Awe Walk
Participants will go on an outing, preferably in someplace they've never been before. They will take deep breaths as they pay attention to things around them that make them feel awe.
Reasoning
Research suggests that awe has a way of lifting people outside of their usual routine and connecting them with something larger and more significant. This sense of broader connectedness and purpose can help relieve negative moods and improve happiness, and it can also make people more generous as they become less focused on themselves. Evoking feelings of awe may be especially helpful when you are feeling bogged down by day-to-day concerns.
Procedure
Participants are invited to go for an outing when they will be asked to turn off their cell phones. Something that coud include nature, but they are more likely to feel awe in a new and unfamiliar place, and often these experiences occur in nature. Once they are there the participant should take a deap breath in counting to six as they inhale and then breath out, counting to 7 as they exhale. As they do this they should pay attention to feeling the air move through their nasal pathway and the sound of their breath. Then they will being walking. The participant should become aware feel the ground and the surrounding smells and sounds from anything nearby. The participant should shift their awareness to what is around them, noticing things that are vast, impressively complex or unexplainable. As they begin to do this they should take another deep breath in and out like before. After several moments they should then let their attention be open in exploration of what inspires awe for them. They should ask themselves far-fetched questions like “what is new or unknown about what is around them?”. The participant should continue their outing, every now and then returning their attention back to taking that same breath.
Primary Citation & Study Summary:
Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410.
When researchers tested five different exercises, writing and delivering a Gratitude Letter showed the greatest benefit to people’s happiness one month later; however, six months after, their happiness had dropped back down to where it was before. This is why some researchers suggest doing this exercise once every six weeks or so. Participants in this study were largely white, middle-aged adults with college degrees
Evidence
Additional cited References
Anderson, C. L., Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe in nature heals: Evidence from military veterans, at-risk youth, and college students. Emotion, 18(8), 1195–1202.
Lopes, S., Lima, M., & Silva, K. (2020). Nature can get it out of your mind: The rumination reducing effects of contact with nature and the mediating role of awe and mood. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 71, 7.