Friday, June 20, 2008
Older and younger souls
Context: Sometimes, out of something I'm working on in my own growth, I will jump in with a response to a Michael teachings email I get from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichaelTeachings/. Michael is a channeled entity who came up with a popular personality system for souls, including occupational essence, maturity age, lesson level, etc. It's a pretty good tool for understanding, but like many systems it can lead to a sense of some classifications being better than others. It's not uncommon to have groups of groupies lamenting the dearth of old souls in the world...
Re: QUESTION: Mature vs. Old
> Here's a piece by Shepherd about the subject.
> http://www.michaelteachings.com/older_not_better.html
Shepherd's article on why an old soul isn't better than a younger soul is very good in theory for dispelling prejudices, but I think it misses something in practice. It makes the comparison of soul age to ages of people, pointing out that a child can be just as nice as the nicest adult, only they will act appropriate for their age, and therefore we just can't expect a child to solve complex problems such as doing an adult's nine-to-five job. That's a perfectly fine and true metaphor for a positive world, i.e. the way things were meant to be.
The problem is that current human society has deeply held negative beliefs such as the value of dominating by force and intimidation, to which people have adapted through many lifetimes. A child now, even raised under the best conditions, is forced to build negative personality reactions to survive the hurt and fear in the world just for the hope of making it to adulthood. Any parent knows that even the nicest child will have monstrous tantrums and go through various stages of rebellion, self-centeredness, and even cruelty, just because they're flailing at forces they can't yet understand. Growing up in such a world means that we all have many things to be ashamed of and forgive ourselves for. But if we can survive to functioning adulthold, and by extension to the old soul age, that is where in full comprehension and responsibility we can process the forces of negativity that thread through us all. Only then can we truly hold the high ground of compassion for everyone as we clean ourselves out, becoming living examples of spiritual potential and success. Many many people won't make it this far however, including old souls, and they'll show glimmers in the best of times but fall from grace repeatedly.
So it is my opinion that while anyone can be a fair weather friend, from child to adult or young to old soul, it is only the old souls who commit to spiritual growth that can become the truly safe, reliable, positive companions for every situation. Everyone else will have their limits beyond which they not only don't know what to do, but they also react dangerously, injuring themselves and others. This is just the practical consequence of the negative belief systems and adaptations that are common, if not predominant, in the world today.
So in this sense, being an old soul can definitely be better, providing the old soul is working on their inherent growth. This betterness is not a superiority of spiritual worth that looks down on others, but a superiority of functional capacity that can fix problems at the spiritual level while understanding why others can't and won't yet find their way out of suffering. Any old soul who thinks they're better in an arrogant judgmental way is automatically not, simple as that.
To summarize, handling physical life in a dangerous world is an adult's job, and by extension fully handling life as it is now is an old soul's job. Arguably, the younger souls could always manage just fine by inviting higher spiritual protection to pick up where they leave off, but then that's exactly the kind of assistance that unconscious negativity will block, hence my point. As I understand it, old soul is the developmental stage at which you can really begin to root out and transform your own unconscious negativity reflexes. Before the old soul stage the ego identity is just too tightly held and the best that can be done is amplification and suppression (please stay on my good side, don't push my buttons). Maybe I've just been burned on the dark side of too many people I trusted (including some immature acting old souls), but this view is helpful to me. And yes, I realize that it was my side of the negativity to push their buttons (playing the martyred truth teller can be so tempting), that's why I've become less interventionist and more philosophical in my old (soul or otherwise) age.
Comments anyone, feedback?
... and later, I wrote to someone: The stuff I said was really just my theorizing on what might be the characteristic operating limits of soul age, don't let me limit your actual abilities or discoveries. I'd like to hear about your ideas of what are differences between the soul ages. I know several people on the cusp, making the transition, and it's a tricky topic.
Re: QUESTION: Mature vs. Old
> Here's a piece by Shepherd about the subject.
> http://www.michaelteachings.com/older_not_better.html
Shepherd's article on why an old soul isn't better than a younger soul is very good in theory for dispelling prejudices, but I think it misses something in practice. It makes the comparison of soul age to ages of people, pointing out that a child can be just as nice as the nicest adult, only they will act appropriate for their age, and therefore we just can't expect a child to solve complex problems such as doing an adult's nine-to-five job. That's a perfectly fine and true metaphor for a positive world, i.e. the way things were meant to be.
The problem is that current human society has deeply held negative beliefs such as the value of dominating by force and intimidation, to which people have adapted through many lifetimes. A child now, even raised under the best conditions, is forced to build negative personality reactions to survive the hurt and fear in the world just for the hope of making it to adulthood. Any parent knows that even the nicest child will have monstrous tantrums and go through various stages of rebellion, self-centeredness, and even cruelty, just because they're flailing at forces they can't yet understand. Growing up in such a world means that we all have many things to be ashamed of and forgive ourselves for. But if we can survive to functioning adulthold, and by extension to the old soul age, that is where in full comprehension and responsibility we can process the forces of negativity that thread through us all. Only then can we truly hold the high ground of compassion for everyone as we clean ourselves out, becoming living examples of spiritual potential and success. Many many people won't make it this far however, including old souls, and they'll show glimmers in the best of times but fall from grace repeatedly.
So it is my opinion that while anyone can be a fair weather friend, from child to adult or young to old soul, it is only the old souls who commit to spiritual growth that can become the truly safe, reliable, positive companions for every situation. Everyone else will have their limits beyond which they not only don't know what to do, but they also react dangerously, injuring themselves and others. This is just the practical consequence of the negative belief systems and adaptations that are common, if not predominant, in the world today.
So in this sense, being an old soul can definitely be better, providing the old soul is working on their inherent growth. This betterness is not a superiority of spiritual worth that looks down on others, but a superiority of functional capacity that can fix problems at the spiritual level while understanding why others can't and won't yet find their way out of suffering. Any old soul who thinks they're better in an arrogant judgmental way is automatically not, simple as that.
To summarize, handling physical life in a dangerous world is an adult's job, and by extension fully handling life as it is now is an old soul's job. Arguably, the younger souls could always manage just fine by inviting higher spiritual protection to pick up where they leave off, but then that's exactly the kind of assistance that unconscious negativity will block, hence my point. As I understand it, old soul is the developmental stage at which you can really begin to root out and transform your own unconscious negativity reflexes. Before the old soul stage the ego identity is just too tightly held and the best that can be done is amplification and suppression (please stay on my good side, don't push my buttons). Maybe I've just been burned on the dark side of too many people I trusted (including some immature acting old souls), but this view is helpful to me. And yes, I realize that it was my side of the negativity to push their buttons (playing the martyred truth teller can be so tempting), that's why I've become less interventionist and more philosophical in my old (soul or otherwise) age.
Comments anyone, feedback?
... and later, I wrote to someone: The stuff I said was really just my theorizing on what might be the characteristic operating limits of soul age, don't let me limit your actual abilities or discoveries. I'd like to hear about your ideas of what are differences between the soul ages. I know several people on the cusp, making the transition, and it's a tricky topic.
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Hi Carl! I'm a Michael Channel from TruthLoveEnergy and I think your exploration here is really interesting! Very good points in here.
Below is an excerpt from the intro at my site. I don't know if it is helpful, but it might be.
On a personal note, my first thoughts about your post is that:
1. it goes back to CHOICE, so that a Baby or an Old Soul can behave however they choose
2. that your portrayal of reality here is the TV and Media version of reality that doesn't truly represent the whole of humanity, so when interpreting things from within this sliver of reality, your point makes sense, but outside of that context, it might not hold up
3. It might be easier to show how a Baby Soul shows up in the world, but the older the soul gets, the more wide the spectrum of behaviors, because the Old Soul IS ALL of the Soul Ages
4. Old Souls can tend to become isolated, grouchy, self-righteous, curmudgeonly poops in the same way that an arrogant old woman or man can get, so they are not always the easiest people to get along with, and the really old souls (like 6th and 7th Level) can just come across as almost insane and senile, so let's be careful about attributing such spiritual tendencies to the Old Soul. By the time you are an Older Soul you sort of look up and realize... oh! Duh! I AM spirit! Let's get crazy!
Anyway, here is the excerpt! Enjoy!
FROM THE SOUL AGES SECTION OF THE FULL INTRO AT TRUTHLOVEENERGY.COM
Musical Chairs
I'd like to share an analogy that helps you to keep in perspective that the Soul Ages are NOT better or worse.
Imagine you walk into a room with a stage in the center and 5 chairs all set up in a large circle, all facing the stage, and there is a lot of activity on the Stage for you to watch!
The first chair in the circle can be likened to the Infant Soul Age. It's the first time in the room, it's the first time you are seeing the stage, so you sit and stare and fidget and observe and get as comfortable as you can. You watch the Play, but you also look around the room and shift in your own chair, nervous, but getting adjusted, and not really knowing what is going on. At some point, you begin to understand that the key is is in sitting still, watching the play, and gaining some insight that way. You then move to the next chair.
Now you are in a new position in the same room with the same stage with same play. BUT, not only has your perspective changed, but now that you understand where to focus, this makes the play even more interesting!
Someone else has now seated themselves in the chair you previously occupied.
You do remember what the room and stage looked like from that previous chair, and what players you could see better, and what activity on which you got a better angle, but now you have a new perspective from your second chair! You can see things in the room you didn't notice before, you now see different props, etc., while the person in the first chair (your previous chair) is observing from the angle you originally had. From your position you now have the memory of the previous chair PLUS the experience of this newly-seated perspective. The first person is not better or worse, only in that he/she is seeing the room, the stage, and the play, from a different chair!
You now move to the third chair, the fourth chair, etc., all the while learning to see the room and stage and play from a new perspective while also retaining the perspective of the previous chairs occupied.
It is important to note that all Soul Ages you have experienced (all of the chair perspectives that have come to pass) are now within your grasp to remember and draw from! It wouldn't be very appropriate to turn to the first chair while sitting in the third chair and scowl or judge them because they cannot see from your point in the circle. You, yourself, sat in that chair at one time, and though you gained what you gained from that chair, a new person may even notice things you completely missed, so there can always be something to learn from those sitting in positions you previously occupied.
ALL Soul Ages can be recognized for what they are: a different point on the same circle.
Your point in the circle has as its capacity for understanding and showing compassion for the previous Soul Ages. For instance, a Baby Soul and an Old Soul in an argument will mean that the Old Soul may have to draw from his/her Baby Soul skills to help the situation along. The Baby Soul has not had the experiences of seeing the "room" from the same place as you, but you can remember what the room might be like for the Baby. This does not make the Older soul better than the Baby Soul, any more than an Adult is better than a Child, but one simply has the ability to be more responsible and adaptable, if he chooses.
Below is an excerpt from the intro at my site. I don't know if it is helpful, but it might be.
On a personal note, my first thoughts about your post is that:
1. it goes back to CHOICE, so that a Baby or an Old Soul can behave however they choose
2. that your portrayal of reality here is the TV and Media version of reality that doesn't truly represent the whole of humanity, so when interpreting things from within this sliver of reality, your point makes sense, but outside of that context, it might not hold up
3. It might be easier to show how a Baby Soul shows up in the world, but the older the soul gets, the more wide the spectrum of behaviors, because the Old Soul IS ALL of the Soul Ages
4. Old Souls can tend to become isolated, grouchy, self-righteous, curmudgeonly poops in the same way that an arrogant old woman or man can get, so they are not always the easiest people to get along with, and the really old souls (like 6th and 7th Level) can just come across as almost insane and senile, so let's be careful about attributing such spiritual tendencies to the Old Soul. By the time you are an Older Soul you sort of look up and realize... oh! Duh! I AM spirit! Let's get crazy!
Anyway, here is the excerpt! Enjoy!
FROM THE SOUL AGES SECTION OF THE FULL INTRO AT TRUTHLOVEENERGY.COM
Musical Chairs
I'd like to share an analogy that helps you to keep in perspective that the Soul Ages are NOT better or worse.
Imagine you walk into a room with a stage in the center and 5 chairs all set up in a large circle, all facing the stage, and there is a lot of activity on the Stage for you to watch!
The first chair in the circle can be likened to the Infant Soul Age. It's the first time in the room, it's the first time you are seeing the stage, so you sit and stare and fidget and observe and get as comfortable as you can. You watch the Play, but you also look around the room and shift in your own chair, nervous, but getting adjusted, and not really knowing what is going on. At some point, you begin to understand that the key is is in sitting still, watching the play, and gaining some insight that way. You then move to the next chair.
Now you are in a new position in the same room with the same stage with same play. BUT, not only has your perspective changed, but now that you understand where to focus, this makes the play even more interesting!
Someone else has now seated themselves in the chair you previously occupied.
You do remember what the room and stage looked like from that previous chair, and what players you could see better, and what activity on which you got a better angle, but now you have a new perspective from your second chair! You can see things in the room you didn't notice before, you now see different props, etc., while the person in the first chair (your previous chair) is observing from the angle you originally had. From your position you now have the memory of the previous chair PLUS the experience of this newly-seated perspective. The first person is not better or worse, only in that he/she is seeing the room, the stage, and the play, from a different chair!
You now move to the third chair, the fourth chair, etc., all the while learning to see the room and stage and play from a new perspective while also retaining the perspective of the previous chairs occupied.
It is important to note that all Soul Ages you have experienced (all of the chair perspectives that have come to pass) are now within your grasp to remember and draw from! It wouldn't be very appropriate to turn to the first chair while sitting in the third chair and scowl or judge them because they cannot see from your point in the circle. You, yourself, sat in that chair at one time, and though you gained what you gained from that chair, a new person may even notice things you completely missed, so there can always be something to learn from those sitting in positions you previously occupied.
ALL Soul Ages can be recognized for what they are: a different point on the same circle.
Your point in the circle has as its capacity for understanding and showing compassion for the previous Soul Ages. For instance, a Baby Soul and an Old Soul in an argument will mean that the Old Soul may have to draw from his/her Baby Soul skills to help the situation along. The Baby Soul has not had the experiences of seeing the "room" from the same place as you, but you can remember what the room might be like for the Baby. This does not make the Older soul better than the Baby Soul, any more than an Adult is better than a Child, but one simply has the ability to be more responsible and adaptable, if he chooses.
Thanks for your comments! I liked your metaphors very much. I think they describe the ideal situation, and my view is from reconciling ideals with reality. Absolutely, the media version of reality is not all there is, but we do have to live with it. For the most part, that media version comes from honest views of what's happening on the planet from well-intending people. There are terrible things happening in the world, and worse is that they don't get solved well or quickly because of people's crippled negative reactions. But you're so right, old souls can be real poops and even seem insane - and that's not a successful old soul, in my opinion. I know some very functional caring old souls too, and if the world had more of them then nations would be fixing and avoiding the big problems faster. Like this idea of biofuels, hello, everyone said it would be a dangerous competition with food supplies. Now people are starving. That's not just a media creation - if people in power had listened to the media, they would have cared and fixed things sooner. I'm not an Old Soul poop for being angry and upset about problems in the world. If more people were, we'd be making more progress. Humanity is tremendously advanced in technology, the earth is naturally abundant, and humans are naturally caring, so why haven't we solved poverty by now? There are big dangerous egos in the way, at any soul age, but mostly the younger I suspect.
What do you think?
Cool site you're on, I'll check it more, thanks for the tip!
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What do you think?
Cool site you're on, I'll check it more, thanks for the tip!
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