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Spirituality
Wow! The Life-Changing Power of Experiencing Profound Awe
Viewing Earth from space produces epiphanies and a life-changing sense of awe.
Posted April 21, 2016
Recently, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania examined the life-changing awe that various astronauts describe after witnessing Earth from outer space. The overwhelming emotion, sense of wonder, and feelings of being simpatico with all of humankind, seem to occur when astronauts view our planet from orbit or the surface of the moon. This experience has been coined the “overview effect.”
The March 2016 study, "The Overview Effect: Awe and Self-Transcendent Experience in Space Flight" was published in the journal Psychology of Consciousness. David B. Yaden of Penn's Positive Psychology Center was lead author of the paper.
Yaden and colleagues are studying the overview effect to better understand the emotions astronauts commonly recount and how these might benefit the general population. One goal of this research is the hope that by deconstructing how the overview effect impacts astronauts, that researchers will eventually identify other ways to induce similar awe-inspiring experiences for non-astronauts.
The overview effect and the existing psychological constructs of awe and self-transcendence have universal neurobiological roots that the researchers will examine more closely in future studies.
Unus Pro Omnibus, Omnes Pro Unum (One for All, All for One)
Although feelings of awe and self-transcendence associated with the overview effect are episodic, astronauts’ experiences appear to manifest into long-term changes in their personal outlooks and attitudes involving the individual’s relationship to Earth and its inhabitants.
Astronauts who witness Earth from orbit often report having a magical and transformative epiphany when the sight of Earth as a whole entity puts their life experience and existence in a global perspective. As Carl Sagan once explained,
“There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known."
From outer space, national boundaries dissolve, political conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a unified society based on the principle of "One for All, All for One" becomes a clarion call. As we celebrate Earth Day 2016, these findings remind us of the universal importance of protecting our planet's environment.
To understand the overview effect, Yaden and colleagues analyzed quotations from astronauts from countries around the world who gave vivid descriptions of viewing Earth from space. Consistent themes emerged from the quotes, based on concepts such as 'unity' and 'connectedness.' Across the board, this egalitarian sense of oneness resulted in life-changing revelations for astronauts. In a statement, Yaden said,
"We watch sunsets whenever we travel to beautiful places to get a little taste of this kind of experience. These astronauts are having something more extreme. By studying the more-extreme version of a general phenomenon, you can often learn more about it."
Below are some of the quotations that Yaden and colleagues examined to look for common themes in the language used to describe the overview effect.
“The feeling of unity is not simply an observation. With it comes a strong sense of compassion and concern for the state of our planet and the effect humans are having on it. It isn’t important in which sea or lake you observe a slick of pollution or in the forests of which country a fire breaks out, or on which continent a hurricane arises. You are standing guard over the whole of our Earth." (Russian Cosmonaut, Yuri Artyukhin)
“You . . . say to yourself, ‘That’s humanity, love, feeling, and thought.’ You don’t see the barriers of color and religion and politics that divide this world.” (NASA Astronaut, Eugene Cernan)
"You’ve seen pictures and you’ve heard people talk about it. But nothing can prepare you for what it actually looks like. The Earth is dramatically beautiful when you see it from orbit, more beautiful than any picture you’ve ever seen. It’s an emotional experience because you’re removed from the Earth but at the same time you feel this incredible connection to the Earth like nothing I’d ever felt before." (NASA Astronaut, Sam Durrance)
Yaden's research focuses on secular spiritual experiences and non-religious self-transcendence. All too often, he said, these spiritual experiences become entangled in a religious context, but not for astronauts. "Space is so fascinating because it's a highly scientific, highly secular environment, so it doesn't have these connotations," Yaden said. "We think of people who do a lot of meditation or climb mountains, people who are awe junkies, having these experiences. We don't [often] think of these very strict scientists reporting these blissful moments."
Peak Experiences, Superfluidity, and Ecstasy: "To Stand Outside Oneself"
Reading Yaden’s new study this morning immediately reminded me of one of my all-time favorite books, Ecstasy: in Secular and Religious Experiences, by Marghanita Laski.
In 1961, Professor Laski created a survey to identify and isolate when people felt an ecstatic sense of connectedness to nature or oneness with a spiritual “Source.” Laski's findings remind us that you don't have to travel into outer space to experience profound awe that is akin to the overview effect.
Laski was eager to deconstruct the experience of what ecstasy felt like in everyday life for 'regular people.’ To do this, she created a questionnaire and gave it to 63 of her peers. The survey included questions such as,“Do you know a sensation of transcendent ecstasy? How would you describe it?"
Laski classified an experience as an “ecstasy” if it possessed two of the three following: unity, eternity, heaven, new life, satisfaction, joy, salvation, perfection, glory; contact, new or mystical knowledge; and at least one of the following feelings: loss of difference, time, place, of worldliness...or feelings of calm, peace.”
Respondents to Marghanita Laski's survey used a variety of similar phrases when describing the spiritual connections they experienced in nature. The descriptions included phrases which echo the descriptions of the overview effect, such as:
"A sense of the oneness of things, you understand that everything in reality is connected to one thing ... I saw nothing and everything ... All the separate notes have melted into one swelling harmony ... I saw and knew the being of all things in that moment ... The inner and outer meaning of the earth and sky and all that is in them ... I fit exactly ... I saw the Divine universe is a living presence in everything.”
The word ecstasy comes from the Greek "to stand outside oneself." Laski found that the most common triggers for transcendental ecstasies, come from nature: water, for instance, and mountains, trees, and flowers; dusk, sunrise, sunlight; dramatically bad weather. All of these have the ability create an ecstatic feeling of self-transcendence. The semantics of language can make a huge difference when describing psychological states and transcendent experiences, but often people use different words to describe identical phenomenon.
For example, as an ultra-endurance athlete, I relied on Laski's empirical data to help me intellectually understand the 'ecstatic process' and self-transcendence I experienced during sports. The self-transcendence I experienced while doing seemingly 'superhuman' things as an athlete—such as breaking a Guinness World Record by running 153.76 miles non-stop in 24 hours—was always marked by a point when it felt as if my energy was no longer coming from inside my body, but rather as if I'd become a conduit for some infinite and eternal 'Source' of energy outside my body. I describe this phenomena as superfluidity.
I borrowed the term superfluidity from the world of quantum physics. I define superfluidity as the highest state of what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defined as "flow." Based on my life experience, superfluidity is an episodic experience in which your mind, body, and brain function in an ego-less state of "super flow" marked by zero friction, zero viscosity, and zero entropy between thoughts, ideas, and movements.
As another example of using different words to describe self-transcendence, in his 1964 work, Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, Abraham Maslow demystified what were considered to be supernatural, mystical or religious experiences and made them more secular and mainstream by using the term "peak experiences." Much like Marghanita Laski, Maslow was fascinated with the ecstatic experiences described by mystical and religious writers. Maslow describes this phenomena by saying:
“Peak experiences are especially joyous and exciting moments in life, involving sudden feelings of intense happiness and well-being, wonder and awe, and possibly also involving an awareness of transcendental unity or knowledge of higher truth (as though perceiving the world from an altered, and often vastly profound and awe-inspiring perspective)."
Again, this description used by Maslow to describe peak experiences echoes the words used to describe the overview effect. These parallels serve as a reminder that it's infinitely possible to achieve self-transcendence and superfluidity right here on planet Earth.
Maslow strongly believed that “peak experiences should continue to be studied and cultivated, so that they can be introduced to those who have never had them or who resist them, providing them a route to achieve personal growth, integration, and fulfillment.” It's exciting to see the latest research by Yaden updating the work of Laski and Maslow for the 21st century.
A Sense of Wonder Promotes Loving-Kindness
In recent years, other researchers have identified ways for ordinary people of all ages to experience a profound sense of awe in daily life. You don't need to be standing on the moon to reap the benefits of having a sense of wonder. As an example, a May 2015 study, “Awe, the Small Self, and Prosocial Behavior,” led by Paul Piff, PhD, from University of California, Irvine, found that experiencing a sense of awe promotes altruism, loving-kindness, and magnanimous behavior.
Much like the description of the overview effect, the researchers of this study described awe as “that sense of wonder we feel in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world.” Piff points out that people commonly experience awe in nature, but also feel a sense of awe in response to religion, art, music, etc.
After the initial experiments, the participants in Piff's study engaged in an activity designed to measure what psychologists call "prosocial" behaviors or tendencies. Prosocial behavior is described as "positive, helpful, and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship." In every experiment, awe was strongly associated with prosocial behaviors. In a statement, Paul Piff described his research on awe saying:
"Our investigation indicates that awe, although often fleeting and hard to describe, serves a vital social function. By diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, awe may encourage people to forgo strict self-interest to improve the welfare of others. When experiencing awe, you may not, egocentrically speaking, feel like you're at the center of the world anymore. By shifting attention toward larger entities and diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, we reasoned that awe would trigger tendencies to engage in prosocial behaviors that may be costly for you but that benefit and help others.
Across all these different elicitors of awe, we found the same sorts of effects—people felt smaller, less self-important, and behaved in a more prosocial fashion. Might awe cause people to become more invested in the greater good, giving more to charity, volunteering to help others, or doing more to lessen their impact on the environment? Our research would suggest that the answer is yes."
Along these lines, another study from 2014, “The Origins of Aesthetic and Spiritual Values in Children's Experience of Nature,” found that children who engage in free play, outside, on a regular basis have a deep appreciation for beauty (i.e., balance, symmetry and color), order and wonder (i.e., curiosity, imagination and creativity). Children who played outside were also fascinated with the lushness of green bushes, pattern-like blue spots sparkling in water, bees' nests etc.
For this study, Gretel Van Wieren of Michigan State University and her co-researcher Stephen Kellert of Yale University, used a blend of research methods that included drawings, diaries and observation, as well as in-depth conversations with both the children and the parents.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that the parents of children who expressed the highest affinity toward nature and the strongest spirituality had also spent significant time outdoors during their own childhoods. Many of the parents expressed a strong belief that their childhood experiences in nature shaped their adult lives and spirituality. When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to have abundant access to nature. I try to ensure that my 8-year-old daughter feels that connection on a daily basis, too.
Lead author, Gretel Van Wieren, assistant professor of religious studies at MSU, found that kids who played outside five to 10 hours per week said they felt a spiritual connection with the earth. Children who played outside also felt a stronger obligation to protect the environment than children who spent most of their time indoors.
In a statement, Van Wieren said, "These values are incredibly important to human development and well-being. We were surprised by the results. Before we did the study, we asked, 'Is it just a myth that children have this deep connection with nature?' But we found it to be true in pretty profound ways."
Interestingly, the children in the study expressed feelings of peacefulness and a secular belief that some type of “higher power” had created the natural world around them. The children also reported feeling awestruck and humbled by nature's power, such as storms, while also feeling happy and a sense of belonging in the world.
Conclusion: Self-Transcendence Is Universally Accessible
Hopefully, all of this research and anecdotal evidence taken together illuminates that you don't have to be an astronaut to experience the life-changing power of profound awe and a sense of wonder. Also, it appears that humans are hardwired neurobiologically to "stand outside ourselves" through transcendent ecstasies and everyday awe-inspiring "wow!" moments.
In an upcoming paper, Yaden will explore the brain science that might explain feelings of unity with other people, existence, and even conceptions of the divine. Yaden is curious to explore the neuroscience of our ‘inner space’ to help explain the profound sense of awe experienced by astronauts in outer space.
According to Yaden, neuroscience has begun assembling a model of brain activity that appears to be associated with self-transcendence and "standing outside oneself." It appears this includes temporarily reducing activity in regions associated with spatial awareness (the posterior superior and inferior parietal lobes). These brain mechanics could perhaps contribute to less awareness of one’s physical self and create a sense of oneness from objects in his or her environment.
Upcoming research will be required to expand this brain model further. Yaden hopes to determine whether the overview effect and self-transcendence draws on similar neural pathways. Stay tuned for more on this from Yaden in the near future.
Last night, as I was walking home from dinner, I was awe struck by the sight of the full moon rising above the water. In closing, the poem by Walt Whitman (below) serves as a reminder that feelings of profound awe are available to all of us here on planet Earth . . . if we keep our antennae up for these awe-inspiring visions that surround us every day.
As Whitman reminds us, you don't need neuroscience or empirical data to understand the first-hand experience of life-changing awe potentially held in the sun, moon, and stars. I believe that the overview effect is available to all of us in smaller degrees simply by unplugging from our digital devices, spending time connecting with nature, and using our imagination.
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
© 2016 Christopher Bergland. All rights reserved.
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