Shedding Light on Natural Law Theory

By Jane Claire

In attempting to garner an understanding of the nature of law, early legal philosophers and academics formulated what has come to be known as the natural law theory, and has become a literal cornerstone of the development of modern legal thinking. Although somewhat limited in modern jurisprudential thinking, natural law has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of what law means in society as a baseline from which to build more complex theories. In this article, we will look at some of the major propositions underpinning the concept of natural law, and the corresponding strengths and weaknesses of this fundamental interpretation of the legal function.

Natural law starts with the basic premise that the law is driven by morality, and consequently is affected by it. With a history extending back to Aristotle and other early philosophers, the natural law theory has traditionally linked the law with religion and an innate sense of justice, rather than the more pragmatic approaches of some other theories. Although this might sound rather basic, the principals have been developed and refined through academic debate for centuries ultimately leading to a far more sophisticated theory of the nature of law. The idea that all law is subject to an unwritten code of morality is fundamental to natural law. This also throws up some potential problems in terms of civil regulation. Certain natural law theorists suggest that for a law to be binding on the citizen, it must conform to this sense of natural justice.

Although, there is definitely no absolute aimed idea of morality that creates disbelief in this concept. Furthermore, the presumptions that the law can be ignored in favor of a more sensible moral still cannot comply with the reality, taking into consideration the possible assumptions of constantly disparaging the laws of the ground of the introspective idea of justice.

Moreover on this basic knowledge of natural law, the individual in dispute with his/her state laws can try to exclude his/her doings with the approval of immoral laws. This will in turn produce a state of chaos, considering that the natural differences of individual ideas and that would fundamentally leave the society defective. Having said this reason, the natural law system has fallen down to gather present intellectual approval, taking into consideration several exceptions.

Natural law has been proposed as a consideration in trying war criminals, on the basis of the retrospectivity principle, i.e. no man can be tried for a crime that was not a crime when he committed it. Many war criminals are merely cogs in the machine of a legal regime, which ultimately permits their actions, however unjustifiable morally. Natural law theories give a basis for challenge on these grounds, whilst avoiding the awkward question of direct legal contravention, which ultimately works to serve justice. In this sense, it is perhaps useful as a canon of interpretation and in determining just and equitable outcomes in 'difficult' cases. However, as a wider legal concept, natural law and the proposed intersection between law and morality seems too awkward to reconcile with considered academic legal understandings. Having said that, natural law has provided an excellent starting position for further advanced argumentation, and has provided a platform for critique that has been essential to the development of the more sophisticated ideas held in regard in this modern day.

About the Author:

The author is a multifaceted writer. She writes articles for a number of topics such as marriage and relationship advices, health related concerns like CPAP machine and Resmed cpap, family and parenting concerns, fashion and beauty tips and a lot more.

Spiritual Counseling - The Meaning of the Winged Serpent Disc

By Jason Lincoln Jeffers

Ancient Egyptian temples were where the high priests and priestesses performed sacred ceremonies. In the stone over the entrance ways to these temples, Egyptian artists always carved a winged serpent disc. The symbol represents the great transformation of the lower egoic self surrendering to the higher Self.

The serpent is capable of shedding its skin, thus it has been for ages a universal archetype for death and rebirth. The serpent also represents the kundalini rising or serpent fire that initiates the transformation from ego to Source consciousness. The wings are symbolic of ascension to the divine. And the disc, sphere, or orb represents the infinite soul that is eternally connected to the sacred singularity of consciousness. It is not mere coincidence that the death, rebirth, and ascension symbolism from this winged serpent disc can be directly associated with the New Testament story of the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The winged disc archetype was always displayed over temple entrance ways because this divine initiation was required before the high priest could enter into the sacred space.

Achieving wholeness by transcending the lower self into a divine being was an esoteric part of the teachings of the ancients. The disc or sphere not only represents the eternal singularity but also is symbolic of completeness. This ubiquitous winged serpent sphere archetype can also be found in ancient Indian, Meso-American, Hebrew, Persian, and Sumerian art. In ancient China, the winged serpent took the form of a dragon, and in ancient Greek art, it was represented by the caduceus.

The higher or inner Self is the core or singularity of our soul. It is where our consciousness synchronizes with the Source, yet even at this level, the soul maintains some level individuality. For eons, the soul is sheathed in the causal, astral, and physical bodies for the purpose of evolving the soul for its inevitable merger with the blissful ocean of the One. This is what I call divine ascension, and is the third and final ascension in the evolution of the soul. It is when the soul, now released from the imprisonment of desire, can finally realize its true potential or God-Self.

After reincarnating over and over in and out of thousands of lives between the physical and astral realms until it is able to let go of the desire for the sensual pleasures, the soul then traverses through countless incarnations between the astral and causal realm. Eventually, all attachment and desire for the causal realm of form are surrendered and the little soul is then ready for its ascension to the Source. Here the soul jettisons the third and final sheath, the very subtle causal body, and escapes forever the cycle of death and rebirth. At this point, all identification with form dissolves and the soul is then free to become One with Source consciousness.

About the Author:

Spiritual Counselor, Jason Lincoln Jeffers is the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company devoted to teaching Self Realization to the world. His Spiritual Counseling program uniquely synthesizes spiritual wisdom with self transcendence, holistic wellness, life path astrology, shadow & pain-body work, heart-based intention, the power of presence, and the law of attraction.

Spiritual Counseling - The Creation Story

By Jason Lincoln Jeffers

To say that the Big Bang signifies the beginning of consciousness is false because the only thing that the Big Bang did was give rise to the play of form or matter. And how do we as conscious beings create matter? Well, as the Greek philosopher Plato concluded from the observation of the world, concepts cannot be derived from experience, but can only precede experience. In other words, idea must precede form. For example, the concept of an airplane had to be in the Wright Brothers' minds before they could design it and fly it. Idea plus visualization plus intention plus action is the simple equation for how we as conscious beings have been creating form since the advent of mankind.

Every form we have fashioned, from the computer in front of you to the civilization that surrounds you was originally just a thought, an idea in someone's mind at some point in the past. So why should it be any different when we wind the clocks back 13.7 billion years to the explosion of the Big Bang? The micro world is always a reflection of the macro world. As above so below. Our consciousness is no different from Source consciousness. Thus, Source consciousness must precede the world of form. Consciousness is the impulse, the divine spark, the inspiration, and the idea behind the creation story. Indeed it is the Unmoved Mover. Because mind or consciousness was needed before the universe of form could exist, the Big Bang cannot be the first cause or spontaneously create itself from nothingness as Stephen Hawking theorizes.

Furthermore, you could also say that we are only observing the universe from the inside out. If we observed it from the outside in, instead of watching a rapidly expanding universe grow from the small to the large, we would be watching a rapidly contracting universe shrink from the large to the small. A Big Bang explosion creating one universe could simultaneously be marking the implosion of another universe. Just like the expansion and contraction of your heart and lungs, universes could also be expanding and contracting. From this perspective, it would be more accurate to say that the Big Bang marked the ending of something that we cannot yet see or determine, and that this ending or "death" is what allowed something new and wonderful to be born. This "banging in and banging out" of universes could have very well have been going on forever.

There have been a variety of creation stories passed down to us from the ancients. The most popular versions include the Rig-Veda Creation Hymn, the Zohar Ein Sof, and the Book of Genesis. Inspired by these stories and others, the following is my version of the ancient story of creation:

In the beginning, there was no form. The non-existent was not, the existent was not. There was no realm of air, no space beyond it. There was only the pure, unmanifested One.

Thereafter arose a desire to play. So the Source formed a veil to hide its light. This divided the light from the darkness...and the first star was born.

And from that primal seed of desire, countless realms came to be...a multitude of planes and universes; all of them filled with stars.

Then the One saw within it Self an infinite density and an infinite division. And so to play out the game, the One divided it Self into an infinitude of Souls.

And each Soul was unique. And each Soul was divine. And the Souls called the light, "truth," and the darkness they called, "ignorance." The play of form had begun.

About the Author:

Spiritual Counselor, Jason Lincoln Jeffers is the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company devoted to teaching Spiritual Enlightenment to the masses. His Spiritual Counseling practice uniquely synthesis spiritual wisdom with ego transcendence, holistic health, life path astro-analysis, shadow & pain-body work, heart-brain intention, the power of presence, and the law of attraction.

Spiritual Counseling - You are Pure Consciousness

By Jason Lincoln Jeffers

To the materialist, consciousness is the awakened state of the mind, or more accurately described as the ability to think and have self perception. "I think therefore I am," is their axiom. Unconsciousness, from this somewhat primitive perspective, is experienced when someone knocks you over the head with a baseball bat and you fall to the floor. Or more commonly, when you fall asleep at night. But this rudimentary perception of consciousness is not what I am referring to here. Not even close.

Self, unity, or pure consciousness is the state of infinite intelligence, the field of unbounded wisdom, the place of limitless creativity. It is where the knower, the act of knowing, and the known all merge into One. It is at this level where form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and thought completely dissolve. It is here where consciousness becomes conscious of it Self.

Once achieved by the soul, the ability to tune into pure consciousness is never lost. It may be temporarily forgotten but after the consequence of suffering reminds, Self consciousness is quickly regained. This is what is known as "enlightenment" or "Self-actualization," and becoming an enlightened One is very much like learning how to ride a bicycle--at first you fall a lot, but eventually you get the hang of it. It is here where your entire life becomes a peaceful, blissful meditation--where anything can be achieved through mere desiring. This is the state of the Next Human.

God is not out there somewhere. What we call God is right here, right now, if we can just learn to put the mind down. Furthermore, what we call God is not restricted to a single personality. This elementary concept of God by its very nature implies obedience to a specific doctrine that comes with that divine personality, and this only serves to bolster the ego. This perception of God must dissolve if we, as a species, are going to evolve into the Next Human. It would be closer to the truth to say that God is an infinite amount of personalities or what we call souls. A drop of water in an infinite ocean of "God" is a nice metaphor for the soul but even this does not accurately describe who you are. In truth, you are the awareness behind the veil of form, the awareness behind the body, the awareness behind the mind, and the awareness behind the soul. This is your true nature, the nature of God, the divine singularity, the Source of all that is. And because you are Source consciousness at your core, you are eternal and everlasting.

The Source is not bound by space, therefore it is everywhere. The Source is not bounded by time, therefore it is eternal. The Source is not bound by knowledge, therefore it is omniscient. The Source is not bound by power, therefore it is omnipotent. The Source can only be found in the Now.

About the Author:

Spiritual Counselor, Jason Lincoln Jeffers is the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company focused on teaching Self Realization to the world. His Spiritual Counseling program uniquely combines spiritual wisdom with self transcendence, holistic wellness, life path astro-analysis, shadow & pain-body work, heart-brain intention, the power of presence, and the law of attraction.

Rite Of Passage

By David Styles

Rite of passage is generally the process done by more youthful individuals who are making the transition from adolescence to adult hood. At a broader degree the rite of passage is just a transition from one stage to another. This transition can be for almost anything you can imagine.

For instance, marriage can be seen as being a transition from being single to being with your life partner. Death may be observed as a transition from existence towards the after-life. And puberty may be seen as your transition from childhood to adulthood. You are able to see here that the common concept for your rite of passage is a transition from one stage of life to another.

Numerous ceremonies have existed throughout time to mark this transition time period however the typical theme of the ceremonies is firstly a separation stage, then a transition stage and finally a re-incorporation stage. It's these 3 phases that are typical with the transition from one stage of existence to an additional stage.

The vision quest process is 1 such potent rite of passage ceremony to help with numerous transitions in people's lives as they move forward right into a more genuine means of living their life. What I imply by authentic is to have your life in alignment with your true self. This is initially carried out by discovering your authentic nature in nature.

For instance, the separation stage is when you tidy up loose ends at home and together with your work and walk out alone into a place in nature. This separation phase separates you out of your normal existence and permits you the area to be and talk with the deeper ranges of your being.

Whilst in your vision quest the transition stage is whenever you start to gain insights from nature and spirit across the intention you've set for your journey. For instance, the way the wind blows along the trees may give you an insight around how many of your plans are just 'blowing in the wind'. Or even the heat from the summer time sun may give you an insight into the intensity of a number of your relationships if your intention is about relationships.

However, it's these insights from nature and also the interpretations you make that set the stage for transitions happening in your normal life.

In my encounters, the insights on their own have next to no energy in creating differences within the transition from 1 stage of one's life to another one. The place exactly where the real power comes from will be the 3rd stage. And that's the re-incorporation stage.

About the Author:

When you'd like to immerse your self on a rite of passage in nature and learn exactly how you can tap into your soul and spirit then this could be the day which will change your existence. Just now learn step-by-step how you can go on your own lead by David Styles and get answers on any question you might have about your existence.

Let's Talk About Church Robes and Choir Apparel

By Charlotte Marissa Price

The term Church Robes is a very inclusive term. Under that subject you'll find a rather long index of goods many different functions. Obviously there are the probable Robes for Choir, Pulpit, and Baptism, but at this time there is actually furthermore a rather long list of other purposes, including: tunics, stoles for clergy, deacons, and clerics. Include in that capes, cassocks, clergy shirts, clerical collars, clergy apparel, vests, shirt fronts, surplices, albs, vestments, chasubles, copes, miters, and Bishop's clothing. Whew! That's a protracted wide variety.

Truly Church Robes is an extremely vast category, plus the subject matter might be complicated for this church volunteer or staffer who will be given the mission - "Hey, select new choir robes..." like that is an easy phone call - "We'll take 25 white ones." These days there are options consisting of professional attire for women and men ministers - gowns, albs and paraments now are an established aspect of the fare. A couple of distributors who specialize in this particular category also sell Judicial garments.

What Are The Primary Characteristics Church Robes Should Include:

Individualized Embellishment - on fronts, sleeves, collars, and hems Specialty Fabric and Design - Brocade, Ribbon highlights, Egyptian Cotton, Soft silk, Linen, Satin Washable - dry cleaning is recommended for better fabric, natural cotton, blends & polyester are generally machine washable Overlays - also specialty fabrics as above, some with tassels and fringes Suited - two-piece yoke with appealing cord, fluting, and buttons on backs of robes & gowns Front panels to support and hide unflattering zipper closures Floor Clearances - 5" to a foot, some can be floor length Custom designed - available to match your appropriate preferences Satin Tapestry Fleur Bandings - are occasionally accompanied by golden metallic decorations & fleur banding.

When You Buy Robes materials must be able to breathe; the drape really need to be substantial; tailored robes in Pastoral, and Judicial applications are a lot less commonplace, normally because the flowing grand overall appearance commands more respect. Most tailored robes are used for Collegiate, and Baptismal functions. Seasonally churches and Bible colleges and universities think about ceremonial apparel for commencement programs. Just about all internet Church Robes merchants offer the full line of products for those matriculation programs. Including the aforementioned products and features; robes, honor stoles, college or university stoles, tassels, graduation robes, cap, mortarboards, hoods, as well as tams. A significant assortment of honor cord shades can be found, among them Magna, Cassa, Doctorate, Masteral diplomas, in addition to other kinds of formal recognition. Honor robes and stoles can be screened or embroidered with honor society insignias.

About the Author:

You should think of Church Robes as a new and much wider category of your church or collegiate uses. The Organist, Choir, Deacons, Bishopric, and each degree of Godly recognition. "Pulpit Dressings" have become so much more!

Meditation In Nature

By Adam Smith

Meditation in nature is among the most powerful methods to tap into your authentic nature. This nature meditation also lets you broaden your senses to some heightened awareness which permits the doorway to speak straight with the creator.

When in nature there's a straightforward 'sense meditation' you are able to use to be able to heighten your 5 senses to be able to possess the encounter of becoming a more alive human being and more in contact with spirit. Quite frequently in modern life our senses are toned down due to the amount of stimuli constantly around us.

Step one to extend the connection to your 5 senses is to let go of all stress inside your body and mind. The way to do this is to firstly scan through your body and notice wherever you have tension. Then just like letting go of a rock in your hand, allow the stress in your physique to drop towards the earth. The earth can then use this tension exactly where it needs to. I find letting go of your tension out of your physique works finest on the out breath.

After you've dropped all the stress inside your body to the floor, you are able to then scan up and down your thoughts and become conscious of any tension inside your thoughts during the meditation. Then whenever you are prepared just let the stress in your mind drop to mother earth.

As soon as you're in a relaxed state, the next part of the meditation is to then start heightening your five senses using the feeling meditation method.

The very first and most predominant feeling that we use in our modern culture will be the sense of sight. Very often we see the planet in a narrow viewpoint. For instance, we stare at a computer screen, watch a Television, study the newspaper and stare at the street in front of us. All the whilst using a centered means of taking a look at the planet.

However, indigenous people frequently use far more of their sense of sight consciousness to pick up the subtle movements of animals and birds all around them. The way in which to do this really is to tap into your peripheral eyesight.

To expand into your peripheral vision just place each of your hands out to your sides as far as you are able to and wiggle your fingers within this meditation. Shift your hands back far enough so you can just see your fingers wiggling. This is the extent of one's peripheral vision.

About the Author:

Whenever you'd prefer to immerse your self on a rite of passage in nature and learn exactly how to tap into your soul and spirit then this might be the day which will alter your life.