Actively seek and engage in social community, as meta-analyses show it can add up to 10 years to life expectancy. This highlights the profound physical health benefits of strong social bonds.
2. Practice the Awe Walk
Incorporate a weekly “awe walk” into your routine by slowing down, deepening your breathing, and intentionally shifting your visual focus from small details (e.g., a leaf) to vast patterns (e.g., a canopy of leaves or clouds). This practice has been shown to reduce physical pain and improve brain health.
3. Engage in Shared Synchronized Experiences
Participate in activities like concerts, sporting events, or dance where collective movement and shared emotional experiences lead to brain synchronization and deep bonding. This fosters a sense of unity and collective consciousness.
4. Reduce Self-Focus
Actively work to diminish “mean egotism” and excessive self-focus, as awe naturally quiets the self and connects you to larger systems. Over-identification with personal striving or material wealth can inhibit feelings of awe.
5. Practice Space-Time Bridging
Perform a simple meditation-like exercise by closing your eyes and focusing on internal sensations, then progressively opening your visual aperture to your hand, a distant object, a horizon, and finally, the planet in space, before returning to yourself. This helps shift time perception and perspective.
6. Host or Attend Campfires
Gather around campfires with others to foster deep connection, storytelling, and shared experiences. Campfires, a practice dating back hundreds of thousands of years, naturally encourage bonding and a sense of collective humanity.
7. Engage in Benevolent Teasing
In close friendships, particularly among males, engage in playful, lighthearted teasing that highlights group norms without humiliating individuals. This form of interaction can strengthen bonds by signaling care and commitment to the group.
8. Embrace Embarrassment as a Social Signal
Recognize that showing embarrassment when you make a social faux pas signals your commitment to group norms and empathy. This response makes others like and trust you more, fostering stronger social connections.
Actively participate in local community events like farmer’s markets, yoga classes, or gyms, which provide opportunities for social interaction and collective experiences. These gatherings offer profound community benefits beyond their primary purpose.
Be mindful of social media use, as excessive scrolling often leads to unmemorable sensory input and can feel akin to substance abuse, detaching you from genuine, awe-inspiring experiences. Aim for intentional engagement rather than passive consumption.
11. Avoid Microdosing Psychedelics for Depression
Do not use microdosing of psychedelics (like psilocybin or LSD) as a treatment for major depression, as current data indicate no evidence of benefit compared to higher doses in structured therapeutic settings. These compounds are powerful and should be approached with caution.
12. Leverage Visual Aperture for Time Perception
Understand that a narrow visual aperture (like focusing intently on a screen) can make time feel slower and more fragmented, while a wide visual aperture (like viewing a horizon) can induce relaxation and a broader sense of time. Intentionally shift your visual focus to manage your perception of time.
Reframe your use of social media to prioritize genuine sharing and connection rather than self-focused content or algorithmic hate. The original intent of these platforms was to foster community, and intentional use can still achieve this.