The Global State of Awe

[Music]

when you think

about the state of the planet

do you feel

when you think about our global society

our humans our animals and our

environment

what do you feel

when you imagine the voices of the

future generations

that are going to inhabit planet earth

what do you hear

we were talking a lot

about the change that needs to happen

and dinosaurs were being mentioned

they were wiped out by an asteroid

well this time around

the asteroid is us that we need to

change

and not only do we need to change we

need to change fast

and then we need to change globally

so what is our angle

what is our unique perspective when

we’re looking at this change

for the past years we have been

researching studying designing and

producing experiences around the globe

and paul and i are currently working on

a book

that is not only about how to create

extraordinary moments for people

but we have been trying to understand

could we

use experiences signed in a way to guide

people towards personal growth and

long-lasting

human transformation out of all those

experiences

we have been particularly fascinated

by one imagine

right now you’re floating

400 kilometers above planet earth

you find yourself on the international

space station

and you’re looking out the window

what do you see

astronauts that had this experience

changed in a very powerful way

not only did the experience of seeing

planet earth

from space change the way they look at

themselves

at others and at the environment

but it also transformed them

into planetary protectors and this is

the overview effect

has been coined by frank white based on

interviews that he did

with astronauts that have seen earth

from outer space or from the surface of

the moon

today we have prepared an auditory

experience for you

an experience that is

hopefully providing you with a very

small glimpse of what the astronauts go

through

when they travel all the way to orbit

and then

come back to earth again when astronauts

go to space

they go through years and months of

flight preparation

so before our space shuttle launch today

we need to prepare you for launch

now i would like to invite you simply

lean back

and close your eyes

[Music]

we will let you know when you can open

your eyes again

if at any point you feel overwhelmed

with emotion then no there’s a way out

of it

just open your eyes and you will be safe

also what is important to remember

try to lean in really go into the

experience and just remember

to breathe be brave and just

embrace what you’re feeling before

lunch

we need to ground ourselves so

make yourself comfortable in your chair

sit a little straighter

let’s all take a deep breath in

and a deep breath out

feel the spine on the chair

hands on your knees on your lap

and the feet firmly grounded

to the floor tedx

we’re ready for launch

[Music]

[Applause]

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[Applause]

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foreign

[Music]

welcome back

you can now slowly open your eyes or

take off your eye masks

we’ve landed

so let’s all take a deep breath

in to ground ourselves

and a deep breath out

the astronaut edgar mitchell

describes his space flight experience

with the words explosion of awareness

an overwhelming sense of oneness

and interconnectedness an ecstasy

a state and a moment of epiphany

when we look into what astronauts go

through

in terms of the emotions they feel

there is one very strong emotion that

all of the astronauts when they go to

space and that

is awe

you might today have felt a bit of that

emotion or in one moment

in your life what is all aw is curiosity

it is also maybe a sense of fear a sense

of wonder

and one strong sense of vastness

so what does this mean for us as

experienced designers and for the

experience that you just had

astronauts when they return back home

they usually have a shift of mind and

heart

a change of the way they look at things

and they become

oftentimes environmentalists and

protectors

of the earth

the emotion of awe is at the core

of this transformation

why do we think that we need to travel

to space to experience this emotion

all is much closer to home than we might

all think

we just need to be open to experience it

and to see it

it could be as simple as hearing the

wind on a stormy day

sitting at the beach and hearing the

seagulls flying over you

or going to the forest and hearing the

raindrops fall

it could be as simple as any

sound the real voyage of discovery

consists not in seeking new landscapes

but in having new eyes

and i feel in a way we might be able to

relate to that

so what does this mean for us what can

we do about it

as experienced designers as scientists

as individuals barbara paul what can you

and how can we move forward from that

for our global collective shared

challenges

what if we all come together

to build sort of a global bell that

catapults us

into a global state of awe

how did it feel if we all

paused

when you think of the state of the

planet

right now how do you feel

when you think of our society our

animals

humans and the environment right now

what do you see

when you imagine the voices

of the future generations that are going

to inhabit

our earth what do you hear

thank you thank you