From Stages and Interactive overview tables
| Plotkin metaphor | Plotkin stage | Plotkin task | My age | Year | Where I lived | Role | Culture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Innocent in the Nest | Early Childhood (Stage 1) | Ego formation and the care of innocence | 0-5 | 1944-49 | West Hollywood | Baby and Toddler | Late 40’s Air Corps corporal’s family |
| The Explorer in the Garden | Middle Childhood (Stage 2) | Discovering the natural world and learning cultural ways | 6-12 | 1950-56 | West Hollywood | Elementary school student | 50’s middle class family |
| The Thespian at the Oasis | Early Adolescence (Stage 3) | Creating a secure and authentic social self | 13-21 | 1957-Winter 1965 (Q5) | Winnetka (San Fernando Valley) Stanford | Student: Elementary, Junior High, High School, College | Late 50’s-early 60’s suburbs to elite university |
| The Wanderer in the Cocoon | Late Adolescence (Stage 4) | Leaving home (the adolescent identity) and exploring the mysteries | 21-28 | Spring 1965 (Q6) - Aug. 1972 | SF Bay Area Caravan The Farm | College student, Rock musician, hippie dropout, communal farmer, wanderer/seeker | Sixties counterculture |
| The Soul Apprentice at the Wellspring | Early Adulthood (Stage 5) | Learning delivery systems for embodying soul in culture | 28-57 | Sept. 1972-July 2001 | ZCLA Zen community in Koreatown neighborhood | Stagehand Zen student Child care worker Husband Father Corporate manager Elementary teacher | Urban, residential zen training center Corporate management |
| The Artisan in the Wild Orchard | Late Adulthood (Stage 6) | Manifesting innovative delivery systems for soulwork | 57-67 | Aug. 2001-June 2011 | West LA/Palms | Elementary teacher High school Teacher-Librarian | Inner city public magnet high school |
| The Master in the Grove of Elders | Early Elderhood (Stage 7) | Caring for the soul of the more-than-human community | 67- | June 2011- | West LA/Palms | Handicapped retiree Memoirist Husband Father Grandfather | Tiny but spacious West LA condo |
| The Sage in the Mountain Cave | Late Elderhood (Stage 8) | Nontask: Tending the Universe |