Awe and Wonder: An Exploration Through Science, Contemplation, and Narrative

Awe is the feeling of encountering vast mysteries that transcend our current knowledge and understanding of the world. In its greatest sense, it is an astonished and transformative appreciation for the moral beauty of others, for nature, for the arts—and is always rooted in a spiritual understanding of life.  

In this new, paradigm-shifting workshop, we will uncover the latest scientific understandings of awe. By engaging in evolutionary and neuroscientific approaches to the mind, and considering the narrative and cultural meanings of awe, we will begin to tease out where this feeling lives in our own minds and hearts and learn how to cultivate it more deeply.

Together, we will discover a number of practices to cultivate awe in our own lives and how to deepen one’s relationship to it. We’ll travel by way of reflective writing, using expressive writing principles and models from Contemplative Studies.

During our time together, we will:

• Learn the latest science and scholarship on awe and wonder
• Engage in contemplative practices related to awe
• Learn about literary, poetic, and aesthetic approaches to awe
• Learn to cultivate an awe-related writing and reflective practice
• Cultivate an awareness of more everyday awe

Join us for this incredible opportunity to refresh your heart and mind in the breathtaking natural setting of Esalen and Big Sur.