# Old Souls



## AddictiveMuse (Nov 14, 2013)

I don't really know where I stand on the topic of reincarnation or past lives, so this is not what the topic is about and I will avoid that aspect.

I have often been described as an old soul, since early childhood, but only recently has the concept popped up multiple times, which leads me to try to understand what it might possibly be that makes an 'old soul'. 
I feel like it might relate to types somewhat, the general characteristics sounds much like an INFx by MBTI. 

I don't really put much authority on articles like this, which sounds way too much like buzzfeed but it seems to be a good breakdown of the traits of a supposed 'old soul'



> 9 Signs You're An Old Soul
> 1# You tend to be a solitary loner
> 
> 2# You love knowledge, wisdom and truth.
> ...


link: 9 Signs You're An Old Soul ⋆ LonerWolf

I feel like this could be some Ni dominant, Feeling type, however I'm not too sure.
Thoughts?

p.s. I am quite skeptical myself as to all the psychic mumbo jumbo, but I feel these labels might have some relevance to personality. Thanks


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## Blue Soul (Mar 14, 2015)

I don't think F has anything to do with it, but I agree with the I and N.

Sometime many years ago I remember reading that in ancient China it was a common belief that some children were considered to be born with wisdom. These special children were often prodigies and quickly became very skillful for their age. They were held high and philosophers listened to their words. Sound related?


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## SilverRain (May 15, 2014)

I'm Ne and fit most items on the list except #1 in that I'm an extrovert but a social introvert unless I'm with people who fit the above list fairly closely, and I don't feel like #9, an old soul. It's not always easy to find people who have those characteristics, so I end up being more introverted in a social sense than I'd like to be.

Not only NiFe's, since I've known Ne's, S's and T's who fit many of the characteristics, though different types might emphasize different aspects of the list.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

I relate to a lot of these.


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## ALongTime (Apr 19, 2014)

Agree with 1-8, but not really with 9.


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## Lord Fudgingsley (Mar 3, 2013)

I relate to more or less all of this. I'm under the impression that it's related to experiences of depression; as we lose the ability to act in reality we begin to flee into our own dreams. We've removed ourselves from what is happening in the real world, and are essentially living on a different plain of existence. That alternate plain of existence brings truth and understanding.


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## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

Blue Soul said:


> Sometime many years ago I remember reading that in ancient China it was a common belief that some children were considered to be born with wisdom. These special children were often prodigies and quickly became very skillful for their age. They were held high and philosophers listened to their words. Sound related?


It sounds like my childhood experience, tbh.


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## To_august (Oct 13, 2013)

Ahem... Is this in the same vein as the Indigo children classification?

Edit: It seems so.


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## ALongTime (Apr 19, 2014)

Out of interest, does anyone here _not_ relate to most of these?


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## Obligatoryusername91 (Apr 5, 2015)

I think that if I am a reincarnation, it's probably of a Fox. I'm a naturally solitary person, though, like a Fox, I can cooperate with others when it's necessary.


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## ConspiracyTheory (Apr 13, 2014)

Just made a post on this on the INTP forum. Here's what Jung says is the explanation of feeling like an old soul:

*
"Somewhere deep in the background I always knew that I was two persons.
One was the son of my parents, who went to school and was less intelligent, attentive, hardworking, decent, and clean than many other boys. 
The other was grown up--old, in fact-- skeptical, mistrustful, remote from the world of men, but close to nature, the earth, the sun, the moon, the weather, all living creatures, and above all close to the night, to dreams, and to whatever "God" worked directly in him.

For nature seemed, like myself, to have been set aside by God as non-divine, although created by Him as an expression of Himself. Nothing could persuade me that "in the image of God" applied only to man. In fact it seems to me that the high mountains, the rivers, lakes, trees, flowers, and animals far better exemplified the essence of God than men with the ridiculous clothes, their meanness, vanity, mendacity, and abhorrent egotism-- all qualities with which I was all too familiar with from myself, that is, personality No. 1, the schoolboy of 1890. Besides his world there existed another realm, like a temple in which anyone who entered was transformed and suddenly overpowered by a vision of the whole cosmos so that he could only marvel and admire, forgetful of himself. 

Here lived the, "Other," who knew God as a hidden, personal, and at the same time suprapersonal secret. Here nothing separated man from God; indeed, it was as though the human mind looked down upon Creation simultaneously with God.

I sensed it with an overpowering premonition and intensity of feeling. At such times I knew I was worthy of myself, that I was my true self. As soon as I was alone, I could pass over to this state. I therefore sought the peace and solitude of this "Other," personality No. 2.

The play and counter play between personalities No.1 and No.2, which has run through my whole life, has nothing to do with a split or dissociation in the ordinary medical sense. On the contrary, it is played out in every individual... But he is only perceived by the very few. Most people's conscious understanding is not sufficient to realize he is also what they are."* - Memories, Dreams, and Reflections


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## Lord Bullingdon (Aug 9, 2014)

Interesting, I was researching this very topic just this morning.

People think of me as being an old soul, psychics have told me I am, and the description here fits (as in, has defined my existence, not "I can kinda relate"). 

I'm also an ENTP. Just one that's been around a long time.


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## AddictiveMuse (Nov 14, 2013)

ALongTime said:


> Out of interest, does anyone here _not_ relate to most of these?


Haha I know right! 'Personality' test etc are so ambiguous that anyone can relate.
I did not believe any of that, I merely used it for for reference or some sort of explanation or where I was getting at


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## chani8 (Apr 7, 2015)

Well, if you want some jewish philosophy, there is a theory that by now there are very few new souls. Most of us are old and are back to complete our soul's purpose, whatever that may be. New souls are only those born on shabbat, supposedly. 

I could relate to all nine on the list. Either I'm an old soul, or an INTJ.


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## Starbuckskat (Aug 13, 2014)

Woah that thing about nature

When I was little, I used to only take pictures of nature, never if they had a building in them, or a street sign or something. I also went through a few journals, but I didn't do well in school- I spaced out sometimes, I dressed weird, I only had a few close friends, and I understood concepts like existentialism and determinism at an intuitive level that came out when I wrote. I loved the idea of love, I understood the dangers of having wealth, and I rebelled against abandoning my dreams to fit in with the security of a capitalistic society. Of course, back then I didn't know all of these words, so I expressed this very trivially. "Money can't buy happiness" etc, etc


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## Pressed Flowers (Oct 8, 2014)

Yeah, I fit those things. PlayBuzz told me I'm such an old soul that I've been reincarnated thousands of times  But regardless, I'm Catholic, so I don't really like to even speculate about such things to be quite honest.


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

AddictiveMuse said:


> I don't really know where I stand on the topic of reincarnation or past lives, so this is not what the topic is about and I will avoid that aspect.
> 
> I have often been described as an old soul, since early childhood, but only recently has the concept popped up multiple times, which leads me to try to understand what it might possibly be that makes an 'old soul'.
> I feel like it might relate to types somewhat, the general characteristics sounds much like an INFx by MBTI.
> ...


this description pretty much describes being INTJ


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## Doran Seth (Apr 4, 2015)

I'm a college senior and I'm ready to retire. When I was young I used to umm... what was that? Uhh... I was saying something... Oh yeah get off my lawn!


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## Pressed Flowers (Oct 8, 2014)

Blue Soul said:


> I don't think F has anything to do with it, but I agree with the I and N.
> 
> Sometime many years ago I remember reading that in ancient China it was a common belief that some children were considered to be born with wisdom. These special children were often prodigies and quickly became very skillful for their age. They were held high and philosophers listened to their words. Sound related?


Sounds like an extreme version of the American Gifted Program... (Not trying to assert that we were born wiser, because imo those ideas of superiority are crap, but it does seem to be along those same lines.)


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## Lunaena (Nov 16, 2013)

Every human on Earth relates to these. They want to relate to it.


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## ConspiracyTheory (Apr 13, 2014)

Draumande Romvesen said:


> Every human on Earth relates to these. They want to relate to it.


But why do we "want"? What purpose does it serve to 'want' and what gave the enegy to the want in order to exist?

What if the old soul feeling is just as Jung explains it, a real existence among the universe?

The old soul speaks to everyone, so would we be closed minded to slam the door on timid question "what if this means something?" "What if this is truth?"


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

1- not really

2- yup

3- a bit 

4- yup

5- I can be at times, usually when I'm sad, but generally speaking I don't overthink things or think too much and I prefer acting over thinking

6- yup (but I see the details just as much)

7- can't relate, I do am materialistic

8- somewhat, which was very probably related to the fact I have ADD

9- nope


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## yippy (May 21, 2014)

Read an in-depth article about old souls and see if you can still relate. The 9 signs mentioned in the Lonerwolf article aren't wrong, the article just lacks in-depth explanation of how an old soul feels etc. 
The Old Soul | Michael Teachings

I do believe in reincarnation, have known for 15+ years that I am an old soul & quite a few people, spiritual people, have identified me as an old soul. For the most part I can identify with the description given by Michael.


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## ESFPlover (Mar 1, 2015)

I think the old souls are INTJ or INTP, there are more chill, and they P's don't really express how they feel, mostly, J express how they feel, mostly complain about daily life. That's what is though.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

yippy said:


> Read an in-depth article about old souls and see if you can still relate. The 9 signs mentioned in the Lonerwolf article aren't wrong, the article just lacks in-depth explanation of how an old soul feels etc.
> The Old Soul | Michael Teachings
> 
> I do believe in reincarnation, have known for 15+ years that I am an old soul & quite a few people, spiritual people, have identified me as an old soul. For the most part I can identify with the description given by Michael.


Cool. I identify with the 'mature' soul most out of these classifications.


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## SilverRain (May 15, 2014)

yippy said:


> Read an in-depth article about old souls and see if you can still relate. The 9 signs mentioned in the Lonerwolf article aren't wrong, the article just lacks in-depth explanation of how an old soul feels etc.
> The Old Soul | Michael Teachings
> 
> I do believe in reincarnation, have known for 15+ years that I am an old soul & quite a few people, spiritual people, have identified me as an old soul. For the most part I can identify with the description given by Michael.


I did a swing through Michael Teachings for my personality research and received a reading from Shepherd Hoodwin. It was surprisingly accurate, considering he knew nothing about me. The reading said Sage is my type, which is accurate, and I shouldn't be posting here because it said I have a ways to go to Old Soul, being 6, on the upper end of Mature Soul but manifesting 3 lol, and that's probably correct. Male/Female Energy was 48/52, again likely correct.


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## VinnieB (Mar 3, 2015)

AddictiveMuse said:


> I don't really know where I stand on the topic of reincarnation or past lives, so this is not what the topic is about and I will avoid that aspect.
> 
> I have often been described as an old soul, since early childhood, but only recently has the concept popped up multiple times, which leads me to try to understand what it might possibly be that makes an 'old soul'.
> I feel like it might relate to types somewhat, the general characteristics sounds much like an INFx by MBTI.
> ...



I relate to most of these except the '_feel_ old' part. 

But it's not like I was a super smart kid who knew things he shouldn't know.
Anybody who _knew_ strange things when they were little?


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## Zee Bee (Aug 19, 2014)

According to the signs you gave, how do you decern between an old soul and ADD? The two are unbelievably similar.


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## Jinsei (Aug 4, 2014)

Draumande Romvesen said:


> Every human on Earth relates to these. They want to relate to it.


Exactly, because every human being has a soul... unless they have sold it. What I believe people are sensing in these things is a connection to the divine and the eternal that every soul has... _(if they choose to acknowledge it that is)_ as well as how disjointed and wrong so much of world / society seems to the things we feel through this connection. I too have always felt like two people. One is what the world, society, and my own instincts try to push me to be. Be successful, make money, provide for yourself, procreate, provide for your family... the drives behind this are purely instinctual in nature. Step outside of it and look down on it and we are no different than ants following the natural built in drives that push a species to survive and dominate their environment.

Then there is the one who senses that there is more out there. There is a bigger picture and I was made to do more than just survive, procreate, and further my species. It senses that I am connected to something that exists beyond the linear and finite scope of time and space as I know it. Behind this is a singular question which looks at the mundane drull of what the majority of humanity considers "living" and asks, "Why? What is the point of any of it?". I believe it is our ability to ask this question that in essence is what it means to be made in God's image. It free's us from being slaves to our own instincts and gives us the power to define the answer to that question ourselves. In essence it grants us the power of choice. It allows us to be more and do more than just survive... and it shifts our perspective and connects our vision to the much bigger picture than our own simple existence. Its a perspective that sees the nature of cause and effect... as well as the interconnection of things, people, actions, events and how they all weave together into a web that shapes and influences reality.

Maybe the term "old" in reference to a soul just simply implies a greater sensitivity to this feeling and this perspective. It indicates someone who is less likely to get sucked into and caught up in the instincutal and self centric need to survive, conquer, and dominate their environment. However, I think that every single human being has the connection to this perspective as well as the ability to see it.

In essence I think humanity was intended for a different purpose than achieving its own dominance... I think we naturally sense the discontinuity between the instinctual self centric things we pursue and the essence of our true purpose. I also think that original purpose and intent can be summed up quite nicely in the very first blessing given to humanity by God:

*Genesis 1:28*
_Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”_

One might look at the words "govern" and "reign" and think, "Isn't that what we are doing?". But to govern and rule over something not only seperates you from it... but it bears a certain level of responsibility in service to what is being governed. When you step back from humanity's tyranical example of what it means to "reign" over something... I think you get to the essence and intent of what is really meant by this blessing. Which is to serve and protect it. 

The entirety of creation is God's beautiful and majestic work of art and through our connection to God... we were meant to be it's protectors. Somehow I think we have fallen just a bit short there... But that is just my two cents, for what it's worth.


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## nu4nce (Apr 13, 2015)

ENFP or INFP here, I relate to many of these. 

1# You tend to be a solitary loner- I can be, only when I'm in a situation where I feel like I don't belong. But I'm often surrounded by friends and I very much enjoy being surrounded by people.

2# You love knowledge, wisdom and truth.- This is very true. I love to read, I love to research topics that interest me and learn how to do new things. I also love people that are honest with me.

3# You're spiritually inclined.-Kind of, I'm not religious but I'm definitely spiritual. I'm always trying to look at things on a deeper level. 

4# You understand the transience of life.-I embrace how temporary things are, I adapt well to change, but the thought of getting old and dying absolutely terrifies me.

5# You're thoughtful and introspective.-I am almost always lost in my own mind.

6# You see the bigger picture. - I see the big picture so well that I am blind to the small picture honestly.

7# You aren't materialistic.- Yes and no. I like to be comfortable. I value some of my items very highly and I would be upset if I lost them. But I get over material loss very very quickly. 

8# You were a strange, socially maladaptive kid.- I feel like I still am, but yeah as a small child I was a HUGE weirdo.

9# You just "feel" old- my friends say I'm childish but when I'm alone I feel like I can feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world. I tend to run from this feeling.


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## nu4nce (Apr 13, 2015)

This website is very interesting! I think I relate most to the 'mature soul' description.


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