AWEMOUR™
aw-more · Awe + Amour + More
More love. More awe. More joy. Felt now.
The question
What is the opposite of trauma?
We have a whole language for what wounds us, and almost none for the experiences that heal and shape us for good.
Awemour names it.
Not only what happened to you. What loved you?
Trauma-informed
honors what hurt.
Awemour-informed
honors what loved.
A whole person needs both.
Feel it all. It’s all here, now.
Safe & belonging
The body constantly asks
“Am I safe?”
“Do I belong?”
Trauma answers no.
Love answers yes.
Awemour is the practice of remembering and savoring moments of love, awe and joy so the body receives that “yes” again in the present.
Seven steps
The AWEMOUR Practice
- A
Arrive
Pause. Breathe. Come home to your body.
- W
Wander back
Recall a moment you felt loved, joyful, or in awe.
- E
Embody
Relive it through your senses until your body feels it.
- M
Move to the heart
Hand on chest. Notice where the feeling lives.
- O
Open
Linger 20 to 30 seconds. Let it soak in.
- U
Unite
Then meets now. That love is here in this moment.
- R
Radiate
Carry it forward. Share it. Offer it to another.
The AWEMOUR Practice by Michael L. Smith is free to share, teach and adapt with credit, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
The science
What research is noticing
Positive childhood experiences are linked to better adult mental health, even alongside adversity.
Bethell et al., 2019
Positive emotion and connection are linked to higher vagal tone.
Kok & Fredrickson, 2013
Awe is associated with lower inflammatory markers.
Stellar et al., 2015
The brain’s negativity bias means good experiences need savoring and repetition to imprint.
Baumeister et al., 2001
Awemour complements, and does not replace, professional trauma care.
The manifesto
Your body holds what hurt you. It also holds what loved you.
Don’t deny the love and awe you’ve lived in favor of your wounds.
Love can help heal what trauma broke. It teaches the nervous system what it may have forgotten:
You are safe. You are loved. You belong.
And from there, a life of awe opens.
A hidden word
Spell trauma backward: A-M-U-A-R-T
Amuart, the art of love.
The Creation Story
Awemour was named under a full moon. The next morning, the same moon saw me off as I flew to Paris, the city of love, to share it with the world.
Paris, je t’aime, mon amour.
From darkness into light. That is the journey of Awemour.
— Michael L. Smith
Join the Awemour movement
Gentle reminders, new practices, and stories of love, awe and joy.