Power of Awe. Resets the Heart & Nervous System.

I believe we sense awe at all ages.

A few months ago my 2 year old granddaughter Maddie and I were sitting in a chair together gazing out a window at the Blue Ridge Mountains. She said with a tone of love and wonder, “Look Gma, there’s your mountains!” ( she knows I love the mountains). My heart felt a surge of expansion, love and awe for what she was sensing and feeling. I said, “Maddie, they are beautiful. And we can share them. Those are our mountains”. She smiled as her face lit up.

I find that in moments of awe, when I see and feel something of wonder, then my heart expands and lightens. My nervous system feels a reset button has cleared it for that moment.

This happens often during my morning walk through the woods, looking at the nearby mountains, or when star gazing at night. These settle me. Especially the mountains. I’m grateful for and to them.

What is Awe? It's a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder. It…

  • Is a transformative emotion

  • Creates a breathtaking moment

  • Makes us feel small in the presence of something bigger than ourselves, and connected to others. Simultaneously small and infinitely connected

  • Happens for most people on average twice per week

  • Can happen when hearing beautiful music, looking at the stars, witnessing a stunning sunset, watching snowflakes dance.

  • Resets the nervous system, expand perspective and remind you/ us we're part of something magnificent.

How can you experience awe? Through…

  • Moral beauty: Acts of kindness and courage

  • Collective effervescence: The feeling of being part of something larger than oneself, experienced in concerts, festivals, and other gatherings

  • Nature: Experiencing the beauty of the natural world.

  • Music: Listening to and engaging with music

  • Visual design: Appreciating art, patterns, and other visually appealing creations

  • Spirituality: Exploring spiritual practices and beliefs

  • Important ideas: Engaging with concepts that have significant meaning

  • Life and death: Contemplating mortality.

(List from Modern Elder Academy).

Give yourself an awe reset or retreat. Take a moment, hour or day to slow down, be still and savor what brings awe to you. Shift and gift your nervous system.

Want to experience a Retreat Day of Awe? If so, I’d love for you to join us for an experiential day in nature for Waking Up the Heart with Awe and the Enneagram. Treat your self, your heart.

Waking Up The Heart: Power of Awe + The Enneagram

Saturday 2/15, 10am - 4pm, at Bend of Ivy Lodge.

Register here. $65 includes light lunch. Registration closes 2/12.

Stuckness + Pearls of Wisdom from the I Ching.

One night last fall, I made a conscious decision to confront my "perfection driver" energy. That choice unlocked months of procrastination and allowed me to take action on something I’d wanted to do for ages.

I wanted insight on a situation, so I reached for my Chinese coins to consult the I Ching, an ancient divination text. I’d been longing to try it for months. But every time, I stopped myself.

I was stuck. I had repeatedly stopped myself from moving forward.

That night I realized the ‘why’ of my stuckness.

I realized it was because I hadn’t completely read my new dense, 5-inch-thick academic book on the I Ching. The book had been recommended by a teacher I respected. A teacher that I elevated. Somehow, I’d convinced myself I needed to finish that book first.

Sound familiar?

The Trap of Perfection

Do you ever delay doing something because you feel it needs to be done “just right”? So you don’t do it at all?

That’s the perfection driver at work—those unconscious and limiting beliefs that can keep you stuck.

For me, it was my Enneagram One energy showing up. The Enneagram One is known as “The Perfectionist.” While it’s not my dominant type, all nine Enneagram energies live within us to some degree. This was my perfectionist energy rearing its head.

Naming the Pattern

Part of my inner work has been to notice and name this "perfectionist drive."

Here’s how it often plays out:

  • I wait and delay because I want to “get it right.”

  • That delay leaves me stuck.

  • The result? Nothing happens.

By recognizing this pattern, I can move through it faster. I’ve learned to embrace being “perfectly imperfect.”

Discovering the Why

That night, I uncovered some of the why behind my perfectionism.

Because the I Ching feels deeply spiritual to me, I had unconsciously believed I must honor this ancient text by fully understanding it before engaging with it. This belief became a silent barrier, a limiting belief.

Limiting beliefs are everywhere. They can keep you stuck in:

  • Relationships

  • Jobs

  • Family dynamics

  • Decisions

  • Career paths

  • Transitions

These beliefs often create fixed mindsets. Shifting to a growth mindset requires practice and intention. But it’s worth it. When you break free, you gain clarity and wisdom.

That night, I received the pearls of wisdom I needed from the I Ching.

Your Takeaway

Be curious about what’s keeping you stuck.

  • What is the hidden belief, fear, or “why” holding you back?

  • Can you name it without judgment?

When you notice it and give it space, you begin to release it. That’s where freedom begins.