Tag: Pew Research Center

Quiz of the Day – What’s Your Place In Nature?

Your Place in Nature? – Quiz

Humanity evolved from the heart of Nature. Day by day, season by season,  generation after generation, human lives were linked inseparably to the cycles  of the living world. Like the heartbeat of a great Mother, the rhythms and  workings of the natural world imprinted themselves into every cell of our  bodies. We knew our place within the whole and developed spiritual beliefs that  honored our independence within the vast network of sibling species.

For eons, the idea that humanity could be separate from the rest of life was  essentially incomprehensible. Only in the past few hundred years have our minds  fully embraced these concepts that tear us from the embrace of our broader  family. The new myth is hard. By keeping us from recognizing the Earth as our  natural means of support, it engenders in us a feeling of abandonment.

How do you perceive the living world around you? How do you view nature? Take  this quiz and find out:

As you consider each question, jot down your responses. Be brief. The point  is not to have everything all polished and exact – it is to get you thinking.

1.  How would you define Nature? What is your personal relationship with it?

2.  What is humanity’s relationship to Nature?

3.  What do you like most about the natural world? Which plants and animals  are most important?

4.  What do you not trust about the natural world? What aspects of it scare  you? Which animals or plants would you consider “bad?”

After taking this quiz step back. Create some distance between yourself and  the mainstream consciousness. Work with your beliefs. As you begin to see the  world more clearly, you’ll have an opportunity to observe your own beliefs with  greater objectivity. Feel your connections. The very best way to demonstrate the  illusion of separation is to gain some first-hand experience of just how  connected you really are. Then, when you hear messages that try to convince you  that you’re isolated, they won’t have any power. You’ll already know the truth  because you’ve felt it in your body.

Obama Widens Lead in New Poll

Obama Widens Lead in New Poll

by Jeff Fecke

President Barack Obama leads GOP challenger Mitt Romney by 10 percentage  points, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.

According to the poll, Obama would win 51 percent of the vote to Romney’s 41  percent. 10 percent were undecided or supported other candidates.

The improvement for Obama was driven by an increasingly unfavorable view of  Romney. According to the poll, only 37 percent of voters view Romney favorably,  while 52 percent have an unfavorable view of him. Those numbers showed  significant weakening from June, when 41 percent of voters viewed Romney  favorably and 47 percent viewed him unfavorably. Obama is viewed favorably by 50  percent of voters, while 45 percent view him unfavorably.

Romney suffered through a series of gaffes in July, including a disastrous foreign trip. Romney has also been stung over  attacks on his unwillingness to release more than a couple of personal tax  returns.

Romney continues to struggle with women, trailing Obama 56-37. Romney and  Obama are essentially tied among male voters, with Romney leading 47-46. Obama  leads among voters under 30 by a 58-34 margin. The only age group Romney leads  is voters over 65, who back Romney 49-45.

Romney is ahead with white voters, 51-42, but trails Obama badly among  African American voters and Hispanic voters. Romney trails 70-26 among Hispanic  voters, and a staggering 92-4 among African American voters.

Romney does lead, 49-43, among voters making more than $100,000 per year, but  he trails significantly among voters making less than that.

The poll was conducted July 16-26, 2012, of 1,956 registered voters and 2,508  adults. The poll has a margin of error of ±2.8 percent.