Imagine cradling your newborn baby, deeply gazing into their eyes. You’re at the airport, eagerly awaiting your family’s return from a year-long journey, and suddenly, you spot them approaching. Or perhaps you’re in a packed stadium, witnessing your team lift a long-awaited trophy. Each moment evokes a profound sense of connection, sending chills down your spine and bringing tears to your eyes.

Does this resonate with you? Although you might not know it yet, you’re experiencing an emotion referred to as “kama muta.” This phenomenon is gaining traction in psychological circles for its critical role in our relationships with family, friends, and community. By actively seeking to evoke this feeling, you can enhance your life’s purpose and strengthen your social bonds.

The term kama muta emerged from research initiatives starting in 2012 by Alan Fisk, an anthropologist, with contributions from colleagues at UCLA and the University of Oslo. They began exploring why happy ending scenes in movies bring us to tears. Prior to this, emotional research mostly focused on tears as indicators of sadness.

Initial discussions evolved into formal research involving extensive interviews and surveys about strong emotional responses to positive events. They identified common descriptors such as “being moved,” “stirred,” and “uplifted,” often accompanied by physical sensations like watery eyes, goosebumps, and warmth in the chest. Most importantly, this emotion appeared linked to the enhancement of social relationships.

And it’s not exclusive to happy situations; it can arise in diverse scenarios, including parental care, reunions, and even Alcoholics Anonymous meetings where individuals experience a powerful sense of acceptance.

“Instead of feeling isolated or ashamed of your past, you realize your challenges connect you to others,” says Fisk.

This emotional response can also manifest during religious practices such as prayer, conveying a connection to the divine. Additionally, communal events like sports victories often evoke profound feelings of pride and admiration for teams that have faced adversity.

Despite the richness of the English language, we lack a term that encompasses these impactful experiences. Thus, we often overlook the emotional parallels across various situations. “Our premise is straightforward,” Fisk asserts. “These experiences share a common feeling.”

To describe this, the researchers adopted sanskrit‘s term Kama Muta, which translates to “moved by love.” Fisk notes, “The Sanskrit expressions have a poetic quality.”

Fisk explains it as “love igniting,” suggesting it may have evolved to deepen our care for those closest to us. In ancient times, shared bonds were vital for survival, and emotions fostering these ties significantly benefited our ancestors. Today, social connections are equally crucial for human health. Emotions like kama muta may help broaden our perspectives on life, thereby enhancing overall well-being.

Discovering Kama Muta

Thanks to our innate empathic abilities, we can experience kama muta by viewing emotional videos, transcending cultural boundaries. For instance, Fisk’s studies revealed that participants from diverse backgrounds reacted similarly to videos depicting profound connections.

Such experiments indicate that experiencing kama muta can significantly inspire you to cultivate and maintain relationships. After feeling this emotion, subjects expressed greater commitment to their relationships and a heightened desire to connect intimately with others.

Concerts often provoke kama muta due to music’s beauty and strength of unity it fosters among strangers; experiences like Taylor Swift sharing friendship bracelets with fans exemplify this unique bond.

People who exhibit higher levels of empathy may be more susceptible to kama muta. However, anyone can learn to nurture this emotion by actively listening to those around them.

“When individuals feel truly heard, they tend to feel more connected to the listener,” suggests Kenneth Demaree, a psychologist based in New York. He believes that this connection leads to deeper self-disclosure and greater emotional revelations.

Additionally, many secret pathways exist for experiencing kama muta, even in solitude. Whether through reading or watching love stories, you can evoke such feelings, with watching cute animal videos striking a chord often.

Cultivating your emotional experiences changes your perception, shifting from suppression to appreciation. “You may think it’s a disaster to feel emotional,” shares Fisk, “but by understanding that everyone goes through these feelings, you’re more inclined to embrace them.”