In essence, a fully formed Soul can be seen as the total realization of human potential. There are a number of distinct phases that overlap, run in parallel, and mutually support each other.
Phase 1 - Conception
From another dimension, the complete potentiality of the individual human being is coalesced at conception. In other words, all the 'energetic' qualities (such as chemical, morphological, biological, psychological, cosmological) are brought together in a field of possibilities.
As all the laws of the universe operate in and through us, we are a reflection of the whole - we are a literal 'image of God', with the difference lying only in scale.
Through 'time' (the fundamental force of creation itself), these possibilities may or may not be actualized depending on the conditions of life and the conscious orientation (and efforts) of the individual.
However, it is the energy that is drawn from this potentiality that can furnish the evolution of the Soul - the yearning for relative, self-directed completion.
The real spiritual struggle of every human, both conscious and unconscious, is two-fold and mutually supportive. It requires that there is a continual 'striving' for ways to simultaneously increase one's inner possibilities and to actualize those possibilities.
Possibilities and potentialities belong to the 'hidden' dimensions of the universe. The questions of 'where was I before I was born?' and 'where will I go when I die?' highlight the case in point.
These 'inner' dimensions are just as real as the 'manifest' (actualized or realized) world we perceive through the senses or aided with scientific instruments. Indeed, many physics' equations explicitly rely on the unknowable operations of hidden dimensions for their mathematical completion.
However, access to the hidden or inner dimensions are via a very different vehicle - the instruments of the Soul. More importantly, these dimensions have, by far, a much greater influence on the manifest world than does the manifest world have on itself.
Phase 2 - Growth
In the first few months from conception there is a literal 'explosion' of life - from single cell to a recognizable human fetus. It is like a basketball growing to the size of the Earth in the same time.
Through gestation, the growing human body retraces the same evolutionary trajectory as all life on Earth, with the body built in its image - for example, our bones are similar to the Earth's crust and our blood similar to seawater.
The formation of the lower part of the Soul - the physical body - is concentrated from conception to birth. It is entirely dependent on life support from the mother, unable to exist by itself.
The trillions of complex spatiotemporal, molecular interactions occurring at every moment are expertly guided by a 'subconscious' intelligence matched only by the universe. The human body is so tightly regulated that even one mistake in the position of a single molecule could result in catastrophic failure.
Phase 3 - Birth
Birth represents a significant 'transition' from one world to another. From a world of complete dependence on support (the mother) to a world of relative independence (individuality).
The lower part of the Soul must now begin to rely on itself. The ability to 'move' provides the key to its degrees of freedom.
The potentiality of the middle part of the Soul - the nascent Kesdjan or Astral Body - is initiated with the 'first breath'.
Phase 4 - Maturation
Adaption and maturation of the body and corresponding functional development of the thinking, feeling, movement and creative actions begin to take place.
From birth to about 5 years of age, the body adapts to the world by exploring, instinctively, its 'laws of operation' - what we call 'playing'. The intellect and feeling functions are open to imitation.
From about 5 years to puberty, the 'persona' or various 'selves' appear. Self-consciousness becomes possible as the functions (body, mind, feelings) become more operant and loosely integrated.
Education becomes critical. With the functional capacities developing, support for the inner life to have a greater self-reliance and self-guidance through instinct, intuition and insight (the germs of conscience) is important - otherwise, imitation and 'learning by wrote' suppresses the emergence of the middle part of the Soul.
Maturation comes to completion by about 18-21 years of age. The birth of the 'I' or the 'centered-self' should occur - however, in modern culture, this seldom happens and significant 'immaturity' is commonplace.
Phase 5 - Active life
From about 21 to 40-50 years of age, deployment and development of balanced inner qualities - the contents of consciousness (attention, images and sensation) is critical in exercising the "Will" - that is 'choice making' and its consequences in the arena of life.
Without prolonged, balanced development of the inner life, it inevitably becomes lopsided at best, dysfunctional at worst - limiting possibilities.
If the ability to continually renew or 'collect' oneself via spiritual disciplines through the active life can be achieved - the birth of the 'I' or the 'centered-self' can occur.
Establishing oneself in life (the ability to be responsible), connected to the quality of being comfortable in one's skin, is a prelude to the acquisition of an 'I'.
Generally, between 40-50 years of age, if the right inner work has prevailed in the previous phases, the birth and formation of the middle part of the Soul - the Kesdjan or Astral Body - is well underway.
From 40-50 years of age, if the 'I' and the further development of the middle part of the Soul can predominate, 'destiny' can disclose itself.
For those who have not developed an 'I' and birthed the middle part of the Soul, an inevitable 'mid-life-crisis' ensues which, in reality, is the subconscious suffering of the realization that one has not completed an essential life task.
The result of the mid-life crisis can, in many cases, positively motivate a spiritual struggle by supporting a change in life direction that opens to new and different possibilities. Alternatively, it can negate this by reverting to the pursuit of juvenile fantasies - a striving to relive the golden era of youth - as a substitute for something essential.
Phase 6 - Retirement
The energies normally expended in the active life to develop the 'Will of action' can now naturally withdraw to be used to 'consolidate Being'.
If the lower and middle parts of the Soul have been normally formed, retirement can bring about the birth of the higher part of the Soul - the Higher Being Body.
Contemplation, meditation and worship are traditional forms of preparation and development for the higher part of the Soul.
What is important is that the majority of one's day is devoted to an 'active inner life' while the outer life remains relatively passive. If this is reversed, as is common in modern western countries, the consolidation of Being and the formation of the higher part of the Soul is significantly impeded.
However, while the body is alive and the faculties of consciousness enabled, the birth of the higher part of the Soul can be realized.
If little preparation has occurred, only the unconscious processes can prevail. In most instances, the individual must simply endure involuntary (and often with great anxiety) the natural consolidation of Being that comes with old age. This is often experienced, though wrongly named, as the 'Fear of Death'.
Unfortunately, modern 'retirement' is often seen as a passive 'waiting for death' or an active 'self-indulgence' in activities not undertaken during the active life. Both are tragic responses to, what should be, a critical phase of human life in achieving its completion.
Phase 7 - Death
Often with the approaching of death, and the withdrawal of the energies of the 'personality', a natural transformation can occur. All sorts of personality defects and strong character traits can give way to an hitherto unknown 'serenity' - life flows smoothly.
When some semblance of the higher part of the Soul begins to influence the lower and middle parts, time takes on new dimensions - the past can be relived, the present alive, and the future full of possibilities again.
If one can consciously put one's 'house in order' - that is, come into right relationships with loved ones and even enemies, a receptivity can usher in a permanent quality of energy akin to the temporary mystical experiences of the earlier phases under spiritual disciplines.
The processes after death and its relation to the Soul are described elsewhere in the four part series "Death and Soul" - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
Those contemplating suicide make a monumental assumption that everything will be better after death. The hazards associated with the creation of a Soul should be a warning that this assumption must be questioned.