Do old souls have harder lives? Old souls do have harder lives in the sense that they tend to be living at a higher consciousness, are more spiritual and tend to be more sensitive, wiser and have greater insight into life.
To be honest, I rejected the very idea of “old souls” for a very long time.
As a natural sceptic, whenever I saw people claiming to communicate with the dead or offering their titbits about life beyond death my BS radar quickly kicked in.
One of the sad truths is that many so-called psychics abuse people’s vulnerabilities and have no real communication with departed souls.
I see this with many TV psychics that use a process of manipulation.
That is their karma though.
On the topic of karma, it is what eventually made me see the truth. The idea of past lives is so common in eastern philosophy and religion that is never even questioned.
Karma is one idea that has somewhat filtered through to western philosophy and most people know the concept even if they don’t believe in it.
In western Christian culture, there is essentially just one belief system that dominated for decades. You are born, you live your life and then you die. If you “did well” then you spend eternity in heaven.
If you did not adhere to some doctrine then you will end up in a place called hell for all eternity.
This fable has kept people in the dark and blinded us all to the truth. Only when I discovered past life regression and people like Doloris Cannon and Mira Kelly did the doors of perception really open.
The work of Doloris Cannon in particular is incredibly insightful. Your soul, your spirit or your consciousness is that what you really are.
Your life here in this body and in this human experience is but one of many experiences that your consciousness may have had.
In her work with doing thousands of past life regressions (most of which she recorded), Doloris Cannon has discovered that some people’s consciousness has taken on many life forms throughout millions of years.
Souls not only take on different human life but many other life forms.
I know…
This is where it gets really weird and at this point, most people switch off. I was there once too. It gets too weird because it stretches your perception of life and reality too far beyond your beliefs.
I always liked Dr. Wayne Dyer’s quote “no one knows enough to be a pessimist”. This keeps your mind open to any and all possibilities.
The experiences and testimony of hundreds of thousands of people doing past life regression therapy all have very similar experiences.
This alone does point to universal truths regarding the fact that you have had different lives before.
When you read the testimonies of the thousands of people who had near-death experiences then it also points to this truth that your soul never “dies”.
It simply continues to exist in a different spiritual plane and takes on different lives and even life forms as it experiences the Source or Creator of everything.
What may or may not be seen or experiences as a ‘hard life’ is of course a matter of perception.
An old soul with wisdom and who lives at a higher consciousness will rarely experience their life as ‘hard’.
At a higher level of consciousness the very idea of suffering gets revealed as an illusion.
What Is An Old Soul ?
I believe that at some level an old soul knows that it has been here before. Old souls are what we call people who have had one or more previous lives on earth AND they have a conscious or unconscious awareness of this.
Older people used to refer to wise people as “old souls” and often young children who showed maturity beyond their age was often also referred to as old souls.
Fully understanding human consciousness and how it relates to your soul remains a mystery although its been the subject of spirituality for hundreds of years.
We are not here to learn. We are here to remember all that we once knew before we arrived.
– Michelle Risi
Old souls tend to have a very different life path than most people who are here for the first journey. Old souls tend to have had many past lives.
How do you know you (or someone close to you) is an old soul?
Here are some common experiences and I will also point out why these are often perceived as burdening an old soul with a ‘harder’ life.
1. You Are Inner-directed
An old soul does not live its life by external rules and expectations. It is inner directive. You have the guidance of the universe inside you. Everyone does but not everyone is aware of it and fewer still live by it.
Old souls refuse to comply to any rules that does not ring true to that of their soul.
This is why old souls are often seen as “rebels” and non-conformists. They do not conform to society’s norms. Not as a deliberate act of rebellion but as a way to stay true to their higher selves.
Looking back at history we can see how many of these so-called troublemakers who were inner-directed and who did not merely comply were actually doing the right things.
We live in a world that demands conformity. So-called ‘outsiders’ are often seen as troublemakers.
The desire to fit in and think like everyone else becomes automatic and often enforced through a multitude of subtle and indirect ways.
An old soul will often feel like they are ‘fighting’ a system.
2. You Think and Act Differently
We live ina world that demands of us to conform. Social media has brought about new pressures in acting, behaving and even believing like everyone else.
Being different is seldom celebrated yet we can look at any genius in any area of life throughout history and none of them thought or acted like everyone else.
Because old souls are inner directive they are listening to that still small voice inside them. They feel compelled to be true to their higher self.
Thinking, acting, and being different is not a deliberate act but a natural consequence of what feels right to them.
3. You Are Often Misunderstood
Old souls are almost always misunderstood. Because they are inner-directed and follow their own self they are often misunderstood.
They do not do what they do as a deliberate act of rebellion or an attempt to be different for the sake of attention. This sort of behavior certainly exists but old souls simply are different. They are not trying to be different.
Being misunderstood by society can be very challenging and fitting in can be a challenge.
Do old souls have harder lives? From this perspective they certainly do but it is a burden they seem to understand and carry without complaint.
For an old soul, their understanding and insight into life, their wisdom and unconventional view of the world are often more frustrating than anything else.
Seeing how the majority of people go about life like sheep is frustrating for them to see. The desire to “wake people up” is often a driving force in the lives of many old souls.
4. You Are Drawn To Spirituality
There is a big difference between religion and spirituality. Old souls almost never have any interest in religion. Instead, they are drawn to true spirituality; to discovering more of what they know deep down inside.
Being drawn to spirituality instead of religion often causes family conflicts. In many households and cultures, being drawn ti spirituality is frowned upon and seen as weird.
Being drawn to spirituality and seeking “truth” and deeper meanings in life and death is something an old soul simply can not avoid.
They somehow seem to have some memory of past lives and the continuation of life beyond this temporary incarnation.
Your views of spirituality are often your own and may contradict that of friends and family.
This can often be hard because it can be hard for them to accept your different views.
It can also be hard for you to remain true to your Self because of the opposed views.
5. You Have Uncommon Insights and Wisdom
One of the most common characteristics of old souls is that they have wisdom.
Wisdom is not an intellectual ability but rather an insight and understanding of life that goes well beyond the person’s age.
This is often most evident in younger people who are old souls. In fact, sometimes we see this in very young children who display incredible insight and understanding that seems to completely transcend their age.
This wisdom is not always displayed or evident through words. Sometimes it comes in acts of kindness and compassion.
We saw this more recently with someone like Malala Yousafzai who won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17.
6. You Are Not Driven By Egoistic Pursuits
People who are driven by their ego’s are always seeking approval from the outside world. Their pursuits are driven by accolades and accomplishments.
Old souls are driven by their inner passions and have very little use or need for accomplishments.
It is ironic that many of the most “successful people” are actually old souls. They usually became incredibly successful not because of their pursuit of success but rather because they are different and see things differently.
In a world that is driven by the demand of the ego, being the one who has little regard for these things will only isolate you.
This isolation should never be seen as a curse. More than anything it prompts you to seek out like-minded people who share your vision and your journey.
7. You Often Walk Your Path Alone
Old souls often struggle to find soul mates and kindred spirits. They tend to have only a few really close friends and confidants and tend to find most everyday relationships meaningless.
Because they have more wisdom and insight, they tend to be a much better judge of character and can judge potential relationships much better than people who just “hook up” with everybody.
Being alone is also not seen or experienced as something bad or negative in their lives. An old soul is perfectly happy with its own company and has no real need for outside approval or stimulation.
For many, the difficulty in finding people to truly connect with at a deeper spiritual level can be hard. From this point of view old souls do have harder lives.
8. You Are The Problem Solver and Councillor
An old soul is often the one with the insights, the wisdom and the advice that others seek. This can easily turn you into the problem solver and the councilor.
People often turn to an old soul when they are faced with very difficult decisions or if they have challenges they can not fully understand. An old soul usually has the insight that can guide and help.
While having a higher and deeper insight into life, always being the problem solver and taking on other’s problems can be a heavy burden.
The trick is to realize that this is not a burden but simply an extension of your purpose.
Do Old Souls Have Harder Lives?
All that sounds very “hard” which is why the question comes up do old souls have harder lives?
There are a couple of important key ideas to unravel.
Firstly, what is considered an “easy life”? Is it a life where you have very little problems, very few experiences and very few worries?
Whenever I think of what people consider an easy life I always think of the saying that some people live 60 years while others live the same year 60 times.
If a hard life is one that is full of big challenges, hardships and issues that most other people don’t seem to have then what would you choose?
This idea that we have to make it through life unscathed is a myth and a lie.
You need to understand that at some level you chose this life. You may not be consciously aware of it and you may not yet know the exact reasons why you chose it BUt you chose it.
When you accept this truth you can start to truly live your life.
If you are down on yourself about how hard your life is, on how tough you have it or how unfair life has treated you, STOP.
Is there a possibility that you have chosen to learn and experience certain things from the perspective of your soul and that the events and experiences in your life are merely directing your life to these experiences?
If you knew who walks beside you on the path that you have chosen, fear would be impossible
– A Course In Miracles
When you feel like your life is in a dark place and like everything is unfair then you should know that your soul would never take on a life that it was not capable of handling or navigating to its full experience.
In the 17th century, St. Francic of Assisi was considered a mad man. He was talking to the plants, the birds and the trees. He was weird. He was different. He was an old soul.
Did he care about how others perceived him? Did he care about not fitting in? Did he care about all the punishment he had to face?
How about Vincent Van Gogh. He was considered a complete lunatic. People laughed at his paintings. Did that stop him from expressing what was in his soul?
His paintings have changed our entire perception of art and how we see life and nature.
How about a Gandhi or a Mother Theresa or even a Nelson Mandela.
These old souls have encountered unthinkable challenges and hardships yet they COULD NOT be swayed from living their purpose.
An old soul can not be silenced in its pursuit of fulfilling its mission. Society may pressure you to conform. Your loved ones may even abandon you because of what you “know” but your highest self must live its purpose.
