Be In Awe
Today we are getting to know awe—what it is, how we experience it, and what good it does us.
I hope you enjoy the show and I hope that you’ll download the episode, share it with your friends, and review it on Apple podcasts.
Just after the new calendar year began my friend and colleague Chris emailed me. She asked, “What’s your word for this year?” “My word?” I thought and quickly replied with the word joy.
But then, after a couple of days, I came across a miniseries called “Searching: Our Quest For Meaning in the Age of Science” narrated by Alan Lightman, a scientist and writer. In it, he describes two transcendent experiences he had had. One staring at the starry night sky while lying on the bottom of boat and the other, while standing on a balcony, having eye-to-eye communion with a young osprey in flight . Right then I knew that my word is awe. We all need more awe in our lives right now.
We talk about what is, what it feels like, where to find it. We talk about how it brings us to oneness with our spirituality, our oneness and interconnectedness with life.
Mindfulness brings us to awe through presence and intention but once we are there we let go into the flow of awe.
This week I invite you to investigate awe. Where did you find it? What was happening? How did it make you feel? How did it change you? Make your intention to experience it often and then act. Go to the woods, the ocean and rivers, the top of tall buildings. Find the words, the music, the paintings. Seek the telescope, the equations, the brush.
Thank you for listening. I so appreciate you and all the people behind the scenes who make this podcast possible.
Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering and production;
Bill Rafferty for technical web support;
Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design; and
Margaret Haas for announcing the show
Be well. Be mindful.
CREDITS/RESOURCES
Geoff Haines-Stiles and Alan Lightman, “Searching: Our Quest For Meaning in the Age of Science,” https://searchingformeaning.org/watch-the-series/, GHSI, 2023
Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream Speech,” delivered August 28, 1963 on the Washington Mall, Washington, D.C., USA. via NPR. https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/133000851/on-his-day-kings-dream-speech-in-its-entirety
“The cathedral and the forest: How two awe-inspiring moments shaped Jane Goodall’s spirituality,” John Templeton Foundation, Templeton Prize, 2021
https://www.templeton.org/news/the-cathedral-and-the-forest-how-two-awe-inspiring-moments-shaped-jane-goodalls-spirituality
The Story Behind Apollo 8’s Famous Earthrise Photo, NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, December 21, 2018, https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2234/the-story-behind-apollo-8s-famous-earthrise-photo/
Lisa Miller, PhD, The Awakened Brain: the New Science of Spirituality and our Quest for an Inspired Life, Random House, New York, 2021, Kindle Edition
DISCLAIMER
The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional.
