An Upbeat Emotion That’s Surprisingly Good for You

I find paying attention to nature a good source of awe. Also beautiful music. Great songwriting. Great intellectual explanations that bring me new insights can also do it. Occasionally my own actions can bring me awe, with a feeling of being gifted, like being able to write my song "The Oneness of Being".

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/an-upbeat-emotion-thats-surprisingly-good-for-you/?ref=magazine&_r=0

By Gretchen Reynolds
March 26, 2015

This article appeared in the March 29 issue of The New York Times Magazine.

Dark moods are bad for your health. Scientists have known for decades that a wide variety of unpleasant emotions, like shame, depression and anxiety, are linked to greater rates of ills like heart disease, inflammation, cancer and premature death. Conversely, positive feelings have been shown to be good for you.

Far less is known, however, about the health benefits of specific upbeat moods — whether contentment, say, might promote good health more robustly than joy or pride does. A new study singles out one surprising emotion as a potent medicine: awe. And happily, awe seems to be much easier to come by than many might expect, even for the busy and stressed-out.

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While acknowledging that awe is conceptually squishy and subjective, Dr. Keltner says that in general, a primary attribute of an awe-inspiring event is that it “will pass the goose-bumps test.” And he advises that people “seek it often.” He is just not certain what that means for everyone. “Some people feel awe listening to music,” Dr. Keltner says, “others watching a sunset or attending a political rally or seeing kids play.”