Soul Journey

The human soul is the immaterial part of a person which confers individuality and humanity, often considered to be synonymous with the mind or the self. It is the part of every human being that lasts eternally after the body experiences death. The human soul is central to the personhood of a human being. As George MacDonald said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” In other words, personhood is not based on having a body. A soul is what is required. Some of us argue that the real you is not your soul but the observer, but I will leave that for another blog.

There is widespread and longstanding belief in the existence of a soul, and different religions and philosophers have developed a variety of theories as to its nature, its relationship to the body, and its origin and mortality.

Among ancient peoples, both the Egyptians and the Chinese conceived of a dual soul. The Egyptian ka (breath) survived death but remained near the body, while the spiritual ba proceeded to the region of the dead. The Chinese distinguished between a lower, sensitive soul, which disappears with death, and a rational principle, the hun, which survives the grave and is the object of ancestor worship.

The early Hebrews apparently had a concept of the soul but did not separate it from the body, although later Jewish writers developed the idea of the soul further. Biblical references to the soul are related to the concept of breath and establish no distinction between the ethereal soul and the corporeal body. Christian concepts of a body-soul dichotomy originated with the ancient Greeks and were introduced into Christian theology at an early date by St. Gregory of Nyssa and by St. Augustine.

Ancient Greek concepts of the soul varied considerably according to the particular era and philosophical school. The Epicureans considered the soul to be made up of atoms like the rest of the body. For the Platonists, the soul was an immaterial and incorporeal substance, akin to the gods yet part of the world of change and becoming. Aristotle’s conception of the soul was obscure, though he did state that it was a form inseparable from the body.

In Christian theology St. Augustine spoke of the soul as a “rider” on the body, making clear the split between the material and the immaterial, with the soul representing the “true” person. However, although body and soul were separate, it was not possible to conceive of a soul without its body. In the Middle Ages, St. Thomas Aquinas returned to the Greek philosophers’ concept of the soul as a motivating principle of the body, independent but requiring the substance of the body to make an individual.

From the Middle Ages onward, the existence and nature of the soul and its relationship to the body continued to be disputed in Western philosophy. To René Descartes, man was a union of the body and the soul, each a distinct substance acting on the other; the soul was equivalent to the mind. To Benedict de Spinoza, body and soul formed two aspects of a single reality. Immanuel Kant concluded that the soul was not demonstrable through reason, although the mind inevitably must reach the conclusion that the soul exists because such a conclusion was necessary for the development of ethics and religion. To William James at the beginning of the 20th century, the soul as such did not exist at all but was merely a collection of psychic phenomena.

There have also been numerous ideas about when the soul comes into existence and when and if it dies. Ancient Greek beliefs were varied and evolved over time. Pythagoras held that the soul was of divine origin and existed before and after death. Plato and Socrates also accepted the immortality of the soul, while Aristotle considered only part of the soul, the noûs, or intellect, to have that quality. Epicurus believed that both body and soul ended at death. The early Christian philosophers adopted the Greek concept of the soul’s immortality and thought of the soul as being created by God and infused into the body at conception.

Regardless of the theory all of what we know of the soul, is based on conjecture or challenged messages. Modern spirituality suggests that us as sparks of light and consciousness are attracted to the dualistic earth plane for learning and experience. That our true self is a part of a larger collective and that the world is the matrix. All the individual essences will have dozens upon dozens of lifetimes and gather up incredible amounts of experience which will be shared, to the core, with the entire entity. When all members have completed the whole growth and experience cycle on earth, each entity again merges back into one very intimate consciousness. Each fragment will then share in the experience, feelings and knowledge of all the others.

The belief continues saying that before taking a body each lifetime, you determine which culture, which parents, what body type and sex you will be and what your personality will be like.

Each of our lives changes and deepens our point of view. According to channelled Archangel Michael messages, the soul develops through various stages each taking a minimum of seven lifetimes. These stages are called Infant, Baby, Young, Mature, and Old Soul levels. After that there are six other planes of existence to grow through, and then it's back to the oneness of the Tao/God Source.

SOUL AGE

Soul age refers to how a person has grown from experience, and not just to how many lifetimes he or she has lived.

None of us is "ahead" or "behind" any other, but is simply occupying another place in the continuous circle leading to and from the Tao.

Ways of being are supposed to be different in different developmental stages; at some point we experience it all, moving continually along to different levels of understanding and responsibility. Michael always emphasizes that while each stage is unique and manifestly distinct from the others, no one place is better or worse than any other.

The Infant Soul stage is one characterized by many fears. Often, there is a frightened, furtive, animal-like look in their eyes. In this stage people are often born into primitive, sometimes tribal, conditions. Learning how to survive is the primary concern. Infant Soul lifetimes are pretty rough. and are often short. Famine, plagues, drought, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, tigers, bears, poisonous snakes and combat are experienced along with every other survival threat imaginable.

They resonate closely with nature and many times feel not individuation but great oneness with everyone in their family or tribe. They can be intuitive and earthy in a simple, unquestioning way. They have the knack, all too soon forgotten, for living in the moment.

The intellectual center does not become fully opened in this phase, so there isn't yet much feeling for ethics or personal morality. The Infant Soul has to be taught what is right and wrong. Even a highly intelligent person may seem dull or not quite pulled together with his or her thinking.

Because the median soul age on the planet is currently edging into Mature, any soul incarnating for the first time will be pushed into a continual catch-up game.

There are seven discrete parts within each of the soul ages, each taking somewhere between one to ten lifetimes for completion. Thus when individuals are complete with all seven levels of Infant, they have probably averaged twenty or thirty lifetimes.

Baby Soul

Though the world is still experienced as a scary place, survival has been worked out; this is a time to get civilized and be proud of it, a time of demonstrating you can do it right.

Structure helps Baby Souls to feel comfortable in the world. They want to be directed and therefore seek out higher authorities who are willing to lay out clear rules for them, This soul age will hold traditional religious leaders in esteem, turn doctors into gods, and likely feel their country, their army, and certain politicians, can do no wrong.

Traditions, rituals, and law and order provide a welcome sense of security. "That's the rule and that's what we'll do," is typical thinking. They make sure your car is not parked in front of their house and that their lawn is mowed and sprinkled. In a dogmatic, black-and-white way, they know right from wrong. Usually conscientiously good citizens, they can be counted on to do the "right" thing. This is also the soul age with the greatest propensity to long-term grudge holding.

The Ku Klux Klan would be a Baby Soul organization in a negative pole, while many service organizations like the Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club would be in a more positive pole of expression. Anti-abortion right-to-life organizations, school prayer promoters, and fire-and-brimstone preachers all tend to emerge out of Baby Soul consciousness and concerns.

Baby Souls may become inwardly bewildered. Baby Souls are so sure they are right that they have difficulty comprehending opposition. This is not a self-reflective phase. Usually a Baby Soul won't show inner quandary; when perplexed or thwarted there is more likely to be an outward display of belligerence. Baby Souls feel justified in fighting for their beliefs and may demonstrate not just dogmatism but a fairly brutal mentality.

They are very interested, if not obsessive, about cleanliness, neatness, and keeping germs at bay. Not yet able to perceive that chronic feelings or attitudes may cause physical and psychological problems, their emotional difficulties are, in fact, often somaticized so that angry feelings become gallstones, or fear turns into kidney, bladder or back trouble.

Around sexual matters, there is uneasiness and some degree of shame or guilt. This is not a time for hot tub entertaining, but hiding bodies, making love in the dark - probably with pajamas and without great sensuality.

Baby Souls sometimes come into prominence. They don't often look for a big stage, not having the resourcefulness or experience to handle it well, but they may gather fame for their unyielding political or religious beliefs.

YOUNG SOULS

Having mastered the Infant and Baby Soul issues of survival, discipline and order, the soul is now looking to see how powerful it can become in the world.

Independence and the ability to get what one wants out of life are the driving force of the Young Soul stage. Seizing what the physical plane has to offer, vying to gain positions of prominence, power and great wealth, causes this to become the most competitive period in the whole cycle of lifetimes. Those who are expressing themselves from a Young Soul perceptivity will tend towards a sort of tape measure mentality that makes them monitor who among them has the hottest investments, the most lavish parties, the most important friends, the greatest weekly aerobic output, the tallest building, fastest motorcycle, broadest shoulders, thinnest hips or heaviest diamonds.

Ambition is important with the attitude being, "There is you and there is me, and I am going to win." There is a great drive to get ahead. In the process of getting to the top, it doesn't matter too much what needs to be done or who's stepped on or over. Think of the CIA, John Sununu or Saddam Hussein. A Young Soul typically has little respect for anyone whose ideas are not their own. At this consciousness level, if one can make money or gain influence, the long term consequences of any act aren't terribly important. The problem with toxic wastes being dumped all over is one result of being in a Young Soul culture in a hurry to make a buck. While Young Souls are productive, industrious and goal oriented, their vision extends only so far, and they are not likely to question their motives or ethics.

Because they are desirous of making something of themselves and leaving their mark on the world, Young Souls can be tireless workers. We owe them our efficiency, much of our high technology, our military might, and our continual push to make things happen and change. They are the architects of civilization and its builders. However, with a focus on quantity and not necessarily on quality, something like "scientific agriculture" will be valued.

Young Souls don't always pursue what they like, which they may see as an indulgence, but what they believe will create success. It is natural for them to learn how the system works early on and use it to their advantage. Driven towards achievement, they flock to large well-known universities to obtain degrees of prominence. Some of these people seem born with the ability to make the economic system jump through hoops of their own design and to turn their hundreds into thousands and their millions into billions with apparent ease.

Because Young Souls are not emotionally open, they tend to make poor parents who don't make strong feeling connections with their children. However they will buy their children everything they can afford. These children with expensive toys, haircuts, cars and educations, will be pushed to excel in all they do from nursery school through college, to marriage and career. Those successes will reflect favorably back on the status-seeking parent. Children are not pushed to express their feelings.

Young Souls tend to be conventional, but less adamant than Baby Souls in their religious beliefs. At church, you'll more likely find them networking and promoting their businesses than pushing dogma or being critical about some other member's behavior or lack of attendance.

Because Young Souls are heavily identified with their bodies and really not sure that consciousness survives it, we have cryogenic suspension; plastic surgery for noses and elbows, thighs and chins, breasts and waists; a booming multi-billion dollar industry devoted to beauty products for men and women; and an incredibly huge and costly (Young Soul, high-tech) medical system which intends on keeping everyone alive as long as possible regardless of desires, costs, pain, or quality of life.

As superb manipulators of the environment, humans are unequivocally good at the Young Soul phase. Winning out over rivals, gaining acclaim, power and money make them feel on top of the world. In spite of incredible stress--and fears about losing--this is an essentially exciting, fulfilling time. Because the earth just now completing its Young Soul phase, acknowledgement for Young Souls, who are already outgoing go-getters, comes along quite easily. Towards the end of the Young set of lifetimes, people will start to experiment more with food and sex. They'll likely become adventurous with extensive travel, both to experience the world, their oyster, and to gain status among peers.

Creativity begins opening up during this phase, although it comes to a fuller fruition in the Mature phase. Many, many people rise to fame and prominence during this period; we find movie stars, TV anchors, singers, comedians, politicians, executives, religious leaders, Nobel prize-winners, Hollywood producers, and authors.

MATURE SOULS

By the end of the Young Soul phase, an uneasiness arises that something is amiss. All the wealth, power and acclaim aren't quite enough; profits and winning no longer have transcendental value.

Thus begins the search of the Mature Soul period. The questions "Who am I? Why am I here?" are asked with frequency in these lives. These are trying, intense times; emotions open up, boundaries between people break down. Seeing another person's point of view becomes possible as people become deeply immersed in relationship issues. Suddenly it's clear everybody has feelings, and these feelings are usually either interesting or unavoidable. One of the reasons Young Souls are able to direct so much energy towards success is that their inner lives aren't calling for attention. This allows their energy to flow easily after externals. Not so in the Mature period. It is a stirred-up, introspective time. There is more emotional centering here, more intensity, more schizophrenia, more pain, more suicide, more love, more sensuality, and probably more drugs to intensify it all than in any other period.

Creativity flows. Philosophy and art come into prominence. Illusion and distortion of reality are inevitable as a person opens up because there is not a clear path nor an easy way to sort through all the feelings. Nothing is as solid as in the Baby and Young phases. Being flexible is not easy..

Because they are often misunderstood and perceived as disturbed, when actually just perceiving more than the Baby or Young Soul, Mature Souls often gravitate towards a community of other Mature Souls where they can be understood. Mature Souls enjoy the company of other Mature Souls for their emotional potency as well as for the "being on the same path" kind of feeling. They appreciate Old Souls for their information and perhaps an occasional rest, while Young Souls are enjoyed for their reminders of how to push forward in the world.

This, like the Young Soul phase, is a time when many people rise into prominence, though less now through ambition and power, and more from vim, verve and dash. Notice that the individual's character tends to be full, usually quite interesting and creative in the Mature period. Painter Vincent Van Gogh suffered continually from the intensity of his feelings, while Paul Gauguin hoped to find solace from them in the peaceful South Seas.

This whole period is marked by exploration, much of it inner, but plenty of it outer.

Countries with Mature Soul attributes may tend to put more attention on social relationships than on material goods or efficiency. Examples are Italy, Greece, Egypt and Mexico. Italy has had about 50 postwar cabinet crises. In Mature nations the question comes up, does a country really need a smoothly functioning government, or is it more interesting to keep juggling? Sometimes "little" things like a crumbling infrastructure won't receive attention until disaster is clearly imminent.

England, even with its stolid roots, is a little off balance due to its entry into the Mature phase. With the advent of a socialism which aims for a more equal distribution of wealth, the average Briton is suddenly more focused on internals than on the never-ending struggle to maintain a power position in the world. People are less interested in nose-to-the-grindstone hard work, but not just because their basic survival is supported by the socialistic system. They have changed on an inner level and now finally have a leader, John Major, who reflects their Mature Soul consciousness.

OLD SOULS

On deep inner levels, Old Souls perceive the inter relatedness existing among all people. Intuitively they sense they are part of an integral whole.

Grasping this big picture, Old Souls then do their best to live by it and to not harm or judge others. There is a strong urge to be impeccable and to maintain personal integrity in all transactions. They detach from the emotional intensities of the Mature Soul period and get more objective about the ups and downs of life.

Having dozens of lifetimes in varieties of cultures and classes thoroughly blended into their essences, it is much more difficult for Old Souls to get embroiled in the right-and-wrong, us-and-them games people and countries both play. Seeing the whole picture in this way makes Old Souls calmer, more peaceful and centered. It can also make them appear passive or weak to the other soul ages.

While Old Souls do not tend to grow into their full soul perceptivity until about age thirty-five or so, they will, even before then, be accused of stepping to the beat of a different drummer. They are unusual--two steps away from the norm--in this Young Soul culture. Because they are inclined to individualistically follow their inner perceptions and desires, they may be seen as eccentric, though usually harmlessly so.

While there is great motivation for spiritual growth, motivation tends to be lacking when it comes to developing political or material punch. Seldom doing anything they don't want to and preferring their own unconventional pursuits, they often seek the path of least resistance as far as work, so that all energy can be poured into spiritual development. Because of the essence's richness gathered over many lifetimes, Old Souls tend to be extremely competent in a wide range of things--which often aren't pursued. They will try to find work that supports their personal growth: counseling, teaching, bodywork, gardening and carpentry being some favorites.

Many are magnetized by philosophy and art. If higher education proves necessary in order to teach, less orthodox schools allowing more opportunities for inner exploration will be favored.

A fancy house or car, or impressive clothes and jewelry aren't often too high on an Old Soul's real priority list. Neither is a nine-to-five job. Plain laziness on the physical plane sometimes creates difficulty paying the bills, but the material game just isn't what it used to be. However, Old Souls do have one advantage with the material world: as they begin to seek, understand and use the laws of the physical universe, goals can be attained with less effort. Thus, there is an outer, as well as an inner draw to understand the universal laws distilled in astrology, metaphysics, tarot and other ancient teachings.

Old Souls may explore many religions and teachings, being most drawn to those emphasizing love and to those they've resonated with closely in past lives.

But being rule-bound or as orthodox as some disciplines require does not usually last long. Unique, personal spiritual practices, like an oceanside ritual to mark a birthday, are often developed and used.

Old Souls are very capable of agape or unconditional love, and many consciously work on not ever judging other people. For this very reason, some Old Souls appear to be annoyingly remote. This is usually a soul who has previously handled many emotional issues and comes to the planet intent on examining intellectual, philosophical and spiritual issues, period.

However, some people get uncomfortable once they are here with their aridity and lack of emotional warmth and set out to make up for what their personality seems to lack. But, the force of essence--which, in this case, is committed only to comprehending spiritual lessons--will not be behind creating the change. This does not mean the change can't be made, just that it is trickier to pull off because you and your essence agreed to work on spiritual lessons.

A similar situation arises after a person has had materially successful lifetimes. The soul has completed the lessons to be gained from having riches and does not have much impetus to recreate those situations except as it might peripherally help with other lessons. Your soul may be willing to let you be dirt poor for the duration of your lifetimes as long as it is gaining the desired spiritual and philosophic lessons. Sometimes soul actually interferes with a person gaining money when it's clear that riches would distract attention from the real inner work.

Remember, you are your essence while you are astral; it is you who decides not to give yourself the wealthy Young Soul parents or the drive and ambition to go out and get powerfully rich. The problem is, of course, that when you arrive on the physical plane, the personality goes a little crazy without material goodies in a material world. The personality may push to make a comfortable living, and pull it off, but again without the added impetus of your essence insisting, "Make a bundle! You have got to be successful." As long as the essence is being fed what it really wants--philosophical and spiritual food--it won't hamper your goals of making money or creating warm emotional connections with people. But your essence still won't be giving you its added push toward prosperity or emotionally nourishing relationships.

A major challenge of the Old Soul period is mastering self-esteem. No one is complete until there is self-forgiveness and self-love. Self-esteem can be elusive when living in a Young Soul society which doesn't acknowledge the work or innate value of older souls. And on top of that, Old Souls truly see what a small part they play in this grand, infinite universe. For this reason, working this issue through is often a very big deal, with lots of self-deprecation being used along the way.

Another major item on the Old Soul school-days agenda is loving being in a body, manifesting sufficient mastery that you have enough of what you want to make it pleasurably exciting to be on the planet. It is never your last life until you like it here; essence would never let you off the hook before then.

In order to even out your past life choices, as an Old Soul you are often in the body of the sex you least prefer. But having had both male and female bodies so many times before, you do begin to blend the different energies and may not be greatly identified with being either male or female. It becomes hard to work up a lather about someone's homosexuality or "lack of masculinity" or "femininity". Bisexual feelings are not uncommon; whether acted upon or not, they are allowed to rise to the surface, sometimes. Sex which takes on a cosmic feeling by blending all chakras becomes possible--and sought after.

Seeing an Old Soul as a baby is telling, for while the child is still acting the demanding infant or growing baby, another quality may be sensed. Because the soul has done all of this so many times, the child has a peace, ease, and wisdom about it--at least in its quieter moments--that can be sensed by the adults around it.

Fewer Old Souls than Mature or Young ones become famous, and when they do it is usually to teach, for the Old Soul level is the teaching level.

None of us allow ourselves to complete the physical plane experience until everything we've learned is shared with at least one other person.

Many individual Old Souls are scattered about, resting in comfortable island places like Tahiti, or conversely, working spiritedly in places like Africa to help bring a country or continent forward. Old Souls incarnate in Infant Soul areas like the Amazon in order to protect, assist, foster, nourish and guide those that need it.

There is a tendency for older souls to have a greater understanding of what the younger soul perceptivities are like than vice-versa. Knowing about soul age perceptivity is exceedingly helpful in understanding the way other people think, the way they look at life and in understanding something about their life tasks.

Each soul age is trying to experience as much as possible within that particular level of perceptivity. It's absolutely to the point for an Infant Soul to be fearfully concerned about basic survival and for a Baby Soul to be requesting law and order. A Young Soul is appropriate when striving for great material wealth, power and acclaim, and a Mature Soul when beginning to feel intensely emotional and ask those deeper questions. It's appropriate for an Old Soul to not meet societal norms, to look and act mildly eccentric and to be teaching others, even when his own personal or material life isn't together.

To expect your Old Soul child to make a successful climb up a corporate ladder is unrealistic. Likewise, it's in error to count upon an aggressive Young Soul attorney turning her attention towards saving the environment, or to believe a Mature Soul embroiled in a major emotional drama would be able to calm down because you showed him the "big picture".

An Old Soul starts each lifetime being born as an infant who experiences Infant Soul consciousness and gradually grows into prior levels of consciousness. A baby is often perceiving through Baby Soul consciousness; think about a two year old shrieking because a parent offended her sense of right and wrong. People vary, but generally reach their competitive Young Soul consciousness sometime in grade school years. Mature Soul consciousness arrives for many during junior high school and is what your up-and-down, full-of-drama, teenager is experiencing.

Individuals don't come close to obtaining their true soul perceptivity roughly one-third of the time. They get stuck. They get lazy. Or the essence finds it easier to complete certain karmas at earlier more ambitious or more emotional soul levels. While most Old Souls (Mature Souls too) will be doing the intense Mature phase in their teens and early twenties, an Old Soul is often not consistently acting out of Old Soul awareness until about age thirty-five, and even then it may be only in some areas of life and not in others. When security buttons get pushed, for instance, it is often difficult to remain completely centered in your Old Soul consciousness. Old Souls will be able to successfully drop out some of the Baby Soul discipline, Young Soul ambition, and Mature Soul emotionality only if those qualities are integrated sufficiently into their personality so that they have access to them when necessary. It does not work to stick your nose in the air (or your head in the sand) in an attempt to avoid lessons and gifts from the other soul ages.

SEVEN LEVELS WITHIN EACH SOUL AGE

As mentioned, each soul age has seven distinct stages, so that an individual can be referred to as a fourth level Old Soul or a seventh level Young Soul. Every soul age level gives a distinct flavor to the lifetimes spent within its arena. Except for the sixth, which takes more, each level takes about three lifetimes to complete, though some essences speed through faster, while the solid types enjoy a more thorough, leisurely pace.

A description of each level is given below along with examples of people in that level. You can see how each level influences a lifetime's behavior. The reason there are so many more people listed in some of the levels is because those are the places that lend themselves more easily to comfort with a fair amount of public attention.

First Level

The first level is a tentative exploration of the new soul age, kind of a feeler or probe. There is a sense of uneasiness, and people at this level will usually spend about 70% of their time back in the comfortably familiar level just completed. The first level is ordinarily enough of a trial balloon that it does not give itself to center stage behaviors.

Second Level

The second level, though cozier, still has much push-pull. People begin to realize they can function best by forging ahead into the new consciousness, that the former perceptivity keeps them frustrated; yet they aren't sure of their footing within the new level at all.

Third Level

The third level person begins to gain the full perceptivity of the new soul age internally, but has difficulty manifesting it in the world. This person becomes extremely introverted and intellectually introspective while trying to integrate the new awareness into day-to-day life.

Third level people do best when they give themselves the space and time to stay home and be alone as much as they want. Respecting their own proclivities and loving themselves just the way they are always smooths the way for more enjoyment of self and life.

Fourth Level

Fourth level, bingo. Integrated and consolidated, the perceptivity is now both inner and outer. Comfortable and feeling assured while pushing out into the world, fourth level lifetimes are spent in full swing, doing and achieving any number of things - perhaps forming bits of karma along the way.

Fifth Level

Fifth level people start pushing on the limits of their reassuring fourth level existences. Believe it or not, humans don't stick with comfort long, especially when it starts impinging on growth. Leaving the beaten path, like Old Soul Carl Jung, for exploration, experimentation and the unorthodox, this level stretches every point and often shows up as pretty eccentric in the process. power with astrology, quite an unconventional Young Soul pursuit.

At fifth level a person may feel out of his element, odd and off-balance socially, and may be seen as less mature than his more secure fourth level friends.

Sixth Level

Sixth level lifetimes are about karma. In Infant, Baby and Young lifetimes, you are usually busier creating karmas than paying them back. Every essence plunges in during these early phases and forms the karmas which cause shudders when you sense, from the perspective of later lifetimes, what took place and what troubles you caused. Usually, once these karmas have come back in your face, you know you would never act like that again, ever, because you understand all too well what it felt like.

In Mature and Old sixth level lifetimes, you piece together the experiences of the prior levels and start handling obligations incurred along the way. This means accumulated karmic debts get paid back through numerous, intense, nearly overfilled sixth level lives. A person will likely have trouble after hard luck and be at wits end from all the calamitous action coming her way. These sixth level catch-up lives are a difficult and demanding group, usually taking longer to complete than any other level. As an Old Soul, these lives are truly the last chance for all karmic completions, some of which have been avoided for dozens upon dozens of lifetimes.

Seventh Level

The karma's paid; it's time for some well-earned poise, rest and complacency. Not too many obstructions or impeding subplots here; seventh level lives usually unfold rather gracefully. Having freshly understood the lessons themselves, individuals are in a good position to teach others - especially those of the soul age just completed. For Mature and Old Souls particularly, there is an urgency to share their perceptivity and ways of being with others.

TRANSCENDENTAL AND INFINITE SOULS

There are two other levels of soul consciousness which may take human bodies, but are vastly beyond the sometimes all-too-human levels of Infant to Old just described. They are the Transcendental Soul and the Infinite Soul.

A transcendental soul is a representative from an entity that has completely recombined, meaning all the fragments or souls in the entity have completed all lifetimes on earth and have merged into full consciousness of each other, into oneness. The entity, which may be on the Astral, Causal, Mental, Messianic or Buddhaic plane, may decide for teaching purposes to send a representative to the planet. Every entity does this at least once. Because of the consciousness levels obtained by the entity, the representative, the transcendental soul, shows up on the planet as a buoyant, balanced being with easy access to higher centers and states of consciousness. The teaching of the transcendental soul, whether verbal, by example, or by leading action, is centered on the greater connectivity of the universe.

There are always some transcendental souls on the planet; in a time of change like the present there are many. These souls are not totally self-aware. They may fall into Maya that is illusion, believing perhaps that they are "A Perfect Master" or an ultimate authority of some sort. They may forget in their teaching about "All That Is" that they are teaching from one perspective only. They can become attached to attention, love, adulation. But mostly, transcendental souls stay amazingly clear, centered and conscious.

Infinite souls are the manifestation of All-That-Is, of the Tao. The entire universe is consciously encompassed in the one body of the Infinite soul. The Infinite soul is self-aware and does have superhuman abilities. This soul usually enters, by prior agreement, into a person who is seventh level Old or Transcendental. The energy of the Infinite soul is so great that were they to be born into a human body and dwell consistently in it, the body would not last long. The Infinite soul may enter later in life as for Jesus and Buddha or come in and out as it did for Krishna and Lao Tsu. These souls are always noticed, always teach oneness and love. Earth is set to be visited by four or five of these incredible souls over the next 20 years. They will have the same message: love one another and the Earth, and will represent different races and both sexes.