Podcast Summary:

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Episode: BITESIZE | Do This Every Day to Feel Less Stress, More Joy and Boost Your Physical & Mental Wellbeing | Dr Dacher Keltner (#591)
Date: October 31, 2025
Guest: Dr Dacher Keltner (Professor of Psychology, author of "Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder")

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode explores how the experience of awe—defined as the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding—can significantly improve both mental and physical wellbeing. Dr Dacher Keltner, a renowned psychologist and author, shares the latest research on awe, its benefits, and simple ways to invite more awe into our daily lives. A special focus is given to the concept of "collective effervescence," or experiencing awe in groups, as an antidote to modern stress, loneliness, and self-centeredness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Science and Benefits of Awe

• Awe is not just a fleeting feeling but has measurable health benefits, including:

  • Strengthening the immune system, reducing inflammation, boosting cardiovascular health.
  • Activating vagal tone and lowering amygdala (threat response) activity.
  • Enhancing creativity, reducing stress, and even lessening the sensation of physical pain in older adults.
  • "Five minutes of awe gives you that suite of benefits I think are comparable to anything you can do. No kidding." – Dr Keltner [02:56]

• Common medical issues (stress, inflammation, hyperactive threat responses) can be buffered by regular experiences of awe [00:45 - 03:30].

Experiencing Awe Beyond Nature

• While many associate awe with nature, Dr Keltner broadens the perspective:

  • Awe is commonly experienced in social and cultural contexts through what’s termed "collective effervescence."
  • Collective effervescence: the shared emotional excitement felt when moving or acting in unison (e.g., concerts, sports games, religious rituals, group exercise, singing in choirs) [03:49 - 06:59].

• "Collective movement makes you have a shared consciousness... And then this electric feeling that moves over you that makes you feel like you’re united." – Dr Keltner [05:01]

The Power of Group Activities

• Dr Chatterjee and Dr Keltner discuss the decline in community and why group experiences matter:

  • Digital and solo practices can’t fully replace the emotional impact of being together physically.
  • Suggestions to overcome loneliness include joining group classes or communal activities—even if most of your practice is at home online [07:25 - 08:54].
  • "Does solitary activity on zoom compare to collective activity of the same thing? We know in the education world it does not." – Dr Keltner [08:54]

• Examples of overlooked collective awe:

  • Game nights, listening to records together, communal yoga classes, sharing awe stories at work [09:15 - 10:54].
  • "These are little three to five minute shifts...be it eating or sharing a nice quote or awe story from work that are easy to do and bring us some of the benefits of awe." – Dr Keltner [11:16]

The “Awe Walk” and Simple Practices

• The concept and impact of an “awe walk”:
  • Participants (particularly elderly) who took weekly awe walks for 8 weeks felt less distress, more awe, and greater connection to their surroundings [11:51 - 13:36].
  • "Go to someplace that's a little mysterious and look at small things... and vast things... That's all they did." – Dr Keltner [12:21]
  • Self-focused selfies became less about themselves, more about the environment.

Awe as the Antidote to Narcissism & Disconnection

• Modern society’s excessive self-focus (fueled by individualism and digital culture) is described as a root cause of mental health struggles.
  • Awe helps shift focus outward, reminding us of our smallness but also our connection to something greater.
  • "Awe seems to be the perfect antidote to everything we're struggling with today, which a lot of it is simply inward focus. Me, me, me." – Dr Chatterjee [13:55]
  • "When you feel awe, just ask yourself, what am I part of here?... I'm part of something really large like fellow humans, an ecosystem, or something about culture. And we need that today." – Dr Keltner [14:36]

The Eight Wonders—Different Pathways to Awe

• Awe isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience; Dr Keltner identifies eight “wonders” or avenues for awe:

  • Moral beauty (acts of kindness & courage)
  • Nature
  • Collective movement (e.g. sports, dance)
  • Music
  • Visual design
  • Spirituality/religion
  • Epiphanies/big ideas
  • Life and death [16:13 - 18:20]

• Dr Keltner notes cultural and personal differences: what moves one person may not move another (some experience awe in crowds, others in solitude or through music) [18:20 - 19:38].

  • "Humans are remarkably varying... And that's one of the mysteries to me of Awe is we find it in such unique ways, but also universal ways." – Dr Keltner [19:29]

• Awe is not rare or elusive—“Just go get it, you know.” [19:51]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Five minutes of awe gives you that suite of benefits I think are comparable to anything you can do. No kidding.” – Dr Keltner [02:56]
• “Collective movement makes you have a shared consciousness… this electric feeling that makes you feel like you’re united.” – Dr Keltner [05:01]
• “One of the powerful qualities of awe is that it takes us outside of ourselves to something much bigger and greater.” – Dr Chatterjee [08:53]
• “The central challenge of the mental health crises of today is too much self focus. And we're not going to find awe with zoom and smartphones.” – Dr Keltner [09:38]
• “You can pray by yourself, but there's something about praying with people who are praying with you together… doing dance together, yoga together, there's no substitute.” – Dr Keltner [10:01]
• “These are little three- to five-minute shifts in how we do things… that are easy to do and bring us some of the benefits of awe.” – Dr Keltner [11:16]
• "[In our awe walk study,] the selfies, the self gets smaller and starts to fade off to the side and they're taking in more of the environment." – Dr Keltner [13:10]
• "Awe helps us connect with life, connect with something bigger, remind us of our insignificance really in this kind of ego focused world." – Dr Chatterjee [13:55]
• “When you feel awe, just ask yourself, what am I part of here?... I'm part of something really large like fellow humans, an ecosystem, or something about culture.” – Dr Keltner [14:36]
• “Awe sounds sublime and ineffable or hard to find. It’s very easy to find. There’s everyday awe and wonder. Just go get it, you know.” – Dr Keltner [19:51]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:45 – 03:30: Science-backed benefits of awe; medical implications
• 03:49 – 06:59: The power and examples of collective effervescence
• 07:25 – 08:54: Community and group experience vs. digital/solo alternatives
• 09:38 – 10:54: The role of self-focus and suggestions to cultivate awe daily
• 11:51 – 13:36: Awe walks—research, instructions, outcomes
• 13:55 – 14:36: Awe as antidote to self-centeredness and mental health struggles
• 16:13 – 18:20: The Eight Wonders—multiple paths to awe
• 18:20 – 19:38: Individual differences in awe experiences

Conclusion

Dr Keltner and Dr Chatterjee make a compelling case for seeking out small, daily doses of awe to transform stress, loneliness, and health. Awe can be found not just in grand natural settings, but in music, moral beauty, group rituals, and everyday moments—with profound benefits for body and mind. The key message: it’s easy and essential to find awe, especially with others, in order to live a happier, more connected life.

If you found this insightful, explore the full episode or try an “awe walk” or group activity this week to experience these benefits firsthand!