History Main / TheLifestream

* In ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'', the Earth is described as having a Gaia which is essentially the Lifestream from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' with a different name.

** The Lifestream in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', which is the TropeNamer.
** The Gaias in ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin''. In fact, the entire plot of the movie is actually that of [[spoiler: the battle between Earth's Gaia and one from a dead world, '''its''' souls having been driven insane after drifting through space for untold aeons until slamming into Earth]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has a similar conflict running behind the scenes; the EvilPlan is to [[spoiler: prevent the souls of the people of Gaia from reincarnating, so the souls of the people of Terra can replace them]].

* Glaive Le Gable in ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 2}}''.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has the titular [[{{MacGuffin}} Kingdom Hearts]].

* Something similar is seen in the {{anime}} ''Manga/{{Mushishi}}'', in which it is called a life pulse vein and described as a river of small ''mushi'', creatures who represent life in its purest form. Its presence is good for life in general, but it's also dangerous for humans in a number of ways; even just looking at it too closely or for too long can be harmful. How? [[spoiler:Well, let's just say we hope you don't terribly miss [[EyeScream the use of your eyes]].]]

** Annoyingly, the name changes as the concept stays the same. But for all Transformerdom... there's a place where sparks return to after death, all sharing knowledge and experiences and such and you can ''sometimes'' communicate with it. "Where all are one," as Rhinox put it.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2TZhruT-Xs This performance]] by Harry Belafonte on TheMuppetShow.

* The [=AllSpark=] in the ''{{Transformers}}'' series. At least, as far as the UnicronTrilogy is concerned. In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines,'' it was interchangeably called the Matrix (which is ''also'' the name of a MacGuffin that isn't really related to it.)

* The rukh from ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', which comes in white or black. White rukh is created from those who live within life's flow and follow fate, and is drawn to positive emotions. Black rukh is created from those who try to defy that flow and destiny, and is drawn to negative emotions like malice.

* Literature/AwakeInTheNightLand has the Earth Current, which allows people who die close to it to reincarnate.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2TZhruT-Xs This performance]] by Harry Belafonte on TheMuppetShow.

* There was an issue of ''{{Stormwatch}}'' (''TheAuthority'''s predecessor) where it was revealed that Heaven and Hell were cosmic siege engines locked in an endless war, powered by the souls of the dead. There was a bar next to a nuclear testing range with a wall of photos of physicists who'd ended their lives at ground zero of a nuclear blast to deny either side their soul.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has the (rather poorly-defined) Incarnum. It's either souls or LifeEnergy, and the lack of it causes stillbirth. Which happened when a dragon by the name [[BigBad Ashardalon]] sat on [[TheLifestream its source]], gleefully omnomnom-ing it. Some heroes eventually dealt with him, but the source of Incarnum was cracked (or something), causing Incarnum to be available-as-powers like magic or psionic. When it's materialized, it looks like light-blue sands.

* The Halls of Mandos in ''TheSilmarillion''.

* The Galaxy Cauldron from the ''SailorMoon'' manga.
* Something similar is seen in the {{anime}} ''{{Mushishi}}'', in which it is called a life pulse vein and described as a river of small ''mushi'', creatures who represent life in its purest form. Its presence is good for life in general, but it's also dangerous for humans in a number of ways; even just looking at it too closely or for too long can be harmful. How? [[spoiler:Well, let's just say we hope you don't terribly miss [[EyeScream the use of your eyes]].]]
* The Akasha from the {{Nasuverse}} is the place where souls of the deceased are recycled to create new souls. However, it is also described as "the root of everything", as the concept of time does not apply; if a conscious being somehow manages to enter, it is basically TheNothingAfterDeath. Akasha is also where [[FateStayNight the magi]] strive to reach, as "connecting" with Akasha allows the use of True Magic, which are miracles beyond the scope of current science or magecraft, such as [[{{Tsukihime}} Zelretch's]] alternate dimension travel.

* ''{{Kaiba}}'' has an interesting physical version of this: people's memories are gold-colored "roe", and ones that are no longer in use for whatever reason (often death), if they aren't stored in special facilities (or if those facilities are destroyed), will float up into outer space, so there is an enormous river of memory roe flowing through space.

* ChronoCrusade also has this, referred to as, "The Astral Line".

* The [=AllSpark=] in the ''{{Transformers}}'' series. At least, as far as the UnicronTrilogy is concerned. In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines,'' it was called the Matrix (which is ''also'' the name of a MacGuffin that isn't really related to it.)

* The mindstream in ''Literature/TheObernewtynChronicles''.[[/folder]]

* ''{{Exalted}}'': Creation always have the number of souls necessary to animate living beings in it, since the Ewer of Soul always provide exactly that much. The problem that Autochthon --a machine-god who is also a self-contained world-- face in his self-imposed exile is that he need to eat souls (to put it simply), and he's dying because he can't get fresh ones.

* The Source in ''[[ProseDescriptiveQualities Dead Inside]]''. The cosmos is structured like a bird's egg, with the real world as the shell, the Spirit World as the white of the egg, and the Source as the yolk, protected by everything else from the void of oblivion on the outside. All soul energy comes from the Source, and all soul energy returns to the Source. That is, unless it rots away through indulging one's vices, or eaten by living holes in reality, or burned away to power magic, or... Well, suffice to say that not enough soul energy comes out of the Source these days to keep up with all the possible ways it might be lost, so one of the ways to lose your soul in the game is to have never had one in the first place. [[ParanoiaFuel And nobody knows if the Source can be tapped out, and if so, how close it might be...]]

* The mindstream in ''Literature/TheObernewtynChronicles'’ is the deepest level of the mind, the part of every creature's subconsciousness them to all other living things. When anyone or anything dies, their mind descends to this ultimate level of the subconscious and merges with everyone who exists and ever has existed. Talented Futureteller’s can hover above the mindstream to induce visions of the past, present, and possible futures. Coercers, Futuretellers and possibly Healers can use their ability to approach the mindstream as a painless suicide.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2TZhruT-Xs This performance]] by Harry Belafonte on TheMuppetShow.
[[/folder]]

* The Allspark in the ''{{Transformers}}'' series. At least, as far as the UnicronTrilogy is concerned. In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines,'' it was called the Matrix (which is ''also'' the name of a MacGuffin that isn't really related to it.)

* In ''[[NeonGenesisEvangelion End of Evangelion]]'', there is a brief scene where Shinji Ikari is watching all the souls gathered from Third Impact flowing around in the Black Moon like a stream of water. Not really a surprise since the entire movie is a {{Downer Ending}}.

* To a lesser extent, Dust in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials''. It's described as the main factor in the existence of sapience and possibly life itself, and without it the Multiverse is pretty much screwed.