"Awe Walks" in Central Park

While so many vital pieces of our life – our job, our grocery lists, and our entertainment – exist in our digital, palm-sized universe, our minds lose contact with our surroundings and the world we share with our friends, loved ones, and peers.

And yet, we have hope of reestablishing our bond to the world around us, and experiencing indescribable feelings of wonder, curiosity, and inspiration that accompany this connection. We call this emotion: awe.

Join us to actively slow down, reconnect and find more awe in your life. These walks set the stage for awe seeking, deep listening, and moments of connection.

Awe is an emotion we experience when we're filled with wonder or amazement.

Researchers define awe as a response to things we perceive as vast and that transcend the way we understand the world. These are the moments when we have a sense of wonder or an experience of mystery that goes beyond our understanding.

According to Professor Dacher Keltner, an emotions researcher at the University of California at Berkeley who’s led the field of awe research for decades, experiencing awe not only enhances happiness and physical health but also reduces feelings of entitlement and increases generosity. Moments of awe are ‘health-giving’ and immunity building. They bring our nervous system and heartbeat in sync and even in sync with other people around us.

“An ‘Awe Walk’ Might Do Wonders for Your Well-Being,” published in The New York Times, September 30, 2020, recounts a study of 52 healthy adults divided into two groups: a control group asked to walk at least once a week and a second group who also walked at least once a week but were instructed in how to cultivate awe as they walked.

“Basically, we told them to try to go and walk somewhere new, to the extent possible, since novelty helps to cultivate awe,” says Virginia Sturm, an associate professor of neurology at U.C.S.F., who led the study. The researchers also suggested that the walkers pay attention to details along their walks looking at everything with fresh, childlike eyes.”

They emphasized that the awesome can be anywhere and everywhere from a sweeping panorama of cliffs and sea to sunlight dappling a leaf. “Awe is partly about focusing on the world outside of your heads,” she says, and rediscovering that it is filled with marvelous things that are not you.

The awe walkers and the control group were asked to take a few selfies to document their walks but to otherwise stay off their phones. After eight weeks the study found that the ‘awe walkers’ seemed to have become adept at discovering and amplifying awe. One member of the awe group reported noticing the “beautiful fall colors and the absence of them in the evergreen forests.” A control walker, in contrast, said she spent much of a recent walk fretting about an upcoming vacation and “all the things I had to do before we leave.”

The study also showed differences in well-being that were small but significant: overall the awe walkers felt happier, less upset and more socially connected than the men and women in the control group. More startling, the researchers noticed variance in the group’s selfie photos. Over the course of the eight weeks, the size of the awe walkers’ faces shrank in relation to the scenery. Nothing similar occurred in the photos from the control group. The selfie findings were unexpected. Of course, awe is an emotion and the results are subjective but nevertheless, the possibilities are enticing.

“It is such a simple thing” to look around for small wonders while you exercise, Dr. Sturm said and “there is no downside.”

Excerpted from The New York Times

Unexpected Adventures NYC offers Awe Walks facilitated by expert awe walker and long-time meditator Martha Blackwelder. These walks set the stage for awe seeking, deep listening, and moments of connection.

The walk is 1.5 hours. There will be steps and inclines along the path as well as opportunities to sit as we move between destinations. Bathrooms are nearby.

The walk begins near W. 81th St and CPW, with easy access from the A, C, B, D subway.

Awe Walks are limited to 10 people.

Event details will be sent to participants after registration.

1) Encourages curiosity

2) Inspires energy, especially when experienced in nature

3) Quiets the chatter of the monkey mind

4) Calms the nervous systems

5) Makes us less materialistic and more generous

6) Increases spirituality as we experience being part of something larger than ourselves

7) Softens hard-core convictions, making us more open-minded and less rigid in our thinking

8) Leaves us feeling more present and patient

9) Leads us to be more friendly, humble and connected to others

10) Improves life satisfaction

*Excerpted from The Power of Awe

• Slow down and start to notice things around you
• Try new things and notice your experience
• Get curious, ask yourself questions.
• Pay attention to details, looking at everything with fresh, childlike eyes

Martha Blackwelder is founder of Unexpected Adventures NYC, an educational company based in NYC that creates and leads small group events. Martha is a creative entrepreneur, an Asian art historian and a former museum director. She’s a passionate communicator and bridge builder who believes in the importance of increasing cultural awareness and self-awareness through interactive educational experiences. Unexpected Adventures offers Scavenger Hunts monthly in Central Park as well as Hiking and Meditation events and Japanese Sake Tasting events.

For more information visit our website: UnexpectedadventuresNYC.com or @CEJapan on Facebook or @marthablackwelder on Instagram.

Hope to see you on one of our adventures soon!

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Central Park West and 81st St., W. 81st St. and Central Park West, New York, United States