Think of a time when you felt at one with the world and others, and a diminished sense of self.

Perhaps you were marveling at the dazzling stars dotting the midnight sky. Maybe you were meditating with others. Or you could have been packed into a sports stadium with thousands of passionate fans cheering on your favorite soccer team.

Regardless of the situation, suddenly you felt like you were part of something larger than yourself. You felt more open and connected with others and the universe.

In other words, you experienced a sense of awe.

Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley and the leading scientist on awe, defines it as “a sense of being in the presence of something vast and mysterious that transcends our understanding of the world.”

Awe is self-transcendent. Unlike physical pleasure, which narrows our attention to focus on ourselves, positive emotions like awe take us away from the self. We become absorbed into something bigger.

Keltner notes that awe doesn’t just feel good, it’s also good for us. Awe provides us with an array of physical and emotional benefits including enhanced cognitive capacities, increased creativity, and greater kindness and compassion.

We recently returned from an awe-filled week in Rome with our 13-year-old son where we attended two soulful, yet starkly different,........

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