The Internal Monads
Seven Milestones in the Path of Life
The seven internal monads (or milestones) are seven transitions that people may experience in a full lifetime from birth to death. Difficult or traumatic adjustment often mark the arrival of each monad, followed by a plateau of peaceful progress if the adjustments are successful.
Similar to the 7 levels of a particular soul age, the Internal Monads can be considered the sub-levels of each soul age level. It may take several lifetimes to complete a monad, and successful graduation to the next soul age level is often contingent upon the completion of the 7 Monads. In other words, if a monad isn’t completed in the positive pole it is not considered finished.
The challenge is that all Internal Monads begin in the negative pole, which explains the inner turmoil that often occurs. A Monad is finished when the problems have been addressed and the issues properly resolved in the positive pole. Leaving a Monad from the negative pole can result in staying there in all subsequent monads, or not completing them in that lifetime.
The internal monads are like two sides of the coin and known for their duality. They are almost Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in nature, where the positive pole represents the true personality of the soul, and the negative pole reveals a shadowy side that lives in fear and illusion. Much anxiety and internal warfare is created by this tug-of-war, and it is not resolved until the lessons of transition are accepted and peace is made with them.
FIRST MONAD (Birth)
+Vitality -Life
Most traumatic for the Infant Soul.
The first monad occurs at birth — the usual time the Soul enters the body. Newborns operate entirely from awareness of the body and its instinct for survival — eating, eliminating, sleeping, crying, and so on. The plateau lasts just one to two years, during which there is much moving around for sensing the environment, in addition to experiencing bodily functions. It is important that infants receive much stimulation of the five senses in order to nurture their developing body/brain system. If they don’t, severe physical problems will likely result. They could even die of “sensory deprivation”. You cannot “spoil” the infant with “too much love (physical care)” at this stage.
SECOND MONAD (Childhood)
+Identity -Solipsism
Most traumatic for the Baby Soul.
The second monad usually occurs sometime during the second year of life. Infants become aware that they are separate from the environment and other individuals. They then realize that they are physically dependent upon others, and that they are affected emotionally by them. The plateau of childhood lasts till adolescence. It is important that children receive emotional support: a safe, fun, close, affectionate and comforting family environment, and esteem from their playmates. They must realize they are valued as individuals, or severe emotional problems will likely result.
THIRD MONAD (Adolescence)
+Differentiation (Independence) -Separation
Most traumatic for the Young Soul
Manifests between mid teens to early 20s, but can continue as far as the late 30s.
The heaviest karmic period of the life.
The third monad occurs during the teenage years, beginning when adolescents start to psychologically separate themselves from the family, and ending when they actually move out or “leaves the nest.” A clear indication of the beginning of this monad is when the teenager enters the rebellious stage.
Feelings like “no one understands me” are prevalent at this juncture, and there’s a need to be with others who are currently undergoing the experience. Many teen films on the market (like the “Breakfast Club”) have made a small fortune exploiting this rite of passage. Indeed, this experience of mutually shared pain can lead to experiments involving smoking cigarettes, sex, drugs, alcohol, and other forms of escapism. The third monad can also be a period of great self-loathing, and most youthful attempts at suicide happen during this transition.
Karmic formations are heaviest during this stage of life, including karmic child agreements and sexual karma. Both the hormonal intensity and general inability to view the world through anything but the false personality can lead to indiscriminate mating and drama in relationships.
Some cultures mark this Milestone with a ceremony of “coming of age”. During this time, the mental self-image develops — including the Chief Feature. It is important that adolescents be mentally prepared (by parents, teachers, and peers) to take a place in society, or severe mental problems may result. They must become intellectually competent enough to make their way in the world on their own or they will be socially retarded. If adolescents are treated more as independent adults than dependent children there is less tendency for them to rebel to prove their individuality. Nevertheless, the imprinting of family continues through the plateau phase lasting into middle age.
Most relationships that occur during this period usually dissolve once the monad has been completed. The commonalities that had initially drawn the young couple together no longer exist, and there’s a push to move on.
Finishing the third monad in it’s negative pole can prevent the completion of the fourth, instilling a sense of discontentment and anger that includes an unwillingness to move forward or “grow up.” Failure to complete the monad can also leave people feeling shy and aloof, with little desire to leave home. Worst case scenarios reveal people who are highly confrontational, full of rage, and unable to deal with authority. Getting into arguments at the drop of a hat and having little respect for the personal boundaries of others are other common patterns.
Stuck in old patterns and refusing to budge, reality checks like the passing of parents or beloved relatives can be especially traumatic to someone at this stage. In fact, souls lodged in the negative pole will often grieve over lost loved ones for the rest of their lives and desperately cling to the past while the rest of the world appears to race ahead without them.
FOURTH MONAD (Mid-Life)
+Self Realization -Acquiescence (Resignation)
Most traumatic for the Mature Soul.
Escaping the bonds of imprinting and false personality.
The fourth monad begins in the mid thirties. This can be a very traumatic milestone and can last as long as a decade. It is commonly called “The Mid-life Crisis”. In it, the adult seeks to shed the imprinting of family and culture, and to become fully individuated. This allows the Soul to make its presence known and view the world through the positive poles of the chosen overleaves. In other words, the baggage from the past is discarded and the individual begins to act out of essence rather than false personality. The “lower self” must now take a back seat to the “higher self”, and this is where the conflict begins, leading some to call the experience “the dark night of the soul.” But all histrionics aside, the main focus of the monad is to break away from the stranglehold of false personality and chief feature.
In some ways the Fourth Monad is a form of self-exorcism, and like an unruly demon, false personality will tenaciously fight for it’s survival. Similar to Harry Potter’s Doppleganger, which takes the form of its victim’s worst nightmares, this monad is like a mirror of fears, and the best course of action is to simply face them one by one and laugh at them until they go away. As expected, this process will create intense emotional upheaval as the personality seeks to express the emerging influence of Essence.
Along with the assorted craziness of the period, which can include massive life changes across the board, the fourth monad is a highly introspective time. Like a museum curator, every nook and cranny of the soul is examined, and parts of self that no longer fit are summarily tossed aside.
Successful assimilation of the fourth monad is usually completed in the early forties, catapulting the person into the “Life Task”, the soul’s primary project for the longest plateau of the lifetime.
Many useful agreements are pulled into the life at this time, less karma occurs, more appropriate relationships are formed, and along with a feeling of wanting to be a mainstay in society, a strong sense of purpose emerges.
If completed in the positive pole, the overleaves will fully manifest and true personality will finally emerge. In contrast, finishing the fourth monad in the negative pole generally results in the false personality taking over completely. The most common symptoms of a negative shift are depression, apathy, confusion, inexplicable fear, feeling lost, no sense of purpose or direction in life, and a desire to just “give up.”
But for the student who is now concerned about the status of their monads, all is not lost. With a proper amount of guidance, incomplete monads may be finished on the positive side if there’s a willingness to seek reconciliation with the issues and resolve them.
FIFTH MONAD (Life Review)
+Appreciation -Evaluation
Most traumatic for the Old Soul.
A review of the life task.
The fifth monad begins at about the time of normal retirement, in the middle to late sixties. “Senior citizens” now review the lifetime. Were their aspirations and expectations met or not? Did they accomplish what they set out to do? This does not necessarily have anything to do with their career. More often it has to do with their Life Task. In a successful assimilation of this Milestone, the person accepts the lifetime as lived, regardless of whether they achieved the ambitions of their youth or not, or even the goal of their soul. They come to love themselves, and they are generous to others as well. The plateau lasts perhaps a few years, the “golden years”.
SIXTH MONAD (Dying)
+Catharsis -Capitulation
The sixth monad occurs in old age with the onset of the final physical deterioration, or the terminal illness. It largely concerns the psychological dynamics of dying. This does not have to be an unpleasant process, but the more attached the person is to their physical life, the more difficult it is. Perhaps you have heard of the stages: disbelief or denial of mortality, anger that it should happen now, bargaining with God for more time, depression and despair, acceptance of the inevitable, and making preparations for the passing. The plateau is usually brief, if it occurs at all. A person who has lived in Essence and completed their Life Task will find this an exhilarating plateau because they anticipate transition to the afterlife joyfully.
SEVENTH MONAD (Death)
+Transcendence -Fatalism
The seventh monad occurs at the actual moment of death. The body dies and the soul makes the transition to the astral plane.
