Why I Cringe When I Hear the Words ‘Old Soul’
Has anyone read the book Journey of Souls
I get this book recommended to me on a regular basis. From what I’ve gathered, it’s supposed to be a really good book about the soul’s evolution – what we do in between lifetimes and plenty of information about the bigger picture of the soul’s path.
When I began to read it, I opened it and then shut it again pretty quickly.
The reason why was that it talked about hierarchy in terms of the soul’s evolution – some people are more evolved than others. Some people are young souls and some people are old souls. Old souls are wiser. They tend to be into spiritual stuff. Young souls are like the kids that don’t know what they’re doing, they’re usually doing things like messing up the planet or destroying things.
This idea has been in other books too, like Conversations with God.
I don’t agree with this idea of a spiritual wisdom heirarchy.
- Firstly, how do you measure evolution of the soul?
- Does anyone remain enlightened, once they’re enlightened?
I don’t think so.
Here’s what I have been told about the soul’s evolution during readings:
There is less continuity in the soul’s journey than we realize. It is not as linear as people think.
We may believe that souls have a number of lifetimes where they start out as a young soul, amass wisdom and then gradually become an older soul. The older you get, the wiser you get.
But in fact, souls play roles. During the life of your soul, I’ll bet you’ve played every role imaginable. Male, female, prince, pauper, ordinary, exceptional, saintly, monstrous, dumb, intelligent, person-who-’gets-it-right’, professional-maker-of-mistakes.
The soul knows itself better through contrast.
I do past life readings for people where the person they were feels unrecognizable and incredibly different to who they are now. Your personal identity changes over lifetimes and you end up in many different circumstances, some of them that you would never imagine.
In one lifetime you can seem incredibly ‘evolved’ and in the next, you choose to play a role that looks like the total opposite.
No-one ever ranks higher than anyone else in terms of spiritual wisdom.
But in some incarnations, you will naturally be closer to the source (i.e. to your soul) than in others. So it seems like you are more evolved and wise somehow. This is only temporary and next time could be different.
All souls have different types of wisdom. Those who appear to be ‘old souls’ are usually tapped into the wisdom centred around the upper chakras. But that’s not the only type of wisdom. Other people are tapped into the soul through the wisdom of the body, even the mind, the emotions, the senses, the earth, the blood.
Permanent enlightenment is a myth. Enlightenment is an arbitrary, relative, temporary state that you can attain in your lifetime, but it can disappear in any moment because it’s a state. This is why terms like ascension are illusory. Those terms are arbitrary measures of perceived evolution. Perceived being the important word.
The soul sees and realizes more of itself in every lifetime that it goes through. When you tap into some of that wisdom, it may seem like you evolve all of a sudden, but all that is happening is that you get closer to your soul. The soul will reveal itself to you when you go looking.
So the real question is not how can I evolve further and accelerate my development, but how close can you get to the source/to your soul? How can you tap into the soul’s wisdom and learning that is already there? That wisdom is not something you can become, but something you tap into – and everyone does it in different ways.
As I mentioned, the wisdom that we recognize is usually the spiritual kind and is focused around the upper chakras. And you can definitely tap into the soul’s wisdom through seeking self-knowledge and intuitive development. But the thing is that many people think we can get close to the source and more in tune with spirit ONLY by spiritual seeking, and for some people it works, but it’s not for everyone.
What are the ways that you personally tap into spirit?
You can also get closer to your soul by eating, enjoying your body, doing the things you love, being creative, being around animals, helping others, helping yourself, using your gifts, recognizing your shadow side, listening to music, creating music, being human, giving to yourself, asking for what you’re worth, saying no to others, saying yes, doing something that seems stupid, making a good choice, spending a night in front of a roaring fire with a glass of good wine, exploring, traveling, mathematics, taking risks, staying safe. Whatever appeals to you.
I believe that the souls that are closest to the source are those who access the wisdom of the soul through all the chakras, and that looks different for everyone.
Balance. To me, if we’re going to use the word enlightenment, that’s what it would mean. To live life and enjoy it to the full and use your gifts.
Meditating for seven hours a day and appearing to be full of spiritual wisdom just means that you tapped into your soul, through the upper chakras. But how about tapping into your soul through all your chakras? Power, stability, fun, sensuality, heart, vulnerability, mouth, intuition, wisdom. That appeals to me more.
Masses of spiritual greatness and wisdom can often be instability and imbalance masquerading as wisdom. Those who overwhelm others with their great and inspiring wisdom can sometimes be on the verge of a breakdown because we’re not designed to access wisdom only through the upper chakras at the expense of the lower ones. It leads to imbalance. Spiritual genius and madness are not that different.
Your thoughts on my opinions? Do you see evolution differently? Have I been too harsh?
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Harsh? Not at all. Refreshing? Definitely.
One thing I might want to add to what you’ve said is that calling somebody an “old soul” seems to imply that younger souls are inferior in some way. And that’s not, well, Sourcelike at all.
I have read about old souls and younger souls and it never sat right with me. People who write about that also teach non-judgment in the same breath, but as dusty says, old soul can imply judgment on the “younger souls”. Plus it’s all about someone’s perception of another person as to whether others are wise or not. It;’s easy to write off someone’s behaviours or choices as inferior by calling them less evolved.
Words are poor communicators but the best we have. Most words contain a percentage of bulllshit. Spiritual jargon generally contains a larger proportion of this alchemical substance.
However, it’s also not helpful to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The best part is that we each get to decide what we believe.
I really enjoyed this article Anna. I especially agree with the part where you explain about being enlightened/saintly in some lives and not at all in some others. And of course, with the importance of tapping into our spiritual resources. You don’t sound harsh, i really like your point of view
Dusty – good point. Younger does sort of imply inferior doesn’t it.
Michael – yes, we definitely get to decide what we believe! When you said it’s not good to throw the baby out with the bathwater, do you mean that it’s good to keep the idea of wisdom heirarchy/levels of wisdom?
Hi Weena, thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment
Well, if we find the idea of life lessons viable, it stands to reason that a lesson implies learning – therefore going from not having certain knowledge or skills or energies to having them. This in turn implies growth, and of course no one is at exactly the same stage at the same time.
Of course, you might be at one stage of learning in one energy and I in another and so have them cancel out.
Bottom line, do I think some souls are more wise than others? Yep, simply because they have more experience (which has nothing to do with the age of the body they happen to be in at the time) and have used their free will to take the lessons to heart.
Having said that, I believe that the “age” of the soul itself has less to do with wisdom than, say, the Michael Teachings would have us believe. I know older people who seem really dumb and I know young people who have their shit together.
Or maybe I’m missing your point. As I say, it’s only words anyway.
Hi Anna,
This post (and comments) resonated with me on SO many levels.
I HAVE read the Newton books and thoroughly enjoyed them. He does make the point in them that while souls may be “Older” or “more evolved” there is no judgment in the life between lives on that. It is US (in this dimension) and our words… we assume older means wiser… more evolved means more enlightened… SOOO not so on this plane!
It has been very interesting as a Soul ReAlignment practitioner getting the soul vibration readings. I surround myself with spiritual people and as such have done readings for QUITE “advanced or OLD souls”. Does this mean they have their lives together? Nope, 3rd dimension is a whole new ballgame EACH and every time. We have new lessons each and every time as you mentioned. In fact, sometimes I think it is MORE difficult the higher the vibration because it makes it harder to relate to this very real 3rd dimension. It is all so interesting…
What I find is your MOST important point is how can you get close to your soul in THIS lifetime! THAT is the key and being in the here and NOW. JOYYYYY is key!!!! Service, love, connecting with nature and deep within!
Thank you Anna for this important post. Much love, xo
Jenny
Interesting article Anna. I dont think of an old soul as superior. In fact I feel like old souls have been around the block and back and can be more weary as well lol. We all have free will and we might spend a few lifetimes treading water just to gain some breathing space.
I suppose too on another level we’re going to meet people who vibrate similarly to us, we all resonate at that level together. Im probably not likely to meet someone too far either end of the vibration rate than me.
I totally agree with you about the lower chakras. After all our bodies are spirit solidified.
Hi Michael,
You have been making me think
Maybe it is a question of words. We say that souls are infinitely wise, they guide us in their wisdom but then we say they become wise through living on Earth. And some are wiser than others. Does that mean younger souls get intuition from their higher self that isn’t as wise?
If we’re all pieces of source, do we start out unwise and then get wiser through living? I don’t reckon it’s like that. I think it’s that pieces of source turn up on earth and learn to live here and learn to align with their soul here. They become more of the soul, rather than the soul expanding and the person with it. And some people learn to align with spirit in one area more than others.
If the soul is expanding, I believe it is a collective expansion of humanity, like an expansion of source and like how the universe is expanding. And all pieces of source sort of get dragged along for the ride automatically.
I don’t know if this makes any sense or if it sounds like I’m splitting hairs, but it’s what resonates with me. I believe there is no hierarchy if everything is a part of source.
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for your insightful comment – I am glad this resonated with you! I didn’t see the part in Michael Newton’s book about younger not meaning inferior or less evolved, as I didn’t get very far with it!
I guess once you get to that level, our words and meanings don’t always match those in the spirit realm so it gets a bit mind-boggling. A bit how we have the romantic concept of ‘soulmate’ in this realm that doesn’t match spirit’s idea of a soulmate.
This is my attempt to make sense of and translate what I’ve understood in readings – you are already everything you’ve wanted to become. (It’s just about allowing more of that into your physical life.)
That line (you are already everything you’ve wanted to become) is definitely something I’ve heard echoed in life purpose readings and I read it on Slade’s website too a while back. (Maybe I am quoting Slade out of context and in a way that he didn’t mean)
Hi Kate,
Thanks for your comment. Yes. I don’t think old soul necessarily has to have that superior quality. I have heard people use it to justify or explain other people’s behaviour i.e. “The reason they behave like that is because they’re not old souls” which just sounds a bit…you know, conceited! And we all learn to live the spirit here on earth, and i think everyone’s path is different, (and not necessarily linear) so there’s no point comparing. Plus I feel our growth is more connected and interdependent as a human race than we care to believe.
Just a few more of my thoughts
Trying to make sense of this and seeing what resonates with me, I also feel there’s so much information I don’t have and may never have in the human state. So just my speculations and my intuitions about it I guess.
as the saying goes: “before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. after enlightenment: chop wood, carry water”
sitting around thinking nice thoughts is sometimes nothing more than that: thinking nice thoughts.
expansion can be made in many dimensions – through the body, through emotions, through mind, .. – no one being superior or “better” than any other. through whatever you love – just like you say.
also, i find it weird to talk of “old” and “young” souls, as that implies souls existing in some kind of temporal dimension much like this one we’re currently experiencing. makes no sense. i really don’t even know what time is. sometimes i even think we (or at least i) like the idea of souls as an escape because we’re afraid facing death.
In my experience, some people have brighter, more powerful souls than others, regardless of their life circumstances. Some people seem to let harsh circumstances break them, while others blow through them and heal rapidly, seemingly independent of any random “choice” or not. I don’t know if these latter are old souls or if they have been granted extra power in this life for whatever reason. However, I do feel strongly that this extra power is at the level of their soul and not their incarnation. Everyone’s Source when you look deep enough, but a bit above that there are variations.
In these extra-powered souls, I’ve seen some “awaken” to the resources they have and some do not. Some with relatively less intense souls can become stronger and wiser than them because circumstances foster their awakening. But something about their wisdom and power remains visible under the surface.
So I agree soul evolution is distinct from the evolution of the incarnation.
As for old/young souls, I’m not really sure what I think. I do think that if we learn lessons over each life time, some level of progression makes sense though.
MICHAEL WROTE: Having said that, I believe that the “age” of the soul itself has less to do with wisdom than, say, the Michael Teachings would have us believe. I know older people who seem really dumb and I know young people who have their shit together.
COCTEAUBOY WRITES: I just wanted to chime in and say that The Michael Teachings uses “soul age” to describe the maturity of the soul, not the literal age of it. So two “old souls” who have reached a certain level of capacity for learning how to choose, and choosing how to learn, may have very different “ages” in terms of number of incarnations, amount of time on the planet, etc. And as far as The Michael Teachings are concerned, there is no real conclusive point of enlightenment, because even The Source {Tao, God, whatever) of all of this is also supposedly learning.
I actually think it is how we perceive the meaning of words.
If you read “Conversations with God”, the “God” reminds us that we’re all not here to ‘learn’, but actually remember who we are.
Michael Newton’s books makes a distinction between more ‘evolved’ souls and lesser ‘evolved’ souls, but he did state that in his findings, that has nothing got to do with the number of incarnations.
So it really depends on how we define the words ‘old’, ‘young’, ‘evolved’, ‘learning’.
A person who is ‘wiser’ and ‘evolved’ as a human doesn’t indicate that he/she is an evolved soul.
At the other end of the spectrum, someone who behaves in an unevolved manner may not be an unevolved soul. It could be a gracious soul who has volunteered to take on a difficult role.
I agree with you that soul growth is not linear. I myself am not convinced that time is linear. For all we know, we may be sent back to pre-historic ages to learn certain lessons. Or remember. We may progress, then regress.
I think what Michael Newton was trying to imply is, that some souls accumulate more lessons than others and retain their lessons better. After a certain stage of learning, some gets ‘promoted’ to guides. Your guides have to come from somewhere right?
I think to do a good critique, we have to be aware of both sides of the story. Why don’t challenge yourself to finish all Newton’s books and see if you still feel the same way. Personally it is one thing to believe what a self-proclaimed teacher says, and another thing to believe thousands of case studies. Not by his own opinion, but by the answers that come from thousands of souls, tapped to remember their higher selves.
We have to remember that positive or negative implications of words are judged by us humans. In the spirit world, there is no judgement.
Only love is real. My two cents.
Hi Winnie,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment.
Maybe it is a question of words. What I wanted to convey in this post is that no soul is inherently more wise than another because we’re all pieces of source. But of course some remember the spiritual wisdom more than others. So maybe I feel it is not so much a question of learning, but remembering.
This post was an antidote to things I’ve read and heard from people who feel that being a self-described old soul makes them somewhat superior in wisdom and character. I think that is a sort of conceit.
Yes, it would be good to read Michael Newton’s books again, with an open mind.
@Andrew: some souls feel more powerful than others, but this has nothing to do with wisdom, maturity or age. Some souls are just more aligned with power, just like other souls are more aligned with for example love and feel more loving. It also depends on their energy center of training. Someone trained in the 7th ECT is more likely to be perceived as bright and powerful than someone trained in the 4th one, for example (the stress lies on “perceived”… not saying they really are). I don’t believe that the level of alignment with power can tell us anything about how old or wise someone is. As you said, there are variations at soul level, but IMO none is wiser or more evolved than another.
Also, letting events break them does not mean they are younger or less wise. We all have different life lessons to learn, different challenges, different strengths and talents and specialities, and also different blocks and restrictions that limit us. What breaks the one does not break the other, and the other way around. Who knows, maybe being broken even is exactly what they needed to experience at this time or was even a life lesson planned all along.
There are SO many factors. I wouldn’t judge someone’s wisdom based on what we can see. Who are we to know.
@Anna: thanks for this post.
I don’t know if there is a linear soul evolution or not. Honestly, I don’t care to know *shrugs*. I agree with you that what counts here and now is not how evolved, old or wise we are, but how much we get in touch with our soul and tap into the wisdom of who we really are.
It tends to annoy me when people talk about younger, older, more or less evolved, spiritual, or conscious people. Based on what I see in my practice, those people who make a big fuss about being oh so spiritual and highly conscious are ironically those who have the lower soul vibration rates. When I see in my practice how much some souls suffer from blocks that we cannot see, it seems really disrespectful to me to judge their “spiritual performance” as “less”. Where is compassion?
Sorry for ranting.
Love to everybody. 
Rosine.
Hi Rose,
Yes I can see where you’re coming from…it is disrespectful to judge someone based on a lesser “spiritual performance” because of blocks LOL. Not to mention ridiculous. And you wrote some interesting points here about power and strength. Thanks for commenting!!
Oh, how I agree with this!
There is so much about ‘soul evolution’ that we just aren’t aware of. We don’t go from level 1 to level 100. I really want to add on points written here, but I find I have nothing to add other than: Just be you! Don’t aspire to be like Jesus or Buddha! Their path was and IS different than yours! There’s no clear – cut, drawn roadmap to follow for ‘the best results possible’.
That’s one of the good things in life: Walking your own path.
Anna, This is a very interesting article. I tend to agree with you because we are all One and part of the Godhead/Source, Essence, whatever we wish to call it. In the world of spirit, there is no “better” or “worse.” These concepts are rooted in the physical realm, part of the illusion. It’s a man-made concept based on the ego of course.
Since we are human, many would like to be considered “older” or “wiser” due to the ego’s desires and the appealing notion of ranking “higher” on the totem pole. But as mentioned earlier, it’s simply an illusion because we are all united and one in spirit. All souls are interacting each second of the day and having effects on others, we all are. We choose our roles for certain lifetimes in order to help others remember who they are…
I firmly believe the reason we incarnate physically is to Remember who we are rather than Learn. We were all created in perfection so we already “know” everything there is to know… There is nothing to Learn per se. The CWG books really emphasize this. We simply come here to Experience what we know and practice what we know… For example, a person can study music for 20 years but if they never practice that music, they will never fully experience what they know….
So we all choose roles for a reason… Some appear as “good” and others “bad”… But all is in divine order and perfect. I actually admire souls who step up to the plate and take on the role of a “bad” person in order to help with another’s life purpose/blueprint… they’re quite brave. There is no right, wrong, good or bad… There just IS.
I’ve studied the Michaels Teachings… What I’m able to gather from this is we experience a Cycle… So we go through the “baby” soul age all the way through the “old” soul age and then back again over and over for eternity… Time is an illusion and the soul probably finds great joy in manifesting in different bodies as different “soul ages” for a reason… We are all one, created in unconditional love and have infinite wisdom. We are all the same energy… We just choose to manifest in various bodies/personalities to assist others..
Hope this helps!
Warmly,
Julia
When the Buddha completed his Awakening, he called for a plate of pork. That one idea, that the embodied ideal of spiritual awareness should satisfy his body’s needs, speaks strongly of the need for balance which you emphasize here.
Thanks for this article, Anna. I have always felt uncomfortable when the term “ascension” has been used. Something within me tells me it’s an abused word. I have always questioned…”Ascension? Ascension to what?”
As you do, I feel it’s a matter of how close one gets to soul.
However, I don’t mind the use of the term “old soul”, it just seems to fit some people. I have an old soul amongst my children. It’s the best way to describe her, and one can see she’s been in-tune with her soul at a young earthly age. I have encountered other old souls as well, and they are unmistakable. They seem to stand out in some area of their life. And so, as you mention, they may be close to soul in some areas of their life, but, not in all. Seems like chakra development to me.
Thanks, again, for the article.