What is Happening?

We have and will always live in uncertain times. Whilst we play this game called time, the future is never entirely predictable and uncertainty is part of the fun.

In this uncertain world, we have come a long way in a relatively short time. When measuring progress in terms of technological innovation, we have never been further along.

On the other hand, as a global community, different kinds of oppression continue to be perpetuated and we are more exposed than ever to volatile argumentation online. Yet, one can also suggest that representation across roles in society and mixing between groups and cultures is at an all-time high. 

One thing is for certain, however you assess the culture, things have been changing. 

These developments, both socially and technologically, point to a driving quality that leads to the discovery of new ways of being. 

This quality is curiosity.

Without curiosity, you would not be reading these words. 

Curiosity can be boiled down to the question, “What is happening?”

In essence, curiosity is a way of orienting toward uncertainty.

With curiosity as a driver, we continue to ask questions, discover more precise ways of understanding, and experience change, despite the fundamental mysteries of our existence.

One way to understand how curiosity operates is to think of it as a way of distributing attention throughout a latent space of possibility. Solidified conceptions of the world are momentarily suspended allowing for the presented material to be met, unfettered by our own biases. 

In other words, curiosity is an openness to possibility.

Whilst curiosity can be distorted when referencing a desired outcome (such as asking questions because you want to confirm your own biases), genuine curiosity is an open form of attention.

The value of this kind of attention is hard to understate.

In a world that is always changing and deeply complex, curiosity is the optimal strategy for both staying in touch with reality and letting go of outdated mental-models. With the openness that curiosity enables we are continually becoming and discovering what is - as it unfolds.  

Whether it is trying out the new restaurant that has opened up in your neighbourhood, asking an additional question to the new acquaintance in your life, or observing your own mind in the midst of an unwanted pattern of behaviour - it is through curiosity that the magic of the unexpected is welcomed to occur.

It is through such moments that curiosity connects. 

We can be connected from an old reality to a new one, travelling through a space where we have allowed for things to be different. We can also be connected to the person in front of us, through a leap beyond our assumptions about who they are.

And perhaps most interestingly we can also connect ideas - birthing new ones in the process.

Importantly, curiosity creates the conditions for the meeting of ideas in conversation.

Genuine curiosity keeps us open to the possibilities of conversation. The degree to which we are able to stay open determines the range of potential avenues of exploration and then it is within those potential avenues that innumerable possible moments of innovation can occur.

Whilst a first conversation may result in conversation that traverses the bounds of normal-polite conversation, as familiarity grows the territory that can be explored expands, offering moments of both challenge and discovery. 

As long as curiosity remains the basis of interaction, there is common ground. Persons engaged in dialogue are open to the future, willing to discover where things may lead to next. Relationships implode when we are unable to remain curious and revert to solid conceptions of ourselves and others.

For as wisdom tells, we’re all changing all the time. 

As familiarity grows, whilst a growing sense of safety might allow for the bounds of our exploration to be expanded, we may also find ourselves walking the same paths over and over again, through habit or comfort. 

Here also, curiosity becomes the optimal strategy for recognising patterns, considering a different course, and re-discovering the openness of new horizons. 

Curiosity is inherently creative.

With curiosity, a simple conversation can change the course of our entire day, work, or life. 

Humans solve problems of all kinds by being willing to look uncertainty in the eye, move forwards, and create and build themselves into a new future. Curiosity is the mental attitude that supports our turning towards the door of uncertainty, travelling through the door, and into the open space beyond.

If you'd like to harness the power of curiosity, I would like to invite you to something new:

Beings Club can be thought of as an online social club, cloud-based interfaith agnostic monastery, non-dogmatic collaborative academic institution, a digital curiosity commune, or simply a gym for your reality-meeting cognitive capacities.

As a Being you qualify for membership at Beings-Club automatically.

On a weekly basis members will meet in the Beings Club Salon to engage in no fixed-agenda real-time conversations and deepen their own choice of intentional practice. With 60 minutes in dialogue, you’ll meet other members in one-to-one or small group conversation rooms. 

The Beings Club Salon is designed with your benefit in mind, with time for a blend of both externally and internally directed curiosity, supported by the container of community.

As a member of Beings Club you’ll also be invited to reality-expanding Perspective Sessions that are designed to open your mind to new approaches, practices, and ideas for every aspect of your being. Perspective Sessions are workshops, Q+As, and special talks ran by beings specifically curated for their visionary ideas, experience, special practices, and ways of living. 

Plus even more.

Designed to support your being - Beings Club is creating the conditions for extraordinary conversation, extraordinary community, and extraordinary personal growth. 

Find out more here. And remember: Curiosity Connects.

If you are a leader in community and think your community would benefit from a third-space to meet others and diversify your idea-sets, reach out for partnership.

We're building a community for the curious.

Read more on Curiosity and The Vision

John (@know)