Curiosity as an Experience
Curiosity is defined as the desire to understand what we do not yet know. It is often described as a quality tied to inquisitive thinking. Curiosity is essential for survival—it drives us to learn, discover efficient pathways, and evolve. I like to think about curiosity in its holistic nature as an experience.
This experience comes from an innate part of us, always moving—a part that cannot survive by not changing, evolving, and learning. Curiosity can exist as motion, and can be independent of thoughtful intention or the ego. It is movement unshaped by our expectations or fears or movement despite our expectations or fears. We move not knowing what we will find, nor whether change will occur. Yet simply by moving, we are bound to shift, even in the slightest ways.
Curiosity is a journey—a process of navigation and exploration. By staying with this experience, we may unintentionally uncover wisdom—both our own and that of the world around us. Through curiosity, we might stumble upon simplicity and profundity, letting this intuitive part of ourselves guide the way. “Oh this is here!” It’s discovery. When we fully enter the experience of curiosity, we open new windows like galaxies within our soul.
To be curious, we need to feel a sense of safety. It is difficult to cultivate curiosity when our guards are up, when we are in survival mode, or when we find ourselves in dangerous situations. In this sense, curiosity can be a privilege—one not accessible to everyone, particularly in parts of the world filled with uncertainty. For some, the ability to be curious may have been disrupted in childhood by those who value certainty over exploration.
Sometimes curiosity can feel hard to access. A therapist who holds space for a client’s struggles with curiosity—exploring the fears, or anxieties—may help uncover a deeper understanding of the client’s goals, dreams, griefs, and desires. This process of holding and staying present can create room for curiosity to reemerge, guiding both the client and therapist toward freedom.
Curiosity is space. In that space, there is movement. When we embody curiosity without clinging to thoughts or expectations, insight and discovery arise naturally. Curiosity is not just about wondering- it is wonder!
-Imuri
