In a series of fascinating experiments, Melanie Rudd (Stanford University) and colleagues have shown that inspiring a feeling of awe in their subjects also made them feel that they had more time to do things, made them less materialistic and encouraged to think about volunteering their time to help others.
The really amazing thing was how easy it was to instil such a sense of awe: a TV commercial, a walk down memory lane, or a story about an awe-inspiring view.
Now, two things struck me […] Firstly, it seems to me that atheists have a great appetite for awe-inspiring stories - in particular, stories about great scientific and engineering feats. Could this in part be a facet of life that in other circumstances could be filled by religion?
Secondly, we know from other research that experiences give greater satisfaction than material possessions. And yet the pursuit of material possessions seem to be a major life goal for many people. Could this be due to our feeling of time depletion - and could that in turn be remedied by stoking up a sense of awe?