"Why Awe?" with Dacher Keltner

[MUSIC]

>> So the final
question in

my last 6-7 minutes
is why awe?

So what is awe?

It's the feeling
of being around

vast mysteries that
I don't understand.

It is really its
own distinct state

about exploring
and connecting.

How does awe work?

It really diminishes
my self focus,

my anxieties and the like,

and it really gets
me to explore

the world and to connect

to others and
build community.

Why awe? And really,

there are a couple
of ways that we

can think about
this question.

The first is really the
issue of resilience

that Jeff used very

wisely in the title
of the symposium,

which is We Live in
a Stressed Out Time.

The CDC is suggesting
that levels of anxiety

and depression are 3-4
times their average.

Stress had been rising in

the United States
for the past

25 years before COVID.

It is an inflamed
time regrettably.

Vivek Murthy, our
former Surgeon General,

has a wonderful book
out suggesting that

the most important
diseases in some sense,

of the 21st century,

are going to be diseases

of things like loneliness,

too much self focus.

That what he calls
inflammation

or the elevation of

the parts of your
immune system.

So our first answer
to the question

of why awe is,

as you will sense in the
today's proceedings,

awe is an antidote.

It's a way to change

these stresses and meless

of the 21st century.

So here's some awe facts

that you'll hear about.

Around the world,
people feel

awe a couple of
times a week.

There is everyday
awe to be had.

As Jeff said, you

don't need to go to
the Eiffel Tower,

you can find
it around you.

And throughout
these proceedings,

you will hear about how.

About three-quarters
of our awe

experiences feel good.

They're rooted in

reward circuitry
in your brain.

They elevate the
vagus nerve,

which we study in our lab,

which helps you calm down,

find meaning,
find strength.

We also know that
feelings of awe,

about three-quarters
of these

positive experiences

help you feel like you

have more time in life.

It reduces

inflammation in
your immune system.

It makes you more open

to people, more
collaborative.

You don't
polarize as much.

You don't see
those people on

the other political side
as your adversaries.

You see some
common ground,

a lot of positive
benefits for awe.

And what you'll
hear about is

all the ways in
which little doses

of awe can help us with
the stresses of life.

We just published
a paper led by

Yang Bai and involving

some of the presenters

you'll hear from today.

We just had people
find a little dose of

awe without paying a dime,

without emitting carbon
into the atmosphere.

One of them was
they just climbed

up to this tower on

the Berkeley
campus and got

a beautiful view
of the Bay Area,

220 feet high in the sky.

Just that five minutes of

taking in an
expansive view led

students to

feel less stress in
their daily lives,

less pressure, and to

have enhanced happiness.

This has been
replicated in

all manner of studies.

Awe reduces the stresses

and difficulties
of living.