Cultivating awe in public life
When was the last time you felt awe?
We feel awe when we encounter something larger than ourselves, in nature, in ideas, or in each other. It’s that pause when your breath slows, your perspective shifts, and your attention moves outward. You might feel it in your body before you can explain it: a moment of stillness or a sense of wonder. In those moments, we become a little less focused on ourselves and a little more open to the world around us.
What’s striking is that this isn’t an abstract feeling, it’s measurable through science. Research, including the work of Dacher Keltner, shows that awe calms the nervous system, reduces self-focused thinking, and strengthens our sense of connection to others. It can increase well-being, generosity, and curiosity, helping us feel part of something larger.
Discover more about the science of awe
ABOUT US
The Cities of Awe Lab advances the science of awe and public life — and puts it to work.
Have you ever wondered how awe shows up in our everyday life: in the changing colors of the sky, in the musical beats of a carnival, through acts of compassion and from artifacts honoring culture and history. These moments unfold in the spaces where people and nature come together and turn ordinary places into sites of connection, meaning, and possibility. We believe that such shared spaces and experiences of wonder are foundational to how communities connect, and thrive.
Through the Cities of Awe Lab, we are studying how awe emerges where we live and how it can be embedded into everyday public life.
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