Monica Parker

It also lowers our blood pressure and our cortisol levels, which are our stress hormones. So really, really positive for us, for both our brains and our minds.

Absolutely, and that is wonder. And even one of the things that I like to tell people is to try to approach life like a child. As a child, they're always adding new experiences and what are known as schema. So they're basically building the lens through which they see the world. And one of the challenges is that as we become adults, we sort of have decided we already have

Absolutely, and that is wonder. And even one of the things that I like to tell people is to try to approach life like a child. As a child, they're always adding new experiences and what are known as schema. So they're basically building the lens through which they see the world. And one of the challenges is that as we become adults, we sort of have decided we already have

Absolutely, and that is wonder. And even one of the things that I like to tell people is to try to approach life like a child. As a child, they're always adding new experiences and what are known as schema. So they're basically building the lens through which they see the world. And one of the challenges is that as we become adults, we sort of have decided we already have

all the information we need, and we decide that there's not so much wonder to be seen anymore. But if we can see the world through the eyes of a child, always beginning, almost that Zen precept of to always be beginning, then we are able to recapture that sense of childlike wonder.

all the information we need, and we decide that there's not so much wonder to be seen anymore. But if we can see the world through the eyes of a child, always beginning, almost that Zen precept of to always be beginning, then we are able to recapture that sense of childlike wonder.

all the information we need, and we decide that there's not so much wonder to be seen anymore. But if we can see the world through the eyes of a child, always beginning, almost that Zen precept of to always be beginning, then we are able to recapture that sense of childlike wonder.

I can appreciate sort of that take, but the reality is that I think that's a perception that we have because there is so much to feel a sense of wonder about. And there's no question we can't see Mickey Mouse again for the first time. We can't see the Grand Canyon for the first time except once. But what research shows is that we can, if we choose to see it, find wonder in the quotidian.

I can appreciate sort of that take, but the reality is that I think that's a perception that we have because there is so much to feel a sense of wonder about. And there's no question we can't see Mickey Mouse again for the first time. We can't see the Grand Canyon for the first time except once. But what research shows is that we can, if we choose to see it, find wonder in the quotidian.

I can appreciate sort of that take, but the reality is that I think that's a perception that we have because there is so much to feel a sense of wonder about. And there's no question we can't see Mickey Mouse again for the first time. We can't see the Grand Canyon for the first time except once. But what research shows is that we can, if we choose to see it, find wonder in the quotidian.

We can find it in our day-to-day lives. And that might be just a perfect sunrise or a beautiful autumn leaf, but really it's about the lens through which we choose to see the world. It's about a mindset.

We can find it in our day-to-day lives. And that might be just a perfect sunrise or a beautiful autumn leaf, but really it's about the lens through which we choose to see the world. It's about a mindset.

We can find it in our day-to-day lives. And that might be just a perfect sunrise or a beautiful autumn leaf, but really it's about the lens through which we choose to see the world. It's about a mindset.

But what the research shows is that if we prime ourselves to find wonder, and it can be a single sentence prime, I'm going to find three things to feel a sense of wonder about today, then our brain will commit greater cognitive resources to finding it.

But what the research shows is that if we prime ourselves to find wonder, and it can be a single sentence prime, I'm going to find three things to feel a sense of wonder about today, then our brain will commit greater cognitive resources to finding it.

But what the research shows is that if we prime ourselves to find wonder, and it can be a single sentence prime, I'm going to find three things to feel a sense of wonder about today, then our brain will commit greater cognitive resources to finding it.

And so certainly priming can help, but over time as it becomes a practice, neurons that fire together wire together and will start to create these neural pathways where we will recognize wonder more often. I don't see it as onerous. I simply see it as another thing that is good for us and fun to do.

And so certainly priming can help, but over time as it becomes a practice, neurons that fire together wire together and will start to create these neural pathways where we will recognize wonder more often. I don't see it as onerous. I simply see it as another thing that is good for us and fun to do.

And so certainly priming can help, but over time as it becomes a practice, neurons that fire together wire together and will start to create these neural pathways where we will recognize wonder more often. I don't see it as onerous. I simply see it as another thing that is good for us and fun to do.

So one of the main ways is it's something that psychologists call small self. So anything that we experience that feels a sense of vastness, and that can be a sense of emotional vastness or cognitive vastness, where we say, goodness, this makes me feel like a small component part of a bigger system. That's really how we start to tap into wonder.