Awe, Compassion, Gratitude, and Beauty: The Science and Practice of Self-Transcendence

Deep in the human mind and body are vast capacities for self-transcendence, felt in experiences of awe, compassion, gratitude, and profound beauty.

These emotions enable us to gain perspective on our stresses, quiet the voice of the transactional self, orient to the well-being of others, and find a commitment to all sentient beings.

These emotions lie in our deepest connections with others, the arts, nature, and ethical and spiritual ideas about living the good life.

In this paradigm-shifting workshop, we will review the latest scientific understandings of these self-transcendent experiences.

By engaging in evolutionary and neuroscientific approaches to the mind, and considering the cultural meanings of these states, we will begin to tease out where this feeling lives in our own minds and hearts, and how to cultivate it more deeply.

Together, we will explore a number of practices to experience this transcendent amalgam of awe, compassion, gratitude, and beauty.

These practices, which will make up at least a third of our time together, will range from storytelling to slow looking at art, awe walks, and ways to encourage kindness.

During our time together, we will have the opportunity to:

• Discuss the latest science and scholarship on awe, compassion, gratitude, and beauty.
• Engage in a wide-ranging set of social and personally reflective practices related to these emotions.
• Learn about cultural expressions of these emotions in the arts, in spiritual traditions, and in our intellectual and cultural history.
• Explore ways to cultivate these emotions in our social lives.
• Develop an awareness of possibilities for self-transcendence in everyday life. Join us for this incredible opportunity to refresh your heart and mind in the breathtaking natural setting of Esalen and Big Sur. Please bring a notebook or a journal and a pen. Recommended reading : Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner

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