Fiction:Elemental energy

Elemental energy is not very likeable to the concept from physics, but is a diverse set of experiences referred to as a vital force, synchronicity or magic, or the essence of being itself experienced in death of ego, depending on what belief system has been adhered to it. It is common for practitioners of elemental to define wholly new forms of essence derived from it, while others point out this is just the subjective nature of essence. However, more critical philosophies of essence point to some kind of universal character.

Unlike other forms of essence, elemental can be practised by any conscious being in the universe. It can be used for good and for bad, and sometimes it is not always clear whether one's cause is negative or positive. However, elemental has a more positive influence, as destructive uses of the essence no matter what one's moral compass is, will inflict damage on the user's mind and body. Therefore, elemental is a popular tool for self-exploration and wisdom about how to use essence of any kind. It is an attempt to stare into Chaos itself.

Consciousness and quest for enlightenment
Most sentient beings in the universe struggle to reconcile their internal experiences with the physical universe. The physical world, mental world, the world of abstractions and even essence (and possibly more) seem to be in multiplicity with each other. Many philosophical schools apply a dominance to one or the other despite without looking at the possibility they are inseparable parts of the same world but connected in different ways.

Though mysteries remain, most Gigaquadrant powers have developed Artificial Intelligences and understand the universal principles that apply to evolving a sentient individual that is conscious and creative. They understand mind as a tangled loop of complexity, a kind of abstract whirlwind of processes from physical laws and formal logic to cellular activity and mental states, that connect in some level to each of the different worlds. And yet it is understood that in any one lifetime of a person, every atom is changed and replaced yet their mental life feels no disruption. This is because the atoms tangled up in this loop become symbols for the higher level.

Conscious beings can live their lives oblivious to this tremendous activity, they have only their perceptive experiences and thoughts. Their perception is programmed by evolution and biology, which cannot naturally comprehend all these different scales of the universe. And so creative beings have only ideas to conjecture and test about the world, whether they be scientific, aesthetic or internal. Because ideas and experiences can project an inward experience of the outward world, they are often called reality tunnels. A practitioner of elemental energy understands this, and so explores their reality tunnel by devoting their time to experience and understand their inner world with the intent of widening their reality tunnel and conscious experience.

Duality and transcending it
Reality tunnels are composed of loops of thought in their own right, and can be widened to encompass ever deeper levels of the internal world. Negative thoughts and actions from a personal level can shorten the loops, while positive thinking can widen them. Although this is somewhat a misnomer, an elemental will soon discover that any loop in the psyche they create is limited, and eventually breaks into a duality. This is because language itself is a essentially of a dual nature. An elemental must struggle against duality because the categorisation of the world in their mind happens below the level of normally conscious activity. The only way to transcend a duality is to see past it (a form of "un-asking"), whether that be from experience or thought. An elemental must recognise there is no final form of enlightenment, that will make their reality infinitely unbounded, for there is no final answer.

Despite this; mystics, elementals and psychonauts can explore their mind indefinitely and occasionally find treasures, ranging from insight and hyper-creativity, to changes in perception, and if they get deep enough to the laws of quantum theory and hyperspace, they will obtain essence and all the powers that come with it. However, few reach reality tunnels this wide, because the powers and techniques and even wisdom they use can limit and distract their journey. Some "lose the map home" so to speak, becoming insane in the process. Hence it is important for any elemental practitioner to not get caught up in beliefs or experiences, and it is why there are many powerful users of essence exist who are not particularly wise or intelligent.

As reality tunnels change, elemental psychonauts may find themselves reaching positive states of happiness and bliss, neutral states, but may also undergo experiences of meaninglessness and darkness. These reality tunnels may incorporate planes of existence in the form of visions, dreams and trances.

Cultivation: common themes
There are many, many ways different schools that collectively teach their own philosophy and techniques of what can be defined as elemental. Technology, drugs*, meditation, lucid dreaming, psychoanalysis, hypnosis and trance are many of such techniques that turn one's thoughts inward.

* Author is not hinting at recommending usage in real life. The SporeWiki fiction universe has a collection of adult themes, get over it.

Energy
Many practitioners of elemental focus on the experience and visualisation of energy, or different energies in their body, which are a collection of experiences where the mind and body are connected. The reason for this is not clear, but the idea of vital energy seems to be universal throughout most species. In the most general sense, this is probably because the energy itself is a subjective experience and not in any way a measurable physical force, and may be composed of physical sensations, beliefs, and a little bit of essence magic that sits between the physical and mental levels of being.

Many attempts have been made to measure this essence side of energy, but its effects seem sporadic and uncorrelated with any source. It is not in any sense a vital force which the sciences of all species eventually rule out as a spark of life. Some believe this to be evidence of a spiritual or divine presence, but others attempt to explain it scientifically: from quantum entangled bio-photons in hyperspace; to chaos attractors in the body, bioelectric chemicals and the nervous system. None of these alone can explain this energy, but together all these things may have an impact on the experience and understanding of the essence between levels of reality. Hyperspatial physics for example, may be the closest physical explanation to apparent supernatural powers.

Also common amongst the belief in a vital force is the sensation of energies in duality. Species with bilateral symmetry often perceive two dual forces, while a species with octameric radial symmetry have a tendency to perceive two groups of dual forces. They are opposites that cannot exist without each other. They can transform into one another and affect each other. But progress involves storing these energies and then finding ways to mix and transcend them, which can bring on sensations of bliss. Where one's reality tunnel becomes limited, they may feel such things manifested as blockages of energy. However, elemental practitioners must be careful not to force their energies inward or outward, for that can be either destructive or insanity provoking.

The reality of thought forms
A practitioner may build up a complex web of energies and energy centres in the body, which through repetitive exploration and cultivation, have burned into their internal reality. If they have matched it properly where their mind and body are connected, then it helps with lever from points of reference. Yet this subtle body they have created (or discovered) will take on a life of its own, as a thought form. In a sense, a thought form is a piece of concentrated reality tunnel and forms as way to correspond the energy with their lives and body.

The techniques of meditation and lucid dreaming go hand in hand. Once one has realised their internal reality is no more "outside" than the same stuff in a dream, then it is easier to accept they are only seeing their internal reality upon awakening. It is not to deny there is an objective world, for this way of thinking is to wake one up in the outside world, to feel in more control and understand their capabilities. Learning this is the "secret" to magic.

A similar process can be undertaken when meditating upon synchronicity. Though they may not be real, the act of noticing coincidences implies some organising process in the mind, and understanding that too can open a reality tunnel.

Collective unconsciousness
A conscious being may not represent the highest state of complexity in a system. For organic beings, this usually refers to the collective unconscious, a vast web composed of archetypes and ideas which float through their societies. It is possible for thought forms to become engrained into the social psyche as well, which in turn allow elemental essence to be manifested, even as entities or energies. Elementals may find these archetypes deep in their visions and dreams.

Metaphysics and science
The subjective experiences of entities and energies has inspired many belief systems to assume they supernatural phenomena, and take elemental energy to be an actual energy or a form of spirit possession. Some more scientific-inspired belief systems point to programming as if biological mechanism are divine machines. But a true a psychonaut only takes belief systems as far as they are useful, and hence have a critical, rational quality to them.

In the advent of the hyperspatial revolution, the scientific understanding of essence has increased. It is now thought that elemental energy is actually a four-dimensional slice of a five-dimensional physics known as Gyronic by inhabitants of the Ottzello and Borealis galaxies. The physics is non-quantum and can be used to edit the wavefunction of the quantum multiverse by advanced civilisations and/or entities in that realm in order to arrange information (such as instantaneous quantum computation) which while trivial to them, appears as miracles and synchronicites in the universe. Elemental in this way, is a limited form of Chronoscopic and can become embedded into conscious beings and even organisms, although elemental can be evolved out of lifeforms as well, like the Salsetthe. The magical abilities of elemental practitioners is assumed to be related to hyperspatial physics. However, what exactly Gyronic and purest form of essence is, no-one knows.

Trivia

 * Elemental energy was originally introduced as a universal energy, available for all species.
 * There is an affinity with Emperor Wormulus's bloodline and elemental energy, hinting at some deeper cause.
 * Elemental energy is based on a variety of esoteric philosophies and belief systems: Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Qi, Kundalini, the collective unconscious and western psychonaut techniques.
 * See also: Chaos and Essence: Defying Logic?