Hi everyone at Steemit! I have another account here under @profmarriahstar. I will use that account to share writings and ideas as I prepare them for publication in various forms. For this account, I will talk about the experiences I have had, both in the distant past and in the recent past. In a sense, the @profmarriahstar account will be used to make a map of reality as much as possible. In contrast, this account will be used to explore all kind of experiences, the territory of life.

I have identified that there are, in general, three kinds of people in this world: 1) consumers, 2) mystics, and 3) explorers.

The consumer

A consumer likes to experience all kinds of different things in life. I have a good friend who loves food and loves traveling all over Asia. I have traveled all over Europe. As consumers, we like exploring different things, sampling the enormous variety that Earth offers human beings – landscapes, plants, animals, climates, cities, natural vistas, musical styles, dance styles, culinary styles – the list is endless. The challenge with being a consumer is that it is so hard to appreciate everything when there is an infinite variety of experiences. The beauty of being a consumer is that this world is filled with infinite surprises!

The mystic

A mystic is the opposite of a consumer. While the consumer travels all over the world to experience the variety of life, like a train going to many destinations, the mystic stays in one place to meditate and dream, letting the world come to him (or her). By staying in one place and increasing the sensitivity of the physical senses (especially taste, touch, smell, and hearing because so much information comes in through sight), the mystic notices things that other people may not. The mystic has keen powers of observation and deduction, like the fictional Sherlock Holmes. The mystic can easily sit on a bench in a park (like Eckhart Tolle did) and observe everything happening in the environment. The challenge with being a mystic is that the mystic is so sensitive to all experiences, each experience takes time to process. The beauty of being a mystic is that the world is filled with amazing experiences that transform and improve the person having the experience.

The explorer

An explorer is in the middle between the consumer and the mystic. While the consumer might say “nothing is amazing” and the mystic may say “everything is amazing,” the explorer says “some things are amazing and I want to find them.” Every explorer depends on a combination of good maps and intuition to function in a new environment. Once the explorer finds something amazing, his or her greatest desire is to share this discovery with everyone on the planet. The challenge with being an explorer is that sometimes maps are inaccurate and the explorer reaches what seems to be a dead end. The beauty of being an explorer is that with luck and hard work, even a little bit of patience, the explorer eventually discovers something that improves everyone’s life.

I have been an explorer in academia for 25 years. Now I am in China, exploring Chinese culture and history while I teach international relations to students at China Foreign Affairs University. I also have a huge collection of movies and TV shows. I use this collection to explore American culture and history. The best thing about Steemit is that I get to explore life with other people every day and get paid for it. This is a much better idea than the previous attempts at social media, including Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for joining me on this great journey, and please share your discoveries with me!