Those undergoing the fourth stage of reincarnation are known as mature souls. At this stage, life is about embracing otherness — other perspectives, other people, other cultures, other parts of one’s own being.
Contents
Knowing Me, Knowing You
The lives of mature souls focus on exploring the true nature of self, life and especially others. Reaching beyond the forthright independence of the third stage, the major challenge at this fourth stage is to discover how to live inter-dependently with others, and other-ness in general.
So …
- Whle the young soul focuses on being assertive, competitive and successful, the mature soul focuses on being sensitive, cooperative and authentic.
- While a young soul insists that its own perspective is right, the mature soul recognises that other perspectives are equally valid.
- While for the young soul self-interest is all-important, the mature soul is more concerned with the self-other relationship.
Mature Soul Perceptions
The mature soul develops an ever-deepening sense of both self and others. Life is no longer simply a matter of what happens out there in the world, but also what is going on “in here”, where we are coming from, what it all means.
Through understanding more and more of their own psychology, mature souls also learn about what makes others tick. They come to recognise that all others are their equals, at least on the inside. In fact, their own perspective is nothing but one among many equally valid perspectives.
In other words:
I see life from my perspective and you see life from your perspective.
I accept that my point of view is just another perspective, and not necessarily the only ‘correct’ one.
All perspectives are equally valid, and we can arrive at mutual understanding by sharing our perspectives with each other.
As an aside, you can see this accommodation of multiple perspectives in many great dramas, from ancient Greece to the plays of Shakespeare, to the best of Hollywood. Take, for example, the films of Steven Spielberg (a Mature Artisan). Whereas stories like Jaws and War of the Worlds could have been little more than routine action movies, the director focuses on the fragility and uncertainty within each character’s inner world – whether child or adult, male or female, strong or weak. 
Empathy
At this level there is also the development of empathy — appreciating others’ experiences from their perspective.
I can appreciate how you experience life.
I can perceive life as you perceive it. I know how you feel, and I understand why.
Though our perceptions are not the same, we are all the same on the inside.
But the mature soul’s sense of self can become confusing because of this empathy with others:
I am very aware of how you perceive me, how you feel about me.
I can also identify with you, yet I am not you.
So who am I?
The mature soul keeps being reminded that all perspectives are valid but not necessarily correct, and that there are perspectives on perspectives on perspectives… So begins the search for a deeper truth that will ultimately lead back to oneness.
Other Mature Soul Characteristics
In contrast to the outward-bound adventures of the young soul, there is at this level an inward focus on perceptions, meanings, issues, relationships and the meaning of life.
Mature souls seek understanding, authenticity and integrity, especially in relationships, but also in other aspects of life including art and spirituality. They come to appreciate both the diversity and complexity of life, but there can be a lot of ‘naval gazing’ as they struggle to get to the bottom of it all.
Because of their willingness to accept and include others, and their empathy for others’ experiences, mature souls can be overly self-critical at times. While young souls tend to blame anyone but themselves for their own problems, mature souls will readily look for their own faults.
And whereas young souls like to have their own opinions and assert them forcibly, mature souls are more ambivalent when it comes to taking sides on any issue.
At the beginning, they will tend to reject and criticise the competitive, materialistic thrust of young soul culture. (Ironically, many mature-soul writers, artists and performers have achieved fame and fortune this way.)
Later on, the holding of strong opinions for or against anything seems dubious.
Mature Soul Relationships
Being a mature soul is all about seeking “right relationship.” More than any at other soul stage, mature souls are likely to bond for life in a positive, loving, intimate partnership.
It is a time for soul-mates to get together and help each other work through their issues to create a mature, healthy relationship. It’s also in this stage that conscious parenting becomes a key challenge.
At this level, love is generally experienced and expressed as appreciation, a genuine acceptance of the otherness of another.
Irrespective of whether you make me feel good or not, and irrespective of how you feel about me, I love you for who you are.
The mature soul is attracted to opportunities to express this appreciation of otherness, or diversity, the more unfamiliar and ‘alien’ the better. For example, one may develop a love of exotic wildlife or of foreign cultures.
Mature Soul Lifestyles
Mature souls can have sophisticated, avant-garde or post-modern sensibilities, but in private they may struggle with basic emotional issues. Because life is now all about optimising one’s relationships with anything and everything, mature souls can find life to be intensely complex and stressful, filled with emotional turmoil, sometimes overwhelmingly so. Inner conflict is very common.
Hence there is often a need to find time and space for introspection, or psychotherapy, or perhaps an artistic outlet, to confront the confusion and negativity within oneself.
Hence also a desire to keep well away from both the enforced limitations of baby soul cultures and the me-first competitiveness of young soul cultures. Do it any place but here is the mature soul motto, and this often shows in their facial expression.
There also emerges at this level a desire to explore the deeper and quieter forms of spirituality, such as Zen Buddhism. Mature souls tend to gravitate to liberal, multicultural places like London and San Francisco, though they prefer the relative tranquillity of the suburbs to the push and shove of the city centre.
Some Famous Mature Souls
There are many well-known mature souls, predominantly in the arts. In contrast to the “can do, will do” attitude of young souls, it is the subtlety, sensitivity and sincerity behind mature soul accomplishments that makes them stand out. Many of the world’s great artists, novelists and musicians have been mature souls, including Botticelli, Michaelangelo, William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Dostoyevsky and Van Gogh …
Mature souls: Michaelangelo, Shakespeare, and Van Gogh
… as well as Mozart, who apparently reincarnated as Michael Jackson.
The same soul? W.A. Mozart and Michael Jackson
Many of the world’s great movie actors are mature souls (as opposed to self-styled movie stars, who tend to be young souls). Some obvious examples of Mature soul actors include Kate Winslet, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham Carter.
Soul mates? Mature Artisans Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter
In the field of politics, mature soul leaders tend to be liberal, inclusive and internationalist rather than conservative and nationalistic. This is something many baby and young souls can find incomprehensible and detestable.
Recent examples include Tony Blair and Barack Obama (both typically earnest Mature Priests).
The Five Stages of Reincarnation
Stage 1 |
Stage 2 |
Stage 3 |
Stage 4 |
Stage 5 |
| Infant Soul | Baby Soul | Young Soul | Mature Soul | Old Soul |
I think I may be a mature soul. I’ve noticed that when I was younger, I had a VERY hard time looking people in the eyes. But when I finally started investigating spirituality again (instead of forcing myself to be an atheist) my steadiness came back.
This is a very in-depth description – much better than the 5 minute videos on YT. Thank you.
Cheers. For what it’s worth, mature souls are caught mid-way between the blatant egotism of young souls and the relaxed wisdom of old souls – they experience tension or conflict between their outer achievement motives (“How can I get what I want from life?”) and their inner drive to be authentic (“How can I honour your truth?”).
That sounds like me, but I don’t want to be too arrogant when I may be just a young one.
Thank you for responding so quickly. I just watched the video of K. Hepburn – hilarious!
Feel the same way. I have some of the mature soul qualities, but I feel like I have alot of the young soul qualities as well. I’m not sure if that’s me being overly critical of myself or if perhaps I’m a lower level mature soul.
I find the notion of developmental gradations between lives hilarious if I take them literally – we are born into one of these stages and inhabit one until death and exit into the next or (God/Buddh/Thingy forbid) previous stage on rebirth. Is it possible, may I be so bold as to suggest, that this is just your construct of a spectrum covering the stages of spiritual maturation of any individual who opens up at the appropriate ‘junctures’ in a single life? We could, if we are open to it, evolve across each stage as we mature and age physically. Many of us sadly for the planet do not get beyond 1-3. Delightful site by the way. You at least have taken the trouble to be intelligent in your musings.
Well, we all go through multiple developmental stages in a single life – infancy, childhood, puberty/adolescence and so on. We inhabit each one until we cross into the next one. Why should things be so different for the soul — i.e. for consciousness — albeit on a much grander time-scale? You can look at it as a spectrum or continuum, but it unfolds in discrete stages.
This isn’t my construct by the way; these teachings have been around for at least 30 years.
The teachings also include the concept of soul age manifestation which I haven’t gone into here, but in a nutshell: A newborn human being, regardless of its inner level or soul age, outwardly manifests consciousness equivalent to a level 1 infant soul. Through age and experience, each of us manifests progressively higher and higher levels of consciousness/awareness until we (optimally) plateau out at our soul’s current level of consciousness, typically some time in mid-life. If you’re a mature soul, then by the time you’re 40 or so you’ll be acting your age, so to speak – acting like a mature soul, not a baby or young soul, outwardly manifesting your true depth of awareness. Until then, you’ll probably be acting somewhat below that potential.
When we are in physical incarnation, our soul’s level of consciousness is implicit or potential for the first half of life; the challenge is to manifest it explicitly in life through our personality. It usually takes about three or four decades in each lifetime because in each lifetime our physical vehicle starts from scratch.
B
I want to thank you for putting into words so eloquently exactly what I was thinking. I have read all of the traits for souls and I at one point in my life have fit them(with the exception of the old soul) Maybe I am not old enough yet. However it makes me want to read Michael s book. Thank you again for you’re dissertation.
I am just soaking up everything I’m reading on your website. THANK YOU for this! I think I’m a mature soul…teetering on the edge of becoming an old soul.
Thanks again. I’ll be back!
– Lindsay
http://www.thedailyawe.com
I believe that I’m an mature soul..yet I’m not sure. I’m 20 years old about to be 21 and I feel as though I’ve been before. I’m curious though about this 5th stage..does it all end or do we continue the cycle? Hopefully that doesn’t sound silly..on another note I liked the comparison between MJ and Mozart. I think I truly believe that was a reincarnation..which is way cool. Well please respond and have a great day!
Hi hippichic
Thanks for getting in touch.
To answer your question: beyond the 5th stage (old soul) there are further stages which generally don’t involve physical reincarnation – but through the same process of choosing and experiencing we move towards greater and greater integration of our individual consciousness with the collective, or with mind of God if you prefer. Many become guides to younger souls, but others evolve in different ways. And as far as I know, we also have the option to start all over again. It’s all a matter of free personal choice – nothing is imposed. 🙂
barry
Thanks for interesting reading. Days ago i was told by a healer who is transcdental soul that i am at first stage mature. And few years ago i calculated my lifepath number and it is nine. About this lifepathe number it says that i have chance to accomplish my coals and done so i can go out from the cycle of so called birth and death. So is it possible to go through the stages after mature in one lifetime?Wishing love and harmony!
Hi Tõnis
No, it isn’t possible to complete the stages in one go. But yes, it is possible to leave the cycle of birth and death any time you want to.
You are an evolving being, and you have chosen to evolve through reincarnation. You could (at the soul level) decide to stop reincarnating at any time, and continue your evolution some other way. We are all free to do that. But you will still be continuing from your current level of evolution – 1st level Mature or whatever.
You cannot skip from being a 1st level Mature soul to an enlightened 7th level Old or Transcendental soul in one step, any more than an acorn can become an ancient oak tree in one year. The only way to evolve is through experience, step by step, and each step is a lifetime’s experience in itself.
It is a human myth that “escaping” the cycle of reincarnation is a good thing. The soul is happy to reincarnate for as long as it takes — and of course, there is no time for the soul anyway, so duration as we measure it in years and centuries is irrelevant. Besides, reincarnation is the “quickest” way to evolve precisely because it confronts us with harsh experiences.
The idea of getting out of the cycle of birth and death is generally rooted in human fear: the fear of death, the fear of suffering. But the soul knows what it is doing. It knows that there is no death, and that suffering is transient, caused by limited perception while human. And the more we evolve, the less we fear.
I hope this gives some clarity to whatever you choose 🙂
cheers
barry
Hei again and thanks for answering, it got me clearer. Indeed world is one interesting thing-and here is a lot to find out. When i was about sixteen years old then i started to question about meaning of the life. I started to read different philosophies and religions. Its interesting that i have read a lot and sometimes i think-ok thats all-there is no fresh material outside and then little bit time goes away and i will again find out something interesting and new for me-like this site-and the soul levels.
And yeah you are absolutely right that people fear death and suffering. I have thought that nowadays there is lot to do with media also who shows and talks lot about death-but it shows just the outerside, dead bodies accidents, blood, and it scares people. But there isnt much information about how soul goes out from the body and that kind of stuff. But maybe most of the people isnt just ready to believe this kind of knowledge.
I have many years struggled to quit smoking-it is like a dead circle-smoking. Nothing good but it has become so normal and it is hard to handle to let it go. It is also like somehow dieing, when to manage quit. Dieing from the habbit. In the gymnasium i judged lot people and friends around of me who smoked but now i am in the same trap. And have different view to the people who are smoking. And people fear changes also. But to think about it then world around us and in us changes in every second-so now it is new world-but we have that illusion that all is still. I am not sure but i think someday i will be happy for changings and evolving because the nature shows that and what are we different from the nature?
And when to talk about changesthen there are lot of chatting about the 2012. What do you think, are there really something enourmous to happen all of us or it is just another year, when everybody is evolving their own way?Sorry for lot of talking but it seemed nice place to release thoughts.
Wishing good changes for everyone,
Tõnis
Hi Tõnis
Smoking:
From the soul’s perspective, one of the main reasons we get into addictions, vices, bad habits etc is to know what it is like to be in that place first-hand, and thereby develop compassion for others who are in the same place, especially those we may have judged negatively (without compassion) in the past. For example, I used to scoff at people with “chronic fatigue” or “M.E.” – what we used to call yuppie flu. Now I have it, and I “get” it. It’s a valid part of the human experience.
2012:
Personally I have no expectation of anything cosmically significant happening next year. No mass awakening, just the same continuing gentle rise in awakening as in 2011 and 2013. But the fact that the year 2012 is in a lot of people’s consciousness as a “significant” year could, by itself, cause more people to take awakening seriously – and that would be significant!
barry
What’s M.E.?
The following terms all refer to more or less the same condition:
Myalgic Encephalopathy or “ME”
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or “CFS”
Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome or “PVFS”
Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome or “CFIDS”
It’s basically having a flat battery constantly, like when you have to the flu and are totally unable to get off the sofa. It’s NOT like depression where you feel completely unmotivated. People who get this, like me, tend to be HIGHLY motivated and like to keep themselves busy, but don’t usually take enough time to rest, and eventually when something extra happens – like catching a random virus – it’s the last straw and the body’s whole energy system collapses at once.
Mine came on after a severe bout of pericarditis (inflamed heart sac) in May 2009, so I tend to refer to it as Post-Viral Fatigue.
The cause remains unknown – some suspect there may be a virus. There is a definitely a breakdown in the immune system and how it relates to the nervous system. There are still some who suspect its “all in the mind” and that people with it are just lazy – which I can assure you isn’t the case!
There is no known cure, but slow recovery to a manageable level is possible through learning to pace oneself. But even then, there are bad days as well as good days, and minor exertions like shopping can knock you back to square one if you’re not careful.
– barry
Barry,
CFS can be cured. Completely. Don’t believe the common theory that you can only go to a manageable level but not further. If you decide to believe that, then realize that that will be your first limiting belief.
Have you looked at a book called ‘From Fatigued to Fantastic’ by Jacob Teitelbaum? If not, please do have a look at it. It was one book that sounded very promising to me during my own CFS journey, but I never bought it because I found help elsewhere.
I have suffered from very severe CFS for the past 6 years (on most days I wasn’t even able to manage myself out of bed – at its peak, walking very slowly just for 5 minutes would require me to rest for hours before I could do anything else and a TON of other problems, not the least of which was stabbing pains throughout my body – fibromyalgia.) I have been through all of the ‘its in your mind’ stuff from doctors because my blood panels were almost perfect – and I guess it only contributed to increased frustration and depression which feeds CFS further.
I am way better now and for an interim period of about 1 year I was almost cured. Yes, really – absolutely no fatigue whatsoever – full of energy throughout the day, day after day – deep and refreshing sleeps – then I got CFS back + a few new problems, thanks to myself not heeding my naturopath’s warnings (who asked me to follow a modified daily routine for a year or two more but I didn’t) and my lifestyles. I am on my way to recovery again now.
I fully intend to talk to you about “how I got cured” when that happens along with all the findings I have made. I took the help of alternative doctors, put lots of things together in my head, followed my intuition, made guesses, got somethings wrong and some right as well and that’s how I helped myself. And would you believe it – mind work. A lot of it. To the point that it almost seems as if this wasn’t accidental at all. As if this CFS (+other problems) was one very profound way for me to find myself. I have never felt happier than I am currently, never so calm, so satisfied, so centered, so hopeful and purposeful. Life seems exciting.
At the same time, don’t mistake me saying mindwork to mean that while my body suffers pain, my mind is at peace. My body is getting pain and fatigue-free while my mind is calmer nowadays. Even if my mind temporarily becomes chaotic, my bodily pains or fatigue don’t come back easily. I can progressively do things that I once wasn’t able to. I mean healing in all ways 🙂
I wish you all the very best and hope that you’ll come out of CFS soon. I’ll be here to give you a helping hand if I can. Love and blessings!
Great read! Comprehensive, to the point…I definitely identify with this stage 🙂 Glad to be here!!
Thanks Anna 🙂
Hi Barry. Like your blog. Thanks. I’ve been soul searching within the last 20 years of my life. Im 54 now; came to a hungry desire from within at age 32 more or less. Don’t know my level, really not important to know, as long as I know I’m going. Love spiritual souls and gentle souls, with intelligence to see the beauty in the rainbow and all trying together to make a more beautiful rainbow each day, brighter. My question to you is this; where does the force behind the compelling of soul enlightment comes from?, is it our human conciousness, our divine counciousness, or destiny? The reason for this question is because if we all know deep inside this reencarnation process, how come we all not select to avoid all the delusions in a stronger way, so we don’t deter too much from our path of purity?, does it has to do with intelligence or emotional intelligence should I say.
Hi Maritza
The question is often asked: Why would a perfect being enter a realm of illusion and suffering? Or in a more personal way, why on earth would I have chosen this horrid path of evolution?
The best answer I know is as follows:
As sparks of the divine, we are pure and perfect from the moment of our creation. The thing is, we don’t know what that means. We come into being with fresh consciousness – knowing nothing.
It is our greatest thrill and desire to know who and what we truly are, what existence is all about, what we are capable of. As beings of light, we intuitively ‘know’ that we are perfect and eternal and so on. But we don’t consciously understand what any of that means because we have nothing to compare it to. (A bit like someone born into great wealth who has no appreciation of what life is like for the rest.)
So we venture out from the constant, unchanging perfection that is our Home to find out what life is like from every possible perspective. For example, we experience the death of a loved one and know what it is like to undergo terrible loss and grief. But then the process of reincarnation also gives us the experience of repeatedly dying and then discovering that we still exist. So we come to understand that grief and loss are valid from one perspective, but from a wider perspective there is no such thing as death. As we grow into old souls, we will understand this duality of perspectives – the basis of wisdom.
As a more ‘positive’ example –
In human life, we exist very much as separate beings who feel great loneliness. By choosing to relate to others, we can experience contact and intimacy and love. Of course, as spiritual beings (between lives) we are immersed in love the whole time. But we don’t really get what love is until we come into the realm of separation and fear and then *choose* love.
So we deliberately set up lives which confront us with the opposites of whatever we are wanting to understand through experience. If we want to understand power and specifically the abuse of power, for example, we might set up a series of lives in which we alternate between being powerful and being powerless. In one life you could be ruthless gang leader and in the next life the victim of an abusive husband. Such lives look and feel terrible from our earth-bound perspective – and that is totally valid. But usually they are also part of a bigger plan. As we evolve, the ‘contrasts’ become more subtle, less brutal. As a mature soul, for example, I hate violence — but that’s precisely because I went through the exploration of violence many centuries ago. (I have recalled the moment I renounced it!)
If you want to explore this further, I would strongly recommend Robert Schwartz’s book, Your Soul’s Plan – see
https://personalityspirituality.net/2010/02/19/your-souls-plan-book-review/
barry
I personally find the stages of reincarnation to be fairly plausible. I’m sure if anyone thinks about their daily lives and the people in them, they could very easily see people at each of these stages. Sure, people make choices in their lives on a daily basis that potentially could have a significant impact on their lives and change the person that they are; but, that is the point of life; or lives, depending on your view. It is time to experience things and learn from them to advance to the next stage.
I personally feel I am a mature soul. I am 25 years old and have always been very mature for my age; I feel and always have felt, that I really can’t relate or identify with other people my age. I have assumed myself to be an old soul until I had read this information. And I am not some overzealous mystic (no offense to anyone), but my personality is literally spot on the Mature soul in every aspect listed. I am very preoccupied with everyone elses’ feelings. I feel very intune to their emotions and try my best to ease them; yet I have a difficult time reconciling my own emotions, and tend to repress them.
Life is very stressful and overwhelming and emotional. I have social anxiety and find stage 2’s and 3’s (and boy, do I know plenty of both!) and I don’t really particularly care for any of them because they are obliviously ignorant to the bigger picture and unyielding in their convictions, radical as they may be. Unreasonable, selfish, rude, mean, immature–ugh,I could go on–are among some of their other qualities that aren’t very becoming. Yet despite all that; I can’t help myself but remain polite and accepting (cuz I will keep my negative opinions to myself so I don’t hurt their feelings.)
The only time I ever stray from the sensitive, passive, type is when all my emotions come to a head and I explode. How right you are when you say Mature souls can’t hide their dissatisfaction on their face! I have a real hard time hiding my ire.
I love reading different theories and philosophies about life and there after. I feel I am thirsting for knowledge right now. I have a new found interest in spirituality and what it all means. I am definitely embracing more of a cosmic universe approach to spirituality, as opposed to a religious sector. I believe in reincarnation; enlightenment; energy and karma; astrology and celestial influences on individual lives.
I find it all fascinating and regardless of its validity; it evokes personal reflection and self awareness and in turn self empowerment.
I realize this post is rather loquacious in nature; but I appreciate the opportunity to ramble and get these words out…although I am curious; how does a soul come to being as anything? Energy; light; a “blob”? How does it come to be, before it decides it wants to personify itself journey towards enlightenment?
Great to hear from you Nikki. My early childhood experience had a similar quality – sensing that others around me were just not on the same wavelength, yet feeling compelled to accommodate their harshness because of my own sensitivity. At the time it seemed really unfair!
– barry
Barry, have you come across anything in the Michael Teachings about what happens if a planet becomes uninhabitable while souls are still incarnating on it? Are there any protection mechanisms in place (from the astral or causal planes), or is it all still about “free will”? ‘Cause it doesn’t seem very “free” that the a certain group of souls (mostly Young and Baby Souls, from the sounds of it) are allowed to decide the fate of our physical home with their rampant consumerism and unconcern for the environment. They can do a lot more damage today than they could in centuries past.
So what happens if this planet becomes uninhabitable? Are there other places where we can finish off the cycle? Or do we have to start a cycle all over again because of the choices of others? How is that fair?
Hi Sarah
Yes, I have seen numerous references to planets becoming uninhabitable due to rampant pollution or destructive warfare during the Young soul phase. But there are plenty more to choose from, should the worst come to the worst. Not that we would want to go there, of course. Personally, I would be terrified of such an outcome and the very thought of it is appalling.
But the loss of an entire planet isn’t the end of the world (ho ho). A valid concern, certainly. But the fact that a wave of souls of a certain age can, by their own free will, cause the loss of a planet is perfectly consistent with freedom of choice. We as mature and old souls — who would never be so blind as to mske that choice — have to look to our own choices : how do we respond to the risk of environmental annihilation? Judging that it is all “their” fault and not “ours” is one response. Trying to inspire a global shift in consciousness is another. Both are perfectly valid choices and neither is right or wrong. There are many other possible choices.
Planetary existence is an intensive workshop in free will. If protecting the environment is a hot issue for some of us, then I would suggest that it is no accident that we are here at this time.
Thanks for your response, Barry. That makes sense. I think I’m still in the judging stage with this… though maybe that’s because it seems that there’s still so much hardheadedness with regards to environmental concerns among certain groups.
This is the kind of issue that makes me wish that more people accepted reincarnation. It might help counter some of the short-sightedness that gets us into trouble. (Or maybe not. You never know, given “human nature”!)
I’ve just found your site, and as a mature person ( I’ve noticed you ‘re all thinking you’re older souls), this all seems to point back to a book by a guy called Michael Newton written in 1994 called “Journey of Souls”. I would suggest all of you read this book and then consider your situation. Most humans on this planet are starting the long journey. By the way, old souls don’t reincarnate as pop stars or politicians, they are people like Buddha or Jesus or even mother Teresa or Gandhi. I think you all should watch your egos. sorry!
Hi emerald. If or when you read the rest of this website you will see that (a) I for one definitely know that i not an old soul, (b) I am very familiar with the Michael Newton books and i do advocate everyone to read them. I do not recommend that you criticise other people’s egos.
I meant them to be humble.
What a load of crap. We are all individuals and we can only be who we want to be. This idea is childish and forgets that people are made of infinite shades of infinite colors. There are common patterns that surface but one can never predict their own true nature or another person’s true nature. Any attempt at telling another person what their true nature may be is an attempt to entrap that person.
There was a time when I would have violently agreed with you, so I would like to take this opportunity to explain why I am now presenting all this information.
I once rejected all superficial classificatory systems and firmly believed that I was my own invention. I resented and rejected any outsider trying to tell me who I am. Then I did a degree in psychology and learned that (according to most psychologists) “who I am” was supposedly a fiction, a figment of my own imagination, determined by my social environment.
For a while I bought into that, but eventually it led to a sickening existential crisis. Thinking about it, I decided that this idea – the social construction of the self – was just another superficial idea, not necessarily the truth. But rejecting it left me even further adrift without any ideas at all. For a while I was a nihilist – nothing made sense, so the only truth is that there is no truth, no meaning, no purpose, no self, no world, nothing.
Then I came across a process called the enlightenment intensive, a way to discover your true nature in as little as three days through intense self-enquiry. I was sceptical, but I felt compelled to do it, and it actually worked. In a moment of indescribable joy I found ultimate, absolute truth within me. I cannot do it justice by describing it here, but in a nutshell I discovered that who and what I am is pure identity, and essential to the very fabric of reality. Paradoxically, at the ultimate level of reality, at which we are all one with the essence of all being, I am uniquely me. And I recognised that the same applied to everyone else. I came to accept the validity of all other beings as unique expressions of all-that-is.
At first, I found that rather overwhelming – what does it mean to recognise the ultimate validity of someone like Hitler? If we are all valid expressions of the same essence, why do so many people act otherwise?
So I had discovered some ultimate truth, but (not having any background in spirituality) I found applying it at the everyday level to be pretty confusing. It’s like I had found the big picture that the jigsaw of life reveals, but now I was struggling to find the right pieces of the jigsaw and make them fit. I began to read voraciously through all the spiritual teachings and philosophies. Having had my own experience of ultimate truth, it soon became clear that there are many teachers who do not know what they are talking about; they are just speculating. But there are others who do know, and my radar for truth drew me to them.
The first breakthrough for me lay in the concept that consciousness, on a grand scale, is constantly evolving. At an individual level, each of us is a unit of evolving consciousness, and collectively we are the universe evolving. So some individuals are inevitably more evolved than others, while the Hitlers among us are pretty “unevolved” compared to the rest — and that is not a judgement, but a compassionate observation. The more evolved we are as individuals, the more we act in harmony with one another.
So as an evolving consciousness, I am more evolved than some and less evolved than others, and no matter how much I evolve it will always be that way.
This is all very liberating as it allows me to accept where I am and accept all others in where they are. I do not punish myself for not being totally enlightened yet. And I do not criticise others who are clearly less evolved than me, since they are simply being where they are.
But how can some people be born more evolved than others? That didn’t make sense until I did a birth regression exercise in which I discovered, much to my surprise, that my main feeling as I was being born was “Oh no, here I go again.” I realised that I had been born not just this once but many times before. So that opened my eyes to the underlying reality of reincarnation – we evolve as units of consciousness, or souls, by undertaking one life after another.
The next thing that made sense to me was that life is all about choice. We evolve by making choices in life, and experiencing the consequences of those choices, and then choosing again. Thus we develop in awareness, love and freedom as conscious individuals.
The final piece of the jigsaw for me was the idea that, although we are ultimately infinte in essence, being at one with all-that-is, with infinite variety within us at our disposal, we cannot manifest all facets of being at once. Not in a physical body. So in each life we choose those facets which we will outwardly manifest – and it is this that makes up our human personality (plus all the socially constructed stuff which is added to that). This personal individuality is crucial to the evolution of consciousness. It would not serve evolution if we were all clones with the same personality. Rather, it is by manifesting as different individuals and interacting with each other with our different perceptions, expectations, reactions and so on that we evolve collectively. Now and again we might spend a quiet lifetime as a hermit, but really it is in the great mix of personalities rubbing up against each other that evolution is best served.
These concepts, added to my own direct experiences of essence, have enabled me to accept all individuals exactly as they are, knowing that their way of being is perfect just as it is, being but a tiny part of the great tapestry of evolution.
The concepts I present on this website are my attempt to convey all this is a way that those who are ready to receive them will be able to grasp and apply.
Very insightful text. Your site is really wonderfull and i can’t get enough of it. My twin brother is already hooked 🙂
Cheers,
Carlos Monteiro
great post.. i think i am a mature soul. once i had tried self hypnosis and i saw myself as w.b. yeats.(my subconsious might have choosen that,, and self hypnosis are not trustworthy are they. i cant afford for an actual plr..too costly.. but i can relate wid that.. am interested in arts and music not good a nothing.. what troubles me these days is i am too lonely.. cant talk to no one.. seareching for my identity or purpose whatsoever.. i sometimes gets depressd too.. i chose management to study which doesnt interest me becoz of my family.. i feel like o am torn apart.. i try meditation but easily get distracted.. what sould i do to gather myself?? and how can i know my tre purpose in life?? any techniques?? please help!! and does spirituality and enlightment play a role for faster development of soul..
Hi pranav
I can relate to much of what you say and ask. I had similar dilemmas in my youth. (I’m 50 now.) In my childhood, I found others extremely difficult to talk to. There were various reasons for this, but one was basically that I was a mature soul surrounded by young souls who saw my sensitivity as a weakness and didn’t comprehend my depth. It could be that you are having a similar experience on your course.
Searching for your identity and purpose is a classic mature soul concern and suggests you may also have goal of Growth (like me). With Growth there is a constant urge to find out about life, which often leads to spirituality and philosophy. I spent my twenties getting my outer life together (job, house, spouse), but as soon as I started feeling outwardly secure my inner lack of certainty about meaning, purpose and identity threw me into an existential crisis. I started going to various meditation groups, often feeling like a fish out of water, and always wary of buying into some dubious set of rules and beliefs.
The breakthrough for me came when I attended something called an Enlightenment Intensive. You can read about this and my experience here: https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/enlightenment-intensives/ The aim is to discover ultimate Truth within yourself in as little as three days through intensive self-discovery in a group context. The bottom line is, I grasped my true identity in one fell swoop – I directly experienced me being me.
Doing the process more times, I got deep direct experiences of life’s meaning and purpose. Having long regarded myself as anxious, dark and self-centered, it has been miraculous to directly experience the pure love and joy that really animates us all. So much of my earlier uncertainty has evaporated, I feel like a different person. I cannot recommend Enlightenment Intensives highly enough.
Yes, spirituality and enlightenment are great for personal development and maturity. Do they help the soul accelerate in its evolution? Yes, but in a way the question is meaningless. No soul is evolving too slowly – there is no timescale or deadline for evolution. Evolving faster is not better than evolving more slowly. It’s just an option – there are some lives in which a soul might choose to focus directly on its evolution (by taking on the goal of Growth), and in other lives there are other goals it can choose from, such as Dominance or Acceptance. But all goals and all lives lead to evolution in some way.
Certainly I would recommend meditation. Be aware that there are many forms of meditation, but essentially there are two approaches: will and surrender.
Some advocate harnessing the will to break through the mind’s habits by intentionally focusing on something (the breath, the heartbeat, a word, an image, a candle). Whenever you drift off, (about every 20 seconds in my case!), you just decide to pull yourself back to it.
Others advocate letting go – arguing that using the will can arouse the ego. The surrender approach is one of doing nothing but letting nature take its course.
In Zen, for example, there are two meditation approaches, soto and rinzai – I forget which is which, but one uses will and the other uses surrender. And traditionally they have been in conflict, each arguing against the other.
My take on this, based on my experience, is that (a) they are complementary and (b) it depends on the individual which is best. Wilful meditation is great when you are a beginner and need the experience of mediation. We in the west live in a very wilful society, so harnessing that towards meditation is a good way to get going. However, once you get into it, surrender is (for us) the more fruitful path as it is our personal will that needs to be dropped if we are to open up to the greater Reality.
When I meditate, I usually spend 5 or 10 minutes wilfully re-focusing on something like my breath, and then, once I’m in sync, I let go and let the Energy take me where it will. If you explore my Spiritual Journal entries here you will see numerous descriptions of this.
As for purpose in life, your deepest and truest interests are your compass. Your life will unfold in the direction of your purpose anyway, but your uncertainty and anxiety about it is – I would guess – precisely one of the things you are here to experience and overcome. Things tend to reach a climax around the age of 40 – we go through a transition at this point from being who we thought we were to being who we are here to be. It can be painful or it can be smooth – self-awareness certainly helps.
I hope you find something useful in what I have to say, but do feel free to ask more. This is MY purpose in life.
Barry
I wonder if celebrities like Obama and Clint Eastwood know what their soul levels are. It’s obvious Michael Jackson did, but does Obama know he’s Fredrick Douglas and Constantine reincarnated and does he even believe it?
I seriously doubt it… But who knows?
This is a really good site, thank you for that. I think I am a mature soul in a later stage. I am a 24 year old musician and I have critisized more until the age of about 18. Since then, I started to take “sillyness serious”. The artists I love the most are the ones who just come across as plain crazy and do whatever they want, but still do it good and are embraced by many people. I am pursuing some kind of a big career (and I am confident that I can do it) but I know that in the end it will give me nothing. I feel like I’ve done this before..maybe I was famous and respected in the past life, and in the end I realized that it gave me nothing. Now I know it, but I still kinda want it. Just for the hell of it 😀
Thanks Alex. Do you reckon you might be an Artisan type as well?
if musician means artisan, than i guess so
Hi barry,
I love this site and I am deeply interested in these issues.
But tell me something. I think I am a mature soul but I am so helpless in life that it hurts. I am almost 30 but I don’t have a profession and I don’t even know what I want to do. I have a severe social anxiety and it is hard for me to go outside or even more, talk to someone. I am not interested in history, politics, economics and it is hard for me to find a topic for a conversation. I don’t know how to act while among people generally.
And how can I be a mature soul and others, that are smart, have jobs and responsibilities, who express themselves and know how to live so much better than I do, be young souls? I am reflective and so not superficial, but as helpless as a child.
And another questions – in most cases people like me come from families where they were too stressed and criticized or humiliated. I feel that my inability to enter life comes from my family. So are we the way we are because we are mature souls or because we come from dysfunctional families that broke our wings…
Hi there, and thanks for getting in touch.
I completely understand. I know several people in your position without a career going – all mature souls, I’m sure. I also have had similar social anxiety throughout life. It is utterly unpleasant and terrible for one’s self-confidence and self-esteem. I’ve found ways to get over a lot of it though – and I think that’s the underlying “purpose” behind it.
To get to your last question first: “So are we the way we are because we are mature souls or because we come from dysfunctional families that broke our wings…” The answer is Yes to both. Bear in mind that our parents, family environment and early upbringing are things that we carefully choose before incarnating. We tend to give ourselves “harsh” experiences early in life as a stimulus or incentive to grow and change in specific ways. One might be born very poor, for example, as a stimulus to grow up seeking wealth. This could be both a good way to stretch oneself (finding inner reserves) and a good way to learn the lesson of taking responsibility for one’s own financial independence.
I chose a relatively impoverished (materially and intellectually) family environment with people whose outlook on life was incredibly narrow … as a result, I have deliberately grown into someone who is reasonably well off and with a wonderfully wide outlook. I had a dominant, sarcastic mother which instilled in me a sense of inadequacy – but I have got to the point at which I feel grateful for her pricking my self-esteem and inciting me to find my own true worth from within myself, rather than just have people outside me tell me I am worthy.
You see how it works? So your dysfunctional family environment would almost certainly be part of the Plan. Those souls agreed to criticise and humiliate you early in life – perhaps precisely to stimulate you to seek your true nature, which is an essential part of the Mature soul path. (Alternatively, it could be karmic – that you were critical to others in the past and are experiencing it from the other side in this life – but given the way you feel about it, I doubt that is the case.)
When I was about 30, I asked a channel (Emmannuel, not Michael) why I’ve always felt so utterly useless. The answer: As a child I was occasionally made to feel useless (less than adequate/capable/competent). As I grew older, I tried to take some degree of control over myself by saying to the world, or rather to my mother: “So you think I’m useless, eh? Well I’ll show you just how useless I can be!” In other words, part of my teen rebellion was to “own” my (supposed) uselessness and magnify it – unconsciously of course. So my perceived incompetence and inadequacy became ingrained in my psyche as “fundamental truths” – I agreed with it! – and once that takes hold, it affects your entire life and behaviour. You feel like there is no choice to be other than the useless, pathetic self that you are.
Until, that is, some other (pre-planned) stimulus comes along in later life that incites you to seek a deeper truth within yourself.
The contrast between Mature and Young soul focus in life has a LOT to do with why “they” (Young souls) just seem to get on with being productive and successful while “we” (Mature souls) can sometimes fritter our lives a way in deep thought. The Young soul stage brings out the extravert in us, as it is about outward advancement, pushing oneself into the world at large. The Mature soul stage is inherently more reflective and introspective, as it is about inward advancement, finding depth and meaning behind the outer façade of life (and self, and others). Because Mature souls don’t work hard at pushing themselves into the world from day 1 the way that Young souls do, they go through life with less experience of outward interaction, so there is less socialising and social learning. (I’m generalising – a Mature Sage with goal of Acceptance will still be largely “out there”). Young souls are by nature ambitious, so they also build up a lifetime’s experiences of being productive and audacious. Mature souls, on the other hand, think and feel deeply … “What does it all mean? How do I relate to existence? What is the point?” The questions have to begin in order for the answers to be found.
Now, I don’t know what soul (essence) type you are, but if you happen to be a Scholar soul, then being a Mature Scholar is like a double-dose of introspectiveness. (I speak from personal experience.)
Personality overleaves are also a factor, especially the Mode (way of moving onto life). If you have mode of Observation in this life, then at the personality level you would be the type that quietly stands back and watches how things unfold rather than gets stuck in. If you have mode of Reserve (aka Repression), then you would be the type that holds themselves in, preferring not to interact unless/until it feels energetically right, and then keeping it all under control. If either of these are the case, you would have had a tendency in childhood to feel like an outsider if you were surrounded by more proactive, extravert types (as is often the case).
I hope this makes some sense for you, but feel free to get back with more.
Wow. This totally spoke to me. Your site has been so helpful in figuring out what stage I’m in. I’ve always been sensitive, introspective & have experienced a lot of challenges. I’ve been friends with many “Old Souls” but have always felt that, while I could somewhat relate, I’m not quite that old. And now I know I was right. I am a Mature Soul for sure.
An excellent example of self-validation.
Thanks, Ursula
🙂 barry
Thank you for your response, barry!
You have a profound understanding of this matter and it is so inspiring that there are places like this site and people like you.
We are happy to be living in today’s world as knowing life from the reincarnation perspective is so important and awakening.
🙂
I’ve only just started to look into reincarnation, even though I’ve believed in it for a while. And now I am absolutely sure of it. You describe me so perfectly on this page and others.
Even as a kid I already had a great sense that all the materialism and separatism in this world is warped and wrong and felt like I had a memory of peaceful togetherness, which I long to recreate for myself and everyone on Earth, but of course it’s just not happening fast enough! I became an actor because I had the conscious desire to live life from various perspectives and one life time just wasn’t enough! It was downright unfair! So maybe acting would come close. It doesn’t. Because now I just want to learn to be myself, which stands in conflict with my serving nature as I am busy accommodating everyone else’s wishes and needs. There’s a martyr in here, too.
A couple of years ago I was looking for my personal “superobjective” (actor speech for goal) and it came to me in the shower that I simply want to be the best I can be. I’m also impatient about things and people in my way of achieving that so I could relate to most of your personal examples. 🙂
Most important though was the paragraph on empathy. I feel like I can identify with everyone around me, which definitely has confused my sense of self. In astrological terms I identified the source of this phenomenon to be Neptune conjunct my sun. But I’ve never read it described as something so perfectly normal! And the relationship style: I love you for who you are… I’ve never met someone who understands that concept! I feel like most people’s capacity to love and forgive is shockingly limited and the experience of that again triggers the longing for that peaceful togetherness!
I could go on and on…
Thank you for a wonderful website!
I’m delighted that you find so much to relate to.
Cheers!
B
I don’t want to label myself and suggest at which level I may be, I am trying to avoid being competitive about this whole thing. All I know is that I have been here many times before but still have a lot to learn.
I have now seen a number of my past lives through either regressions an experienced practitioner has led me through or while in some state of meditation and some I have been told about by healers or psychics. Anyway, in this current life the same issues are really replaying over and over again from the past lives and I just don’t know how to break these cycles. I think I am simply too close to the situations to see a solution with clarity.
Do you have any suggestions for breaking these cycles? I am very interested in this field and thank you in anticipation of your response.
Well, Nancy, your very first sentence makes it pretty likely that you are a Mature soul. At the risk of generalising, Young souls are attracted to the idea of being “older” in a competitive way, while Old souls are more blasé about the whole thing. Mature souls tend to be uncomfortable with anything that apparently smacks of inequality, hierarchy and differences in “status”, even if it is purportedly a higher truth.
It should be emphasised that differences in soul age do not at all imply differences in personal worth or achievement or what have you, any more than being in your 40s implies that you must somehow be “doing better” than people who are only in their teens.
It is also ironic that we so often assume it must be”better” to be an old soul than a young soul, while at the same time imagining that being physically old sucks, and wishing we could remain forever young. 🙂
Cycles: This is, as I understand it, a fundamental process in soul evolution. We try out all kinds of relationships in our many incarnations, and in the process we develop issues (or “self-karma”), such as being too nosy or lacking self-confidence, which we might repeatedly work on until we achieve a resolution.
One kind of cycle that goes on is when we experience a relationship dynamic (such victim and perpetrator), first from one side (e.g., the perpetrator) and then, perhaps in a later life, from the other side (the victim).
But the sort of cycle you are referring to is the type in which we get stuck in a pattern, and keep repeating it until we reach a breakthrough.
Between lives, it is fairly clear to us what the breakthrough is, what it requires of us. For example, one might be stuck in a repeating cycle of marrying abusive husbands. The tendency to do so is carried over from one life to the next. Why? Because there is something in one’s unconscious emotional structure that is either irrationally attracted to such a life or, perhaps, is in terror of ending such a relationship.
The pattern will repeat until, say, the incarnate soul consciousness finally discovers, accepts and utilises its power to say “No! I deserve better than this!”
So, if you are in a repeating cycle, the thing to ask yourself is what choice have I not been making? How do I need to step up in awareness and responsibility and compassion to move beyond this fruitless pattern? What am I doing, perhaps unconsciously, that keeps perpetuating it?
The tricky thing is, the cyclical pattern – however negative or destructive it is – will somehow feel more comfortable than taking the path that breaks out of it. This is likely because the alternative path — stepping up in responsibility and awareness and compassion, making a new choice — is uncertain and unfamiliar, and this evokes anxiety. The old way is the “safe”, familiar way. We invariably fear taking any big step forward in growth, partly because we don’t know where the path will lead, and partly because there is no turning back.
I’ll give an example from my own youth. I moved to a big city after being raised in a tiny village. Whenever I used to walk around town, I found that I seemed to get a lot of abuse from people on the street. People – mostly young men – would give me dirty looks, say things that were offensive, swear at me, front up to me, and so on. This actually didn’t surprise me; it just fitted my ingrained fears and expectations of city folk being overtly hostile. So I used to walk around constantly on guard, giving off a vibe that said “don’t start on me with your shit.”
But eventually I noticed that this abuse wasn’t happening to my friends. It was just me – I was attracting it.
After a bit of soul-searching I discovered that I had the whole thing back-to-front. It wasn’t that I had to be on guard against inevitable abuse on the streets. It was that my negative expectations caused me to give off a very hostile and challenging vibe, which some people picked up and reacted against.
So I stopped blaming “city folk” and accepted that it was me. I dropped my hostile persona and – lo and behold – I was never again subjected to abuse. The breakthrough was letting go of blame and figuring out my role in creating the situation, and then deciding to act more naturally and consciously. In taking that step, I had to let go of my “shield”, my hostile vibe, and that meant (to one part of my psyche) exposing myself to more abuse. But I knew by then that my defensive image and behaviour was what was actually creating the situation.
Barry,
Do people of different soul ages mix? Like are they friends and/or lovers? Just curious if it will work or eventually split due to differences. Are some soul ages more compatible with others? Just curious. That’s all. Thx.
Well, the closer two souls are in terms of soul age, the more they will feel like they are on the same wavelength. As a rule of thumb, those who are within one whole stage of one another (i.e. seven steps or levels) will be fairly compatible, but beyond that you are just clearly on different wavelengths.
For example, a 4th level Mature soul could just about get on with a 4th level Young soul and a 4th level Old soul, but a 1st level Young soul will seem quite irritating and a 7th level Old soul will seem awe-inspiring but unfathomable – there will be very little common ground for a relationship to be built upon.
That said, it is apparently quite common for Mature souls to become parents to Baby souls. There will be no common ground at all, but the challenge is for the sensitive Mature soul parents to reach out anyway to their rigid-minded Baby soul child with compassion. “I love you even though you cannot really understand what I mean by that.”
There will also be cases where “incompatible” souls team up as life partners to have certain experiences that aren’t really to do with being a married couple. For example, an Old soul wife might serve as a mentor to a Young soul husband.
It might also serve one soul to live with an incompatible soul for a while, the challenge being to eventually choose to leave them, to experience incompatibility as a means to recognise their own level.
i sense/feel i am a mature soul…details aside…but have fallen into addiction…drugs and alcohol for 12 yrs alcohol now only…why? how??? and cant seem to stop…..any response…maybe im a baby but i know im not…….will alcoholism take me to a terrible astral plane afterlife????
Hi Rudy
I would guess you are a mature soul using mind-altering/numbing substances to cope with the inner stresses of going through that stage. Are you also, by any chance, someone with higher than average intelligence? Some recent research has shown that those who are most likely to end up becoming alcohol dependent were particularly smart as kids. I suspect being smart and a mature soul brings questions about the meaning and purpose of life to the fore, and this existential angst can be pretty pervasive. Alcohol numbs the tension of life.
Ps – I think your astral plane entry will go much like any other: first you will experience whatever you expect to experience, however illusory and painful, then as you become willing to experience only unconditional love, which is always there, it will rush in to embrace you in abundance with open arms.
i have spent many years with masters and meditated since 69 and etc no brag but i feel very very awake ….and yet the alcohol demon has a grip on me!!!!!!!! Im at a loss… AA doesn’t help..i did treatment 2x’s…nothing…..its a BIG ONE……any thots????thanks rw
Have you tried a single large dose of LSD? Seriously, this is the best known cure for alcoholism yet discovered. The transpersonal experience apparently erases the existential issues. Do it in a supportive/therapeutic setting though, not on your own.
Dear Barry,
I have started to study the archetypes of the souls a few years ago and once had the privilege to meet Varda Hasselman who also channeled information about the archetypes.
I assumed to be a sage or priest so I was truly schocked when she mentioned that I was a King archetype…Over time, the universe did bring me enough situations to realize that it is true indeed that I have many of its aspect ( not wanting to ask for help,wanting to do things perfectly and be in control, tending to be pushed forward by others to speak up for them, wanting to take the lead in a situation and not be patient to allow others to bring their input etc) but at the same time, i am someone who doesn’t want to be seen (and this at many levels and for several reasons).
I was blessed to find your site today as I was in search for guidance and I have just re-read the description of the mature soul and that corresponds 90% to who I have even more become in the last 10 years, leaving everything behind ( financially, family etc) to move to Bali and start introspecting my life and what my purpose is. There have been many blessed ups and downs and I do feel that I am coming closer to the “end of the tunnel” yet still manifesting lack of financial abundance and mostly “fighting” inner struggles to accept my divine purpose as a healer (even speaking it up make me cringe bc it sounds arrogant and self detemining)..hence sabotaging by procrastinating ( the famous “not good enough” bit) while having my soul yearning to serve others for the Greater Good and actually attracting many of those who do seek my support. Yet I am still not stepping up because I still identify it as arrogant and lacking humbleness (is this King or not. This is where I am confused)
I am looking for ways to balance the two aspects of the King so that I come in what the Buddha called the “Middle Path” and hence not fall into tyranny or arrogance once the “emotional buttons” are pushed or challenges come into my life as a result of me attracting them. Is there anything in Michael’s teachings that could guide me on how to bring more equanimity and equilibrium so that I can act from a space of love most of the time rather than falling back in a space of fear when I feel attacked in my “soul nature” of King. I truly feel as if the universe is now asking me to take a big leap into the unknown, truly trusting that all will be well but I do not know how to make the step truly..for when I meditate and ask my guides to help me truly surrender, I keep creating “hooks” that keep me in a similar place ( even if some layers do fall off, I sense that I have been running into circles). Yet I realize that it is time to grow beyond this “comfort zone”… So any hint or guidance would be truly appreciated.
Thank you ever so much for your website and all the so supporting information contained. It is not always easy to find such reliable and sound information. Namaste!
Hi Mimi
Glad you like the site.
First of all, bear in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect channel and they all sometimes get the wrong information or at least mistranslate it. My feeling of you is definitely closer to Priest than King, but that’s just a feeling-impression based purely on how you write and express yourself. I could certainly be wrong! The important thing is to self-validate: your sense of truth is important.
Another impression I get is that your “chief feature” or main character flaw is probably Self-Deprecation: the drive to be invisible and self-critical out of a fear of exposing one’s fundamental inadequacy.
Just to clarify: whether you are a King or Priest or whatever, you can/will adopt different personality traits in each human life, just to experience different ways of being. You also cannot get through a life without developing some weakness of character which is essentially an ego defence. Arrogance is one, while Self-Deprecation is its opposite. People with Self-Deprecation assume that they are not good enough and dread being seen, found out and criticised, so they continually judge themselves and criticise themselves before anyone else can do so. You might want to see if you resonate with the description on this page: https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/the-michael-teachings/chief-features/self-deprecation/
I am not sure of your (physical) age, but it also sounds to me like you have been going through what the Michael teachings call the 4th “internal monad” or inner life transition. To quickly summarise:
– The 1st is birth, where we make the transition from being spirit to being physically embodied.
– The 2nd is in the toddler years, where we make the transition from being a helpless infant to being a walking, talking, little person.
– The 3rd is the transition from being a child (whose sense of self has been defined by external roles and circumstances) to being an adult (who defines and asserts their own identity).
– The 4th corresponds to what Jung called individuation: the transition from being a regular, self-determined adult to being a more authentic individual who is exploring their own potential and inner sense of purpose.
This is the point in life at which we level out at our true soul age and shake off any false aspects of our personality (baggage from the 2nd and 3rd periods). It’s also the point at which we seek to manifest our “true work”, which is the main task we came here to do in this life. And this is what makes the 4th the most difficult, especially for mature souls who are already steeped in conflicts between inner and outer demands. For the conscious personality it is a leap into the unknown. I hated it at the time – the constant nagging sense that I was “supposed” to be seeking and doing something true to myself, instead of “wasting” my time just doing what I had always been doing.
You describe running in circles, and that is precisely what this phase is about – you keep circling around issues to get to the bottom of them, continually revisiting and revising, until you reach a point at which your new outlook just feels right. One of those issues will be the character flaw that is holding you back – you might want to ask yourself what the deepest underlying fear is, and then explore how you can be true to yourself without that fear getting in the way. If your weakness is Self-Deprecation, for example, it may be that you fear that stepping up into your true role in life will attract negative attention from others – that you will be criticised harshly, or judged as being “too big for your boots” or whatever.
It took a bout of serious illness to get me to really focus on exploring my sense of purpose and how it interacts with my chief feature. In my case, that is Impatience, which has an underlying dear of running out of time, dying before everything is done. So I literally asked myself, “If I were to die a year from now, so I only had one year to do whatever I was here to do, then what would that be?” That’s how this website started.
But what I also picked up is that nothing else *needed* to change – I didn’t have to step wholesale out of my comfort zone – I wasn’t “required” to give up my day job or leave my family or live like a hermit. The work and life of previous decades was a foundation to build upon, not a wall to be knocked down. It’s your choice as to what you decide to change and what you decide to keep making use of.
Once you know and feel that you are following your true path, it’s as if the universe starts flowing along with you. It might take another decade or two or three, but the life task is never a quick job. It’s a project that ultimately leads to fulfilment of self and service to others.
So the bottom line, I would say, is to meditate on and contemplate your innermost sense of true purpose. Trust that there is a good reason as to why you are here, and that it will be whatever makes best use of your talents as a service to others. Also trust that it will unfold anyway whether you get it or not – it’s just easier and smoother if you can consciously align with it
Dear Barry, thank you so much for the so timely response and sharing how you have been “through those times”. I am 43 years of age and I would acknowledge that since I started on my “search” 10 years ago, I have indeed shed many layers of the previous ingrained beliefs, behaviors etc to allow more and more my intuition to manifest and guide me, among others.
Thank you also about the hint about the archetype: I will read again the priest one and tune in whether it feels more in alignment with my personality. In any case, you are totally right about the chief feature being self-deprecation. I would also add that my soul has definitely chosen in this life-time to experience this ( your comments in one of the previous exhcange above totally resonnated with me. Yes we do attract dysfunctionnal families to work through the gunk and come to ou true nature. So for me it manifested as being controlled/belittled/always told that nothing I did or achieved was good enough and being abandonned/rejected. I have forgiven those aspects of my life to the very best of my ability so far and continue to look into it until they will be fully disolved and transmutted into light and love. So the “rejection” bit is absolutely in the field regarding the fulfillment of my true purpose. I have a very strong sense of empathy and compassion towards others but am not yet allowing myself the same levels of such empathy and compassion ( however working on it through wonderful tibetan meditation practice). So that indeed also falls into the self-deprecation part.
Thank you evey so much for your wise insights. I will keep you posted :o)
Hi Barry,
I’m having trouble figuring out what stage I’m in? In my early 20’s I was able to fulfill my dreams by accidentally finding my life’s calling and now in my late 30’s I feel as though I’ve been here before. I was very ambitious in my 20’s and now in my 30’s I question everyday the meaning in every relationship and what I can do to make life more meaningful. I’m constantly looking within myself which becomes very stressful for me on a personal level. As a child I lived most of my life through observing others as I was extremely shy due to a traumatic childhood. This has helped me to relate and be empathetic towards others as everyone has something different and unique to offer based on their own life’s experiences. As an adult I’ve been an extroverted, happy go lucky, easygoing person, but often times become depressed for absolutely no reason other than I feel I need to find more ways to grow and learn about myself and others so that I can continue on to the next phase in my life’s purpose. I’m a very spiritual, passionate king cast artisan with a goal of dominance with chief features of impatience and martyrdom.
Thanks for any input you can give me,
Roger
Hi Roger
Yes, what you are describing is, I believe, consistent with a Mature soul. Hmmm… I get the impression you have had a channelled reading but are feeling that the soul age that was given doesn’t fit?
I am loving this blog.Thank you so much for your perspective. Question: i have a friend who is at a critical juncture. I was told that her deciding to stay or go is a spiritual choice. What does that really mean? That she can choose to endure the pain? To what gain?I want to send her the loudest thoughts of ” come on and rally one more time”. I dont know what to do. How can i best honor her? Namaste.
Hi Randy
Just to clarify, do you mean that your friend is contemplating suicide?
B
NO!! She is choosing to stay and fight the cancer that is eroding her body. She is in a lot of pain. So I was told that it is her choice to stay or go. That it is a spiritual choice. She still has work to do here.
Well there you go – context is everything. I assumed you were referring to a friend who was thinking about leaving her husband, but my wife said no, it’s obviously a potential suicide.
So if i’ve understood this time, your friend is in a lot of pain with terminal cancer and she’s choosing to hang around despite the pain rather than let go? And you’ve been told (by whom?) that it’s her choice and its a “spiritual” choice… I guess my question now is, is this a choice you know she had made consciously – has she discussed it with you? – or is it more implied?
I’m really happy to have found this, thank you so much for posting! I have been searching for answers for awhile now. I was told by a psychic that I was an old soul about a year ago. I also study numerology and believe it is a part of life’s puzzle. I have wondered what it meant to have all 9’s in my numbers which is how I stumbled upon this blog. I read that all 9’s could mean that I’m in my final life as human. But after reading this, I feel more like I’m right in between a mature and old soul. I wonder if I’m now in my final mature soul life and moving to the 7th plain in my next life. It makes so much sense! Thanks again!
Thanks Annie
D’oh! I don’t mean 7th plain. 5th plain!
Plane!
Ha! That’s funny. 😉 You know what I mean. Just curious, do you have any belief in numerology?
It’s not something I’ve ever studied, actually.
I find it extremely fascinating and right on. I’ve been told that astrology and numerology are “blueprints” of our self which made sense. I recommend looking into it! 🙂
I have some of the characteristic of the mature soul and yes it is indeed quite stressful being with others, I don’t get why material objects (like money) is so important to them that they almost worship it…..
I found this thread very informative and interesting as well…
May peace and harmony reign in your life. 🙂
Thanks Mae
Ladies and gentlemen, the author may be on to something, but the very fact that he lists Tony Blair and Obama as mature souls (priests, are you kidding me?), shows that he is actually clueless. These people do not have any empathy at all, as shown by their predator 1-click-on-a-button mass killings through drone strikes, socialistic authoritarian control, twist the law and constitution according to their desires, invade and conquer other countries/cultures under the banner of peace, democracy and freedom, etc. .
These people are liars, jokers, fakers, killers, self-lovers and dictators. So good are they at joking and faking, that people actually list them as empathetic mature souls and give them noble peace prizes. I’ll give you a characteristic of narcissists and psychopaths: They expoit your emotions. So good are they at it that they make even spiritual people such as the author believe that they are the good guys. They are not! They are predators! Predators of your emotions! And they cannot be changed, atleast not in one lifetime! These are the people that the man Jesus Christ referred to as hypocrites, the wicked, and of the devil. (Quote: “You belong to your father, the devil (the gnostic archons), and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer (mindset which lacks conscience) from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him (without conscience, truth does not exist). When he lies, he speaks his native language (wear a mask 24/7, and you become the mask. And if you’re not showing who you really are, then you are lying, so lying becomes your new reality.), for he is a liar and the father of lies (adept in the art of deception).”)
They wear a mask 24/7. This mask is a sheep’s mask (we are the sheep), but inside they are wolfs. But the sheep do not notice the wolfs until they rise and become bizons. For the first time ever you will be able to see the wolfs clearly, and how they clearly differ from the rest of us. (The wolf is experienced enough with sheep, but has no idea how to handle an exotic bizon.)
That aside, I also do not agree with your young soul age description. Well ,actually, your description is pretty good, but it’s not a description of an age. You basically equate young souls with materialistic self-obsessed career-oriented wackos, and make it sound as if this step is essential and cannot be skipped. (Fact: the universe does not work in a fixed lineair manner, it is multi-dimensional. Therefore the soul ages do not work in a fixed lineair manner.) What you are actually doing is describing the beginning of the service-to-self or left-hand path. Almost every serious esoteric literature (Law of One by Ra for example) describes two soul paths, the service-to-self and service-to-others, but you somehow do not. I guess you still fear the truth.
You blame young souls for being all black-and-white in their perception. But you are doing the same, for believing that all young souls are black-and-white. Black-and-white thinking is nothing more than negative soul orientation. So no, young souls are not more negative than old souls. That is just your desperation speaking, desperation for wanting to fit everything into the soul age model, including positive and negative orientation. So you ended up equating negativity with younger souls and positivity with older souls. I’ll give you the real reason why younger souls in general are so negative: Because our planet is and has always been under the control of service-to-self wolfs (these wolfs are not young souls, but old, since they are so adept at masking their negative orientation). So the sheep (us) are exploited, and exploited sheep become bitter, selfish, negative and materialistic themselves (Psychology says that the victim often ends up emotionally bonding with their oppressor, and so adopting the behavior). But as prophesized everywhere, their reign is now ending, beginning with their exposure (revelations).
So you’re saying that on the one hand there are negative, cunning, deceptive, self-serving people such as Blair and Obama who rule the world and are like wolves or “bizons” (bisons?) in sheeps’ clothing, and on the other hand there are positive, altruistic people who, because they are so nice and gentle, are like sheep, easily ground down and exploited by the other lot?
And you’re also saying that I blame young souls for black-and-white thinking..?
Actually, I say that black-and-white thinking is characteristic of baby souls, not young souls; the latter’s thinking is more characterised by asserting their own perceptions as true perceptions.
But I do not “blame” anyone for how they think. If that’s how it has come across to you, it was certainly not my intent.
Anyway, niels, thanks for your perspective.
Barry,
Very interesting site you have here! Thank you for sharing this information. I’m a twenty year old college student and though I’ve been yearning for higher meaning throughout my life, it hasn’t been until recently (within the past two years) I’ve actually began exploring different philosophies. I could go on forever about how it’s all come about and I’m sure you could too! Really though, what I need to ask you is; how do we save ourselves from all of these conflicting emotions ? I almost feel like I am too conscious of the reality that I’m totally clueless.. Clueless as to what this life is, what it’s all for. I am too conscious of the probability that my capacity to understand this all is within human limitations.. and even those limitations are inconceivable figures. What I find most difficult in my current stage/experience, is living my own life of meaning (not that I even know what it is yet) without hurting all those I love most dearly. My family, friends, etc. find my mentality to be quite difficult to understand. They perceive me as a somewhat “troubled” individual, understandably so I suppose. But it just seems like they are very consumed with traditional expectations we tend to hold within our society, you know? I feel like I am going backwards by conforming to it.. but it is heart wrenching knowing I am causing grief to those I care about. Do you have any insight you could share with me? If so, would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Annie
Good to hear from you. You haven’t said specifically what grief you are causing others around you but at a guess you are questioning/rejecting traditional beliefs, values and assumptions which to them are sacrosanct. And you are conflicted because of your desire not to see them in pain or distress, especially if it’s over something you are saying or doing.
It sounds like you are probably a mature soul in a young or even baby soul environment.
Asking deep questions is typical of mature souls, especially for those who come into life with the goal of Growth (https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/the-michael-teachings/goal/growth/). That means, living a life that emphasises insight, learning and wisdom — the sort of understanding that comes from intense or contrasting experiences on the one hand, and from studying philosophy/spirituality on the other.
Often, especially for mature souls, this also involves studying the self (either directly through introspection, self-enquiry, psychotherapy, or indirectly through art). And when we have a goal of Growth (as I do, by the way), we often have conflicting and incomprehensible childhood experiences as a stimulus to get us seeking Growth.
By the time you’re 40, you will probably look back and think, yeah that childhood situation makes perfect sense actually – it got me to where I am now.
You ask “how do we save ourselves from all of these conflicting emotions”? I would say that conflicting emotions are the “symptoms” of having conflicting goals, needs and inner commitments. For example, I want to spend more time with my family but at the same time I want to enjoy more of my own space. So on the one hand I feel selfish and even ashamed that I want more personal space, but also anxious that I might never get it, or that if i do get it I will feel guilty, or I just worry that my family won’t understand, and then I feel frustrated with myself for not tackling the issue but just putting it off… Yada yada… This sort of emotional/relationship quandary is “situation normal” for mature souls.
So for you it might help to reframe the issue as: what can I learn about myself through all of these conflicting emotions?” What does each emotion reveal about my deeper goals, desires and fears? Treat it as an opportunity for deeper self-awareness.
Yes, your capacity to understand is constrained by human limitations, but put it this way – the wisest and most enlightened beings we know of have all been human beings. And as 20 year olds they probably worried that they would never understand enough. But you can’t possibly learn and understand everything there is to know about everything. That’s not your job. Your task, if you like, is to continually satisfy your curiosity by seeking and finding new knowledge, and by looking within yourself.
Every now and then deep, meaningful questions will come to you and you will likely feel troubled until you find some kind of satisfying answer. Then you go a few months or years and then more, deeper questions occur to you. That’s all part of the plan – seeking higher knowledge, truth and wisdom is a key way in which we unfold and evolve in life.
As a quick word of advice – you can find zillions of answers in books and under various teachers, many of them perfectly good, but use your own experience and your own sense of truth as your yardstick. It does not serve you to buy into belief systems that don’t feel harmonious inside you.
Another thing to think about: I guess you are probably at the point in life where you are undergoing a particular life crisis/transition known in the Michael teachings as the 3rd internal monad. There are seven major turning points in life, each of which can be a difficult crisis to undergo:
1. Birth (transition from spirit self to physical self)
2. Toddlerhood (from physical self to family self)
3. Leaving the nest (from family self to adult social self)
4. Midlife / Individuation (from social self to authentic self and working on the true life task)
5. Retirement (from life task to leisure)
6. Dying (awareness of impending death)
7. Death (from human to spirit)
The “typical” life change at the third transition is to leave home – leave the family nest – and develop your own independent adult life. This releases a huge surge of energy, a free-spiritedness. I don’t know if this is do-able in your specific life situation, – if so, great! – but if not then it is possible to leave the nest psychologically rather than physically: just honor your own thoughts and feelings, including your desire not to harm those around you, but also especially including your desire to figure life out your own way.
I don’t actually know if I’ve said anything helpful here, but feel free to get back. 🙂
Barry
Wow thank you so much for your generous reply!! That information is certainly very helpful, and you picked up on a lot of things I had not even realized myself. From further exploring what you mentioned here, I would guess that I’m also an Artisan, definitely with a goal of growth! Much of my dilemma is applying myself to mainstream society with all of my ups and downs. I’ve never been a school-type person, instead I’ve always preferred artistic endeavors and more creative means of challenge. I realize now this is typical of people with a goal of growth, but my most frustrating habit, if you will; is bouncing from one extreme to the other. In high school, I was always causing anxiety for my mom. I’d much rather choose to be a straight failure, rebellious teen than simply an ordinary, mediocre student- even though I was more than capable of doing so. I still don’t really know why exactly. At this point, though I’ve grown immensely since graduating high school three years ago; my life still remains to unfold in phases of one extreme to another. I did leave home (boston) to come to Florida for college, studying graphic design. Last spring, however, I began to really explore different philosophies and reading many books. I became extremely involved in the study of Kabbalah, and I ended up withdrawing from college in order to be at the Kabbalah Centre every single day. That summer my family thought it was best for me to come home and I ended up staying home until this past January, when I was fortunate to have the opportunity to return back to school. Now that I am back, I am doing better than I ever have in regards to school, work, and maintaining a consistent routine. I hardly ever see friends though, because I fear that if I partake in a social life, I’ll lose focus on everything else, as has always been the case with me. I go from periods of solitude to periods of extreme social engagement, without being able to find a balance in the middle. Right now I’d say I’m just a little worried. I don’t want to disappoint myself or my family again by ruining the things I have so recently managed to get back. Of course there are so many factors to my situation, and by no means are you expected to be a psychologist here!! But if I am right about this being common of people with this goal, I’m sure you have once found yourself in similar conflict. Thank you again, Barry!
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to see if anybody knew of mature cities or towns in North America (Canada, U.S., Mexico) I’ve read that Sedona, Arizona is mature and this page mentions San Francisco. Does anybody know of any other places. I suspect locales like Santa Fe and maybe Austin are too but I’m not entirely sure. Thanks! 😀
Hey Barry,
I stumbled upon your website last night and not only found it very applicable but also quite helpful. Many of what was mentioned has directly related to what I have been experiencing. It shed a lot of light on things but then I awoke this morning to even more emotional turmoil.
Lately I have felt hypersensitive to others and myself which can make getting through the day quite difficult. I manage an wonderful organization in a village in Africa that is creating great change within the community. But i have been experiencing intense emotional ups and downs. I trust that I am where I’m meant to be…I go through periods of light and clarity to be followed by darkness an intense “ego excavation.” During these period I have felt like just withdrawing inside, alone so I can enjoy what is felt like much needed space to myself. I feel like I have nothing to give to others, I feel depleted and just want to be alone to nurture myself and not affect others with my energy.
To accept that I am a mature soul is somewhat comforting but at the same time what I am experiencing makes it seem nearly impossible to manage, mentor and lead others; others that are from a completely different culture. I feel alone as if in between dimensions. At least today, I have feel no connection to my outer world and just want to retreat within. I get to go home for 5 weeks in May but I have signed up for another 6 months in Africa. Sometimes I worry I won’t be able to give myself to that time, or that I’m not good enough for this job, despite being told that I’m doing well. Have I made a mistake?
Almost all of these emotions I keep to myself since I really don’t think anyone here will be able to comprehend what I am going through. At the same time I don’t want to negatively affect anyone with my emotions so I try to keep a good face.
I guess I’m just looking for some insight. I know this too shall pass but it can be excruciating to be in the present. I’m at a loss for what my purpose is and what I can do to keep moving forward, to release what no longer serves me and live within the light.
Thanks in advance. Keep up the great sight!
Hi Steph
Thanks for getting in touch. I’m glad you’ve found it helpful reading these pages. I’m also very admiring of your work, but I do appreciate your inner conflicts about it.
(That’s a lovely photo of you on the website by the way … and of course I like the organisation’s name!)
“Hypersensitive to others and myself” sounds like a typical mature soul issue. A key question springs to my mind – what is your physical age? (You don’t have to admit to it publicly!) The reason I ask is because it sounds like you are probably going through what is known in the Michael teachings jargon as “the 4th internal monad” – that is, the 4th major life transition.
There are said to be seven major transitions in life, each one like a mini death-and-rebirth crisis, where the challenge for the soul (consciousness) is to commit more of itself to show up through the human personality.
1) The first transition is physical birth, where the soul commits itself to inhabiting a body.
2) The second is ‘psychological birth’ or ego development, at some point in the toddler years. The soul commits itself to adopting a social identity, defined at first through its family role and other relationships. This is where baby souls feel most at home.
3) The third is another psychological birth known as coming of age, around 15-20-ish. The soul commits itself to breaking out of the family home safety net and becomes an independent actor in the adult world. As part of this, the ego starts to define itself on its own terms, rather than just through predefined roles. Young souls peak after this point.
4) The fourth is another psychological birth which is sometimes experienced as a mid-life crisis, starting around 35-40-ish. This is the hardest of all transitions, and it can take years to get through it. The soul now feels that the time has come to commit itself to manifest its true essence (soul type and soul age), and work on its planned life task, that which it came here to do, the “true work” of this life. However, this might mean dis-identifying from anything false or irrelevant in what has gone before: any false aspects of the ego, any wrong turns in career. It can mean undoing decades of “hard work” on being a certain way in the world. It could mean, for example, dropping a “nice” mask and unleashing the power within (or conversely, dropping a “powerful” mask and unleashing the inner niceness!). It depends upon how far “off” the growing personality has become from the true character of the soul.
Mature souls find this fourth turning point particularly excruciating because they really feel the importance of the challenge of being true to themselves, even though they have become steeped in the complex ways of the world, but at the same time they are very sensitive to their commitments to others and don’t want to let anyone down.
So this transitional process is largely one of internal questioning, introspection, self-doubt, seeking for some personal sense of meaning and purpose. “Ego excavation” is a very nice way of putting it! “What am I doing with my life? What should I do with my life?” That’s not to say that all the work we’ve done before the transition is all wrong and pointless. Rather, the first half of life (from 0-40, say) tends to be a “training program” for the life task that is to be taken on in the second half.
But what is that life task?
It is different for everyone, and you can only find it in your heart through introspection… Or stumble upon it by chance (or rather, by some “chance” event that was planned and set up before birth). Or you can ask a Michael channel!
I did all three. The chance event for me was a serious illness that left me out of work for a year. During this time I undertook a period of very focused reflection on “What do I really want to DO with my life? What am I here FOR?” What I came to eventually was “To find something that I feel is truly worth saying, and then say it to the world clearly and beautifully.” This was a bit of a challenge as I’m generally quite an introvert and very reticent to express myself. When I asked for my life task through a Michael channel, I was told “To gather knowledge for the sake of joy and then share it in a spirit of fun.” Incidentally, I was also told that I have a pre-life agreement (contract) with the Michael entity to share their teachings in my own style. So it all fits rather neatly! And while my 4th transition period (c. 2000-2008) was grim and stressful and utterly confusing at times, I do feel now that I am bang on track – I can actually feel my true purpose being fulfilled, and that’s extremely satisfying. So all that doubt and introspection does pay off in the end!
One small point: working on your life task/purpose does not necessarily mean changing career. It CAN mean that, or it might simply mean doing the same thing in a different way. Just keep an open mind.
I don’t know what your life task is, or what purpose is prompting you to question everything, but the need to withdraw and wade through emotions does sound very typical of this transition. Take heart: see it as a tunnel you’re going through – a birth canal, perhaps – and of course there is light at the end. The more you can excavate and get a grasp of your innermost sense of meaning and purpose in this life, the more you can enjoy consciously being here and doing that which you are designed to do best.
“…to release what no longer serves me and live within the light.” Perfectly put!
Cheers, and good luck. Feel free to let me know how you get on.
Barry
Thanks for such an insightful reply. I turned 27 in November, a big year as 27 has always been a very significant number for me. Your reply provided a lot of clarity for me…much appreciated. I’m going to let it all settle, but I’ll keep reminding myself that there is a light at the end of this tunnel…I have no doubt that it will be worth it. In the mean time, I’m just going to try and enjoy the ride. As much as things feel very uncertain right now, there are fast growing and on-going passions, like writing and traveling, that I want to see become more a center in my life.
Plus, if I get this 4th stage ‘out of the way’ earlier in life, it sounds like I’ll have more of this lifetime to really focus on my true purpose. In that way, it’s all very exciting.
Thanks again!
Ah, 27… In that case I would refer you to Victoria Marina’s writing on the astrological aspects of the life transitions – read about the first Saturn return on her blog here:
http://flightofthehawk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/astrology-and-third-transition-book.html
Cheers
Hi Barry,
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I find it all extremely helpful! I believe I am in the 4th transition as well and have struggled through it but realize it won’t last forever. I’m curious what the 5th, 6th and 7th transitions will bring?
Thanks,
Ann
Ha, I just knew someone was going to ask that! So here we go…
Internal Monads (Life Transitions) 5, 6 and 7
(Note: the first three were “births” of different types; the last three are “deaths”; the fourth, in mid-life, was a bit of both. )
5) The fifth transition is essentially one of retirement – not necessarily retiring from your job, but the psychological process of retiring from actively working on your life task (or, if you didn’t get down to it, then whatever you have been preoccupied with instead). It’s time to step back and review what you have accomplished in your life relative to what you had hoped to accomplish. You might decide that a few loose ends need tying up first, but at some point there is a sense of “There. I’ve done all I can do. No more.” That commitment has ended. So then you might decide how best to live out the rest of your days.
6) The sixth transition is the conscious recognition that your body has gone into terminal decline, and that death is now coming. This could be horrible and scary, or it could be pleasant and welcome, depending upon the circumstances and your attitude (including how you feel about your life as a result of the 5th monad). It could also be very quick, such as having a heart attack or being shot, or it could be slower, such as with terminal cancer. Either way, you are no longer the active player you once were. In fact (at least if it’s a slow process), you may become increasingly dependent, thus reverting to life before the third monad and possibly also the second.
7) The seventh transition is, of course, physical death itself, the point at which the soul exits the now defunct body. As soon as you recognise and accept that you have actually “died,” at that point you move from the physical to the astral. As yet, however, you might still be identified with your human personality. So first you will encounter whatever heaven, hell, or blank nothingness you envisage death to be. This is just a projection, a temporary “virtual environment” to fit your belief system. Then, with the help of spirit guides, you come to recognise that this is just a construct of what is left of your human mind. Now, as soon as you let go of that, you enter the realm of light, our true Home between lives.
To move “up” a step in soul evolution requires successful (i.e. mainly positive) completion of all seven monads. This might take several lives, particularly given the inherent difficulty of the 4th which is directly related to one’s soul level.
But not every life will be planned to include all seven. A relatively short life would probably skip the 4th and 5th – someone who dies in their twenties, for example, would do 1-2-3 then 6-7. A very short life – someone who dies within a few months of birth, say – would do even less than that, maybe just 1 then 7. Short lives are not usually designed for the growth of that soul, unless it is just revisiting a particular monad to finish it off positively. But often short lives are chosen to support the growth of others who will be affected by the early death (such as distraught parents).
Thank you Barry.
Hello Barry. I am a 14 year old girl and I think I am of mature soul but this is all so confusing. I experience times when I feel like a normal teenager, with a passion for music and dance but also times when I just feel tired of this world. Times when I ask myself questions about life. I ask questions like what am I living for? How do I know my world is not just an illusion? How do I know people around me are not just a figment of my imagination? What if I was an imagination of someone else? What if we were all really just pawns In another larger world which is part of an even larger one? How do we really know anything? This thing we call knowledge which we spend almost our whole lifetime on acquiring—is it even real? Or is it just something for us to hold on to, something to allow us to have a hold, be secure? I ask myself these questions and I don’t share them with anyone because this is just weird for me. Also, I experience times when I am rebellious or childish but also times when I feel content with the world and just appreciative of everything around me. I like being alone and love nature. I have been feeling this since a few years ago and it makes me feel isolated from other people in my life. I am very reflective and am an observer which adds on to how I feel isolated.
I also want to mention that I used to have mild depression/breakdowns a few years back due to some emotional conflicts with my family. I still have occasional breakdowns now when my values and perspective clash with my family. Sometimes I feel like I have a split personality because at home I am a volcano who erupts with the slightest trigger but at school I’m a happy-go-lucky person who everyone likes. I’m hypersensitive at home and over think a lot so at times I get upset over small things which I can over think so much it becomes something to do with morals and stuff. I am like a different person in school and I feel like I am cheating my classmates. Which is the real me?
I’m sorry for saying so much but there’s a last thing I would like to clarify. Regarding over leaves and soul type, I think I am an Artisan soul but I behave differently in different situations. I will note the situation and if I feel like the group needs a leader I will become the demanding one but if there are too many leaders in a group I will automatically become a follower. I feel like this has more to do with my education and how I have been taught to adapt to situations than actual personality type so could you please clarify? Thank you.
P.S. I am a person who does not want to regret anything so this took me a lot of courage to post and I am really thankful for this website 🙂
Hi Kathy,
I appreciate your courage in writing, and I’m sorry if my response has been a bit slow. I’ve had a lot going on at home and have fallen about a month behind with the questions and comments I get sent. (Which are many!)
Questioning the meaning, purpose and reality of it all is very typical of two things: (1) souls in the Mature stage and (2) personalities with the goal of Growth. Those with attitude of Skepticism will also ask a lot of questions, but not necessarily deep, existential ones like yours – they just question the reliability of evidence in general.
Given the intensity of it as you describe it, I would suspect both Growth goal and Mature soul stage in your case (both are true of me too, and I was very similar).
On the other hand, the feeling of having a split personality is fairly typical of teens and young adults, especially those who are quite sensitive to their surroundings. The teen years involve a lot of experimentation – we try out different ways of being in order to see how they feel and what feedback we get from others.
Also, as we grow from childhood towards adulthood, we tend to learn how to act differently for different ‘audiences’. At home, one might be ‘the good (or bad) little girl’, for example, while with one’s friends one might be ‘the wild one’. These are just different ways of acting – different personas. But if we lack a clear, deep sense of self, and we try to figure out who we, we might base our best guess on how we act. And then if we see ourselves acting so differently in different situations, it might seem that we have separate identities or ‘multiple personalities’. This isn’t really the case, though.
Some people have a strong, outstanding personality that is consistent in every situation. This can come from having a few strongly extrovert or ‘cardinal’ overleaves, especially mode of Aggression (hitting life hard) and goal of Dominance (seeking to take charge). The less intense ‘ordinal’ overleaves, such as mode of Caution (avoiding risk), are not designed to push oneself outwardly into the world – their effect is more internal than external. So naturally, people with more ordinal overleaves won’t stand out so much as those with mostly cardinal overleaves.
And then there are the neutral overleaves, such as mode of Observation. These give the personality a quiet but flexible and adaptable quality. For example, those with mode of Observation seem to completely disappear into the background, at least until they can see how to blend in with whatever’s going on. They spend a lot of time quietly watching and listening, and have a chameleon-like ability to sense and adapt to their surroundings.
So my impression so far would be Mature Artisan, goal of Growth, mode of Observation (and/or possibly Caution).
I would also add that you are fast approaching the age where it is normal for people to undergo what is known in this framework as “the third internal monad”, or simply the 3rd major life transition. Each transition involves a shift in identity:
The first is the day we are born, when we switch from being a formless spirit to finding ourself in the form of a single, small, human body.
The second is when we first become self-conscious (or some would say when the ego first forms). This is within a few years of birth, and coincides with language and other mental abilities. We realise that ‘I’ am this person that other people refer to as ‘Kathy’ . Throughout childhood we elaborate on this sense of self that comes from how others relate to us.
But there comes a point – typically around 18-20 give or take a few years – when we feel we must divorce ourself from the ‘received identity’, based on how people such as our family have always related to us, and try to forge a new, improved, adult identity, one that we can take into the world at large, one that is defined by oneself rather than others. This is the third transition, and it is often marked by moving away from the family home (fleeing the nest).
So, this is another factor that will be contributing to your somewhat confused sense of self at present. (And confusion is the negative pole of Growth.) I hope this reassures you that you are nevertheless going in the right direction, and that asking deep questions is very healthy. You may just need to stop and reflect every now and then to ‘regroup’ and find your deepest sense of self within you – the conscious being that is ever present, regardless of body or ego or setting.
Hi Barry. Thanks for replying despite being busy 🙂 Is not minding much about how people think of you part of growing into the adult identity? Also, is there a type of purpose each person has for each soul type that can be classified?
Kathy,
I am 31 year old guy and so much of what you’ve written here is like what I’ve been throughout my life. The deep questions, the multi-personality way of being, the depression, the isolation, being “tired” of this world, quiet and unending observations… phew. You sound like a ‘younger me’ in so many ways (but I maybe a Priest or a Scholar with shades of Sage). I think I’d have done good as a psychologist because I can read so many people’s minds and predict how they’ll behave, and mostly get it right, yet I myself find it difficult to “change myself” in spite of being aware of how I respond to situations. But that ability to change to what I want to be is slowly coming.
I don’t have anything useful to add except let you know that there are people exactly like you. I’ve wanted to scream and run away from it all for a long long time in search of sanity. For me, finding this website was a great moment. It continues to bring me peace when I get very tired (I seem to be surrounded by infant and young souls). And it continues to make me happy that there are people like me out there. And Barry is a good soul who patiently keeps answering all our questions.
It’s a pity we keep so much of it within us and risk never finding “our kind” of folks out there. It’s good that you are coming out with your questions – I believe questioning is healthy and finding your way and your self does more to each one of us than anything else.
Hello Anonymous! Thank you for your assurance and it’s great knowing there are people with similar experiences. I felt completely alone before this. I would like your opinion on the part where you mentioned ‘change’. I feel like my education is teaching me to think like everyone else, to change and ‘grow’ into a good person. But if everyone were to be the same compassionate, caring and kind person, what is the use? Please reply 🙂
Kathy,
I am glad you know you aren’t alone. 🙂
1) When I say “change” I don’t mean changing myself into what the society wants or expects me to be… I rather mean changing *into* the real me. This, as I see it, involves changes at many levels.
I am listing a few examples below. From what you’ve said before, you should be able to relate to the first two, at least.
– Letting go of my fears of getting called the odd one-out, weird or crazy and being what I really am. I have had spiritual experiences as a child but I have not talked about them publicly for the majority of my life. After a time, putting up a false front feels quite suffocating.
– Shedding the negative perceptions and beliefs I have formed as a result of the environments I’ve lived in. I grew up in a dysfunctional family and have had negative perceptions about families in general. I now understand why these perceptions formed and why it is important to let go of them and replace them with more resourceful and positive beliefs.
– All my life, I’ve found it difficult to tolerate what my mother says/does. She pushes me to my edge causing me to scream at her (which makes me feel awful later), get frustrated, depressed, become apathetic or simply break down emotionally. I’ve had great difficulty in accepting how she can be so different, so non-sensical or vicious (at times). Since coming across the information on this website last year, I realized that she very closely fits the baby soul and a little bit of infant soul. The knowledge of this framework (Michael’s) helps me in seeing her differently and accepting her better, as well as the many other severely materialistic folks in my life. I am changing by internalizing this information because it makes me feel better and at peace.
Overall the idea is to become someone who is at ease with himself, does what his heart tells him to do or what makes him intensely alive, pursues what he really feels attracted to, speaks his real thoughts and doesn’t create a false image about himself. I think my internal voice, conscience, instincts and desires are my compasses and they already know what my path is. But then I also think I have within me both constructive as well as destructive tendencies and its up to me which tendencies I allow to flourish.
2) As for the chameleon-like ability that I have (and you have too), I don’t really think that prevents me from having a distinct personality. I actually take the ability itself as part of my personality. While some people are already molded into various shapes (vase, pot, jar etc) I think of myself as wet clay that can mold itself into any shape depending upon the circumstance. The real me, then, is the “wet clay”, not the “vase” or the “pot”. Whether you think of it as an advantage or a disadvantage, use it to feel good or bad, or use it for or against your life’s purpose is up to you.
Let’s say I speak English with you and French with my French neighbour. Am I cheating you or him by adapting myself?
3) “What’s the use if everyone is kind etc?” I don’t know. Irrespective of what I tell you, we can keep asking “what’s the use of *that*?”. We can do the same thing if the question were “What’s the use if some are kind and some are rude?”. However you might feel one answer more acceptable than the other based on your natural/internal inclinations. In spite of spending countless nights thinking about these things, I don’t have close to anything that will satisfy everybody all the time, or for that matter, even me. So I don’t really have an answer.
Some of the things I wondered or bothered about as a kid don’t bother me anymore. Some have been answered by my own growth. Similarly, I think many of these timeless human questions, as we evolve spiritually and cosmically, will either get answered on the way or become totally irrelevant. Or so I hope. But these questions do have the potential to lead us to answers to many other smaller questions.
I don’t think our educational systems directly try to teach us to be good or bad in the real sense (unless you are talking about a moral science class). But a good deal of it has been setup in such a way so as to produce citizens who will support the functioning of the bigger societal system that it itself is a part of. Our societal system and all its various institutions (legal, financial, political etc) are based on our separateness, not our oneness. We are taught to compete, no co-operate.
In that sense, it does make us think like everyone else by making us subscribe to the current ways of functioning – a way of functioning which leverages and nurtures our negative/destructive tendencies/qualities like greed more than our positive/constructive ones. In that way, maybe it indirectly makes us “bad”, not “good”.
Probably, education wasn’t always like this. The word “education” derives its meaning from its Latin root edu-care/cere which means to “bring out” or “bring forth” (what is within). Our current systems don’t try to bring out the richness or gifts of each individual through education, instead we “put in” knowledge into people and stifle their contribution, original thinking and their unique gifts in the process.
But then nothing to be irked about. We are evolving and our educational systems will evolve too. It’s we people who create these systems, and as we are, so will these systems become.
Thank you. I can relate to what you said about your mother because I feel my mother is that way too. She can be nice sometimes but still so “blinded” and “straight” in her ways so I also feel all that you mentioned about screaming then feeling bad, being apathetic etc. Your explanation is clear and I feel better now knowing that I don’t have to be fixed, but more like “wet clay” 🙂 thanks again for everything.
You are welcome Kathy!
Very insightful material. My entire life I have been trying to scratch a proverbial itch and within the last 2 years (I’m 28yrs) I have become obsessed with what I had coined my quest for truth. I am certain that I am a mid range mature soul.
Your website has been such an inspiration to me. I have discovered a lot about myself from it. I believe I am an artisan and I am quite sure that I am a mature soul. All of your articles are so fun to read and I find so much truth in them. I just can’t stop reading them! I have considered being a psychologist because I find that I have a skill for helping other’s in their emotional crises and my fascination with the human mind. Your website has confirmed that my dream job. Your infinite wisdom has really inspired me!
I can distinctly remember being fascinated with the concept of reincarnation and past lives at around age 6 or 7, when I was first introduced to it. Now 14, I still find myself fascinated with this concept along with anything else involving my spirituality. It has always frustrated me that no one I know or in my family has shared my interest in these subjects! Fortunately my parents encourage my curiosity.
I’d like to thank you for sharing all this awesome information! I can’t begin to tell you how amazing your website is. I could spend hours reading every single article, I find it all so well written and truly fascinating!
Also, have you read the book “Many Lives Many Masters” by Brien L. Weiss? I don’t believe it was on your book list, but I think It might be a book you may appreciate!
Hi Jordyn
Great to hear from you, and thanks for the nice feedback. It means a lot to me to know that people like yourself enjoy what I write and feel inspired.
Yes – Many Lives Many Masters is high on my list of essential reading. I have about 1,000 non-fiction books (literally …not unusual for a Scholar), and that would be in my top 5%.
Cheers
Barry
Hii Barry, this article is amazing written it speaks the truth for me. I believe I’m a Mature Artistant, I’m usually deep in though, analyzing my life, relationships and who I am, and often struggle to balance my spiritual motives and physical motives, that leaves me confused because I desperately want to find myself, any advise on what I should do?! thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Hi Brenda,
That’s a pretty big question right there – whole books could be (and have been) written.
My first thing to say would be to try to apply some deliberate, conscious direction to all the self-analysis. In other words, instead of just pondering the complexities of your life and relationships, set out with an intention – to actually KNOW and UNDERSTAND once and for all the deepest truths of yourself, life and others. In particular, the truth of who you are, and how your life can best serve others. You could make these into a formal daily meditation of you wish, or just an informal reflection every so often, but either way do keep a journal to record your insights. It’s amazing how often the questions we ask ourselves change their focus and become more refined as we build upon the insights of earlier reflections. Consistency of practice is very useful in this regard.
You can of course get to know yourself at various levels, and that’s pretty much what this website is about (see https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/personality-and-spirituality-my-search-for-understanding/). You can understand your personality and what makes you tick a bit differently from others (this has been of enormous benefit to my wife and me, eg understanding how her caution and skepticism interplay with my persistence and idealism). But you can also get to know yourself at a deeper, spiritual level, perhaps by getting a reading from a Michael channel. The thing is to make sure you feel some kind of connection/rapport with the channel in question, which seems to facilitate reliable readings.
The single best tool I know of for ultimately finding oneself, short of being in the presence of a fully realised guru, is the process known as the Enlightenment Intensive. The first one I did (back in 1992) blew me away. Over three very intensive days contemplating the question WHO AM I? and sharing the results of my contemplations with different partners, it confronted me with my shyness, then with owning my dark side, and finally my fear of death. And then, on day 3, after all the nerves and tears … there was this light, free, empty space in which I suddenly ‘caught’ myself in the eternal act of BEING, and I simultaneously realised that my BEING is no mistake or accident of nature but is integral to the very fabric of Reality. My life-long doubts about my right to exist vanished at once.
Here’s some reading on the site:
My first enlightenment experience – this is my own account of what I experienced the first time I took an Enlightenment Intensive.
https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/articles/2009/04/28/my-first-enlightenment-intensive/
Discover who you really are – a summary article about Enlightenment Intensives.
https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/discover-who-you-really-are/
Feel free to ask further – cheers
Barry
Hi Barry,
Your website is very interesting & inspirational!! Thank you for sharing this information & for your incredible insights!
I notice some similarities in the infant stage & the mature stage & I’m trying to figure out which one I am.
Both seem to be slightly removed from everyday, regular life but for different reasons. The infant soul seems to be rather unprepared or incapable of dealing with society (you mentioned living on the fringes) while the mature soul is removed due to sensitivity & introspection.
In my early 20s I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder & spent years trying to stabilize (had about 7 psychiatric hospital stays in about 10 years). Now, in my mid-thirties, I’m much more emotionally & mentally stable but I receive SSDI income, have only a few close friends & work in a service field for cash (the work is legal but the pay is cash)…therefore, I live by most definitions: on the fringe of society.
However, I’m very much a spiritual-searcher or seeker of personal growth like the mature soul. I’m also very sensitive to what I perceive as “meanness” & dislike overt showiness (ex. uncomfortable sometimes around young soul energy or even the narrow-minded energy of baby soul energy).
My position in society seems to tell me I’m an infant soul but my spiritual-growth-seeking tendancies would perhaps point more to a mature soul level.
Would love to hear your thoughts & hopefully gain a little more clarity.
Thanks so much,
M.
Hi m
You sound exactly like a mature soul, even when it comes to wondering if you could be an infant soul!
An Infant soul would not ask such questions. They are too identified with their immediate surroundings and impulses to wonder about such things.
To clarify a couple of things: Infant souls live on the fringe of modern society in the sense that they find it all too mysterious and scary, the way small kids see an endless dark forest. They don’t know how it works, or what dangers might lurk in there, or how to make it work to their own advantage, except by (say) taking discarded food from trash cans.
Mature souls know all too well how society works – it’s a complex system of collaboration, competition, rules, laws, culture, etc. designed to meet our multiple needs, not always successfully, but always a work in progress. For mature souls, this isn’t scary, it’s just a bit exhausting when there are so many inner issue to work on as well. So Mature souls might seek out a quiet life in the leafy suburbs.
Inner stress is “the norm” for Mature souls, while it is something unknown to Infant souls. Mature souls experience multiple conflicts between their own goals, the motives behind their own goals, possible consequences of their goals, how they affect other people, how much they let other people affect them…. the list is endless. Infant souls do not experience their own interior life to anything like the same degree of complexity. The only conflict is between “what I need/want” and “where I can get it.”
Personal growth is not a concept that an Infant soul would easily grasp, any more than a toddler would grasp nuclear physics.
I hope that helps clarify things for you !
B
Hii Barry thank you so much for your insight, I was wondering how could I get a reading from the Michael channel?! and how is it possible for me to get an Enlightment Intensive?! thank you so much again for your valuable feedback.
Whoops, sorry Brenda, forgot to replay to you.
Michael readings: see the links at the bottom of my page on the Michael teachings ( https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/the-michael-teachings/ ) or see the more comprehensive listing here – http://www.michaelteachings.com/mresources.html
For Enlightenment Intensives, it depends where in the world you are (or how far you are prepared to travel). Just do a google search on “enlightenment Intensives” adding “dates” and your country/state. I know that they can be found in USA, Canada, Italy, France, UK, Ireland, Australia and bits of Eastern Europe.
~ Barry
I think I am a mature soul, but my twin flame was a young soul. How is this possible?
Well, there are several possibilities:
1. You have evolved further than your twin, despite starting out at the same time. That doesn’t mean you’re better or a “fast learner”; just that everyone goes at whatever pace they fancy.
2. You could be 1st level Mature while the other is 7th level Young – hardly different at all.
3. Channelling error: The information about your level, or the other’s level, is inaccurate.
4. Channeling error: The person in question isn’t actually your twin soul.
I think that covers all the possibilities!
Cheers
B
I love this! Is there really a definite way to tell if your soul is infant, baby, young, mature or old? I’m 21 and have always been told that I’ve got an old head on young shoulders, and I seem to always have this inner turmoil that you describe here. I love reading these by the way!
Hi Cassurina
One of my projects (ongoing… long-term… *cough*) is to come up with a test that will help pin-point soul age. One of the problems is that people — young people in particular — tend to assess themselves by looking at their own outer behaviour. But their behaviour is (to begin with) far more a function of how they fit in to their family and peer groups than a manifestation of their actual level of consciousness. Nevertheless, people do have a sense of themselves on the inside, and it is the depth of this that I would like to get at. The older the soul, the deeper the inner sense of me. Soul age = depth of self-awareness.
In the meantime, how about this as a rough guide…
1. If you lack a conscience, and don’t even understand the concept, then you are probably an Infant soul. Infant souls are driven by impulse. Their sense of self is limited to getting what they want, and their sense of others is limited to the threats or opportunities that others present.
2. If you do have a conscience, and hold it above all else, then you are probably a Baby soul. Baby souls are driven by a need to do the right and proper thing, which is strictly defined by an ingrained sense of morality. Their sense of others is “us” v “them”, “us” being familiar to me (and therefore “good”) and “them” unfamiliar to us (and therefore “unholy”).
3. If you are able to shift your priorities between different goals – from “doing the right thing” to “doing what the hell I feel like”, or vice versa, then you are at least a Young soul. Young souls revel in the power and freedom that goes with the ability to choose one’s own goals. Where they get stuck sometimes is in having dozens of different goals shooting off into different parts of their lives, half of which are actually in direct conflict, or can lead to trouble with others. And yet, they won’t question their goals. Instead, a lot of effort goes into ‘image management’ and ‘damage limitation’ as well as striving.
4. If you are aware of inner conflicts, such as conflicting goals, and are able to reflect on where these different things are coming from in you, or what underlying fears and assumptions are motivating them, then you must at least be a Mature soul. Young souls do not question their own motives – they are committed to achieving them come what may. But Matures souls are self-observers and self-questioners. They can see that specific goals (such as becoming the boss) are options, not necessities, no matter how attractive they may seem. The attraction itself may be questionable. “Perhaps I only want to be the boss so that I can feel good about myself. Wouldn’t it just be better to get to the bottom of my self-esteem issues?”
5. If you recognise that your multiple goals, options, choices, motives, fears – and those of others – are not necessities, and nor are they symptoms of an unresolved complex, but are just fleeting constructs of the psyche, then you are probably an Old soul. Old souls have a “philosophical” appreciation for the value of such complexities and conflicts – the beauty, even – but they are not identified with them, or stuck in them. “In the world but not of it.” Life is not about getting what you want, or doing the right thing, or doing your own thing, or getting to the bottom of things — it’s about being alive and being part of life itself, simply an integral part of the ongoing evolution and creation of meaning.
Hope that helps!
Barry
Looking at what you did there, I can say currently I’m at Mature level at the age of 19 since I’m still working on how to translate my soul knowledge into action and understanding in this physical life. I feel like going through the Mature soul stage is important to getting eventually at the Old soul stage, where in times of quiet I can relax into this stage but I wish to take those times of quiet and translate it to the rest of my life.
Currently there’s still the young adult upheavals though, so it can be difficult/tricky to move through that with the Knowing that my soul conveys.
Reading the sites like this gives me hope though. 🙂
“Watching the Wheels” by John Lennon, a song I recently discovered, that awakens the sense of an Old Soul within me during the daytime when I listen to it, help quite a bit so far in my journey. 🙂
I still have a very strong sense of independence and free will within me, so while I can appreciate a community I’m very… at heart… almost completely self-sufficient even if in physical body needs I am not truly. I wonder if my independence and desire to express myself comes from years of conformity and all that pressure within to be myself has built up?
Also when I read things like of how past Old Soul stage where we feel a kinship with everything, and reunite into a spirit Entity, I just feel… too independent for that just yet. My sense when I consider it, is myself giving whoever wants me to join in as one voice the finger and just go on my own way regardless of what others want me to do.
Also when my spiritual mentor was talking with me and we were discussing suicides and she said how she wouldn’t like to leave this life half-finished, because she doesn’t like having to do it over again in the next life. She also said that the thought of going up before God with him asking her “Why did you do this? You cut your chances short, and your opportunities short, and now you must repeat it again.” humbles her and makes her want to do as much as she can in this lifetime.
I told her that if I had hypothetically chosen suicide because I simply felt like I couldn’t handle things anymore, and if I came in front of a being that asked me that after death, then it is not any God of mine. Certainly none that I would respect. She looked surprised at that but I said simply that, “In such a situation, I did the best possible thing I could at the time. By that time there’s no regrets, no need to bemoan any “lost” chances. It is what it is. It was my choice. It is no choice that any one can make for me, and not a choice I should make for anyone else. So I’d make that choice and deal with what comes with a clear mind and light heart, knowing that I handled the situation as best as I could and that is simply that.” It seemed to give her pause for thought and we haven’t discussed suicides since lol.
She still keeps being surprised at my rather stubborn sense of free will, where I don’t really follow my angels’ advice even if I choose to hear it. She does what God and the angels tell her to readily, and freely gives her service to others. I… have a bit of trouble within that needs resolution.
That trouble is of “Must we ALL become people in humble service to everyone else? Must we always listen to beings higher than us for what is the “right” thing to do? Must I be dictated to by someone who may see the higher picture but not be able to see the finer details like someone in a physical life can?”
I suppose my fighter spirit snarls at that and says, “Isn’t this a place, a universe, for all SORTS of people rather than just one? If it was just one it’d be boring, dull, dreary, confining! And I refuse to follow any orders of any being I don’t personally know! The instant something is an order, that is the instant I show them the hand to talk to and walk away. If God truly wanted me to become a server type It would’ve made me that way. This is a core almost need to be MYSELF and walk MY OWN path, and make my own mistakes, figure things out on my own, evolve and change in my own way, that does seem to be firmly set in, and if It didn’t want someone to be this way they why did God/It make me this way? With this fire in my heart?”
I don’t necessarily need for anyone to validate my path though, or for anyone else to walk it with me, because nothing would make me happier than to see others walking their own paths. 🙂 Just need to have the freedom to walk my own path and strike out on my own though.
One thing I always abide by, and one phrase I instantly understood and absolutely love is “Do what thou will, harm none.” As well as “All pain stands alone.” A last phrase I adore is, “Nothing is impossible. All things are possible. Just believe~”
Yeah… essentially going through Middle Soul stage turmoil and deliberation right now. I wonder what will come in the future, especially around “Middle age” of a lifetime, where one’s true soul age is said to most easily manifest, especially if one is an old soul.
… I suppose all I have to do is wait and see~
What was, was. What is, is. What will be, will be.~
I ruminated over what you said again, particularly the part of “The older the soul, the deeper the inner sense of me. Soul age = depth of self-awareness.” And I just wonder…
I’ve been able at times to just randomly in a meditation, sink so deep within me that I found the core energy of all things and myself, blending into one, no separation or distinction, no abstractions or concepts at that level. I felt true peace and love and just rejuvenating EXISTING at that level. This was in a meditation when I was 15.
When my spiritual mentor guided us to “go to the center of the earth” for grounding meditation, I finished that part within a heartbeat, talked with my spirit guides and heard them clearly, and then soared up in the remaining time to access and unlock and send energy through my celestial chakras as well as physical, and even travelled all the way to the center of the universe, dove into the main Soul complex of which my spirit is only an aspect of, and then just floated within in and conversed with it all as well, then travelled back. My first meditation I ever did was 30 minutes long easily, and surprised me with how long I stayed and how easy it was.
I liked to from 15 to 16 to astral travel through the universe and watch the star formations, the galactic features, and then even skipped through the universe into the multi-verse, where there are multiple universes all clustered in a beautiful forest-like grove, and travelled to another universe, and conversed with the beings I found in that planet, and then came back. I’ve spoken with an Entity for a time and then split off to do my own thing again.
I’ve also travelled to a higher plane in a meditation and found a realm that your very thoughts instantly became manifest. That any fear you had (like of something attacking) would come true and the way to solve that was to let the fear go and FEEL/INTEND that you are safe and healthy and whole, and the attacking fear would dissipate. Where you could just by changing your perception to be tall and big, would be so, where you could send yourself off through the land as fast or slow as your focus was. And where things wouldn’t bother you or pay attention to you if you Intended that. It was a wonderful exercise indeed! I accidentally did that meditation before bed and didn’t fully come back down from that so when I was woken up, I was still giddy and groggy and laughing from just sheer bliss. I was also oddly alert and yet had trouble speaking because I could feel the message I wanted to send but had briefly forgot HOW to work the lips, mouth, and throat of the heavy awkward body again to convey what I wanted to say. Eating was something that helped ground me again but it took hours for me to come back again since I really didn’t want to let that go lol!
When my spiritual mentor was worried I would go off on my own and never return again, had tried to get me to ground more firmly in my body. I tried but found myself almost starting to shut down when I did so, understanding mathematics very well but having trouble with the universal concepts and ideas and quantum mechanics which was new (usually its the opposite, trouble with the dry logical and step at a time mathematics, and ease with the quantum mechanics and its like), and started fading out and my spirit friends had to help me stop doing that and return to my natural state of being because according to one, “You were KILLING yourself doing this! Your spirit itself was fading away from sight!!” and he was rather frantic at that and the others were shaken too.
So my natural state of inhabiting my body is my spirit almost… floating within it, and connected but not fully cell to spirit crystalline cell connection though. And keeping the astral connections open is a must, if I close that off I feel like I’m dying while awake and conscious.
I also am able to comprehend the levels of the universe, the dimensions, energy flow and patterns, how different universes work, even remember bits and pieces from my life in the mega-universe that contained the universe and multi-verse as a sort of Experiment and remembering being one of those Scientists at times. But I fell in love with some of the souls here in this Universe and thus stayed for a while. I remember seeing the fall of the Universe before this one and parts of the creation of this Universe as well.
I feel like its been AGES since I was part of a Tao or creation source that some souls can report being part of until recently. I hypothesize that my soul (from the feels of it and the wordless and mostly feeling Knowing that I can access) does rejoin Tao at times but then often goes on its own way, learning and exploring and discovering and creating, because its so much more fun that way. A bit too independent to just exist in one space with many others all blended in and not being an active dynamic part of creation like the independent other sparks are.
I do talk/communicate with my soul often, with my spirit, with my body consciousness (she’s the most darling adorable talkative thing! *HUGS body consciousness!*) quite often, and I know my mind makeup rather well.
I am aware of layers to myself, where acquaintances and strangers hover beyond the surface, where they barely register to me. Most friends and family members only barely scratch the outside surface. Some good deep true friends and those family members I consider as such (I judge based on energy connection and knowing, understanding, and friendship qualities whether someone is close to me or not. Blood relations means almost nothing to me, its the person I care about, not physical body genetic ties.) get a layer lower. Then there is some more layers, and then there is a fog of energy protecting the very center bright hot white core of me. One person, my Essence Twin (Counterpart/Twin Flame/ and the person who in the mega-verse is my mate) ties right at the border of the energy fog and the center core of me, if not RIGHT at the core of me. Its a bond like no other and brings me such JOY and LOVE and LIFE that filled up the empty searching vessel I had before I met them. There is the spirit of me, then the soul fragment that this spirit comes from and some others do to. Then there is the main HUGE old soul that many many different people and fragments and aspects all share, not just me.
I even felt/sensed my other alternate lifetimes too and selves in alternate universes and timelines at times and were aware of them. By daydreaming, I can access their knowledge and bring that in so I myself do not have to physically go through it in order to know this. Its my theory for why if I daydream something it often doesn’t happen (like since I already experienced it through my daydreams [note daydreams and fantasies are completely different things to me] then I have to experience something completely different lol!) and something else happens instead.
My Twin and I even managed to change timelines from one alternate reality to another through conscious effort and Universal help once, when the other alternate reality was just never-ending nastiness and actually destroying my Twin. This reality in the spirit world/life sense is MUCH better lol! Easier and not as nasty. 🙂
Sometimes I really don’t realize how strange my life is until I type it out like this…. Because its just IDK natural and how my life is. *shrugs* Also talk with the Universe a lot, Higher Beings a great deal, Arch-angels and Gods and Goddesses a lot too before, and have helped some souls move on to the other side (not really all that wanting to go into the mediumship thing just yet though… eheh) as well as gotten visits from some strange beings that told me they “just wanted to see you” and then have to raise an eyebrow at them just calming looking me over and how I can count 6 events of that in my life of all sorts of different beings for no apparent reason other than they “wanted to see me” like just see/observe/pass by and see this strange attraction/person guys! Lol.
One even scared my cats when “he” (loosely using this since voice in head was interpreted as masculine/androgynous I think?) came in and was making clear (as in my physical eyes not just mind could see it which is RARE!) distortions in the air like a heat wave above hot pavement. Had an old wisened face like that on a tree trunk on his chest and a humanoid figure with a head but no face on the head, the face was on the chest, there. Lots of power and made my spirit guides then rather nervous in the face of power they were not used to seeing. He passed something onto me “A gift to you… in helping you reconnect with your past lives and past selves” after he said that he was there to “see me” like the others. He took his time just standing there and looking me over as if taking in the sight slowly before leaving at the end. Very interesting it was… O.e
Anyways I rambled lol. Sorry? I have loads more where it came from, which…. when I think of it says a lot of my life now. Must think that over a bit more? *blink*
Namaste and good night!
wow. wow. you must be special/ blessed! im only beginning to scratch the surface with my journey!!
Thank you Amanda, I wish you the best of luck with your journey! 🙂 *hugs* It’s going to be a wild ride that I can tell you. 🙂
This question is for Indigo……. You surely seem to be so very aware…. your words take me to a much different and higher place then this one I reside in now. I feel a level of peace like nothing else before. All uncertainties that I my have been carrying around seem to somehow not carry as much weight as they once did. For this I Thank You….
And I do not mean to impose my self or my life upon yours, but I wonder if you might be able to give me some insite into the connection of souls. I was wondering if it is possible for a deceased soul to draw or drain energy from one living? And if so… how do we detach ourselves from this draw?
And again… thank you.
This is for Soul in Transit.
I’m glad that my words were able to help someone in some way! It really heartens me so to hear that I was able to have that affect on you even unintentionally, just by sharing my own personal Truth. 🙂 *hugs* It is of no trouble, simply the truth as how I saw and experienced it. I’m glad that you resonated so much with it though!
Well souls in and of themselves don’t really DIE per say, and if they do go through a kind of death then its not really one where they can affect the living souls beyond that kind of death. Spirits (personalized and independent fragments of the main souls [meaning many different people in different worlds and realities and dimensions can share a same main soul]) can die and pass on from this physical life and still affect other spirits from “the other side of the Veil” as some would call it.
To shake off any negative bonds, since what I’m getting is energy bonds that is the crux of your question, as well as how to deal with unwanted ones.
My method (and this may not work for everyone which is alright and to be expected since everyone is different) is to ask Archangel Michael for help in cutting off those bonds since he does a very good job of that. He also helps purify the part that was cut off from you, and can shield against such a bond being made again. He’s very good at dispelling unwanted spirits from your home and presence as well so make much use of him! Just asking him and stating what your intention is all that’s needed because what angels (even Archangels) need is your PERMISSION to come in and intervene and help you, otherwise its not allowed at all. Your free will is protected so you have to make that step to ask them in the first place. Know though that even if you don’t feel anything immediately, it takes effect almost immediately after you ask, since they may or may not be sensed by humans (depending on the level of sensing they are capable of that is of such a spirit world and higher vibration of energy).
Also know that you don’t have to belong to any particular religion to ask upon the angels for help, all you have to do is believe in the angels for they’re there and wanting and able to help. 🙂 If you do the research, there’s all sorts of messengers that all serve the function of intermediaries between the Divine and humans throughout history, and they’re not always called Angels but such a position is very common in history and all sorts of religions and cultures. Angels in and of themselves are one of the more recent, and believed in Islam, Christianity, Hebrew. Buddhism and Hinduism also have their spirit messengers that serve similar or the same purposes as angels do, so its not specifically tied to just one religion. You don’t have to believe in! religions in and of themselves to believe in spirits and to believe in a helping spirit as well (which angels are). 🙂
In any case I hope this all helps you and I’m gladdened that something I can share can help you. 🙂 Namaste!
Blair and Obama – Mature souls ?? – Not much empathy involved in creating fraudulent wars and sending drones out to kill on a daily basis.
The challenge for any soul is to “act their age” in this world. Those in power rarely succeed. Politics is inherently competitive and antagonistic, which suits Young souls. For those in the early stage of the Mature phase, realising this could be an important lesson.
Just stumbled upon the website and spent the last 2 days pouring over it. Would love to know what my soul age is.
I was brought up Roman Catholic but always felt that organised religion wasn’t for me although I always felt that there was “something” out there. I did okay(ish) at school and ended up struggling through a Chemistry degree and even did my teaching practice but it was a struggle and repeated a couple of years. Tried to get a job as an industrial chemist then as a chemistry teacher and failed miserably in both professions and as a result always felt like the worlds biggest failure and underachiever. For the last 5 years I have been working in a fairly basic admin role but never felt fulfilled. I have always felt slightly depressed like I’m carrying a burden, could this be a carry over from a previous life?
Does everybody come back as Tony Blair? Isn’t that dangerous?
For whom?
Well, Iraqis for one.
But your comment envisages everyone coming back as Tony Blair, including Iraqis presumably. Hence: dangerous for whom?
Barry thank you for sharing your wisdom. i feel ecstatic that we can finally have real conversations. i am pretty alone in my beliefs. i feel i am a mature soul, surrounded by young or baby souls. i am exhausted and drained and have been yearning for any type of deep connection, especially in my marriage. Its nonexistent. I have always had to ‘hold myself up.’ and Ive always built everyone else up, but rarely (never) had people do the same for me. I have always been looking for deeper meanings etc My deceased grandpa visited me in my dream at 18 and we spoke telepathically. I never questioned Gods love again. I also had a ghost say hello to me but I was so scared I didnt say anything. I meditate and read alot. i am 32 and possibly in my 4th transition? i think you call it.? I feel like Im spinning my wheels now. I am stuck financially in my current situation. I have FMS/CFS and out of work from that. Some days I barely have the energy/drive to shower! Clarity is elusive too! I could really use any insight advice etc you could offer. Im not sure wth im supposed to be doing. Many blessings to you Barry! Namaste to all here!
Amanda
Hi Amanda
I’ve been conversing with you on other pages but overlooked this one (CFS here too!).
Basically I see you as having the goal of Growth. What that means, in some ways it’s as if you start life from scratch and have to “bootstrap” yourself in terms of understanding why you’re here and what to do. Some people are born knowing what to do with their lives – be a mother, play piano concertos, be a great architect. Those lucky bastards don’t have goal of Growth, because whole point of growth is to confront uncertainty and the void of meaning and purpose we can feel inside. This very sense of void is what spurs us, as we go through life, to **find our own way** to meaning, understanding and fulfilment. Bit by bit we take in what seems true for us and shed what doesn’t. Eventually (hopefully) we are at least clear in our purpose: to use the unique wisdom we have gained. All those conflicts are grist for the mill for the soul’s deepening awareness.
I was wondering if you could help in my interpretations. I was very happy to find your site as soul age has always interested me. I have always kinda felt like an “infant” soul i guess, or atleast thats what i thought. I strongly believe i was some sort of tribal shaman in a past life, i dislike modern society and feel like i would be much happier living in the wild among a tribe like that of ancient native americans. It is this feeling of “oneness” with the world that i miss and feel the”disconnection” that leads me to believe i am a very young/infant soul. Also because i often feel like i dont know how to act or fit in socially and emotionaly in society. It often feels like others have way more insight than myself. However after reading i feel i also relate to the “mature soul” very much so. I am very attracted to mythology and religious like ideas, but claim none as my own, yet love learning about them. I also agree with the fact i dont understand the ‘young souls’ i dont agree with the competitiveness and feel we should all work together. Im very loyal to my friends/family/team. I am also a writer/musician/entertainer, not too concerned with fame/wealth, just doing what i enjoy because i enjoy it, and hopefully inspiring people along the way. I often struggle with depression also. So you see, it seems i am very confused at times, but also have occasional moments of clarity. Where i feel like i know why i am here and what i need to do. My problems often lie in the ‘how do i accomplish this’ zone. Anyways you seem very insightful on the subject and i was just wondering if you would have any idea on what stage of soul evolution i am at. Seems to me i am torn between the infant or mature stage, yet the baby and young stage definitely do not sound like me. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
I should also add a bit about myself as well i know i kind of rambled on. I am 30yrs in human age, though often feel stuck in my early 20s. a cancer by astrological sign. I am creative and also very interested in healing by natural/herbal methods. Thus believe to be artisan/priest type.
I have had multiple dreams where i am stabbed or shot in the back, always in the same spot. Often still feeling the wound/pain when waking. I used to think this was a prediction of my future but have recently gave thought to the idea that it may be how i died in a past life?
In addition, i have always felt like i was destined to be a great leader or inspire great change. However, going with this same past life theory of my dreams, maybe i already was, and that is how i met my demise. Could explain why i often think of things like that. could also explain why in my current life, i am hesitant to take on leadership roles, but deep down know i am good at it. Self doubt.
Than again it could very well be a glimpse into my future (or perhaps future life even, if thats possible). Perhaps the purpose of my current life is to regain my confidence so that i may go on to be a greater leader in another life.
Either way is very interesting to me and would love to explore or discuss these ideas more.
Happy to have found your blog and this community
Well, if mature soul leaders come back as Tony Blair-alikes, you’ve got to fear for the Iraqis.
First of all, I would like to compliment and thank you, Barry, for this website.
Each article you wrote is the clear result of a deep understanding of the mechanics of life and people’s inner nature.
I am particularly surprised and pleased to read in your words a confirmation and clarification to most of the implicit schemes and “rules” of existence I have been progressively gotten to feel aware of, in the last few years (even though in a less compelete and structured way).
And now it’s really like watching a fog bank being swept away by the wind.
I have recently started researching about the spiritual world, primarily because I have been fashinated by one thing I have been noticing about myself lately, even though I guess it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back: I often feel like I know things without experiencing them, I perceive how others feel or will feel, even in situations that are alien to me. And some people (at least the ones who are close to me) notice it.
For instance, I am 21, but it happens more often that is me the one who gives advice and suggestions to my mother (my closest parent) than the other way around.
When it comes to personal problems, especially those involving self-consciousness and the relationship with others, most of the time I realize I just know the answers, the solutions, how things work, even without having experienced them. So I just share them with those who ask, but I don’t really feel the need to do this with people in general though.
I can say I feel a quite deep self recognition in the profile of the Mature Soul and also in some typical traits of the Old Soul. In particular, I guess I may be a Scholar one.
Thank you again Barry for your help and I wish to all of you guys to find what you are looking for.
Wonderful! Many thanks, seeker.
how do you know when to be mature
Hi Ayden,
Well, I could ask you, how do you know when to be young, or old? How do you know when to be less than mature? You just are when you are because it’s where you naturally are.
In any life, regardless of your soul maturity, you start out as an immature infant. Then over the years you gradually expand until around age 40 when you reach, or at least begin to reach for, your “full height” – the full maturity of which you are capable given your soul stage.
In mature adulthood (say 40-60) you will feel like much more of you is present and pointing in the right direction than when you are in your youth.
Hope that makes sense
B
thanks for the information Barry!
does helping your sister and showing her from right from wrong mature?does being mature help you later on in life?does maturity help you become a man?I am in the puberty stage and I am sometimes I act like a infant soul and sometimes I act like a mature soul.So I have been trying to act like a mature soul.So how can I prevent myself from acting like a infant soul.
Hi again,
Someone once said that the first sign of maturity is taking your raincoat with you if it looks like it might rain, even though your mother is telling you to do exactly that!
“does helping your sister and showing her from right from wrong mature?”
Certainly, if the intention behind it is sincere.
“does being mature help you later on in life?”
I’m not sure if by “mature” you specifically mean mature as a person or as a soul. Either way, it’s an interesting question.
The mature soul stage is often said to be the hardest of all because of the complexity of balancing multiple internal and external perceptions and choices. This is particularly hard when you are surrounded by younger souls, but not so much when you are surrounded by mature/older souls. (Souls on the same wavelength tend to find each other and “flock together” once they leave home/school.)
So why is being a mature soul in adulthood so complex? In part it’s about becoming aware of the different layers of oneself. Behind the superficial “outer you” that interacts with the world is the deeper, more self-aware “inner you”. This is closer to the real you, though it may or may not be perceived by others (depending on their own maturity).
In part, the complexity is also down to the fact that one is increasingly aware of others and sensitive to their inner lives – wondering what others might think or feel if I do this or that.
The trick to dealing with all this is not to deny or avoid it — those who really struggle are the ones who think it’s all too much and should be suppressed. (Mature souls do have a habit of finding relief in drugs and alcohol.)
The thing to understand – the thing that can really help – is knowing that being a mature soul is all about experiencing and handling inner conflict. It’s normal. It’s the name of the game. As an example, imagine wanting to end a relationship but, equally, not wanting the other person to experience being let down or abandoned. When we experience inner conflict, we also feel a bit of anxiety. This is natural.
Now, younger souls will do almost anything to avoid inner conflict and anxiety. Mature souls, however, just get over it. It’s sort of part of growing up. Conflict is OK. It shows us that life isn’t as simple as some people make out. It’s an opportunity to deepen our wisdom, find our own true values and principles. AND be willing to change. Mature souls are drawn to personal growth courses, books, teachings, etc. because they want to change but often don’t yet understand the ‘best’ way to go, or how to handle so many conflicting goals and perceptions.
Knowing that this is just how it is for a mature soul (having all these different ways of perceiving oneself and others), the challenge then is one of “pulling yourself together”, I.e. bringing all this diversity together into a coherent whole, a bigger you. You eventually become a new self in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. More integrated, less conflicted.
If you are surrounded by mostly younger souls, you might notice that a lot of people around you don’t seem to have the same depth of inner awareness going on. That can make you feel like the odd one out, and rather self-conscious about being so “soft” and “weird”. So being mature can be tricky in that kind of situation, but as you grow you will naturally gravitate to others who are on the same wavelength as you.
The “advantage” of being mature in later life is the authenticity you bring, both to your work and to your relationships. In fact, work is just another place where you can try to appreciate the uniqueness and validity of other individuals AND be yourself at the same time.
“does maturity help you become a man?”
Depends what you mean by a man. If you mean a tough guy who kicks ass and threatens anyone who doesn’t show him enough respect, then no. If you mean a thoughtful guy who takes full responsibility for his own decisions and actions, and has no intention of ever hurting or using anyone, then yes.
“How can I prevent myself from acting like an Infant soul?”
I know what you mean.
The past is always inside us. We are a bit like trees (or onions) in that inside us are the “rings” or layers representing every stage we’ve grown through. The old infantile and juvenile tendencies are still there, as your more mature levels build upon them.
Growing means including the past and building on the lessons learned, not demolishing our past or hiding it. So it’s a matter of recognising our “lesser” aspects and deciding how to handle them – even getting them out for a bit of fun now and then if you like.
Main thing though is not to pretend that those immature parts of you don’t exist. What we deny in ourselves is what leaks out in blind, destructive ways. Just be mindful of your many inner “layers” or patterns, and be conscious of how you choose to express them (or not). For example, I can be like a child when I’m drunk (very silly and playful), but I’ve had to learn through some unfortunate experiences not to be obnoxious. It’s a case of being aware and setting your best intent.
Cheers and good luck with everything
Barry
A mature soul can and does exist at any age of life. The problem is that many adults make a mockery of it. These adults might have mature physical or specific knowledge based skills and rudimentary diplomatic skills but they don’t have the kind of intense emotional skills that make someone feel unconditionally loved and supported with an understanding of how the past has been and how the future can be with the right planning. Many adults now seem to carry around this baggage of selfish guilt that they can never properly dispose of.
Hi Barry,
Michael Teachings as recommended by Finding Your Soul is regarded by me as a “life study”. To gain more insights, grow up and built up wisdom in the meantime. Thank you for creating this website, providing another source to gain wisdom. However, I am “stuck” about my soul age and the role. Given the following descriptions, can you do a “wild guess” about my age and role?
1) First of all, I experienced a not so smooth childhood / youth, maybe related to having communication problems (1.5 year ago diagnosed with autism) and having a “messy mind” without structure.
2) Secondly, I am a deep thinker and dedicate my free time for personal development, spirituality, new age topics, Buddhism, psychology (esp. now after I know I am existing to grow with life lessons). I like reading literature about these, contemplate and write articles using those elements that I learned and have recognized.
3) Thirdly, I am very creative and open, sometimes I am not pleased with this. Being creative, I am not always grounded and practical, not being in the reality of “Now”. People usually say that they feel I am honest and open. Individuals like to share their emotions and feelings with me, seeing me as a mirror to reflect. I don’t really see myself like that at all.. Deeply within I know that I want to help the society on a larger scale, not specific individuals. That is also the reason why I feel the urge to write articles to give people deeper knowledge and help them raise their consciousness. I know deeply that aligning with our own soul, nature, essence is the solution to all the problems we have in life.
I am “struggling” between a mature soul and infant soul, between an artisan and a priest. All the worldly pleasures do not give me much satisfaction now and not feeling the same as the majority of people. I guess I am transitioning into another phase, but what exactly is not known. That is why I suspect myself being a mature soul.
But during some social interactions, fear is holding me back. So I believe I have some hidden emotions that I still need to work on to release. I read about infant souls being not well socially, also open and honest.
As for the role, I am creative, but it is about the product of my creation without a meaning, but having creations to help inner alignment.
So what do you think, Barry? Thanks!
Hi Yanling,
I wasn’t aware of the Finding Your Soul book (Thayer White, yeah?), so thanks for that.
OK, without even reading your self-description, I see a wide-eyed Artisan (right down to the regulation glasses!).
And at a guess, a Priest-cast Mature Artisan, the same as my dear wife.
As for your specific points:-
1) A “messy mind” is typical – the Artisan mind works more like a floating dream factory, spinning off in multiple directions, rather than a linear computer (like us Scholars) … which makes for some interesting conversations in our household… My wife’s mind is reined in, however, by certain overleaves – Intellectual centering, mode of Caution and attitude of Scepticism, so she’s very good at analysing stuff (unlike me, I’m more impressionistic). And my first impression of you is … possibly … attitude of Spiritualism, which is basically open-minded to the max, but this is guesswork on my part. You should get you a reading from a proper channel!
2) This is typical of a Mature soul with an open mind, ready to begin/continue the inner search for self-understanding in this life.
3) Artisan, Artisan, Artisan.
The urge to give on a deeper level of significance is also suggestive of Priest-casting: in my wife’s case, for example, she is clearly a creative Artisan, but being Priest-cast it is creating things that serve some higher purpose or social value that really motivates her.
If you were an Infant soul, you probably wouldn’t be looking at websites like this, seeking insights and greater awareness. You would be more likely living in a backwoods hut, picking fights with innocent visitors, all of whom (to an Infant soul) can seem threatening and dangerous. That’s what is meant by infant souls being described as not well socially adjusted.
Whereas for a Mature soul, struggling with the very heart of relationships is the “prime directive” so to speak – the soul’s mission is to find its own way through the real messiness of relationships. In other words, as a Mature soul you not only “get” that everyone else has an inner life (subjective perceptions/reactions) just like you, but that they also have distortions in how they perceive you, which you can detect, but you cannot alter except by ensuring that what they see of you is the real you… and even then they still might not see you as you see yourself …
In the end, you just have to be authentic, live your truest sense of purpose, and it’s up to others to make of you what they will – but rest assured that, by some law of nature, like-minded souls will come to see you and appreciate you and will benefit from your work.
Barry
I love this blog!! Thank you. Are you open to do a guest blog?
Sorry, a what?
forgive me if it has already been asked or if this goes against the concept of the soul’s journey, but for someone who believes themselves to be a mature soul battling with the constant internalisation and analysis aside from meditation, yoga, exercise, how can we achieve peace?
Hi Jessica
Sorry, I’m trawling through my comments queue and just came across yours unanswered.
My bad.
So how to achieve peace aside from meditation, yoga, and exercise? And by peace you presumably mean relief from the inner turmoils, questioning, and introspection that go with being a very self-aware and mindful Mature soul?
I can relate to this from my own experience, but I don’t want to assume that your experience is the same as mine. It would help to have a sense of your soul & personality characteristics. For example, aside from Mature soul, do you think you might be a Scholar? The Scholar role is also introspective and analytical, so being a Mature Scholar is like a double helping. Also there’s the goal of Growth (= living life as a quest for understanding). I have this. It makes for complex life experiences which we try to make sense of by studying, reading, meditating, etc. In the negative pole (ie when fear/stress is predominant), this results in confusion and overwhelm. There’s too much going on at once – you can’t see the wood for the trees. Perhaps this is part of what you are experiencing?
And then there’s Intellectual Centering (= using thought as one’s “central processor” as opposed to feelings or actions), which I don’t have though my wife does. In this case there is a tendency to over-analyse and verbalise when in the negative pole.
Anyway, what occurs to me is that to get beyond ruminating on whatever is filling your mind you need to EXPRESS it all in some way – either to another person (counsellor, therapist) or – better for introverts – through daily journaling. Recent research shows that journaling actually improves physical health! The communication or expression of your inner stuff is also what clears it out, like opening the windows to let the stuffy air out and fresh air in.
Hope that helps for now
Barry