History Main / SentientCosmicForce

* The DCU also has The Source from ''ComicBook/NewGods''. Just how many of these does one universe need, anyway? In any case, The Source emanates from beyond "the Source Wall", a giant wall on the outskirts of reality; the New Gods, and possibly everyone, go there when they die, but it is also sentient and communicates with the New Gods through a giant burning hand that gives them hints about what actions they should take.
** Furthermore, it ''also'' has the Endless; Death, Destiny, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium (formerly Delight). Each embodies their given role, and often appear as something different to whoever's looking at them (Dream, for instance, was simultaneously perceived both as a tall EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette by John Constantine and as an ancient Martian God by the Martian Manhunter). However, they aren't explicitly required to fulfil their role for it to continue happening, with the universe accommodating -- Destruction retired, and the universe kept on going, and when Dream was imprisoned for most of a century, despite some significant side-effects in both the mortal world and the Dreaming itself, things kept going.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1350594959000880100
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%%* The Source from Creator/JackKirby's ''ComicBook/NewGods.''
* [[ComicBook/XMen The Phoenix Force]] and the [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Power Cosmic]] are two Marvel Universe examples, although the former [[ContinuitySnarl is hard to explain due to countless revisions]].
** There is also the Captain Universe power (which itself is an extension of the Microverse’s Enigma Force), which goes around the universe to imbue a powerup to superpowered individuals in order to let them combat a great upcoming cataclysm that the universe (or rather, the power) foresees as so great that it should not come to pass. Spider-Man possessed it for a time, because he had to stop a nuclear reactor from wiping New York off of the map while the Avengers were occupied elsewhere, and a later Captain Universe ended up on the pre ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' Avengers roster, and aside from being handicapped by a brain-damaged and amnesiac host, spoke for itself.

** Furthermore, it ''also'' has the Endless; Death, Destiny, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium (formerly Delight). Each embodies their given role, and often appear as something different to whoever's looking at them (Dream, for instance, was simultaneously perceived both as a tall EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette by John Constantine and as an ancient Martian God by the Martian Manhunter). However, they aren't explicitly required to fulfil their role for it to continue happening, with the universe accommodating - Destruction retired, and the universe kept on going, and when Dream was imprisoned for most of a century, despite some significant side-effects in both the mortal world and the Dreaming itself, things kept going.
* ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'': The Dreaming, which WordOfGod acknowledges was drawn from Australian Aboriginal beliefs.

* Eywa in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' is a GeniusLoci physically comprising the neural network between the various flora and fauna on Pandora, and comprising the memories of various creatures, but is sentient and can cause GaiasVengeance when required.
* While its motives are unclear, in ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' a Force-like... force... is identified as "The Dragon".
%%* This is thoroughly spoofed by ''Film/SpaceBalls'' with "da Schwartz!."
* In the ''Franchise/FinalDestination'' series, the main cast is faced off against "Mr. Dead", which is to say Death itself. Death has no form or body, but rather exists as a sentient force of nature that brings about the deaths of those that are meant to die. It's also rather [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch-y]], being an inscrutable and unstoppable entity picking off hapless mortals in ridiculously cruel ways.

* Dust, from ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': while the "magic" element of it is subtle, it's observed to be attracted to children as they reach puberty, [[spoiler:is discovered to be to be the stuff which gives intelligent creatures sentience,]] and is the reason Lyra's truth-telling Alethiometer works. [[spoiler: It also speaks to a character from Will's world who is studying it through her computer and sends her on a quest.]]

* The god of Mijak[[note]]Or rather, the thing the Mijaki ''mistake'' for God[[/note]] from the ''Literature/GodspeakerTrilogy'' is a particularly evil variant. It never speaks in words to its worshipers, but influences their thoughts and desires and acts through its priests, the godspeakers, and through specific chosen ones like Hekat and later the Hammer. It demands constant sacrifice to sustain itself and very much wants to conquer the world. A character from outside the Mijaki culture at one point describes it as "a well of dark power".
* Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-earth is created and sustained by the Flame Imperishable, which emanates from [[{{God}} Eru Ilúvatar]] himself. [[WordOfGod The author's letters]] confirm he intended it to be a CrystalDragonJesus of the Holy Spirit.
* Magic in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series is explicitly mentioned to be a little bit alive. It's the reason HEX seems to add or upgrade parts of its own accord, and part of the reason that not using magic is one of the most important skills a wizard can utilize.
* The True Source, which turns ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime.'' [[spoiler: [[GodOfEvil The Dark One]] itself turns out to be one of these in the last book as well, more a personification of evil, chaos, and entropy rather than a person. [[TheChosenOne Rand]] manages to reseal it by turning its own magic, [[BlackMagic the True Power]] back against it, ensuring that the harder the Dark One fought against being sealed, the more tightly it ''was'' sealed]].
* Creator/BrandonSanderson's Cosmere contains sixteen Shards, each of which is a fragment of godlike power created when [[spoiler: a greater being or force called Adonalsium was somehow shattered into these Shards.]] Each shard has an Intent (described by it's name), which is the component of [[spoiler:Adonalsium]] that it represents. Shards that have appeared (directly or indirectly) so far include Ruin, Preservation, Endowment, Honor, Cultivation, Odium, and Autonomy. In order to be used, a Shard must be help by a person who will eventually become completely focused on the Shard's intent, literally unable to act in a way contrary to it. The Shards are responsible for the FunctionalMagic systems that exist on the planets they inhabit, and have some ability to communicate and direct people on those planets to accomplish their goals, although it's unclear exactly how much a totally unlimited shard can do.

* In the epic MindScrew that is "Through The Gates of the Silver Key" [[spoiler: we learn that not only is Yoggy its own creature, it is one out of presumably many ultimate archetypes. Every person of any species is apparently a facet of one of these archetypes, and Yog-Sothoth includes all great thinkers and wizards, including protagonist Randolph Carter. It's anyone's guess what/who the ''other'' archetypes are.]]
* The magic from ''Literature/TheSoldierSon'' trilogy acts this way. It's not a living thing, but throughout the entire trilogy it is attempting to force Nevare's hand.
* In Fiona Patton's ''Literature/{{Branion}}'' series, this describes the Holy Triarchy, which represents three of the four elemental powers. The fourth, Flame, is implied to have been this at one point, but somehow the FounderOfTheKingdom made a pact with It, took It within herself, and became the first [[GodEmperor Aristok]] and [[GodInHumanForm Vessel of the Living Flame]]. Characters in the fourth book commit [[TheHeretic heresy]] by seeking to do the same with the Wind, Sea and Oaks.
* In S. M. Stirling's ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'' it appears to be this that caused the Change.
* In Creator/DavidGemmell's ''Literature/{{Drenai}}'' novels, priests are dedicated to [[NamesTheSame the Source]], which imparts mystical powers.
* ''Literature/PerdidoStreetStation'' has the Torque, described by one character as a tumor that aborted itself from the womb that produced the forces of Birth and Death. Whilst not evil per-se, it is a natural force that is almost totally uncontrollable that warps and mutates matter and biology into horrifying things. Merely trying to research it can turn you into an EldritchAbomination. It was once used as a weapon; the results of the Torque Bomb were so awful even after a generous application of Magitek versions of nuclear weapons there's a country-sized region of the world which isn't going to be inhabitable by anything but abominations ever again.

* ''Literature/TheOldKingdom'' has the Charter, which is a sort of metaphysical document that orders and defines all life and magic within the world, and is close enough to reality in the titular Kingdom that it can be directly tapped into to power Charter Magic. Whether the Charter itself is truly sentient is debatable [[spoiler: though the beings who created it were]] but it has shown some ability to take steps to preserve itself (and by extension, the universe) mostly by making sure the right people are born at the right time and sending visions to [[MadOracle the Clayr]]. Opposed to the Charter is [[EntropyAndChaosMagic Free Magic]] and its [[OurDemonsAreDifferent elementals]] [[spoiler: the most powerful of which is Orannis the Destroyer]] as well as TheUndead.

* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' has this trope as the pillar of its cosmology. The universal forces of Chaos, Order and Entropy exist and have something resembling a personality, called the Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm, respectively. Werewolves' entire lives revolve around the conflict between these three forces, specifically being rather friendly with the Wyld, wary or antagonistic to the Weaver and VEEEEEERY antagonistic to the Wyrm.
* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'' has both the Light (the embodiment of virtue, beneficence, and the desire to make the world a better place.) and its opposite the Darkness (the embodiment of vice, corruption, despair, and malevolence). The titular Princesses are empowered by the Light, while the Darkness has a wide variety of minions created from those who were consumed by vice or despair in various ways.
* The Warp from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' would be a rare evil version. It is malevolent, at least at the moment: originally it was a benign, peaceful force that has become corrupted by all the grief, rage, and suffering [[CrapsackWorld that's been happening in the galaxy]] for the past few million years. It has, in fact, many wills (thanks to its chaotic nature), as its wills can be given identities in the form of Chaos Gods. Just like the Force from ''Franchise/StarWars'', it can give super powers, though [[LovecraftianSuperpower not often ones you'd want to keep]].

*** Not only can the Pattern Spiders be affected by you, sometimes it's not even necessary - the Pattern Spiders are ''bored out of their minds''. Enough so that if you try to do something cool enough, they'll usually fudge the rules to make it more likely to work (represented in gameplay as bonus dice).

* The Light and the Darkness in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. Each has their own realm (along with a realm where they're mixed, and a realm that lacks either). They're mostly just a BackgroundMagicField each, but each seems to have a will of its own - the (rarely seen) realm of Darkness creates Heartless, and the (broken from an ancient war) realm of Light rebuilt itself using the pure light found in children's hearts, and will summon/swap around Keyblades depending (to some degree) on the intended wielder's balance of light and darkness. Neither of the forces seems directly opposed to the other, though - most of the reasons that the realm of Light suffers from darkness are due either to the previously mentioned war or to the series' BigBad, who seeks to disprove myths about Darkness and gain personal power with increasingly reckless and ''ruthless'' experiments.
* Apparently the Voodoo from ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' is this, according to the Voodoo Lady. Of course, [[HollywoodVoodoo real Voodoo has nothing to do with this]].
* TheLifestream of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', used as a fuel by the [[MegaCorp Shinra Electric Power Company]]. In its solidified form it is [[PowersAsPrograms the materia that allows the use of magic]], and is the combined spirit of all living things of the Planet, and when you piss it off enough it [[GaiasVengeance releases a whole bunch of monsters to get rid of whatever is annoying it]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Starhawk}}'', Rift energy, AKA "blue gold", is an efficient power source and spews out of the ground. Direct exposure turns people into exoskeletal, mutant zealots that worship the Rift and attack anyone who tries to harvest it. Sometimes, it grabs people and pulls them into itself.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', each fonon has an aggregate sentience (most are named after the summon spirits of previous games), but the one that's most important to the storyline is Lorelei, the aggregate sentience of the seventh fonon of sound.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect'': Asari religion is said to revolve around this, moving away from a more literal worship of the goddess Athame. [[spoiler: In the third game, we learn Athame was fact real, and a Prothean to boot.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': In [[VideoGame/Destiny2 the sequel]]'s ''Shadowkeep'' expansion, the "Unveiling" lore book reveals this to be the case for the Light/Traveler and the Darkness/Pyramids. In the book, the Darkness relates an allegorical account of how the two of them used to exist in a garden before time began, tending to flowers in it. When the gardener (Light) got frustrated how the garden seemed to stagnate, similar patterns continually arising in it, they tried to introduce a new "rule" into the garden, much to the winnower's (Darkness) alarm. The two fought and fell into the garden, starting time, and becoming cosmic forces that exhibit [[RealityWarping paracausal power]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', magic has [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1832 a will and objectives of its own]]. It's known to have a flair for the dramatic and even seems at times to have a sense of humor. Among its objectives was a desire to not be used by more than a small fraction of the people, to the extent of changing its own rules... [[spoiler: until it was persuaded that the rise of the internet made that not viable anymore and it agreed to go public]]. Notably, it's flair for the dramatic isn't a personality trait so much as it is Magic being [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm so alien]] that big dramatic moments are all it really understands of us.

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', Candace believes that it's something like this that prevents her from busting her brothers (and probably preventing their mom from noticing anything odd). Whether this is so is [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]].
* The eponymous [[ThePowerOfFriendship Magic of Friendship]] in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' appears to be one of these and is tied to the [[WorldTree Tree of Harmony]]. It manifests in response to strong acts of friendship between ponies, through such vectors as the Elements of Harmony and the Fire of Friendship (which may be weaponized as a HeartBeatDown or a CareBearStare). Beginning with Season 5, it becomes a MagneticPlotDevice that actively sends specific [[{{Pun}} mane]] characters on quests to solve friendship problems throughout the world, implying a definite decision-making process.

** OlderThanYouThink - this is the view of Georg Hegel, a thoroughly boring (if influential) eighteenth century German philosopher.

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* In the [[Fanfic/{{Cinderjuice}} Contractually Obligated Chaos]] series, this is the best way to describe the plot. The rest of the cast gradually decides that the plot is more or less a sentient being which controls everything, and they are subject to its whims. It's usually benevolent, but prone to pursuing RuleOfDrama, RuleOfFunny, and/or RuleOfCool on a whim. No one is safe from it; arguably, this includes the author. Given that the source material is the ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon, this manages to make perfect sense.

* While its motives are unclear, in ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' a Force-like... force... is referred to as "The Dragon".

** ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'' has Endowment who gives all people on the planet it inhabits a magical "Breath" which can be passed between people or used to animate and Command non-living organic objects. It is also responsible for creating [[OurZombiesAreDifferent the Returned]], Godlike beings who are people who die then are sent back with a single powerful Breath capable of healing any disease or injury (at the cost of the Returned's life). It is believed [[spoiler:(and partially confirmed by Lightsongs actions at the end of the book)]] that each Returned is sent back with a specific purpose to accomplish, although in the process of coming back to life they lose all their memories, so they have to try to figure out what their purpose is along the way.

** [[GodOfGods Anu]] and [[TheAntiGod Padomay]] are the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification anthropomorphized]] primordial forces of [[OrderVersusChaos "stasis/order/light" and "change/chaos/darkness"]], respectively. Their interplay in the great "Void" led to Nir, "creation". Nir loved Anu, [[DrivenByEnvy which Padomay hated]]. Padomay killed Nir and the 12 worlds she gave birth to. Anu wounded Padomay, presuming him dead. Anu salvaged the pieces of the 12 world to create one world: Nirn. Padomay returned and wounded Anu, seeking to destroy Nirn. Anu then [[TakingYouWithMe pulled Padomay and himself outside of time]], ending Padomay's threat to creation "forever". Due to being pulled outside of time, neither can directly influence the affairs of the mortal world, but it is believed that their presence is still felt, largely InMysteriousWays and in PowersThatBe type ways.

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': In [[VideoGame/Destiny2 the sequel]]'s ''Shadowkeep'' expansion, the "Unveiling" lore book reveals this to be the case for the Light/Traveler and the Darkness/Pyramids. In the book, the Darkness relates an allagorical account of how the two of them used to exist in a garden before time began, tending to flowers in it. When the gardener (Light) got frustrated how the garden seemed to stagnate, similar patterns continually arising in it, they tried to introduce a new "rule" into the garden, much to the winnower's (Darkness) alarm. The two fought and fell into the garden, starting time, and becoming cosmic forces that exhibit [[RealityWarping paracausal power]].

** "Gaia" is [[MotherNature the will of the planet Earth]], and "Alaya" is the collective unconsciousness of humanity. The clash between Gaia and Alaya out of their respective desires for self-preservation created some sort of a cosmic force called "The Counter Force". If either Gaia or Alaya becomes closer to destruction, the Counter Force will act towards saving the one closer to destruction, usually at the expense of the other. The form it can be communicated with exists as "Counter Guardians", heroes who have formed a contract with the World to save it when it comes closer to destruction... though the presence of a Counter Guardian means that [[GodzillaThreshold every other course of action that the Counter Force could've taken has been exhausted]], Counter Guardians typically lack autonomy when summoned in that capacity, and their ''modus operandi'' is to annhiliate both the direct cause of the threat and everything else within the surrounding area (i.e. massive collateral damage/casualties is the norm for such events).

** There are some cases in which it is less distant and more immediately helpful. In ''Rebel Force: Uprising'', when Luke is being tortured and put through brainwashing so bad that even [[SpiritAdvisor Obi-Wan's spirit]] can't help him anymore, he hears an inner voice encouraging him on. He thinks it sounds like him but older, and assumes that it's his father's voice. [[LukeIAmYourFather We know it's not]].

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* The Domain is implied to be this in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''[='s=] ''Literature/TheForerunnerSaga'' for the Milky Way and seemingly attempts to warn the [[ThePrecursors Forerunners]] about the downfall of their empire. The Domain appears to have motives separate to that of any other faction, even the [[RecursivePrecursors Precursors]], who [[spoiler:''created'' the Domain prior to their near-extinction at the hands of the Forerunners, making it a rare ''artificial'' version of this trope]].

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': The Axiom, first mentioned in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''. The Axiom represents the entire non-physical part of the universe, and any human who manages to make contact with it becomes something [[Transhumanism on an level incomprehensibly far above]] what they previously were (so far, only a single person is known to have done so, and they're a recurring character surfing the multiverse now). It's made clear that The Axiom and YHVH completely hate each other - YHVH hates that a force exists the He may not be able to control, and the Axiom will engineer the existence of [[PlayerCharacter Messiahs]] just to mess with YHVH's attempts to remake the world in His image.

* The Truth in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is the sentient form of the universe, and the source of alchemy. Few people ever see it though (only those who attempted human transmutation). At the end, it [[spoiler:punishes Father for his actions and gives back Al's body in exchange for Ed [[BroughtDownToNormal giving up his alchemy power forever]]]].

** The term "Whill" has existed since some of the earliest drafts of ''A New Hope'', where the story was narrated by an immortal being telling the history of the galaxy. The idea evolved into The Force, but the term Whill still existed in Lucas' mind and eventually [[AllThereInTheManual appeared offscreen]] in relation to a few things from ''Revenge of the Sith'' and ''The Force Awakens''. In May 2018 Lucas revealed a taste of what his intentions for episode VII+ were before the sale to Disney. He was going to bring the Whills out [[AccidentalPun full force]] and reveal them to be microbiotic organisms which controlled the galaxy; "The midi-chlorians are the ones that communicate with the Whills. The Whills, in a general sense, they are the Force".

** Green spectrum: Ion, the vaguely catfish-looking entity feeding off/fueling the [[DependingOnTheWriter nebulously-defined]] (but roughly equivalent to [[TheDeterminator stubbornness]]) "emotion" of Willpower, which powers the rings of the [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Green Lantern Corps]]. The latter are chosen precisely because they can "[[ArcWords overcome great fear]]", because [[FatalFlaw fear, of course, is the enemy of an otherwise iron-clad will]]. (This was [[RetCon later given]] as part of the explanation of why Green Lanterns historically had their powers be [[WeaksauceWeakness weak or ineffective against the color yellow]].)

A {{subtrope}} of BackgroundMagicField. May overlap with TheLifestream when it's created by life itself or when things become one with it after death.

** Blue spectrum: Adara, the entity of Hope, which imbues the Blue Lanterns with their abilities based on how [[HopeBringer inspiring/hopeful]] they are. [[InformedAbility Allegedly]] one of the "[[HeartIsAnAwesomePower most powerful]]" entities in the Emotional Spectrum, but in practice, the Blue Lanterns empowered by it are [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway usually]] not very [[WeaksauceWeakness useful]] without a Green Lantern nearby, since being near one empowered by Willpower is a prerequisite to using the more impressive of their abilities.
** Indigo spectrum: Proselyte, the entity of Compassion (generally depicted as [[TheEmpath empathy]]). Fuels the powers of the mysterious Indigo Tribe, most of whom are [[RedemptionQuest reformed criminals]]. In addition to energy construct type abilities like the Green Lanterns, this entity's followers can also [[TheSight psychically sense emotions]], apparently [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience visualizing them based on the colors associated with them]].

* The {{Franchise/Nasuverse}}:
** "Gaia" is [[MotherNature the will of the planet Earth]], and "Alaya" is the collective unconsciousness of humanity. The clash between Gaia and Alaya out of their respective desires for self-preservation created some sort of a cosmic force called "The Counter Force". If either Gaia or Alaya becomes closer to destruction, the Counter Force will act towards saving the one closer to destruction, usually at the expense of the other. The form it can be communicated with exists as "Counter Guardians", heroes who have formed a contract with the World to save it when it comes closer to destruction... though the presence of a Counter Guardian means that [[GodzillaThreshold every other course of action that the Counter Force could've taken has been exhausted]], Counter Guardians typically lack autonomy when summoned in that capacity, and their ''modus operandi'' is to annhiliate both the direct cause of the threat and everything else within the surrounding area (i.e. massive collateral damage/casualties is the norm for such events).
** The "Ultimate Ones", each the "[[UltimateLifeform ultimate being]]" of an entire celestial body that embodies [[GeniusLoci said world's will]]. According to ''Literature/AngelNotes'', every planet (and the Moon) has an Ultimate One. These beings have [[EldritchAbomination utterly bizarre forms and minds]] to say the least, as one of them (Type-Mercury, a.k.a. ORT) even came to Earth responding to Gaia's dying message ''5000 years before Gaia died''. The reason Gaia can't create Type-Earth as her physical form is because Alaya is preventing her from doing so. She had to resort to striking a deal with Type-Moon, a.k.a. Crimson Moon Brunestud, to allow it residence on Earth in exchange for creating a substitute, the result being the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent True Ancestors]]; one particular True Ancestor, [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Arcueid Brunestud]], had been implanted by Crimson Moon with a copy of said Type's personality, and upon its eventual awakening (which will probably lead to [[SplitPersonalityTakeover her original personality being lost]]) she will attain her highest level of power and become a being known as "Archetype:Earth" (something that happens in one ending in ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood''), making the closest thing to a true Ultimate One of Earth.

** Blue spectrum: Adara, the entity of Hope, which imbues the Blue Lanterns with their abilities based on how [[HopeSpot inspiring/hopeful]] they are. [[InformedAbility Allegedly]] one of the "[[HeartIsAnAwesomePower most powerful]]" entities in the Emotional Spectrum, but in practice, the Blue Lanterns empowered by it are [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway usually]] not very [[WeaksauceWeakness useful]] without a Green Lantern nearby, since being near one empowered by Willpower is a prerequisite to using the more impressive of their abilities.

** Yellow spectrum: the [[EldritchHorror Fear-feeding/fueling entity Parallax]], which fuels the [[RetCon current version]] of the [[BigBad Sinestro]] [[ArchEnemy Corps]]' Power Rings, which give abilities similar to a Green Lantern's but are usually given out to people "able to inspire great fear".

** [[AllThatGlittersIsNotGold Orange spectrum]]: [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Ophidian the Tempter, a snake-like entity]] which represents/fuels/is fueled by the emotion of Greed and for that reason usually only [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne tends to only be able to empower one individual at a time]] ("[[IncrediblyLamePun Agent Orange]]" tends not to want to share). Tends to assert extreme influence over almost anybody who touches the Orange Lantern that contains it, [[KryptoniteFactor with the exception]] of those [[ThePowerOfLove wielding a Power Ring in the violet spectrum]].

* A common RunningGag in the WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts was for one of the characters to be trying to handle a job, only for whatever apparatus involved to meticulously move and fall apart out their favour. In "Moving Day" for example, Goofy tries to push a piano into a van, only for it to continuously roll out. As the short continues it moves in more contrived ways, rolling back and forth independently and even jumping when Goofy catches it in the act, making the supposed inanimate object effectively a ScrewySquirrel.

* Those dealing with non-physical phenomena believe that the supernatural exists and it's sentient. Trying to deal with it as with hard science is akin to "Going to a random person on the street, shoving a $50 bill and telling them to mow your lawn because you've given them the money."[[labelnote:*]]And the random stranger is likely to respond along the line of "Who the hell are you? I don't even know you, piss off."[[/labelnote]] Instead they must be beseeched, negotiated with, waited upon, provided with offerings, until they deign to make their presence known.

* Greek philosophical systems, such as Stoicism and Neoplatonism, had the concept of ''Anima mundi'' - the World Soul.

* The so-called ''Anima Mundi'' or world soul is according to several systems of thought, an intrinsic connection between all living things on the planet, which relates to the world in much the same way as the soul is connected to the human body.

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[[folder:LiveActionTelevision]]

** There is also the Captain Universe power (which itself is an extension of the Microverse’s Enigma Force), which goes around the universe to imbue a powerup to superpowered individuals in order to let them combat a great upcoming cataclysm that the universe (Or rather the power) foresees as so great that it should not come to pass. Spider-Man possessed it for a time, because he had to stop a nuclear reactor from wiping New York off of the map while the Avengers were occupied elsewhere.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': as in Marvel canon, the Phoenix Force is this, and is merged with Destruction of the Endless, another example of this trope, along with the latter's sibling.

* A recurring element in Creator/ThomasLigotti's stories, going by names such as Nethescurial, the Tsalal, and the Great Black Swine, and to a T, it's always described as [[MadeOfEvil absolute evil]].

* It was recently revealed that ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''' myterious "Well of the Furies" is actually a SentientCosmicForce. To date, its exact goals are poorly-eludicated, but seem to involve trying to take control of its [[TheChosenMany Chosen Many]], the "Incarnates."

** Green spectrum: Ion, the vaguely catfish-looking entity feeding off/fueling the [[DependingOnTheWriter nebulously-defined]] (but roughly equivalent to [[TheDeterminator stubbornness]]) "emotion" of Willpower, which powers the rings of the [[GreenLantern Green Lantern Corps]]. The latter are chosen precisely because they can "[[ArcWords overcome great fear]]", because [[FatalFlaw fear, of course, is the enemy of an otherwise iron-clad will]]. (This was [[RetCon later given]] as part of the explanation of why Green Lanterns historically had their powers be [[WeaksauceWeakness weak or ineffective against the color yellow]].)