You may ask “How can feeling awestruck help to empower yourself?” Well here are four reasons why the “eyes wide, mouth open” look is good for your mind, body and spirit!
We forget as adults what it’s like to look at the world in constant wonder like we did as children, when met with yet another new sight, sound or sensation. I was reminded of this when my grown up daughter told me an amusing story from her teaching job at a primary (elementary) school.
One day, she was teaching a group of very young children when she had to draw a figure on the board to illustrate a point. Her version of a robot. As she stepped aside and turned around to show them, she was met with a collective “aaaaah!”, their eyes transfixed, in total awe of what she had produced. She was momentarily taken aback by this reaction, she wasn’t expecting it, not thinking her drawing was of any merit. In fact, she said it was pretty sketchy, she’s no artist! Anyway, she was touched by their wonder. Maybe this was the first robot they had ever seen…
I love this story! But sadly, as we get older it takes a bit more than Miss Blair’s artistry to stop us in our tracks and pause in time. The good news is, there are sources of awe all around us and it’s still possible to empower yourself. Music can offer us this sublime feeling (I always stop what I’m doing when I hear Miserere mei Deus, or Air on a G string by Bach, or Gabriel’s Oboe from the film The Mission). As can dramatic landscapes in nature (for me: the Arctic in Norway, the Isle of Skye, Scotland). Or a wildlife sighting (can be in your garden as well as on safari!). Or a painting.
This state of being awestruck is an important part of empowering yourself because:
- it brings you into the present moment, firmly planted in the here and now.
- it focuses the mind as your attention is absorbed by the object/subject. This is actually a form of meditation called dharana (the 6th limb of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga) where you concentrate with single-pointed awareness, the mental fixation uninterrupted, without thought interference or fluctuations of any kind.
- it connects you to the “something greater than myself”, which is hugely grounding, reassuring and life-affirming.
- it’s an unfiltered, uncensored 100% dose of pure joy! Your whole being relaxes, softens and opens. When you feel this, you just want more, to stay there forever.
So, next time you feel awestruck, really revel in it and know how good it is for your mind, body and spirit.
Namaste
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