DARWIN HOLMSTROM—Curiosity-based thinking presents a possible alternative to fear-based thinking. If we step back from the ego, if we don’t filter the experience of being alive through the artificial construct of fear, the world becomes a much-more interesting place, not a hell-scape filled with nothing but random terror, but a world that inspires and entertains. Fear-based thinking leads to what the Buddha called “misplaced desires,” desires that mostly fall under the categories of possession and control. When we engage in domineering or manipulative behavior, we’re succumbing to fear-based thinking. When looked at from outside the cage of ego, fear-based thinking doesn’t seem terribly appealing, yet it’s the predominant form of thinking in our world. The earliest organized hierarchical control systems imposed on humanity took the form of religion, which is the ultimate expression of fear-based thinking.
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