© Galyna Andrushko / Fotolia
Grand Canyon. It doesn't matter what we've experienced -- whether it's the breathtaking scope of the Grand Canyon, the ethereal beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or the exhilarating view from the top of the Eiffel Tower -- at some point in our lives we've all had the feeling of being in a complete and overwhelming sense of awe.
Grand Canyon. It doesn't matter what we've experienced -- whether it's the breathtaking scope of the Grand Canyon, the ethereal beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or the exhilarating view from the top of the Eiffel Tower -- at some point in our lives we've all had the feeling of being in a complete and overwhelming sense of awe.
It doesn't matter what we've experienced -- whether it's the breathtaking scope of the Grand Canyon, the ethereal beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or the exhilarating view from the top of the Eiffel Tower -- at some point in our lives we've all had the feeling of being in a complete and overwhelming sense of awe
Awe seems to be a universal emotion, but it has been largely neglected by scientists -- until now.
Psychological scientists Melanie Rudd and Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management devised a way to study this feeling of awe in the laboratory. Across three different experiments, they found that jaw-dropping moments made participants feel like they had more time available and made them more patient, less materialistic, and more willing to volunteer time to help others.
The researchers found that the effects that awe has on decision-making and well-being can be explained by awe's ability to actually change our subjective experience of time by slowing it down. Experiences of awe help to brings us into the present moment which, in turn, adjusts our perception of time, influences our decisions, and makes life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.
Now that's awesome.
Journal Reference:
Melanie Rudd, Jennifer Aaker and Kathleen Vohs. ''Awe Expands People's Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being.'' Psychological Science, 2012
Natures majestic sublime beauty is indeed awe inspiring. Its one of the reasons I moved to Colorado. A few years ago I was given the ability to see into other dimensions. The effect of the experience was overwhelming at first but over time came to be accepted, I had no other choice. To look at everything that was once so ordinary, plants, trees, mountains, the sky, rain and snow, clouds, everything, and see it looking back at you changes you. I have come to understand the "reality" isn't real at all. It is a matrix. It is a grand stage like an enormous planet sized movie set.
This has had a profound effect on my life in so many ways. When you show this to most people it terrifies them. (I can share this to a degree with high def. photography) People prefer the known and accepted over the unknown and mysterious and most respond with fear and indifference and you never see them again. Many are called but few are chosen...
On the flip side I have been nurtured by the spirits and taught many things. I have requested and had the weather change dramatically. I have prayed for healing and seen disease eliminated. I have seen angels in troops of thousands put on a circus from horizon to horizon across the sky. I hear what people are thinking just by being near them or looking their way for a moment.
I live in two worlds and much prefer the spirit world to the three dimensional. I don't know why I have been given these gifts but I am very grateful for them. Perhaps I am being prepared for something or being groomed for the next world.