The Beauty You Missed: How Awe Heals the Nervous System
We’re wired to survive — but built to feel.
Our nervous system’s oldest job is protection. It scans, anticipates, defends. For thousands of years, this vigilance kept us alive. But today, it often keeps us disconnected — from each other, from the world, and from the quiet, nourishing beauty that’s available in every moment.
True healing asks us to remember something ancient and gentle: we’re not meant to live in a perpetual state of alarm. We’re meant to notice life happening — the golden light slipping through leaves, the sound of laughter, the feeling of breath filling our chest.
These are not trivial details. They’re portals.
They are what nervous system expert Deb Dana calls “glimmers” — micro-moments of safety, joy, and connection that gently guide the body out of survival and back into belonging.
The Science of Awe: How Wonder Changes the Brain
Psychologist Dacher Keltner, a leading researcher on the science of awe, has spent decades studying what happens in the body when we encounter something vast, beautiful, or deeply moving. His research reveals something profound:
Awe is a biological reset button for the nervous system.
When we experience awe — whether gazing at the night sky, hearing a child’s laughter, or witnessing an act of kindness — our brain’s default mode network quiets. This is the part of the brain that loops in self-referential thought: me, my problems, my story.
Awe interrupts that loop. It opens us.
In this space of openness, our sense of self expands; we feel part of something larger, safer, more coherent.
Physiologically, awe activates the vagus nerve, a key player in regulating our parasympathetic nervous system — our “rest, digest, and connect” state. Heart rate slows, breath deepens, and oxytocin (the bonding hormone) increases.
What does this mean for healing?
It means that moments of wonder aren’t just poetic — they’re physiological medicine. Awe rewires the nervous system toward regulation, humility, and connection.
In Keltner’s words:
“Awe transforms us. It shifts us from a focus on the self to a focus on the world.”
Glimmers: The Opposite of Triggers
If triggers pull us into contraction, glimmers bring us back into expansion.
They are the quiet antidote to chronic stress.
A glimmer can be as simple as:
The warmth of the sun on your skin.
The way your pet looks at you with unconditional trust.
The taste of your morning tea.
A line of music that makes your heart swell.
These micro-moments don’t need to be monumental — they just need to be noticed.
According to Polyvagal Theory (developed by Dr. Stephen Porges), our nervous system constantly scans for cues of safety or threat. Glimmers are the cues of safety that tell the body, It’s okay. You’re safe now.
When you start to track glimmers — intentionally noticing sensations of warmth, openness, or ease in the body — you build neural pathways of safety. Over time, your baseline state shifts from hypervigilance to grounded presence.
Glimmers are the language of the ventral vagal system — the biology of connection, creativity, and calm.
What You Focus On Grows
Here’s the remarkable thing about the brain: it’s neuroplastic — meaning it’s always changing in response to experience. What you give attention to strengthens. What you repeat, you rewire.
So when you begin to notice beauty, goodness, and small joys, your brain starts to look for them.
It’s as if you’ve tuned an inner compass toward what is life-giving.
At first, it might feel subtle — a warm light through your window, the sound of rain, a shared smile. But over time, this noticing compounds. The nervous system learns: I can feel safe enough to receive goodness.
You’re not ignoring life’s challenges; you’re balancing them by retraining your brain to hold both — the difficult and the divine. This practice doesn’t erase pain; it creates capacity.
Healing through glimmers isn’t about pretending everything’s fine. It’s about allowing moments of beauty to coexist with what’s hard — and letting them gently reshape your inner landscape.
This Is Not Bypassing — It’s Belonging to the Fullness of Life
Let’s be clear: noticing glimmers is not about bypassing pain, grief, or anger. It’s not about covering discomfort with positivity.
It’s about staying open to beauty even when life feels heavy.
Imagine this:
You’ve had a tough day. Everything feels like too much. Your mind is foggy, your chest tight. You step outside for air, shoulders hunched, heart guarded. Then, as you walk down the street, a stranger catches your eye and smiles — a simple, human gesture. Without even thinking, you smile back.
In that small moment, something shifts. Your breath deepens. Your body softens. The tension doesn’t vanish, but it’s no longer everything. There’s space for light to exist beside the shadow.
That smile didn’t erase the hard day — it reminded you that you’re still here, still connected, still capable of feeling goodness.
That’s the power of glimmers. They don’t deny your humanity; they expand it.
We are multidimensional beings — capable of holding sorrow and sweetness, grief and grace, contraction and curiosity — all at once.
When you allow glimmers to enter, you’re not escaping reality; you’re remembering that reality is wide enough to hold it all.
Beginner’s Mind: Seeing the World Again
In Zen Buddhism, there’s a saying:
“In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind, there are few.”
To live with a beginner’s mind is to meet the world with curiosity instead of certainty. It’s to look at your morning coffee as if for the first time. To listen deeply. To let wonder re-enter the ordinary.
Neuroscience confirms that this openness literally changes the brain. When we approach life with curiosity, our neuroplasticity — the brain’s capacity to grow and form new connections — increases. Learning, healing, and emotional flexibility all become easier.
Beginner’s mind is the psychological doorway to awe. It helps us step out of the autopilot of familiarity and back into presence.
Try this practice:
Next time you’re walking outside, pretend you’ve never seen your neighbourhood before. Notice the shades of colour, the sounds, the texture of the air. Breathe. You might be surprised by how alive the world suddenly feels.
When you return to beginner’s mind, you return to aliveness itself.
Micro-Joy and Pleasure: Healing Through Sensation
Our culture often treats pleasure as indulgent — a reward after productivity. But from a somatic lens, pleasure is a survival mechanism.
Micro-joys — the small, accessible pleasures that bring softness to the nervous system — are vital for emotional regulation. They release dopamine and serotonin, stabilizing mood and strengthening resilience.
The practice isn’t about chasing happiness; it’s about allowing micro-moments of pleasure to re-pattern your nervous system toward safety and receptivity.
Some examples:
The first sip of coffee in the morning — slow it down, savour it.
The feel of warm water on your hands.
A deep stretch after sitting too long.
A song that makes you want to dance.
The scent of something you love — a candle, essential oil, or your favourite food.
Each micro-joy is a somatic anchor — a reminder that peace lives in the body, not in the future.
Integrating It All: The Daily Practice of Awe
Here’s a gentle invitation to begin integrating glimmers, awe, and micro-joy into your daily life:
Pause & Sense
Stop for 10 seconds and notice what your senses are taking in — colour, sound, texture, breath. Ask yourself, What feels good right now?Name the Glimmer
When you notice something that brings warmth or ease, name it silently: This is a glimmer. Naming builds awareness and strengthens the neural imprint.Let It Land
Place a hand on your heart or belly. Breathe deeply and let your body register the feeling of safety or delight. Let it last a few seconds longer than feels natural.Beginner’s Lens
Approach one routine task today — washing dishes, driving, walking — as though you’ve never done it before. Stay curious. Notice something new.Collect Micro-Joys
Keep a small journal or phone note of your micro-joys. These are your personal map of safety — reminders for days when joy feels far away.
The Soul Knows the Way Back
You don’t have to chase enlightenment. You just have to notice what’s already here.
The practice of glimmers, awe, and micro-joy isn’t about escaping reality — it’s about anchoring into it more deeply. It’s a somatic remembering: that even amid chaos, the nervous system can learn to orient toward goodness.
Awe opens us.
Glimmers steady us.
Micro-joy nourishes us.
Beginner’s mind keeps us curious enough to stay alive to it all.
“Awe binds us to something larger than ourselves.” — Dacher Keltner
So today, look up. Feel the sky. Notice the softness in your body. That quiet moment of breath? That’s a glimmer. That’s your nervous system remembering it’s safe to feel again.
Final Reflection Prompt:
✨ What’s one glimmer you noticed today? Write it down, breathe it in, and let it remind you — you are already whole.