Posted by According to an article by Stacy Kennelly published on the Yes Magazine website, a new study shows that experiences of awe ("the feeling we get when we come across something so strikingly vast in number, scope, or complexity that it alters the way we understand the world") may help get rid of feelings of being time-starved and impatient; we actually begin to feel there is more time in the day. And it might make us feel more generous.
The researchers on this project found that awe-inspiring encounters brought on higher life satisfaction and preference for experiences over objects. For example, they might choose tickets to a show over a new watch. Melanie Rudd, the lead author of the study, concludes that people evoke more feelings of awe by expressing themselves in nature, art, and music.
Catholic priest Edward Hays, one of our favorite spiritual teachers writes: "The challenge of the saints of the twenty-first century is to begin to comprehend the sacred in the ten thousand things of our world: to reverence what we have come to view as ordinary and devoid of Spirit."
To feel a kinship and respect for things is to be truly present and not worrying about time. Reverential thinking also opens up a radical amazement, a deep feeling tinged with mystery and wonder. Impatience, cynicism, and egocentricity pale in the presence of this potent spiritual practice.