Within a Soul Age there can be many lifetimes, and different kinds of focus that the Essence desires.  This focus is like a perceptual lens that promotes the experience desired on the physical plane.

Each level can take as little as one lifetime or as many as the essence desires. It is, like all things, a matter of choice. If you are in a classroom on, say, mathematics, without a fixed curriculum, do you stay until you have grasped the essentials or do you stay until you know the lessons well enough to teach them without a textbook in front of you?

The levels are:

First Level

In the first level, the soul is essentially dipping their toes into the new waters of the expanded perception of the Soul Age. If they are a 1st level old soul, for instance, their lifetime will mostly look like a Mature Soul. However, there will definitely be a focus on learning about the old soul perception; it's simply that they will not generally be living in it.

Second Level

The second level is about finding balance and structure within the exploration of the soul age. With 2 being the Artisan number, there is a certain creative exploration involved; this is where the focus on structure comes in.

Third Level

In the third level, there is a certain drive to truly "get it" before the mid-level arrives. Bringing Warrior energy, there is a diving into the process. A third level mature soul will bring that drive into exploring relationships, while often not truly getting the focus of each relationship. A third level old soul will bring that productivity into the search for expansiveness, which tends to bring them to withdraw a little from normal society in the inward search.

There is also what is called the "mid level" in the cycle, which is a fulcrum between the third and fourth level.

Fourth Level

In the fourth level the basic perceptions of the Soul Age have been learned and there can be an ease about the flow of life. This does not mean that life is "easy", but it does mean that to a certain degree the person "gets it" regarding the lessons of the soul age, at least on a basic level. Someone who seems to be a stereotype of that Soul Age (e.g., a young soul will more often than not be at the 4th level. It resonates with the Scholar energy.

Fifth Level

The fifth level, resonating with the Sage, will tend to push boundaries. "Oh, I get it, let me see the limits of where this can take me!" is a common motto. Relationships in the mature soul cycle can be strange and varied, such as Madonna demonstrates. Or the soul may choose a less common framework such as Austism to explore relationships under. There is a certain eccentricity in the framework of these lifetimes.

Sixth Level

The sixth level resonates with the Sage and the goal of Growth. These lifetimes tend to be the most intense, taking all that has been expanded on in the fifth level and searching for harmony within the experiences. Extremes of highs and lows of the cycle will be experienced in order to truly find What Is in the perceptions of the Soul Age. This is the level where the most Karma will tend to be repaid, especially in the old soul cycle where all karma must be repaid before cycling off.

Seventh Level

The seventh level tends to be less intense than the sixth, where kingly mastery of the perceptions of the soul age is truly achieved. Teaching is the hallmark of this level. This can be in an outward fashion such as Ram Dass, or in politics such as Ralph Nader or Barack Obama.