274: How and Why to Build an Outdoor Awe Habit (Dr. Dacher Keltner, awe expert, professor and author)

When was the last time you experienced a sense of awe in nature? Feeling awe is something many outdoor users chase. But can you even define the experience of awe? Or is it one of things where you just know it when you see it? Where can you best find it? And what are the benefits of spending time outside purposefully chasing the feeling?

Professor Dr. Dacher Keltner joins us in this episode to tackle those questions and more. Leaning on research and advice included in his new book “Awe: the new science of wonder and how it can transform your life,” Dacher guides us into an understanding of the what, how and why of chasing awe outside. Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Read “Awe: the new science of wonder and how it can transform your life” (affiliate link)

Visit Dr. Dacher Keltner’s website

Learn about the Greater Good Science Center

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[2:52] Dacher Keltner’s favorite outdoor space

[3:35] How Dacher became someone who likes to go outside

[6:47] Can we define awe?

[9:12] How to experience awe in ways that are not specific to going outside

[11:52] How the “eight wonders of life” are all tied to nature anyway

[13:34] Do humans have a need for wild awe?

[15:36] Why don’t we talk about the importance of awe?

[20:01] Can you create an awe habit?

[21:26] Is there such a thing as an awe muscle?

[23:34] What does noticing have to do with it?

[26:28] The difference between “awe” and “wonder”

[28:04] Tips for finding and keeping an awe habit

[30:18] Dacher’s favorite moment of outdoor awe