Mysteries Awaken Us to Systems

Almost a year ago, I started reading AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner. As someone who reads several books at once, it's not unusual for one to be set aside.  Thankfully, I recently went back to it, and I am so glad I did.  Sometimes the right insights only land when the timing is also right. 

The final chapters of the book beautifully link awe to systems thinking, showing how people turn to systems to make sense of the deep structures that shape their world.  Keltner gives a powerful reminder that awe arises (to the extent we allow it) when we perceive change.  As a systems coach, this connection hit home.

Keltner defines awe as the “emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we don't understand.” He further outlines eight places where awe frequently arises, supported by years of research and personal stories, his own as well as those he interviewed:

1. Moral beauty

2. Collective effervescence (i.e. ceremonies and shared rituals)

3. Nature

4. Music

5. Visual Design

6. Spiritual and Religious awe

7. Life and Death

8. Epiphanies

These “8 Wonders of Life” compliment epiphanies that emerge when we look through a systems lens. In my work, my clients tap into and explore three types of intelligence: 

• Emotional Intelligence - the ability to identify, express, and skillfully leverage emotions

• Social Intelligence - the ability to accurately identify with another’s experience

• Relationship Systems Intelligence - the ability to interpret self as an expression of the system, with the understanding that what emerges belongs to the system

There have been several studies recently showing a general decline in Emotional Intelligence (studies from Gallup, Forbes, and Atlassian), especially from students.  These declines have often been linked to increased technology usage and reduced interpersonal interactions.  The answer is not necessarily to do the opposite of these things, i.e. limit technology use.  The real invitation and solution is to reawaken our senses, our sense of wonder.  And truly get curious and expand into all three types of intelligence.

Keltner speaks to this as well, stating that one of the most “alarming trends in our children today is the disappearance of awe.”  We are not giving them enough opportunities to discover and experience awe.  Budget cuts and teaching to tests replace open-ended questioning and discovery, where the unknown is (was) the centerpiece of the lesson.  Every minute is scheduled.  When the unknown is pushed aside, so is awe, and with it, our capacity for curiosity and connection. The same is true in our increasingly remote work environments. It’s not about eliminating screens or going back to old ways—it’s about knowing what’s missing, and bringing it back in.  Listen to the natural world and the “insect orchestras”.  And don't reduce natural phenomenon to only words.  For example: where does an insect's sound go?  That's not a riddle to solve, it's a moment to feel. 

Awe connects us to something larger than ourselves, initially invisible, initially only in mysterious essence.  As it then becomes visible, the definition or language needed also becomes clear.  Awe is a system. 

In evoking awe it reveals that our current knowledge is not up to the task of making sense of what we have encountered.  And so, in awe, we go in search of new understandings.  When we look at life through a systems lens…we perceive things in terms of relations rather than separate objects. 

Key Points:

💫Allowing awe to fully enter our lives naturally invites curiosity, awareness, and change

🙃 Emotional Intelligence is declining.  Not because of technology, but because we are not cultivating wonder

🌍 Awe shifts us naturally to a systems view of life. 

A client recently said to me… “Ann, I am 100% convinced that the gap in what we do is in systems work.  As a leader, I don't know how to truly coach the team.  Because I'm not used to thinking this way…I'm still working on it…how do I get better at it?

My answer: Tap into awe. Step beyond words → think about how it moves, sounds, feels, tastes. Think about the impact it has, and on what.