Curiouser and Curiouser

posted in: Mindfulness | 0

You may have noticed, I am a curious person. My fascination with such things as hag stones, and how trees communicate, and the human psyche, all have their root in curiosity. So of course I became curious about curiosity, or as Alice in Wonderland says, “curiouser and curiouser.”

Have you ever ended up down the virtual rabbit hole (another Alice reference) after reading a good historical fiction book? Or taken the trail less traveled because you wondered what was down there? Or researched bats after having one in your house? I’ve done all this and more, and if you can relate, you might count yourself among the curious.

Recent research indicates that the brain responds to curiosity much as it does to rewards. We are curious because it is rewarding to learn something new or to figure something out. And as further incentive to become curious, they have also found that curiosity lights up the hippocampus, that region of the brain that helps people to learn and remember things. Ergo, curiosity is a sort of exercise for your brain!

As young children, we were naturally curious. The world was new to us, and our inquisitive minds wanted to know more. “Why” is a common question amongst the four-year-old crowd. In fact, young children ask an average of 107 questions per hour!

Along the road of life, we tend to lose some of the curiosity. Schools don’t always encourage curiosity and then responsibility sets in, and by high school we have just a fraction of the curiosity as a four-year-old. Some of that may be tied to our increase in knowledge, but really there’s an infinite amount of information to be learned, so that only accounts for part of the explanation.

So what’s the big deal? Why do I care and why should you care that we remain curious? Well, just like everything else about the human mind, the topic of curiosity has been studied extensively, and it turns out, being curious is good for you! It keeps you young by cultivating a sense of wonder. It helps you remember new information. It helps foster compassion as you feed your interest in people that may be different than you. It keeps your mind open to new possibilities. It’s all part of the beginner’s mind we talk about in meditation. The beginner’s mind is a curious mind.

Clearly we are all naturally curious, and many of us have just sort of shut that part of ourselves down. If you feel like you want to cultivate your sense of curiosity and help it grow, there are some things you can do:

Be adventurous (my WOTY)
As children we were open to trying new things – building sandcastles on the beach, playing tag in the dark, trying fried grasshoppers (all from my personal experience!). As adults we are often hesitant to step out of our comfort zones. If you feel safe and you’re not hurting anyone, do it!

Don’t be a know-it-all
Curious people are willing to admit that they don’t know everything and are always ready to learn. That’s why in your quest to develop a curious mindset, you must question everything.

Read
Books stimulate the imagination and help you develop your curiosity. I find historical fiction especially useful in this regard and often find myself researching the accuracy and learning more about events that occur in the book.

Be curious about people
Get to know people on a deeper level than just what they do for a living. Ask questions, listen deeply, be genuinely interested, talk less and listen more.

Immerse yourself in a particular topic of interest to you
Select a topic that you find interesting, and push the limits of your curiosity by going deep. This means reading lots of articles, books, and research papers, watching TED talks, listening to podcasts.

Write
That’s what this blog is all about! When I choose a new topic (such as curiosity), I take a deep dive in to learning about it so I can share it with you.

Be curious about yourself
One of the things I like about meditation is that when I quiet the chatter, I’m able to learn more about myself. You can also take this to mean researching your family history. Genealogy is easier with all the tools available on the internet.

Hang out with a young child
Playing and talking with a four- or five-year-old will remind you of the beauty of curiosity.

Daydream
When you let your mind wander, you never know what’s going to pop into your head.

Allow yourself to be curious. Be open to new experiences, new adventures, and new people. What do you have to lose?

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