Use awe to reconnect with something larger than yourself
When awe makes the self feel small, follow the natural impulse toward belonging — toward community, nature, or humanity at large.
Why it works
The small-self effect produced by awe does not leave a vacuum — it creates a temporary permeability between the self and its context. This openness predicts prosocial behavior, increased identification with larger groups (humanity, nature, the cosmos), and decreased in-group/out-group bias. Following the impulse deliberately — reaching toward what you feel part of during an awe state — amplifies and extends the prosocial and meaning effects.
How to do it
- After an awe experience, rather than immediately returning to the personal self-narrative, ask: "What am I part of right now?"
- Follow any impulse toward connection — reach out to someone, take in the environment, reflect on being part of a longer human story.
- Avoid rushing to translate the experience into practical outcomes; let the belonging orientation last for at least a few minutes.
Evidence
Awe’s effects on collective identity are well-documented experimentally: Piff et al. (2015) found awe increased ethical decision-making and generosity, consistent with greater identification with collective rather than individual interest. (rct)
The deliberate practice of following the awe impulse toward belonging is a practitioner extension; the prosocial effects themselves are experimentally established.
Sources
- Piff et al. (2015), "Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Common mistake
Intellectualizing the awe experience immediately ("interesting, what does neuroscience say about that?") — analysis re-engages the analytical self, ending the belonging window.
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More practices for Awe and Well-Being, Made Practical
- Take a weekly awe walk
Walk with the explicit intention of seeking something vast or wondrous — shifting your attention outward rather than inward.
- Use documentary and large-scale art to trigger awe
Watch content that conveys genuine vastness — deep space, ecosystems, historical scale — with full attention rather than as background.
- Write from a small-self perspective after awe
After an awe experience, write briefly from the perspective of someone whose personal concerns feel appropriately small.
- Attend to moral beauty as an everyday awe source
Notice and dwell on acts of extraordinary virtue, skill, or dedication — a common awe trigger that most people overlook.
- Use awe to expand perceived time
Deliberately induce awe when you feel time-pressured or rushed — awe reliably slows perceived time and reduces the feeling of scarcity.
- Build a personal catalog of micro-awe triggers
Identify the small, reliable stimuli in your everyday environment that reliably produce a mild sense of wonder — and use them deliberately.
Related concepts
- Awe and the Small Self
Keltner’s science of wonder — the small self, moral beauty, and why awe heals
- Awe Walks, and the Science of Wonder
Why wonder quiets the self, and how to walk for it on purpose
- Positive Psychology, Made Practical
PERMA and the well-being exercises, graded honestly on the evidence
- Broaden-and-Build, Made Practical
Using positive emotions not just as rewards but as resources that build lasting psychological strength