68. Michael Amster, MD: The Transformative Power of AWE

May 15, 2024

01:05:21

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Michael Amster, MD is a physician and awe researcher and teacher at the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. With twenty years as a pain management specialist, he is currently the founding director of the pain management department at Santa Cruz Community Health. He shares his journey of discovering awe through mindfulness and meditation practices. Michael explains the AWE method, which stands for Attention, Wait, and Expand, and how it can be used to experience awe in everyday moments. In this conversation, we actually get to experience it first-hand and if you are someone who never has time to breathe or meditate, this is one of the shortest AND most effective practices that we have both integrated into our lives.

Michael also discusses the different levels of consciousness, the markers of each, and how our bodies physiologically change between each state. Most of us live and function from “safety consciousness,” which is characterized by anxiety, worry and doubt. Just by practicing the AWE method even once a day can help you access the benefits of the other states of consciousness - heart and spacious consciousness.

By accessing the energetic state of awe in just a few short breaths, we can experience improved mental, emotional, and physical health. This dialogue allows you to consider that what you really desire from the external world is actually an altered internal state, which is available to you right in this moment.

Highlights:

-Awe is an emotional experience in which we sense being in the presence of something that transcends our normal perception of the world.

-Awe has the power to lower inflammation, reduce depression and anxiety, and improve overall health. Accessing heart and awe consciousness can enhance our daily lives and improve our relationships, work, and overall well-being.

-Shifting from safety consciousness to a state of awe and spaciousness can bring about positive changes in our lives.

-Awe is contagious and can inspire awe in others when shared.

-Awe is accessible in everyday experiences and can be practiced with the Awe Method.

-Practicing awe can lead to a heightened shift in consciousness and contribute to positive change in the world.

Timestamps:

03:05 Discovering the A.W.E. (Attention, Wait, Expand) Method

09:03 Exploring Different Levels of Consciousness

13:00 The Benefits of Heart and Spacious Consciousness

34:14 Shifting from Safety Consciousness (Fear) to Freedom

39:18 Living Life in Radical Amazement: Awe in Everyday Experiences

46:57 The Contagious Nature of Awe: Sharing Awe with Others

53:22 Practicing Awe: Shifting Consciousness and Creating Positive Change

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