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Soul Age

Charting the Reincarnational Journey Through the Seven Soul Ages
The Michael Teachings

Soul age is a measurement of the five stages the soul must advance through during its reincarnational cycle. Think of this as the YOU ARE HERE point on a map showing where the soul began its journey, where its currently located, and where it still needs to go. There are, in fact, seven stages, but the 6th and 7th are not part of the reincarnational cycle. (see Reincarnation)

Each soul age marks the soul's continued evolution as it gathers new experiences, makes choices, and learns life lessons. The primary way the soul evolves is by learning the ramifications of personal choice. All lessons are derived from that. Choices fueled by fear, for instance, which often lead to karmic outcomes, are gradually replaced during the reincarnational cycle with more loving and compassionate choices. This demonstrates how the soul has learned from hard-fought experience to embrace a greater oneness with all.

In this system, however, no soul age is considered better or worse than another. One should not presume that the soul ages are hierarchical, or that being an old soul is more desirable than being a young soul. All conceits that imply spiritual advancement lie squarely in the realm of the ego (or false personality).

Each person reading this page is where they need to be right now. If that means climbing the corporate ladder or raising consciousness through daily meditation, both pursuits are valid. Soul age is not about a race to the finish line. Each person progresses at a rate that is perfect for the needs of their soul. Someone that moves slowly through the reincarnational cycle, with a high number of past lives, perhaps reveals that the course curriculum they chose was more stringent and immersive. Their soul's intent was to pursue an advanced degree in the cycle, whereas someone with fewer past lives that moves through quickly, was merely interested in the survey course.

The significance of the soul ages is perhaps most evident in different countries seen around the world. In some societies, religious laws are strictly enforced through corporal punishment. In others, the acquisition of wealth, power, and global domination is the primary objective. In smaller regions with primitive technology, nomadic tribes still exist at the level of hunter-gatherers. All of these examples show the different perspectives of soul age at work. (See Soul Age by Country)

The five most relevant soul ages are outlined below, with links to more comprehensive articles -- which should be required reading if you're interested in this subject.

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Learn about your own soul age. Take the test: How Old is Your Soul?

Soul Age Stages

1) Infant Souls deal with issues of survival. Life experience is usually primitive at this level and leans toward the rituals and customs of tribal cultures. Infant souls often incarnate near the equator, where less frigid temperatures allow them to thrive without modern shelter.

Wide-eyed, unsophisticated, and ignorant to the ways of the modern world, infant souls are childlike in their behavior and mostly rely on their instinctive center to navigate through life. Without loving guidance from older souls who teach them the difference between right and wrong, they may react aggressively to perceived threats.

Because they are innately fearful and easily frightened, like alley cats scattering in all directions after hearing a strange noise, infant souls may resort to violence without conscience. Some examples are attempts by western culture to approach isolated tribes in remote, mostly unexplored regions. The Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island, for instance, are an infant soul tribe. Contact with them has been perilous to those involved, with some of the attempts rebuffed with lethal force.

Focus/Lesson: Survival
Infant Soul Countries: Ethiopia, New Guinea, Cambodia, Areas Near the Equator
Attributes: (+) Innocent, untarnished by culture, purely instinctive (-) Fearful, withdrawn, without conscience, violent

2) Baby Souls have a need for structure and tend to live according to beliefs based on dogma, such as religious fundamentalism. Baby souls, focused as they are on bringing people together under the umbrella of civilization, see others, as being “just like me.” They can become confused and upset when those “other me’s” act differently than expected. Their experience of life is rule-based, rigid, dogmatic, family-oriented, and highly structured around adhering to the laws and mores of an institution or culture -- think of the Middle West and the conscientious drive to be the "model citizen."

baby soul

Focus/Lesson: Rules/Laws; Right and Wrong
Baby Soul Countries: Iran, Iraq, Haiti, Ireland, Libya, Middle East, Mid-West America
Attributes: (+) Community-oriented, law-abiding, family values (-) rule-based, rigid, bland, judgmental, black and white, religious fundamentalists

3) Young Souls are success oriented and set high standards of personal achievement. Young souls are learning to impact the world, and see others as “you”s they can impact. Their experience of life is competitive, industrious, independent, profit-motivated, win-lose, and in pursuit of anything that leads to prosperity. They fear aging, the natural decline of their bodies, and go to great lengths to preserve their status and appearance. Young souls could be the official soul age for face-lifts, Botox injections, and tummy-tucks.

young soul

Focus/Lesson: Success/Achievement; Win-Lose
Young Soul Countries: USA, China, Israel, United Arab Emirates
Attributes: (+) Prosperous, world builders, technology developers, infrastructure (-) domineering, might makes right, win at all cost, superficial, greedy

4) Mature Souls are relationship oriented and tend to gravitate toward emotional drama. Mature souls, delving into their inner world and exploring relatedness, can keenly feel other people’s “stuff,” and perceive it in the same way they perceive their own. This can make for much intensity and, often, subjectivity. Their experience of life is dramatic, emotional, soap-opera-like, identified, intimate, empathetic, and self-aware.

mature soul

Focus/Lesson: Relationships (with self and others)
Mature Soul Countries: England, Austria, Italy, Poland
Attributes: Compassionate, social causes, desire to serve, good partners (-) overly dramatic, emotionally attached, prone to martyrdom

5) Old Souls seek the larger perspective of life, and have less interest in playing the material game. They tend to be more detached, and try to see themselves and others within a larger context, fostering a "live and let live" motto. Their experience of life is laid-back, easy going, detached from emotional intensity, spiritually-minded, and sometimes a little lazy.

Focus/Lesson: The Big Picture; Philosophical Perspective
Old Soul Countries: Iceland, Holland, Finland, Czechoslovakia
Attributes: Nature lovers, spiritual, unassuming, wise (-) aloof, philosophically arrogant, unambitious

Soul Age Levels

Each soul age consists of seven levels of development that must be competed before graduating to the next soul age. Each level averages three lifetimes to complete, sometimes more, sometimes less. An Infant soul, for example, would begin at level one and gradually progress through six more levels before moving up to the Baby Soul stage. This continues until the 7th level of the old soul stage is reached.

All and all, as Varda Hasselmann mentions in her book, there are thirty-five levels in total that must be completed before cycling-off the planet -- the 35 developmental steps of the reincarnational cycle.

Soul Age Levels

JP Van Hulle once described the soul age levels using an analogy of swimming at the beach. Here's an expanded paragraph on that concept:

● At the first level, we're still adjusting to the new environment. We dip our toe in the water, test how cold it is and wonder if we should get in.

● At the second level, we wade into the water a little further, first up up to our ankles, then to our waist, attempting to anchor ourselves against the undertow and feeling unsure if we're ready to make the plunge.

● Around the third level, we finally dive in and swim below the waves, totally submerged in the experience.

● At the fourth level, we come back up for air and now feel comfortable in the water, plunging beneath the surface for another swim, and occasionally wading into large waves that crash over us. We've discovered that the beach is fun, and we teach others what we've learned.

● By the time the fifth level arrives we've grown bored and want something new. We grab a surf board and begin riding the waves, expanding on how we can experience the beach with more variety. We strive to push beyond the limits of our ability.

● Around the sixth level, another surfer thinks we're hogging the best waves and angrily shoves us off the board. We awkwardly fall back into the water and strike our head against a rock. This could be a karmic repayment.

● At the seventh level, we decide we've had enough and return to the beach, satisfied with the mastery we've achieved and looking forward to our next outing and a new soul age stage to explore.

The Seven Internal Monads

Within each level there are 7 additional levels called internal monads. To finish a level, these seven monads must be completed before graduating to the next level. Commonly called life stages (or milestones), the monads chart the developmental steps within a soul age level.

These steps (or stages of life) are often characterized as BIRTH, EARLY CHILDHOOD, ADOLESCENCE, MID-LIFE, LIFE REVIEW, DYING, and DEATH itself. For a comprehensive look at the internal monads, read our article, The Stages of Life.

Manifested Soul Age

Michael channel Shepherd Hoodwin stated that there are three possible reasons someone is manifesting a lower soul age than her true one:

1) Youth — the person simply hasn't yet had the time to retrace all her steps back to her actual soul age.

2) Review — the soul is choosing to review a younger soul age in order to strengthen some weak areas, such as an old soul reviewing young in order to get better at dealing with the modern world.

3) Being stuck — personality is unwilling to face issues that stand in the way of manifesting at her soul age.

It's not BAD to manifest younger because no soul age is "bad" — it's all good. However, if there's a big gap between the true and manifested ages, it may feel uncomfortable, especially if there is stuckness and essence wants to get the show on the road.

Soul Age Percentage

The current percentage of soul age on the planet follows a distribution of (10% Infant Soul); (23% Baby Soul); (32% Young Soul); (24% Mature Soul); and (11% Old Soul). New Infant Souls are no longer being allowed to incarnate. After the human species has run its complete cycle, a new (or existing) species will be allowed to test the sentient experiment.

soul age

Soul Age in the Eyes

Does soul age manifest through the eyes?

INFANT SOULS MANIFEST FEAR. THIS CAN BE SEEN IN THEIR EYES. THIS FEAR IS OUT OF PROPORTION TO THE SITUATION. THE WHOLE BUSINESS OF LIVING IS FEARFUL TO THEM.

BABY SOULS ARE GUILELESS, AND THIS SHOWS IN THEIR EYES.

YOUNG SOULS ARE IN A STATE OF UNREST. THIS OFTEN SHOWS UP IN ERRATIC EYE MOVEMENTS: THE INABILITY TO HOLD EYE CONTACT FOR LONG.

MATURE SOULS FIND IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT BECAUSE OF DISCOMFORT.

OLD SOULS HAVE A DIRECT, PENETRATING STARE ABSENT IN EARLIER CYCLES. WISDOM IS REFLECTED THERE.

SOURCE: Michael Teachings Transcripts

Soul Age & Spiritual Advancement (Misconceptions)

A common misconception suggests that soul age is hierarchical. Thus, being an old soul is prized above any of the other soul age stages, such as infant, baby, young, and mature. In short, nobody wants to be a young soul. But a young soul can be fully present and self-aware. In fact, being asleep for the entire reincarnational journey -- at any soul age -- is an option. It comes down to personal choice.

Yes, there are certain stereotypes for soul age, but that's all they are -- stereotypes. We typically think of serial killers as infant souls; yet, Jack the Ripper was a mature soul according to the Yarbro channels. Some old souls may be entrepreneurial and ambitious; some young souls may be spiritual. Stereotypes are instructive at times, but they are not reliable. There's considerable give-and-take on how a person will manifest in life. It's never black and white. And someone who is heavily shackled by false personality is not going to display much of their true self.

Quite often, if we find someone unlikable, we immediately assume they must be a younger soul age. Soul age is used as a weapon to degrade or vilify others. People may say their boss or uncle must be a young soul because he's an arrogant jerk, but soul age doesn't always translate that way. And if the "jerk" gets channeled later as a mature or an old soul, there's disbelief. This is one of the fundamental misunderstandings of soul age. It doesn't always conform to expectations.

I consulted the Michael entity about this for clarification, and they gave the following answer.

The degree to which you are spiritually awake denotes your level of consciousness, not your soul age. This message bears repeating since the concept of soul age has been greatly misunderstood by our students,

Soul age, of course, may act as a natural reinforcement of consciousness, bolstered by the reincarnational experience acquired, but this offers no guarantee that the conscious level of a soul will be commensurate with the soul age stage.

To illustrate, rays of the sun that heat the equator also strike the Arctic circle, but the sun in the Arctic is low on the horizon and the light is never direct. That is why it is colder in the Arctic. A soul without the direct, loving rays of essence could also be considered as receiving light that is low on the horizon, and this may occur at any soul age. In other words, strictly based on hierarchical measurement, an old soul is not necessarily more advanced than a younger soul. That advancement is measured by the level of consciousness in each soul.

As already stated, the level of consciousness is a measurement of how much an incarnating soul is "spiritually awake." The higher the occurrence of negative states in a personality, the lower the level of consciousness. In that respect, being awake is entirely possible in the younger soul stages. Instances exist where a 7th level old soul can possess a lower level of consciousness than a 7th young. It all depends on the quality of inner work being done by that personality.

Spiritual advancement is not directly linked to soul age. Soul age is merely an estimate of the course curriculum completed in the reincarnational cycle. Greater states of awareness may be achieved during this progression and applied to ensuing lifetimes, but work is still needed to smooth out the rough edges. Like everything else in the teaching, the decision to evolve spiritually is a choice.

While the collective reincarnational experience of soul age may lead to spiritual development, its course of study does not immediately bestow a level of consciousness on an incarnating soul that's better or worse than another. The metamorphosis of a tadpole into a frog merely requires the time for the biological process to occur; the stages of life from infant child to an elderly adult requires that the life is lived. Any spiritual growth that transpires during that progression comes from facing life's experiences at a state of awareness that's transformative.

Therefore, higher consciousness is the product of a personal choice to gain mastery over negative states and in so doing awaken to the truest potential of the soul.

CHANNELED by David Gregg

Soul Age and Politics

While some students believe soul age is easily delineated between party lines -- young souls are Republicans and mature souls are Democrats -- such divisions are never that cut-and-dried. Just looking at the Michael profiles of various politicians shows that some young souls are liberal, and some old souls are conservative.

When partisan politics gets involved, you're not seeing soul age as much as false personality. The chief culprit, of course, is identification. People on both sides of the aisle become over-identified with their political stance, and the negative aspects of their ego take charge and run riot.

Both young and old souls struggle in the political arena. It too quickly becomes open warfare. If there's an upside, for someone on a spiritual quest, politics offers great fodder to work on detachment and letting go.

Summary of Soul Ages

Yarbro Gave Mottos For Each Of The Soul Ages:

Infant: Lets not do it.

Baby: Do it right or don't do it at all.

Young: Do it my way.

Mature: Do it anyplace but here.

Old: You do what you want and I'll do what I want.

A Quick Summary of Soul Ages

Curious about your own soul age? Take the test: How Old is Your Soul?

Soul Age Articles

Read the following articles to expand your understanding of soul age and the evolution of the soul.

Soul Ages and Levels (Recommended Reading)
Classic Michael material excerpted from Joya's wonderful book, The World According to Michael. If you need to improve your understanding of soul evolution, then this is a great read. Joya's sagey writing style is a special treat.

More On Soul Age
Another overview of soul age, offering insights on infant, baby, young, mature, and old souls.

Infant Soul
Baby Soul
Young Soul
Mature Soul
Old Soul

Soul Age Levels Chart (35 Levels of Reincarnation)
Handy chart to reference the different soul age levels.

Soul Age Levels
Learn about the seven soul age levels.

How Old Is Your Soul?
Take a free test to help determine your own soul age.

The Enigmatic Essence of Old Souls
An insightful article about old souls.

Mature Soul Shift
Read channeling about the upcoming shift from young to mature soul in the world population.

Channeling On Soul Age
Shepherd Hoodwin channels about soul age. Excellent material.

More Channeling On Soul Age
A continuation of Shepherd Hoodwin's series.

Q&A On Soul Age
Channeled answers to various soul age questions.

Soul Age By Countries
The channeled soul age of various countries.

Mature/Old Soul Comparison Chart
A look at some of the differences between these two soul ages.

Manifested Soul Age
Our manifested soul age is the average level of our personality’s perspective at a given time.

Older Is Not Better
It is not better to be an old soul than to be mature or young, just as it isn’t better to be forty-five years old than it is to be thirty-two or fourteen.

Detecting Soul Age
When we jump to conclusions about someone's soul age based on current negative behavior, how do we know whether we're seeing the full extent of that person's soul development, or just human immaturity?

The Mature Soul Society
A thorough exploration of what a mature soul society might be like. Highly recommended reading.

Celebrity Soul Ages (and overleaves)
Find the soul age of celebrities.

Old Souls Coping in a Mature Soul World
Some suggestions on how to do it.

Additional Thoughts on the Soul Ages
Michael channel Shepherd Hoodwin offers additional insights, along with a Q&A format.

Trends in Soul Age
Fascinating observations on the various trends that can occur as the soul progresses through a linear cycle of lifetimes.

Comments On Soul Age
Interesting discussion on the break down of soul age in the population, and comments on how to discern soul age.

Soul Age Polarities
Soul age lessons are examined in the form of a diary. Fascinating perspective.

Astral Schools and Soul Levels
Learn about the schools on the astral plane.

You Know You're An Old Soul When...
A humorous page about old souls and the MT in general.