Souls, Spirits, and Essence

The entire experience from the viewpoint of the soul is completely unknown and shall therefore not be explored at this time.

The true nature of souls, including their origins and any purpose outside the designs of the Seventh Paradigm, is not known. It is known that: a living being need not possess a soul; not every Human has a soul; some "lower" life-forms may, rarely, have a soul; a soul is not a spirit is not a mind is not a soul.

Soul

Eternal, divine, ineffable. Exhibited in very rare instances by the vast minority. Exists (apparently) in all Paradigms simultaneously but has form only in the Seventh (or above?). Souls, on a Universal scale, are very, very, very rare.

Spirit

Exists in the Sixth Paradigm. All living and many non-living things have a spirit. It is the "spark of life". It is entwined, though not entirely synonymous, with Essence. Tied so intrinsically to life and life-processes that spirit rarely outlasts the flesh. This is the font of emotion in living things, separating the quick from the dead.

Essence

Life force. Entwined, but not entirely synonymous, with blood, this is the energy of living things. Usually a hidden attribute and tied so inexorably to the functioning of the living body that the two are practically synonymous. Damage to essence harms or even kills the body. Death of the body extinguishes the essence within.

Body

The "physical" form. Describes the boundaries between each individual thing and everything else. Even energy beings have flesh: a pseudo-physical form, a definition of what is "self" and what is "other". Not all life is composed of solid matter or, indeed, matter of any sort.

Mind

Exists where there is consciousness. Imprints upon lower Paradigms. For example, "ghosts" are the imprint of consciousness in the Fifth upon the Fourth. Hauntings are usually the impressions of the Sixth upon the Fifth.