Focus on the ‘moral beauty’ of others.
One of the most reliable ways to experience awe, Dr. Keltner found, was in the simple act of witnessing the goodness of others. When we see others doing small gestures, like walking an older person across the street, we start feeling better and are also more likely to perform good deeds.
However, goodness in others is often overlooked, Dr. Keltner noted. “Our public discourse and academic discourse sort of forgets about how much good people can and want to do,” he said.
Ms. Salzberg, whose forthcoming book includes a section about awe, also believes in the importance of this interpersonal wonder. She recommended paying attention to your neighborhood bus driver or grocery clerk, looking for those daily moments of kindness. If we notice those around us who are “dedicated to goodness or having a better family life than the one they were raised in or to being good to their neighbors,” she said, we can strengthen our sense of awe.
Another tool to experience awe, Dr. Keltner said, is to spend time learning about inspiring people. Research suggests that watching videos of people like Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, can trigger awe.
“Remind yourself of what they’ve written. Have quotes of them, have photos of them,” he said. “Make them part of your life.”
Practice mindfulness.
Distraction, Dr. Keltner said, is an enemy of awe. It impedes focus, which is essential for achieving awe.
“We cultivate awe through interest and curiosity,” Ms. Salzberg said. “And if we’re distracted too much, we’re not really paying attention.”
Mindfulness helps us focus and lessens the power of distractions. “If you work on mindfulness, awe will come.” And some studies show that people who are meditating and praying also experience more awe.
“Awe has a lot of the same neurophysiology of deep contemplation,” Dr. Keltner said. “Meditating, reflecting, going on a pilgrimage.”
So spending time slowing down, breathing deeply and reflecting — on top of their own benefits — have the added advantage of priming us for awe.
Choose the unfamiliar path.
Awe often comes from novelty. So gravitating toward the unexpected can set us up to experience awe. Some people do this more than others, a personality trait that experts have called an “openness to experience,” Dr. Keltner said.
We can work on developing this openness through everyday choices. Choose a restaurant you don’t usually visit, take a different route to work or check out some music you aren’t familiar with.
In his book, Dr. Keltner wrote that people who find awe all around them, “are more open to new ideas. To what is unknown. To what language can’t describe.”
Hope Reese is a journalist who writes for Vox, Shondaland, The Atlantic and other publications.