Kirk Schneider, Saybrook University – The Need for Raw Awe

Do we have enough wonder in our lives?

Kirk Schneider, adjunct faculty in clinical psychology at Saybrook University, says probably not.

Kirk J. Schneider, Ph.D. is a leading spokesperson for existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychology, an adjunct faculty member at Saybrook University and formerly Teachers College, Columbia University, and a cofounder and current president of the award-winning Existential-Humanistic Institute. He was also a 2022 candidate for president-elect of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Schneider has authored/coauthored 15 books including  Awakening to Awe, The Polarized Mind,  The Depolarizing of America , and his latest book: Life-Enhancing Anxiety:  Key to a Sane World.  He also recently wrote an article called “We Need Raw Awe” for the online magazine Aeon, from which much of this Academic Minute is drawn.

The Need for Raw Awe

The psychology of awe–or the humility and wonder, sense of adventure toward living–is a hot topic. One of the challenges with this topic however is that it is so often framed as a ‘high’ or short-term lift. That is why I distinguish between the short-term jolt of awe, or what I call ‘quick-boil’ awe, and the lifelong ‘slow-simmer’ form of awe. The quick-boil form of awe tends to link with activities such as visiting the Grand Canyon, taking a mind-altering drug, and attending a breathtaking concert. The slow simmer awe, on the other hand, transforms the exhilarating energy of quick-boil awe into something long-lasting – such as staying open to the radiant scenery of everyday life, making a lifestyle of wonder and discovery, delving deeply into a project, and consistently engaging with life’s many-sidedness, whether unveiled in one’s work or love life, in child-rearing, friendships, or the larger community of which one is a part. In short, as a researcher of the psychology of awe, I am thrilled that the topic is now being highlighted in so many sectors of our culture.  But I also want to caution that there is a danger in confining awe to a particular moment or thing—as these can reduce the life-altering qualities of awe and also potentially convert it into idolatry or a commercial product.  Slow simmer awe on the other hand, is an attitude that can accompany us for a lifetime;  it can not only expand the possibilities for individual vitality, but it can enrich the evolution of our society, from child-rearing to education, and from the work setting to governance.