Noosphere

The noosphere, also spelled noösphere, pronounced /'no.ə.sfir/, also called the mind sea, is an important philosophical and metaphysical idea in most yinrih religions. Different religions define the noosphere differently, but a common thread running through all its conceptions is the progression from inanimate matter to living things and eventually to sapience, and the interconnections between individual sapient minds.

The Bright Way

In the Bright Way, the noosphere isn't a tangible entity so much as a way of looking at sophonts and their collective effect on the world and each other. The noosphere is to sapient life as the biosphere is to nonsapient life. It consists of all rational minds on a planet as well as their interactions. The Farspeakers consider telecommunication infrastructure such as the interplanetary ansible network and various planetary internetworks to be the "body" of the noosphere. In the same way a brain and nervous system are physical components that uphold a sophont's consciousness, these networks uphold the activity of the noosphere. Importantly, the noosphere depends on consciousness and not the other way around.

Nonagentivism

The Nonagentivist branch of Neoshamanism reverses the orthodox Claravian understanding. Instead of consciousness giving rise to the noosphere, the noosphere gives rise to consciousness. According to Neoshamanism, consciousness is latent in the very fabric of the universe, and consciousness can become apparent in any system of sufficient complexity. The brain of a sophont is a very complex system, so it makes an ideal vessel for consciousness.

The Noosphere also contains every thought that a sophont could possibly think. When a sophont thinks of something new, he's not creating something ex nihilo, he's discovering the part of the noosphere where the idea had always existed.

Agentivism

Similar to Nonagentivism, Agentivism believes the noosphere gives rise to consciousness, but differs from Nonagentivism in that any conscious system can have a will of its own and act according to that will. Agentivists also believe that power can be drawn form the noosphere through dwimmercraft.

Misotheism

Some major branches of Misotheist atavism believe that the noosphere is a sink for the emotions and beliefs of all sapient life, and that particularly strong emotions or widespread beliefs can manifest as entities in the noosphere that can effect realspace. It is for this reason that more militant misotheists seek to kill Wayfarers in order to starve The Uncreated Light of worshipers in revenge for cursing the yinrih with sapience.