COSMOS, CHRISTOS, & CONSCIOUSNESS

At the Intersection of Science and Spirit:

We're all too familiar with the rigid, narrow materialism associated with modern science; or more aptly, modern scientism.  Too often, this mindset dominates the very vocal, and public debate over topics like genetic determinism and sociobiology. 

Pejorative term for the belief that the methods of natural science, or the categories and things recognized in natural science, form the only proper elements in any philosophical or other enquiry. The classic statement of scientism is the physicist E. Rutherford's saying ‘there is physics and there is stamp-collecting’. Philosophers wary of scientism believe that it distorts or denies the special methods of psychology and interpretation (see Verstehen), or tries to impose a crass reductionism where it is neither plausible nor necessary.

Wikipedia Definition: Scientism:

The term scientism can be used as a neutral term to describe the view that natural science has authority over all other interpretations of life, such as philosophical, religious, mythical, spiritual, or humanistic explanations, and over other fields of inquiry, such as the social sciences. It also can imply a criticism of a perceived misapplication or misuse of the authority of science in either of two directions:

1. The term is often used as a pejorative to indicate the improper usage of science or scientific claims. In this sense, the charge of scientism often is used as a counter-argument to appeals to scientific authority in contexts where science might not apply, such as when the topic is understood to be beyond the scope of scientific inquiry.
2. The term is also used to pejoratively refer to "the belief that the methods of natural science, or the categories and things recognized in natural science, form the only proper elements in any philosophical or other inquiry," with a concomitant "elimination of the psychological dimensions of experience".  It thus expresses a position critical of (at least the more extreme expressions of) positivism. (Compare: scientific imperialism.

In contrast, the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton, which explores the myriad interactions of consciousness and biology, or soul and cell, emerges as a refreshing antidote to the disempowering, deterministic materialism of proponents like Dawkins, etc. 

Below is a quote from Lipton's website, regarding his latest book, The Biology of Belief:

Insights into the Convergence of Science and Spirituality

"Until recently, conventional science has held that genes control life, a concept known as genetic determinism. While this disempowering belief is still held as truth by the mainstream public, leading edge research in the exciting new field of epigenetics reveals a completely different truth. Genes do not control life. It is the environment, and more specifically, our perception of the environment that controls gene activity. In the end, it comes down to a simple case of “mind over matter” in controlling the fate of our lives.

My research on cloned stem cells, initiated over forty years ago, revealed the mechanisms by which perceptions created in the mind control the lives and fate of the 50 trillion living cells that comprise our bodies. Thought processes cause the brain to release information-containing neurochemical and vibrational signals that are sent to the cells. Signals sent by the brain are translated into biological responses in the cell through the action of protein “perception” switches built into the cell’s skin (membrane). The membrane proteins that “read” and respond to these environmental signals are called receptors..."

To Read More:  

Bruce Lipton's Website

Mars Returns, with War in its Wake

 Mars went direct at the end of January, but it's only just resumed forward motion on Friday, April 4.  As discussed on the Astrological Weather (Mar. 31-Apr. 4), this was a particularly personal transit for both the USA, and for George W. Bush, which could manifest in a renewed focus on the administration’s plans for US military aggression.  This has been borne out dramatically in the headlines ever since, beginning with Bush’s pledge in Bucharest on Thursday, Apr. 3, of a US commitment to send many more combat troops to Afghanistan in 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/world/asia/05gates.html?ref=middleeast

The planet Mars went retrograde last November 15^th at 12° of the sign Cancer.  Both the USA (July 4, 1776) and George W. were born with the Sun at 13° Cancer, so Mars came this close to connecting with, and reigniting this shared ‘national’ degree, but then turned around and backed off for 4 ½ months.  The NIE announcement, that Iran had effectively halted its nuclear weapons program back in 2003, came two weeks later, putting the Administration’s dreams of a pre-emptive strike to the sword. Suddenly, everyone was more concerned about the economy, and rightly so, while war shuffled off to the back burner. http://www.thebulletin.org/columns/wyn-bowen/20080220.html

Mars has returned with a vengeance now, and as soon as the red planet completed its long march back to the point of its former retreat, the War rebounded to dominate the headlines.  Of course, now we are more painfully aware than ever that we can ill afford to continue footing the bill.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-08-petraeus-iraq_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Iran is back in the headlines too, and has committed to furthering its plans for nuclear enrichment.   The chances of this provoking some kind of a preemptive strike have escalated accordingly. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.iran09apr09,0,4880712.story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4031603.stm

It was a mistake to invade Iraq, and it would be a bigger mistake to attack Iran.  We obviously don’t understand these people very well.  They are a proud, great nation, and when we insist on treating them like a bunch of yahoos who need us to tell them what to do, it creates a lot of resentment. When we claim rights and privileges for ourselves, and refuse to extend them to others, this creates even more resentment.  Further, we’ve already proven in Iraq and Afghanistan that we have no real military advantage.  There is a lot more to winning a war than what we’re bringing, and no one understands that better than the proud people currently struggling against US occupation.

The US has so much to offer the world, so many positives to export, and so much to give that people genuinely want and need.  When we show our best side to the world, they follow, because people everywhere want to be prosperous and free. We don't need to betray our own best interests with unwarranted military aggression, in wars we can never win, that only inspire hatred and fear in our neighbors.   There is a better way.

Sun vs. Jupiter: Heavyweight Smackdown

An aspect like the Sun square Jupiter is so brief, so fleeting and momentary, that by all rights it shouldn’t register as much more than a blip across the radar screen. And yet, as these two giants square off this week from Aries to Capricorn, the tension between them is shaking the world.  The evidence of two great forces at cross purposes is writ large everywhere for all to see, screaming at us from the headlines, and whispering within our own inner conflicts - if we would but listen, and look. 

The Sun and Jupiter both represent leaders, authorities and father-figures, but of two very different kinds. The Sun in Aries is especially effective (in exaltation); masculine, conscious, militant, bursting with youthful vitality and the blazing light of plain truth.  Jupiter in Capricorn, on the other hand, is hemmed in (in its fall) by tradition and history; its responses limited within the confines of outmoded, materialist philosophies. The clash between these two mutually exclusive positions demands immediate action, both on the world stage, and in our own lives.

Texas Law Enforcement Moves to Protect Child Brides from Polygamists

This contest first came to the headlines over the weekend.  Last Friday, Texas authorities began removing girls from the Yearning for Zion compound, in response to yet another complaint of forced marriages between underage girls and men who are old enough to be their grandfathers.  This clash between the patriarchal, throwback philosophies represented by Jupiter in Capricorn, and the assertive action of uniformed law enforcement (Aries), is at one and the same time a challenge to religious freedom, and a stunning victory for the innocence of youth over the depravities of dirty old men. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5681283.html

 http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-07-polygamist-compound_N.htm?csp=34

China’s Journey of Harmony descends into the Chaos of Discord

Meanwhile, around the world, from London to Paris to San Francisco, audacious protestors have turned China’s Journey of Harmony, as the traditional Torch Relay was dubbed, into a bitter expose of this backwards, but ambitious nation’s abysmal record on human rights. For China, a nation burdened by thousands of years of Confucianism, in which individuals, to say nothing of their rights, have never been of much concern, this is a reminder that the rest of the world moved on a long time ago.  China is big, but not particularly attractive, especially when exposed to the light.  http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/07/europe/07torch.php

General Petraeus

And then there’s General Petraeus, a decent enough man himself, but who could have, and should have been better briefed by his Commander in Chief on the Administration’s plans for Iraq – assuming the Administration has some kind of a plan for Iraq…

He looked a bit shriveled under his uniform and brass; tired, worn down, irrelevant, and under fire, with no real answers for the timely, incisive questions of  the emerging new Democratic leadership; smoking hot in comparison.  
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-09-petraeus-iraq_N.htm

Grounded: American Airlines

Lest we forget, Jupiter rules long-distance travel, and in Capricorn, definitely spotlights the corporate side of it.  Federal regulators decided that airline management had not sufficiently complied with safety regulations and grounded part of the fleet until they do, leaving thousands of stranded passengers safer, but steaming with frustration. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-04-08-aa-cancellations_N.htm

These are just a few of the more obvious ways in which this momentary transit has dominated the airwaves, and manifested throughout our psychological and social lives.  So how was your week?  Can you recognize places in your own life where the bold light of day has struggled with the graying grip of the past, or where over-optimistic expansion ran up against a hard, cold wall? How about the leadership alignments within your own sphere? Was the old goat rattled by a brash, brilliant young upstart? And which side were you on?

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The Star of the Magi

The Mystery that Heralded the Coming of Christ
(Career Press/NewPage 2007)

New Light on the Star of Bethlehem…

The Star of Bethlehem is still one of the most popular and puzzling mysteries of the Bible. Its inclusion, at the very beginning of the very first Gospel, raises so many awkward questions for orthodox Christianity that one has to wonder how it ever made the canonical cut in the first place.

Visions of theVirgin Mary 

An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession  (Llewellyn, 2004)

Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje - millions of people of all faiths and nations flock to Marian shrines around the world; a testament to the enduring human desire for transcendence and meaning.  Visions of the "Luminous Lady in White" abound: at Zeitun, Egypt, she was witnessed by hundred of thousands of Jews, Muslims, and both Protestant and Orthodox Christians.  Courtney Roberts adds a new and fascinating dimension to these miraculous sightings, exploring them through the perspective of astrology. 

...The first of its kind to introduce the astrological dimension into comparative religious studies,Visions of the Virgin  delicately unravels the tangled skein of pre-Christian goddesses woven into the cults and legends of the Virgin Mary, and reflected in the stars, revealing a tradition of goddess worship still very much alive and well in contemporary Christianity. 

   For Reviews and more information:  

 http://www.courtneyrobertshome.com/visionsofthevirgin.htm

Any Questions, Comments, Suggestions?  Crcatcrc@Aol.com