Finding Awe Through Olfaction
Using your nose to discover wonder in the everyday.
I recently finished a book called "Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life" by psychologist Dacher Keltner. It was a wonderful read that delves into the scientific understanding of awe, showing how it’s not just an emotion reserved for rare moments, but something that can be cultivated in everyday experiences. By seeking moments of awe, he states, we open our minds, sharpen our thinking, cool our immune system’s inflammation responses, and strengthen our bodies. I highly recommend it.
But I admit, I was disappointed in the author. You see, like so many non-fiction books I come across, when a concept is presented, without fail, the arguments are only presented through the perspective of the eyes. And perhaps a little nod to the ears when it suits the explanation. There’s never an evaluation through the nose (she screams into a pillow in frustration).
This is why I reflect, write, and share in this space. Because you deserve other ways of thinking. If you know me even a little bit, you know that I aim to reframe conversations with an olfactory interpretation. So, let’s take a look at the concept of awe, using ideas from the book that I wish the author would have explored.
I should begin by reminding you that awe is the emotion you experience when you encounter vast mysteries that you can’t understand. And it’s with this simple statement that we should recognize the most emotional sense is smell (it’s biological, nose to amygdala, as the crow flies, no other sense is that direct).
The author presents his arguments for seeking awe through Eight Wonders of Life. Let’s explore…
1. Moral Beauty
The idea: Exceptional virtue, character, and ability; purity and goodness.
Think of experiences you’ve had, where you witnessed an act of remarkable integrity, honesty, or truth that made you gasp.
Perspective from the nose: Smells always tell the truth. There’s no façade. What you smell is what you get, whether you’re ready for it or not.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe once when I was hiking along the California coast and a whiff of decay and rot uncomfortably passed my nose. I didn’t see anything before me until I turned the corner and the smell became more pronounced. I peered over the cliff below to witness a dead seal washed up on the beach, seagulls feasting on its flesh. The awe wasn’t the vision of the corpse, but rather the fact that my nose revealed, well before I could see it, the fragility of life.
Something to consider: When did you experience a smell so honest that you felt it in your bones.
2. Collective Effervescence
The idea: A buzzing and crackling with some life force that merges people into a collective self - an oceanic “we”.
Think of experiences you’ve had, where you were with a large group of people: at a sporting event, a concert, a wedding, or perhaps your place of worship.
Perspective from the nose: Scent can play that role in tying people together in the collective memory of an experience.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe recently while visiting a Buddhist temple in Japan. The smell of incense filled the building, enveloping our collective noses as we engaged in the centuries old ritual of reflection & meditation. While most in the temple found it to be quite normal, for me it was completely new, and left me filled with deep reverence for having had the experience with all those around me.
Something to consider: When did you experience a smell with a group of people that was so specific that time seemed to stand still?
3. Nature
The idea: A vastness, mystery, and dissolution of boundaries between the self and other sentient beings.
Think of experiences you’ve had like witnessing a cataclysmic event (ie. wildfire, tornado, hurricane), viewing the solar system through a telescope, walking amongst the trees in a forest, or looking out at the Grand Canyon.
Perspective from the nose: When you smell the outside world, you physically inhale volatile molecules from other living beings. They go inside you and fuse a part of their being into your being.
I experience this olfactory moment of awe every time I go on a scent walk around my neighborhood. I’ll smell something wonderful in the air that I can’t pinpoint near me, only to discover the plant around the corner a few minutes later. I’ll nuzzle my nose up close to really listen to the scent, letting her share with me who she is. The awe is in the olfactory communication - plants letting themselves be known even when we can’t see them. Their smell entering you well before being observed.
Something to consider: When were you surprised by a smell that you couldn’t identify, only to have itself strikingly revealed?
4. Music
The idea: Transporting you to new dimensions of symbolic meaning.
Think of experiences you’ve had like collectively singing at a concert, or listening quietly to a piece of music. You feel connected to something larger than yourself.
Perspective from the nose: This can be the same feeling of transcendence with scent. It can be the collective experience of smelling scent in an olfactive opera, or the smell of a scented cinema showing.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe one summer when a group of us gathered around a campfire at night, sharing stories, while taking in the warm, rich, smoky smell of the wood logs burning before us.
Something to consider: When did you experience a smell so connected to a collective experience that you felt in true community?
5. Sacred Geometries
The idea: The feeling of being in relation to structures that allow us to locate ourselves within cultural systems that we are a part of. Think of architectural wonders like the Pyramids of Egypt, or the Great Wall of China.
Perspective from the nose: This can be the cultural connection of certain smells to a given peoples, or the experience of novel smells when visiting a new country.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe when I visited Santa Fe, New Mexico and smelled the native hatch peppers being roasted at a farmer’s market. The distinctly sweet, smoky smell, while new to me, seemed to be familiar and comforting to the locals passing by. It made me stop in my tracks and take the moment in. It’s actually now the official smell of New Mexico.
Something to consider: When did you experience a novel smell in a new place that made you stop and wonder? Or how about the last time you returned from a trip and inhaled the first whiff of home?
6. Spiritual Life
The idea: Mystical awe, or the connection to touch. This can be a deeply embodied physical, sexual experience, or a more sacred connection to the unknown.
Perspective from the nose: This can be the intimate smell of a lover, spouse, or child, so profound and unique that the experiential embrace connects mind, body, and soul in holistic ways.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe when I held my son in my arms for the first time when he was born. His unique odor is forever imprinted in my brain.
Something to consider: When did you experience the smell of an intimate embrace that shook you to the core?
7. Life & Death
The idea: Understanding the cycle of life and death. In an instant, life comes out of the womb, or you take your last breath which shifts you out of existence.
Perspective from the nose: Smells connect us to the everyday life we are living, help us create scent memories to reflect on, and give scented signals of gradual decay as life comes to an end.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe when I visited my grandmother on her 103rd birthday. Her body odor signaled decay, and foreshadowed her eventual passing only a few months later.
Something to consider: When did you experience the smell of life or impending death?
8. Epiphanies
The idea: When we suddenly understand essential truths about life. Think of philosophical insights, scientific discoveries, or personal realizations. Life is transformed in an instance.
Perspective from the nose: Smells can give us new points of view, can reveal truths we must hear, and can force us to confront parts of ourselves we may otherwise ignore.
I experienced this olfactory moment of awe when I did my daily scent journaling one morning and the smell I was writing about revealed new feelings and perspectives that I had never previously thought about.
Something to consider: When did you last smell something that actually changed your mind?
Experiencing awe is a beautiful thing: it can shift perspective, inspire creativity, foster social connections, and promote well-being. Most importantly, awe can lead to a richer and more fulfilling life.
I hope you’ll consider finding daily moments of awe and wonder through your nose.
"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."
~ W.B. Yeats, Irish poet