The Science of Awe Walking

 October 5, 2024

   Get ready for some serious Awe Walking, something me and Uno have become experts at.

Awe Walkers at The Crack of Dawn

   You may ask, what exactly is Awe Walking? Well, when we experience awe on a walk, “one region of the brain is deactivated— the default mode network. That is where all the self-representational processes take place: I’m thinking about myself, my time, my goals, my strivings, my checklist. That quiets down during awe. Awe also activates our vagus nerve. That’s 'the big bundle of nerves starting in the top of your spinal cord that helps you look at people and vocalize," and it also “slows our heart rate, helps with digestion and opens up our bodies to things bigger than us. Awe also cools down the inflammation process. It’s part of your immune system that attacks diseases, and we want it to be cooler and not always hot.”

—Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley

   The easiest thing you can do then, is to go for an Awe Walk and train yourself to look at stuff like this.

"Wow. I think I see some delicous coyote feces

over there!"

   I am in awe of the sunrise and how the sun hits the high peaks of New River Mesa. Uno is in awe of feces from a variety of other desert dwellers. 

"One person's awe is another person's aw-ship."

—Old Doggone Saying, yes that is a OPT (on purpose typo)