Love is not a path, it brings you back home. Love IS home. -Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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Poll: Big Bang a big question for most Americans
BySETH BORENSTEIN and JENNIFER AGIESTA23 hours ago
.
"Enormously distressing": Leading scientist reacts to poll on scientific beliefs
WASHINGTON (AP) — While scientists
believe the universe began with a Big Bang, most Americans put a big question mark on the concept, an Associated Press-GfK
poll found.
Yet when it comes to smoking causing cancer or that a genetic
code determines who we are, the doubts disappear.
When
considering concepts scientists consider truths, Americans have more skepticism than confidence in those that are farther
away from our bodies in scope and time: global warming, the age of the Earth and evolution and especially the Big Bang from
13.8 billion years ago.
Rather than quizzing scientific
knowledge, the survey asked people to rate their confidence in several statements about science and medicine.
On some, there's broad acceptance. Just 4 percent doubt that smoking causes cancer, 6 percent question whether
mental illness is a medical condition that affects the brain and 8 percent are skeptical there's a genetic code inside our
cells. More — 15 percent — have doubts about the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccines.
About 4 in 10 say they are not too confident or outright disbelieve that the earth is warming, mostly a result
of man-made heat-trapping gases, that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old or that life on Earth evolved through a process of
natural selection, though most were at least somewhat confident in each of those concepts. But a narrow majority — 51
percent — questions the Big Bang theory.
Those results depress and upset some of
America's top scientists, including several Nobel Prize winners, who vouched for the science in the statements tested, calling
them settled scientific facts.
FILE -
This March 2, file 2013 file photo shows a woman smoking a cigarette while sitting in her tru …
"Science ignorance is pervasive in our society, and these attitudes are reinforced when some of our leaders
are openly antagonistic to established facts," said 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine winner Randy Schekman of the University of
California, Berkeley.
The poll highlights "the iron triangle of science, religion and
politics," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.
And scientists know they've got the shakiest leg in the triangle.
To the
public "most often values and beliefs trump science" when they conflict, said Alan Leshner, chief executive of the world's
largest scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Political
and religious values were closely tied to views on science in the poll, with Democrats more apt than Republicans to express
confidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change.
Confidence
in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change decline sharply as faith in a supreme being rises, according
to the poll. Likewise, those who regularly attend religious services or are evangelical Christians express much greater doubts
about scientific concepts they may see as contradictory to their faith.
Graphic
shows responses to AP-GfK poll; 2c x 6 inches; 96.3 mm x 152 mm;
"When you are
putting up facts against faith, facts can't argue against faith," said 2012 Nobel Prize winning biochemistry professor Robert
Lefkowitz of Duke University. "It makes sense now that science would have made no headway because faith is untestable."
But evolution, the age of the Earth and the Big Bang are all compatible with God, except to
Bible literalists, said Francisco Ayala, a former priest and professor of biology, philosophy and logic at the University
of California, Irvine.
Beyond religious belief, views on science may be tied to what
we see with our own eyes. The closer an issue is to ourselves and the less complicated, the easier it is for people to believe,
said John Staudenmaier, a Jesuit priest and historian of technology at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Marsha Brooks, a 59-year-old nanny who lives in Washington, D.C., said she's certain smoking causes cancer
because she saw her mother, aunts and uncles, all smokers, die of cancer. But when it comes to the universe beginning with
a Big Bang or the Earth being about 4.5 billion years old, she has doubts. She explained: "It could be a lack of knowledge.
It seems so far" away.
Jorge Delarosa, a 39-year-old architect from Bridgewater, N.J.,
pointed to a warm 2012 without a winter and said, "I feel the change. There must be a reason." But when it came to Earth's
beginnings 4.5 billion years ago, he has doubts simply because "I wasn't there."
Experience
and faith aren't the only things affecting people's views on science. Duke University's Lefkowitz sees "the force of concerted
campaigns to discredit scientific fact" as a more striking factor, citing significant interest groups — political, business
and religious — campaigning against scientific truths on vaccines, climate change and evolution.
The AP-GfK Poll was conducted March 20-24, 2014, using KnowledgePanel, GfK's probability-based online panel
designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It involved online interviews with 1,012 adults and has a margin of
sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all respondents.
Respondents
were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods and were later interviewed online. People selected for KnowledgePanel
who didn't otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost to them.
___
On Twitter, follow AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein
at http://twitter.com/borenbears and AP Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta at http://www.twitter.com/JennAgiesta .
Do not become
enmeshed in what might happen during the energy bursts of the next two weeks. You are finding materials relaying what will
happen to you - raising your expectations or fears. Or that all are affected - which is correct - but not necessarily as you
expect.
You are a unique individual, as is every entity on earth.
So beliefs that all will be affected in a similar fashion are illogical. The stars and you are shifting so you can claim your
uniqueness. Such is not possible if you prepare yourself for a group event. April astrological events are not group activities.
Granted, more earth entities will open their hearts - even if just a bit.
But how that sensation changes their life remains to be noted. Some may react in fear, anger, joy or hundreds of other emotions
that are not necessarily what you experienced or are experiencing.
All of you have
roles to play in this transition - and all have unique paths. So you will claim and process these new energies uniquely.You
have been in group think for eons. It is time to negate group think.
There
are no guidelines - especially those developed in the Old Age. We cannot tell you how you are going to change, if at all -
anymore than you know. You fully accept that something may be happening to others, as well as yourself. But how you address
that something is yet unknown.
Perhaps this thought is frightening for you were excited
that hearts were opening - relying on your 3D model of what heart opening meant. A definition no longer valid.
This is not to frighten you, but instead for you to develop and grow as you
wish.
Whenever you feel guilt of any level, know that such is
part of your Old Age/3D world. For how can you feel guilt if you are creating your new path? That is similar to making an
infant feel guilty for not walking when they do not yet understand what walking means.
For you to establish expectations of what you should feel during these April astrological events based
on 3D astrological models is for you to feel emotions that have little to do with your path - and much to do with shoulds
and have tos.
Perhaps you beg to differ - knowing that you and your
friend are experiencing similar sensations during this time. Even though such may be true, it is unlikely. Think in terms
of the number of experiences you have had on earth and other places forever. Then compare those experiences to those of your
friend. Some will mesh, most will not. You are approaching new earth with your individuality so you can best fulfill the role
you created before entering earth in this lifetime. And even that role shifted as you moved deeper into new earth.
Baby Boomers were to build a bridge to the New Age. Their children were to
walk across that bridge. And their grandchildren were to destroy that bridge and live the new life. But the ever belligerent,
derring-do of Baby Boomers circumvented their own predicted role. They not only helped create the bridge, but are now expecting
to live in new earth during this lifetime.
No one knows how much
further you will expand your creation skills in this lifetime. Perhaps these April astrological events will propel you far
beyond what you anticipate. Perhaps you are in a rest period and will ignore these events for now - or forever.
Granted, hearts will be opening. But as is the case with your new unique being,
no one, least of all someone outside of your being, can predict how you will shift in the next couple of weeks - much less
the next few months. The energies are there and are beaming at stronger levels daily. But you do not have to jump on those
beams if you chose not to, nor do you need to accept the full level beam.
Freedom
to be means exactly that. Not freedom to be after an astrological or energy event, nor during. Perhaps the most appropriate
way for you to approach any event from now on is to note that something is happening that may or may not affect you and to
note to yourself the results. No one else really needs to know.
That last thought
may appear a bit harsh. What is meant by that is anyone can predict that something is happening, but no one - including you
- can predict how it will affect you. And for you to feel guilt or shame or less than because you do not feel anything or
something quite different from general predictions is little different from the past when you applied newspaper astrological
predictions when they fit what you already were feeling - or wanted to feel.
This
is not a cookie-cutter new earth. But instead a dynamic earth that is shifting more rapidly and uniquely every day. There
are no rules. There are no shoulds. There is only glorious you discovering yourself in all your brilliant beingness. Allow
yourself to create the new you without parameters established by others - the parameters so important in your 3D fear-based
world
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Urantia, April
6, 2014. Mentori Spokesperson. Subject:
“Inspiration and Invention.”
Received by Lytske.
Mentor:“Let
me begin by stating that inspiration and invention have always been a part of the advancement of mankind. Throughout eons
of time the minds of humans have slowly progressed to a somewhat deeper thinking. However, it is truly pitiful to be watching
from the celestial realms to see how modern-day humans persist with low level and uninspired thought. The truth of the matter
is that everyone can be brilliant if only they make an effort to engage in deeper thought. It seems to have become fashionable
to stay where you are in your God-given minds and to not actively seek to cooperate with your God-Spark within, who could
lead you into superior realms.
“A few who do use their ‘grey
matter’ invent things, which could be of great use to help the planet and its citizens progress to a more prosperous
and useful level. Instead, the majority of their inventions so far have mostly been used to further pernicious war games in
the process of destroying this most precious and beautiful planet, once the temporary home to the Ruler of this universe.
Their inventions, which could have been used for the betterment, comfort and health of all citizens, have been, and still
are, being suppressed by a few, who use their ill-gotten gains in their attempt to rule the planet by using their wealth for
their own short-lived comfort with no thoughts about how they are destroying their chances for eternal life as their souls
wither for lack of nourishment.
“And yet the Master speaks again,
saying: ‘Pray for them for they know not what they do.’ Our Creator Son came to counteract the negative stories
about the Creator of all, and brought you the greatest ‘discovery’ with the statement that God’s love is
unconditional for men and women alike. He furthermore stated that, ‘All the things you see me do, you can do also, because
I go to my and your Father’.”
“Observe for yourselves
what has happened over the years. Nothing of great substance has changed, as most inventions and inspiration, even from the
minds of top inventors, have hardly seen the light of day. No wonder this world is about 200.000 years behind her sister planets,
when the bulk of the inspired inventions of the human race on this planet have not been utilized.
“The
reason for this is that all thinking is done in the inner world because of fear standing in the way due to the redundant teachings
from your olden records which are rife with stories that over time have been accepted as gospel truth, and so hold back the
majority of the people on this planet like sheep in a stock yard. There is no alternative to progress but individual inspirational
thought.
“Please do make an effort and connect up with your
Sparks from God within, so you can access your higher minds and engage in inspired, inventive thinking to let your Lights
shine.”
Heavenletters™, bringing
Earth closer to Heaven. HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken: * Our connection to God * * Our
belief in ourselves * * Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God * * Peace on Earth * God is always bringing
us closer to Him.
Heavenletter
#4897 An Artist of Life,April 22, 2014
God said:
No
one likes to be wrong, and no one likes to admit he is wrong. Substitute the word mistaken. Mistaken is a little easier to
swallow. Being mistaken is part of life, and so you grow. In this way, you can be glad you made a mistake, for through such
errors, you grow. Do you like making mistakes? Not at all. And yet you grow, and so you climb another rung in the ladder of
life.
A time will come when you are much less mistaken and come from understanding more.
It is a
form of greatness to admit you learned something you needed to learn. This form of greatness is called humility. Yes, life
humbles you. You noticed I said humbles you, not humiliates you. When you feel humiliated, even embarrassed, ashamed, when
you deeply regret and feel emotion in regard to it, it is ego that makes you blush and humiliates you, and, by now, you know
it’s time to get over ego, get past it. It is with yourself that you must let bygones be bygones. You take an action,
yet you do not assail yourself about it. You know, dear ones, that ego pulls out theatrics. You don’t do theatrics any
longer. Remove your coat of mail, your bullet-proof vest, your carrying of arms. No longer stomp on yourself. It is the same
as your having spilled coffee. You simply wipe it up, and be done with it.
Be done with regrets. No one said
you were perfect anyway. You told yourself you had to be perfect, and you made too big a deal of it. A mistake is a mistake.
It is not unforgivable. You must forgive yourself, and let it go. Making a mistake does not demean you. Be happy you found
out your mistake. Don’t compound it. Sack cloths and ashes went out of style a long time ago.
Always in
life, you are to move on. You move on from low points, and you move on from high points. You move on. You don’t harangue
anyone including yourself. What? Are you supposed to put yourself down because you learned something? Maybe your not
understanding served the other person as well, and, then, your service was over. This is a daily occurrence.
Don’t
think so much, I say to you. Think less, love more. Love yourself more. Congratulate yourself for learning. Pat yourself
on the back. You learned something. You are a human being who learns. Learning is progress. And you progress. And sometimes
you make progress fast, and sometimes you make progress slowly. The thing is that you make progress. Life on Earth is not
a science, beloved. It is an art, and you are becoming an artist of life. This is wonderful.
Artists do not paint
perfectly the first time, and yet they paint. Composers may not compose perfectly. Human beings may not live perfectly in
their own eyes or in the eyes of others. And those who judge themselves or others do not judge perfectly either. You look
for a crime where there is none. Rather, a misdemeanor.
In the world, everything is changing. The rules are changing.
You are not to expect perfection from yourself or any other. In the world, what is perfection today already isn’t perfectiontomorrow. Yet, at the same time, from My vantage,
everything is perfect. Everything is perfectly as it is. Even errors are perfect in their moment. Even the unwanted is perfectly
unwanted.
Be good to yourself. Be good to others. Be forgiving. A dropped stitch in knitting is a dropped stitch.
It is not a crime. Even if you commit a crime, you see it as necessary and, therefore, not a crime. Later, if you are sorry,
be sorry, and then move on.
