The Artist's Road Painting the World's Beautiful Places

Perspectives on

Awe and Wonder

Night Fishing Full Moon          Oil          © John Hulsey

   There has been some very interesting research conducted in recent years on the subject of awe—the feeling one can get when confronted with something unexpectedly beautiful or interesting. Scientists wanted to know if that “stop-in-your-tracks” feeling created any other effects in our bodies and where those effects were located. From our conversations with artists working all over the country, we understand that awe and its partner, wonder, are primary components of why many of us create in the first place. Something important and unusual has moved us profoundly.

   The first step for the researchers was to define what awe consists of. Dr. Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, has spent twenty years studying awe. He says that awe is distinct from joy or fear and that experiencing it can positively affect our bodies, our relationships and how we view the world around us. He is also the author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, which details the beneficial physiological changes which experiencing awe and wonder can produce in our bodies. We were particularly interested to note the similarities between those effects with how artists describe being in the creative “zone”—a condition also known as a state of “flow”.

   Dr. Keltner’s research has revealed that awe and wonder can activate the vagus nerve, calm down our immune system’s inflammation responses, and quiet an area in our brains called “the default mode network”. The vagus nerve bundle runs from the brain stem to the heart and down both sides of our bodies to the large intestine. They are the main nerves of our involuntary parasympathetic nervous system which controls heart rate, digestion and immune systems. They also play a major role in our speech, mood and skin sensations. Pretty important stuff. The default network in our brains is where all the self-centered “me” thoughts arise, including strivings and goals. Experiencing awe, therefore, moves our thoughts away from ourselves and into a larger, more expansive realm, what Dr, Keltner refers to as “things bigger than us”.

   What else can awe and wonder do? Research indicates that under the influences of awe, when we are temporarily not thinking about ourselves, neurotransmitter floodgates can open and we may feel euphoria and elation, what is described as a “peak experience” or “transcendence”. The evolutionary importance of this is that these feelings encourage us to move forward with new ideas, new purpose and a sense of possibility. We suddenly become more tolerant and are able to appreciate and embrace the great diversity of life on our planet. “We are literally hardwired to experience it”, says Dr, Keltner, who suggests taking an ”awe walk” once a week to allow our busy minds to quietly appreciate the world around us. Wonder researchers tell us that wonder is similar to awe and is often stimulated by the appreciation of art— specifically, beauty. The beautiful and unexpected seeds our curiosity which can lead to expanded awareness accompanied by many of the physical benefits which accompany awe.

   Our art practice is centered on the search for and exploration of beauty in the world. We understand at a subconscious level that beauty, however we interpret it, provides meaning for us and can inspire others—perhaps even stimulate awe. Could some of these discoveries explain why we became artists? Perhaps. Something to think about next time in the studio!