What Is Natural Law? Part II
Morality, Collective Karma, Narcissism and Why Truth Hurts.
Objective moral principles are so little understood that it is essential to spell them out as clearly as I’m able. I’ll start with Mark Passio’s definition of right, which is a commonly understood and shared one in the Natural Law movement:
RIGHT:
That which is correct - based in Truth.
That which is moral - in harmony with Natural Law.
Any action that does not initiate harm to other sentient beings.
However, as stated in Part I, my understanding is evolving constantly - and this is an area in which I am currently exploring speculative territory.
In this spirit, I offer an alternative definition of right, which I intend to explore further and elaborate on in the future:
RIGHT: The innate property of free will, and all that is in full accord with it.
By this definition, individual free will which actively acknowledges and honours the free will of others - which does not limit or infringe another’s free will unduly - is right. In other words, right is the perfect measure of freedom and restraint: the incarnating of the Higher Self in material form, without limiting the right of others to the same. I am coining a phrase, “Free Will Right”, to define this concept. This refers to morally restrained - as opposed to pure - free will, which necessarily encompasses the potential of immoral action (that which violates another’s Free Will Right).
Free will is the inherent and inalienable property of the conscious being. It is permanent, untransferable, undeniable (I plan to address fatalism and related ideas in a later piece) and infinite by definition. I am arguing here that free will is our sole true possession, being completely within our control (unlike the body), and arguably preceding and enduring beyond physical incarnation. It is our property (attribute) and our property (possession). This is right and proper.
There are many other attributes of a human being - consciousness, identity, character, knowledge, experience, emotions, history, context, culture, memory - but these are all ultimately passive and inert without the inimitable and defining factor of free will - hence my position that free will is the only true possession. It defines agency, imbues all meaning and remains forever within our power. I’ll be using this speculative definition of right, and the concept of “Free Will Right”, as defined above - welcoming any comments and discussion on the question, as I plan a full exposition of this thesis in the new year.
Either way, both of the above definitions are, at root, simple and defined by freedom, in contrast to the familiar cataloguing of ‘rights’ so condescendingly ‘bestowed’ on us by institutions of control. Such ‘rights’ serve only to dilute and obfuscate the simplicity and overwhelming power of the Truth: We incarnate with free will. Consciousness manifests as an ongoing point of choice. Read on or no? Your choice.
Man is condemned to be free.
~ Jean-Paul Sartre
To continue laying out objective morality;
WRONG means: Improper; that which infringes on Free Will Right; denial of the Free Will Right of self or other.
GOOD means: That which accords with Free Will Right; is freeing, enlightening, natural or moral.
EVIL means: That which is Wrong, enslaving, misleading, against nature or Free Will Right. Immoral.
MORAL means: That which accords with Free Will Right.
The exercise and defence of freedom are moral.
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The destruction of freedom is immoral.
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Morality is liberty.
~ Jeremy Locke
Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.
~ Benjamin Franklin
Freedom and Morality are directly proportional:
As Morality increases, Freedom increases.
As Morality declines, Freedom declines.
~ Mark Passio
Our three-dimensional reality - the material plane - is where spiritual choice is manifested - here and now - through action taken in the physical world. There is no enlightenment without moral or Right Action - that which accords with Right.
Karma is commonly conceived as the consequences which follow an individual’s chosen actions. But, as one among billions, our personal Karma is inextricably bound up with and completely overwhelmed by that of the collective. While we do possess inherent free will, the extent of the individual’s ability to exercise it unviolated is ultimately determined by the free will choices of the collective - and whether these choices accord with or violate Free Will Right. For this reason, teaching Truth and morality is the highest manifestation of Right Action, and the only way that freedom can ultimately manifest for the collective and the individual. True individual freedom can therefore only be realised through the determination of the individual to perceive reality accurately and to enlighten others accordingly.
The more one studies and contemplates Natural Law, the more one’s consideration is drawn to this bigger picture, where the following is readily observable - as most will attest:
People are deranged.
Things are in decline.
The first is the direct cause of the second. As we think, so we act. Only clarity of thought can lead to Right Action. Only Right Action can lead to an improvement in the collective experience.
The truism that ‘people are crazy’ is in a sense accurate. But its commonly understood implication - that this condition is natural and beyond remedy - is ludicrous. To come to an accurate understanding of reality is not complicated. One simply follows reason - all the way.
There is no truth that you cannot learn.
~ Jeremy Locke
We possess two finely tuned inner compasses: a conscience and a social barometer. The first informs us when we are veering away from Right Action. The second informs us when we are veering away from action considered acceptable or normal within our society. When the two are in conflict, the primal terror of rejection from the tribe tends to override the conscience, which takes a longer-term view. Over time, the conscience is relegated to a vague and unexamined nagging feeling that ‘something isn’t right’, while the concerns of social acceptability come to dominate uncontested.
Once this power play is settled within the individual (the outrageous injustice of the classroom likely being a common driving factor), they will excuse any socially accepted idea or belief sooner than face the horror of social rejection that might follow genuine investigation and engagement of reason and the conscience. The ego will hold fast to such an idea to the death - of either the ego or the body. This unconscious creation of an ‘idea of the self’ as civilised, normal, caring and ‘responsible’ (or even edgy or rebellious - within acceptable limits) is essentially the coping mechanism of the narcissist. The Higher Self, along with its natural devotion to Truth, is abandoned and ignored, while the ego reigns supreme within a constructed shell of ‘beliefs’ which come to be experienced as the ‘self’.
These beliefs are affected postures which mask a complete detachment from the Higher Self and the consequent lack of integrity and self-reflection. This accounts for the abject inability of so many to rationally defend their stated beliefs, as well as the emotional fireworks that commonly attend any expectation that they do so: the dire risk of disturbing the entirely irrational house of cards they have come to call the self genuinely threatens the ego at an existential level. They have long since sacrificed their Free Will Right at the altar of social acceptability and sense the tragically abandoned Higher Self waiting patiently in the shadows, as well as the inevitable Karmic retribution inherent in this exiling of the Self.
Ignore your conscience at your peril.
This generalised narcissism or deep-rooted and lifelong condition of virtue signalling has long been encouraged, nurtured and utilised as a tool of control by those who understand human psychology and seek to control behaviour through the limitation of freedom of thought - which is by far the tidiest and most effective way. To obscure the bars of this psychological and ideological cage, a vast array of superficial dialectics are endlessly encouraged and elucidated (left vs right, faith vs science etc). The much vaunted ‘healthy’ range of opinions in a ‘modern democracy’ generates an incessant storm of noise and attendant emotion, keeping people altogether distracted and ineffective in ever coming to address the genuine and most pressing questions of morality and freedom. To do so would require a sincere and unflinching approach to the question, “Is everyone wrong?”
People are ‘crazy’, not because they cannot follow reason, but because they will not. This resistance of the collective ego is so deeply layered, ingrained, calcified and stubborn that it has brought about all unnecessary suffering of humanity. People cling to the very beliefs that enslave them, defending those beliefs vociferously for entire lifetimes based, not on dispassionate assessment, but purely on what comforts the undeveloped ego.
At root, this immense ongoing disaster and wasted opportunity can be attributed to a psychological grounding in profound fear and lack of self worth - conditioned and encouraged by a society founded on and dedicated to control and immorality.
In essence, humanity has come to prefer the comfortable lie to the uncomfortable Truth - and this points to the heart of the transformation required to transform our world.
Do you prefer the comfortable lie to the uncomfortable Truth?
Will you follow reason - all the way?
Do you care enough?
There are only two mistakes one can make on the path to Truth: not starting, and not going all the way.
~ Unknown
Well meaning actions which do not account for and do not focus directly on root causes are not capable of stopping humanity’s decline. In fact, such distractions sap and waste the priceless spiritual currencies of energy, time and attention, ultimately serving Evil. Right Action at the personal level must relate to our collective fate, as collective derangement is the root cause of our descending trajectory.
Only by aligning our thoughts with reality can we regain sanity and manifest heaven on Earth. Enlightenment simply means the accurate perception of reality. Heaven on Earth is simply a world in which action accords with this accurate perception.
We have a responsibility to the creator to be as real as we can.
~ John Trudell
The quest for Truth is demanding. The way is chronically obscured and distractions near infinite. Through True Care, we can actively weed out our personal delusion and collectively beat a path of sanity between our perception and reality. Without True Care, we cannot hope to make it.
In the next instalment, I’ll explore True Care, Carelesseness, moral chaos, the three poisons and the Golden Rule.
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IN OTHER NEWS:
I'm excited to announce the launch of a new initiative, New Moon Tunez, starting this Sunday. I'll be releasing a new track with every new moon - it could be anything from a brand new song, a live recording or an ancient unheard of demo. This is to keep things ticking over while I conjure a more substantial offering for release in the new year. If you want to stay in the loop for New Moon Tunez, be sure to follow me on one of these platforms:
For now, these are the places I’ll be uploading. If you prefer somewhere else, you can tell me all about it via this very short poll. I thank you.
If you feel inspired to find out more about Natural Law, you can join others who are already active in discussing and promoting its understanding via this Telegram group. It’s a welcoming place with lively discussion, a weekly video chat and an attached roundtable livestream broadcasting every Sunday evening. Here is our most recent episode at the time of going to press, in which we discuss whether the Natural Law movement qualifies as a cult:
A recent upload on my personal Natural Law-based YouTube channel:
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