some way, ultimately changing our perspective.

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Out of your ordinary - It's the internal shift that happens when our understanding of the world is challenged, Dr. Amie Gordon, principal research scientist in the Emotion, Health, and Psychophysiology Lab at University of California-San Francisco, explains. 

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Different from inspiration - Awe is not to be confused with emotions like inspiration, and the distinguishing factor is that it makes us feel small, or, in more scientific terms, it enables us to experience a sense of "self-diminishment."

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Making you feel small, but also part of something - While much of our lives is contained within our own specific worlds and narratives, awe allows us to see past our own personal realm and view ourselves as a small piece of something much bigger.

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Shifts your focus - "People feeling awe focus more of their attention outward and value others more in social interactions," Dr. Jennifer Stellar, assistant professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto, explains. 

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Makes us better people - When you feel small, you are humbled, and that naturally decreases selfish tendencies including entitlement, arrogance, and narcissism. Feeling humbled also makes us want to engage and connect with others, Gordon adds.

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Awe can make you happier - The logic that follows is quite simple: when you feel small, you are humbled, you feel and seek out more connections, you then have better social interactions, which benefit your overall health and well-being, and your well-being is a large part of what determines happiness.

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Scientifically proven - A 2018 study found that individuals who reported experiencing awe more often in their daily lives were rated more humble by their friends.

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It also widened participants' perspectives - After participants watched awe-inspiring videos, they were reportedly more likely to recognize the role of outside forces (i.e. luck, other people, some external power) in their personal accomplishments as compared with participants who had not watched those videos.

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Tied to the reason why humans get along - Evolutionary scientists also believe that the feeling of awe—feeling small, humbled, and desiring connection—is part of the reason humans have formed groups and worked together over the course of history.

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Beneficial for physical health - Other research found a biological response to awe. People who reported experiencing more awe also appeared to have better immune health, in the form of lower levels of chronic proinflammatory cytokines (which are associated with diabetes, heart disease, and depression).

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Awe can address societal problems - Psychology researcher Craig L. Anderson conducted a study which took military veterans on a white water rafting trip to examine the effect of nature. Their symptoms of PTSD reportedly went down, while scores of general happiness, satisfaction, social well-being, and community connection increased. 

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Improving academic performance - In Anderson's yet-to-be-published research, he reportedly found that people who experience more awe are also more curious—deemed by both themselves and their friends—and the combination of the two shows promise in improving academic achievement from an early age.

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How to experience awe? - You don't need to go to a far corner of the Earth to experience awe. It's a very personal emotion, as the feeling is directly related to your own perspective.

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Awe happens at varying intensities - In addition to standing before a vast opening in the earth, you can also feel awe while simply looking up at a giant skyscraper, or reading a newspaper story about a local hero.

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Awe = Novelty + Vastness - Gordon's equation for awe is a combination of something new and something vast. She clarifies that the vastness can be a physical space or someone's talent or kindness. Here are some tips to help you get started...

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Try: going out into nature - Research has shown that nature is one of the most common ways for people to experience awe. Get out of the city and visit a new environment.

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Try: getting out of your comfort zone - Novelty is a big part of awe, which means you need to try something new. It can be a thrilling adventure, or it can be as easy as visiting somewhere new in your city. 

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Try: listening to beautiful music - There's nothing like the overwhelming sound of magnificently talented musicians (who are merely using friction to create noise) to introduce a healthy dose of awe.

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Try: putting your phone away - We often experience a very curated life on screens, and while some of it can be inspirational, it pales in comparison to the awe of seeing something in real life.

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Try: just looking up - There is a constant reminder of how small we are hanging above us, and there's no better way to feel small than to imagine yourself floating in the infinite bounds of the universe. Fun fact: our sun is just one of more than 100 billion stars in the Milky Way alone.

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Try: having an open mind - Experiencing the full depth of awe requires you to be open to changing your own perception of yourself and how you fit into the world. Get comfortable with uncertainty, and you'll find it much easier to experience something both new and vast.

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Try: learning some awe-inspiring facts - For example: did you know that when you look at the stars, you're actually looking back in time? A star's light can take billions of years to reach Earth because of how far they are, so when you look up at night, you're actually seeing an astronomical landscape of the past.

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Try: appreciating the magic of the human body - Consider the fact that without any conscious effort on our part, our cells know how to develop into a full human being just by the union of an egg and sperm.  

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Seriously, the body is a playground for awe - Our lungs breathe, hearts beat, and brains process information without us even trying! We produce millions of new cells every second!

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Awe-inspiring facts are literally at your fingertips - Did you know nerve impulses travel to and from the brain at speeds of up to 250 miles (400 km) per hour?

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Even just consider the fact that dinosaurs existed - Or, even crazier: the amount of water on Earth is constant, fixed, and continually recycled over time, therefore some of the water you drink will have passed through a dinosaur.

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Or that you are a universe yourself - There are as many atoms in a single molecule of your DNA as there are stars in a typical galaxy.

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Awe is waiting for you -

As William Yeats said, "The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."

See also: Mind-blowing photos of the unseen side of things

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