What is your relationship with curiosity? Do you dare to think expansively or do you shelter in what you know? Nick Hammond explains why we should be regularly feeding our curious selves.

By Nick Hammond

I recently read an article about curiosity, which astounded me. According to research conducted into brain activity, we are ‘most curious when we feel the need to recall something that we are close to remembering.’ This is commonly known as the ‘tip of the tongue’ phenomenon.

On the flip side, it seems that we are least curious when we feel that we already know something, or when we know nothing at all about it. The article suggested that ‘when we know nothing, we aren’t curious at all (or in-curious). We have nowhere to begin, and therefore no curiosity to drive us to acquire the knowledge.’

This might sound doom and gloom, but there are ways to find your C-spot.

Your curiosity spot, that is. Get your mind out of the gutter.

There are plenty of books that talk about tips and tricks to ‘make oneself’ more curious. And of course, we all know how important it is to be curious both from a professional and personal perspective. There is no doubt that curiosity has an important part to play in maintaining good mental health and our relationship with not only our selves but with others too.

Something to consider in our current technology driven culture: Eli Pariser, activist and author of bestseller The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding From You, warned us of said ‘filter bubbles’ - essentially getting into a state of intellectual isolation, that can be exacerbated by algorithms that anticipate your preferences of online content and thus only show you what they think you’ll want to see. This bubble effect can stretch further than just the internet though - you can find yourself in this bubble by reading the same newspaper every day, going on holiday to the same place every year, or only ever socialising with one group of friends.

“Lacking interest in areas that we do not know much about, we don’t like or doesn’t interest us, is likely to make us less accepting of other perspectives.”

Despite all the known benefits of curiosity, there is a genuine thread of ‘in-curiosity’ running through our world. This is evident in the blinkered life approach of ‘eat, sleep, work, repeat’ that many of us seem to live by. 2020 has also shone a spotlight on just how disconnected and segmented our society has become.

The rise of in-curiosity is a real issue in the world today. Lacking interest in areas that we do not know much about, we don’t like or doesn’t interest us, is likely to make us less accepting of other perspectives. Just take a look at Brexit and the political divisions in the US - there’s barely a shred of acceptance in sight!

Generally, we seek out the things we are comfortable with and those with which we have a pleasant association. There is nothing wrong with knowing what we like and what we don’t, but it’s helpful to be conscious of the consequences of our likes and dislikes, and how they affect our actions.

It may be that we are more likely to be curious at certain times and less so at others. However, I believe there is a way that we can become more curious and interested - this is through the practice of meditation and the pursuit of living mindfully.

My practice of meditation over the last few years has unearthed a real passion for the mundane. The ability to pay attention to, and be interested in, everyday moments and activities, has not only helped me with my mental health but also made me more interested in the world around me.

“It is not that we know nothing; rather, keeping a don’t know mind encourages willingness to meet whatever it is before us without preconditions or preconceived ideas.”

Lehraupt and Meibert

I love this quote from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction written by Linda Lehrhaupt and Petra Meibert:

‘A teacher of Korean Zen Buddhism, Seung Sahn Sunim was famous for continually reminding his students ‘only don’t know!’ and his answer to many questions was ‘keep don’t know mind’.  When we practice mindfulness, we cultivate a spirit of not knowing. It is not that we know nothing; rather, keeping a don’t know mind encourages willingness to meet whatever it is before us without preconditions or preconceived ideas.  We try to experience it as it is, not as we think it is.

This ‘not knowing’ is akin to curiosity, and the practice of meditation is all about ‘moment-to moment non-judgemental awareness’ (Jon Kabat-Zinn), or put another way - being curious about things we would normally take for granted. The practice of regularly focusing on ordinary things - the breath, the sensations in the toes or the heart beating in the body - has the effect of training our minds to be more curious in the meditation moment but also, in everyday life as well.

Put simply, if we can enjoyably and effectively pay attention to the slightest bodily movements and functions (one might say boring events), how much easier then to notice larger and, arguably, more interesting occurrences. Through mindfulness we achieve a heightened sense of curiosity (not to mention a more relaxed mind) and there is greater opportunity to positively engage with situations we may have ignored or avoided before.

Mindfulness and meditation teach us that ‘everything is interesting’ and it is possible to be curious even about the most seemingly mundane life events.

Here are 5 things we can do to pique our everyday curiosity:

1. Try Meditation

Even if it is just for 5 minutes, closing our eyes and focusing on the breath can be an excellent practice to spark curiosity.

2. Walk it Out

Go for a stroll, walking slowly for at least 5 minutes. If you think you are walking slowly , then go even slower. The Street Wisdom project has some great tips on boosting mindfulness in urban settings. If you fancy a more rural approach, then a bit of Forest Bathing is great fun. 

3. Embrace the Enemy

If you have a favourite magazine or newspaper , read a different one. Preferably with views that you do not agree with. It’s okay if you don’t agree with what’s written, but being open to the possibility of differing views is fuel for our curious minds.

4. Tech Timeout

Despite the importance of technology in our lives, it’s important to ground ourselves and find the interesting and curious parts of life that exist outside of our phones and screens. To reduce temptation, place your tech in another room or out of your eyesight.

5. Get Uncomfortable

Learn to box, do stand-up comedy, become a public speaker or jump out of an aeroplane. When you push yourself to do things you’re afraid of doing, it helps you expand your sense of what you’re capable of.

Expanding your mindset and feeding your curiosity doesn’t have to be some grand thing, nor does it have to mean giving up your opinions and perspective. It’s just about being open to other possibilities, being comfortable with not knowing everything, and seeking to learn more.

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