--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What can be more soul shaking than…" description: "\"“What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg" --- # What can be more soul shaking than peering through a… ![“What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone tool in one’s hand, standing before the immense chasm of space and time that is the Grand Canyon, or listening to a scientist who gazed…” quote by Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg) > ““What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone tool in one’s hand, standing before the immense chasm of space and time that is the Grand Canyon, or listening to a scientist who gazed upon the face of the universe’s creation and did not blink? That is deep and sacred science.”” [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experiencing vast, ancient, or cosmic phenomena evokes profound awe and a sense of sacred scientific wonder. **In simple terms:** Cosmic awe inspires reverence. Key Takeaway Embrace wonder. Themes science awe cosmos Mood wonderful reverent Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - stargazing - museum visits - nature hikes - reading about deep time Key Concepts philosophy of science spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does this awe teach you about yourself? - How can you translate awe into action? A Different Perspective Awe can be fleeting without deeper reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grand canyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grand-canyon/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Space and time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-and-time/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“SoulMates resonate on many levels. Something deep in me recognizes something deep in you that is sacred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-vaillancourt/soulmates-resonate-on-many-levels-something-deep-in-me-recognizes/) [Annette Vaillancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-vaillancourt/) > [ In a manner which matches the fortuity, if not the consequence, of Archimedes' bath and Newton's apple, the \[3.6 million year old\] fossil footprints… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-reader/in-a-manner-which-matches-the-fortuity-if-not-the-consequence-of/) John Reader > [“Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and drudgery and provided an array of gadgetry for our entertainment and convenience, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/science-may-have-alleviated-the-miseries-of-disease-and-drudgery-and/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [In my view, The Temple of Man is the most important work of scholarship of this century. R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz finally proves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-anthony-west/in-my-view-the-temple-of-man-is-the-most-important-work-of/) [John Anthony West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-anthony-west/) > [Without art, we should have no notion of the sacred; without science, we should always worship false gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-art-we-should-have-no-notion-of-the-sacred-without-science-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Spiritual exegesis is not an unrestrained flight of the imagination. Rather, it is a sacred science that proceeds according to certain principles and stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hahn/spiritual-exegesis-is-not-an-unrestrained-flight-of-the-imagination/) [Scott Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hahn/) > [“They considered all of life to be part of a great mystery and knew there was no way to separate the secular from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-gregg/they-considered-all-of-life-to-be-part-of-a-great-mystery-and-knew/) [Susan Gregg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-gregg/) > [If you understood a business perfectly and the future of the business, you would need very little in the way of a margin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-you-understood-a-business-perfectly-and-the-future-of-the-business/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [A rill in a barnyard and the Grand Canyon represent, in the main, stages of valley erosion that began some millions of years apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/a-rill-in-a-barnyard-and-the-grand-canyon-represent-in-the-main/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [I had so much fun touring the Grand Canyon area with the Sierra Club. I love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gould/i-had-so-much-fun-touring-the-grand-canyon-area-with-the-sierra-club/) [Nolan Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gould/) > [The Grand Canyon is living evidence of the power of water over a period of time. The power may not manifest immediately. Water can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-grand-canyon-is-living-evidence-of-the-power-of-water-over-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Michael Shermer > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“According to Dembski, for example, “scientific creationism has prior religious commitments whereas intelligent design does not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/according-to-dembski-for-example-scientific-creationism-has-prior/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [The first-cause and prime-mover argument, brilliantly proffered by St. Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century (and brilliantly refuted by David Hume in the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/the-first-cause-and-prime-mover-argument-brilliantly-proffered-by-st/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Mind is just a word we use to describe neural activity in the brain. No brain, no mind. We know this because if a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/mind-is-just-a-word-we-use-to-describe-neural-activity-in-the-brain/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Through no divine design or cosmic plan, we have inherited the mantle of life's caretaker on the earth, the only home we have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/through-no-divine-design-or-cosmic-plan-we-have-inherited-the-mantle/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [I always accepted the libertarian position of minimum regulation in the sale and use of firearms because I placed guns under the beneficial rubric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-always-accepted-the-libertarian-position-of-minimum-regulation-in/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [If spirituality is the sense of awe and humility in the face of the creation, what could be more awesome and humbling than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/if-spirituality-is-the-sense-of-awe-and-humility-in-the-face-of-the/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [We know evolution happened not because of transitional fossils such as A. natans but because of the convergence of evidence from such diverse fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/we-know-evolution-happened-not-because-of-transitional-fossils-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Yet basically, libertarians are for freedom and liberty for individuals, while recognizing that in order to be free we must also be protected. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/yet-basically-libertarians-are-for-freedom-and-liberty-for/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Scientists like Bjorn Lomborg in The Skeptical Environmentalist have, in my opinion, properly nailed environmental extremists for these exaggerated scenarios.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/scientists-like-bjorn-lomborg-in-the-skeptical-environmentalist-have/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [When religious believers invoke miracles and acts of creation ex nihilo, that is the end of the search for them, whereas for scientists, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/when-religious-believers-invoke-miracles-and-acts-of-creation-ex/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Darwin matters because evolution matters. Evolution matters because science matters. Science matters because it is the preeminent story of our age, an epic saga…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/darwin-matters-because-evolution-matters-evolution-matters-because/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/skepticism-is-not-a-position-that-you-stake-out-ahead-of-time-and/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [“Neuroscientist David Comings drew out the larger implications of such hallucinations for the relationship between our rational and spiritual brains: The psychedelic drugs like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/neuroscientist-david-comings-drew-out-the-larger-implications-of-such/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) [Explore all 160 Michael Shermer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## More Grand canyon quotes > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [The Grand Canyon is living evidence of the power of water over a period of time. The power may not manifest immediately. Water can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-grand-canyon-is-living-evidence-of-the-power-of-water-over-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I had so much fun touring the Grand Canyon area with the Sierra Club. I love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gould/i-had-so-much-fun-touring-the-grand-canyon-area-with-the-sierra-club/) [Nolan Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gould/) > [A rill in a barnyard and the Grand Canyon represent, in the main, stages of valley erosion that began some millions of years apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/a-rill-in-a-barnyard-and-the-grand-canyon-represent-in-the-main/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [If you understood a business perfectly and the future of the business, you would need very little in the way of a margin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-you-understood-a-business-perfectly-and-the-future-of-the-business/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [You can't say you're going to jump the Grand Canyon and then jump some other canyon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/you-can-t-say-you-re-going-to-jump-the-grand-canyon-and-then-jump/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [The most refined skills of color printing, the intricate techniques of wide-angle photography, provide us pictures of trivia bigger and more real than life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-most-refined-skills-of-color-printing-the-intricate-techniques-of/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [“If I owned the Grand Canyon, it would be my largest antique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-owned-the-grand-canyon-it-would-be-my-largest-antique/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“People have been driving off of the canyon for decades. I don't know of any that were accidental. One Ranger who worked here before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-eileen-muleady-mecham/people-have-been-driving-off-of-the-canyon-for-decades-i-don-t-know/) Nancy Eileen Muleady-Mecham > [The church as we know it today seems a million miles from the New Testament church. That may be a great generalization, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-church-as-we-know-it-today-seems-a-million-miles-from-the-new/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [I love my country, by which I mean I am indebted joyfully to all the people throughout its history, who have fought the government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-love-my-country-by-which-i-mean-i-am-indebted-joyfully-to-all-the/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [“Who is he?” Eleanor lowered her voice, the name rolling off her tongue like a dark secret. “Dante Berlin.” I laughed. “Dante? Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-woon/who-is-he-eleanor-lowered-her-voice-the-name-rolling-off-her-tongue/) [Yvonne Woon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-woon/) [Browse all 156 Grand canyon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grand-canyon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone tool in one’s hand, standing before the immense chasm of space and time that is the Grand Canyon, or listening to a scientist who gazed upon the face of the universe’s creation and did not blink? That is deep and sacred science.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Shermer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grand canyon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/michael-shermer-2567_grand-canyon_what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peeri_2963808.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a…” — Michael Shermer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Shermer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What can be more soul shaking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```