"There's a rhythm to nature, it's never in a hurry or a rush."

In this first end-of-the-month minisode, our guest co-host Jonathan reflects on his most recent W.O.W (World of Wonder) experience. Taking a break from his real estate hustle to watch some famous(?) barn animals, he helps us discover that we can learn a thing or two from horses and donkeys.

Each Wonder Wednesday you've gotten loads of awesome insight from our weekly guests. These monthly WOW minisodes are meant to give you a chance to breathe, to reflect, and to share with us your own wonder moments (so we might spread the wonder to others!): [email protected].

Send in a wonder moment: [email protected] Website: [email protected]

"The daily work of the home is something for you, not against you." - Mary Sarah Ivers

If you're overwhelmed or unmotivated by thinking your home has to be on the next cover of Better Homes and Gardens, then this podcast episode is for you! (Yes men, you too).

We'll answer questions like: How do we elevate mundane tasks in our homes? How do beautiful spaces affect us? How has the value of homemaking changed in today's society?

We'll also explore how "shopping small" can help us pass along the stories and lived experiences of others.

Mary Sarah, owner of The Olive Branch, a small shop online and in Littleton, Colorado, speaks to how we can elevate our mundane daily tasks and rediscover wonder and purpose in our homes and in the lost art of homemaking.

"Beautiful. Practical. Handcrafted." This is the vision of The Olive Branch, which hopes to reveal the beauty found in the ordinary through thoughtfully made, beautiful goods for the home - made by the people who surround us and sharing their stories - so that every good is a sign that we belong to each other.

"The business done in the home is nothing less than the shaping of bodies and souls of humanity." -GK Chesterton

"Homes that are truly lived in, won't always be ones of picture, perfect curation, but rather they can, despite some occasional chaos, express their perfection as places where the very robust and real activity of family life can belong and flourish." -Theology of Home: Finding the Eternal in the Everyday

The Olive Branch Shop: https://olivebranchshop.co/ Send in a wonder moment: [email protected] Website: www.awaketowonder.com

"Beauty isn't just for artists or those who have time to go to the Opera. No. Beauty is necessary. It's also accessible to all of us." - Dr. Daniel McClure

Part 2 of 2. With Psychologist Dr. Daniel McClure, we explore how beauty is used in clinical treatment. We explore beauty's relationship with mental health, human suffering, and whether it's successful in art and music therapy. We also reveal how experiencing awe can change our human behaviors and better equip us to adapt and take risks in life.

On this episode we explore:

1. Our core emotions and how they cause us to experience or avoid reality
2. How to be vulnerable in a way that brings about healing
3. How we can re-encounter beautiful things with a renewed sense of newness

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• Dr. Daniel McClure's Dissertation
• Other Resources:
  • "Happiness & Contemplation" (by Joseph Piper)
  • "Orthodoxy" (Ch. 3) (by Chesterton)
• Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]
• www.awaketowonder.com

"I believe everyone has the desire to be chosen or preferred by beauty. We want beauty to come to us and give value to our existence and say, 'I give myself to you. You matter.'" - Dr. Daniel McClure

In Part 1 of this 2-part episode, we examine:

1. Is beauty considered a psychological "need" for humans?
2. What's going on in our brains when we experience beauty?
3. What's the relationship between beauty and our attachments (i.e. where we go when we are emotionally distressed)?

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• Dr. Daniel McClure's Dissertation
• Other Resources:
  • "How we experience awe and why it matters" TED talk by neuroscientist, Beau Lotto
  • "How awe changes you" by SciShow Psych
• Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]
• Website: awaketowonder.com

In 2012, Marjorie Aunos' life forever changed when she became paraplegic as the result of a car accident. Singly raising her 16-month old son, she found strength in her rehabilitation through practicing Wonder.

Working as a speaker, a Psychologist and an advocate for parents with intellectual disabilities, or "different-abilities", Marjorie brings her work and experiences to IASSID (International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency) to support these parents.

Hear her story and how we can harness what the school of Positive Psychology deems a powerful character strength called "Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence."

Marjorie Aunos' YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3Ax4Sm5

Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]

Website: www.awaketowonder.com.

Awe happens when something is SO VAST that it's hard to fit into our current way of thinking. Today we speak with Joe Beckman on the wonders of toast, clouds, puddles, and 5 life-saving phrases every kid...no...every human needs to hear.

"If you want to be truly happy, keep that little kid inside of you alive. Grow up, move forward, take risks, accept new challenges. And at the same time, don't forget to play and dance and jump in puddles and make shapes out of clouds. You can still build maturity, but live enthusiastically in wonder and awe."

GUEST: Joe Beckman ("Just Look Up" book, merch & hire as a speaker): joebeckman.com

Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]

Website: www.awaketowonder.com

Instagram: @awaketowonderpodcast

It's 2021. We made it through the challenging year of 2020 but are we headed the right direction, or could we be evolving backwards in terms of our human inclination towards wonder? Could the key to unlock wonder and awe be in becoming more "useless?"

When a society is filled with busy bodies and obsessed with ideological debates, there is almost always simultaneously a lack of wonder and beauty.

What has the COVID-19 quarantine taught us in terms of letting reality "lead us?"

As humans, we lack. What prevents us from receiving wonder?

Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]

Website: www.awaketowonder.com

Instagram: @awaketowonderpodcast

Wonder is something we've all experienced, but do we actually know what it is? Or moreover, why it's so important for us to experience? Are we beginning to lose the meaning of it in our world and as we get older?

Here we will start by exploring the power of wonder in our own lives and stories.

Moving forward with this podcast and our guests, we ask that you:

• Put on a beginner's lens as if you were hearing these discoveries for the first time
• Approach wonder as more than "useful tool". Productivity isn't our only aim in this life!

"If there are people who are indifferent to beauty, then it is surely because they do not perceive it." - Roger Scruton

Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]

Website: www.awaketowonder.com

Instagram: @awaketowonderpodcast

This is more than a podcast to pass the time. This is a podcast of WONDER.

1. Wonder is for everybody. For every human being.
2. Wonder is also universal and may be a key to addressing some of our larger, societal problems
3. Wonder can help protect our physical health and wellbeing
4. Wonder allows us to better adapt to major things like taking risks, handling conflict and adjusting to uncertainty
5. Wonder delves us into the depths of our desires, and unveils core truths that can help us answer questions about our purpose and identity

Revive yourself, reignite your passion, and start living like you mean it!

Send in a wonder moment: [email protected]

Website: www.awaketowonder.com

Instagram: @awaketowonderpodcast