A. Spiritual Terms

Afterlife:

The continuation of consciousness after the death of the physical body. A transitional phase for healing, review, and preparation for the next state of existence.

Consciousness:

The fundamental “light” of existence. It is the capacity to know, perceive, and experience.

Duality / Polarity:

The mechanism by which opposites appear — light and dark, joy and sorrow, life and death.

Emptiness / Sunyata:

The insight that all things are interdependent and without separation.

Energy:

Not mechanical force, but conscious will. The spirit’s capacity to create change, action, and manifestation.

Grand Cycle (Michael Teachings):

A full arc of the soul’s evolution through all levels of physical and non-physical existence, ending in reintegration with the cosmic consciousness.

Karma:

The spiritual mechanism that drives cause and effect. Karma is not punishment.

Life Review:

A panoramic, multidimensional evaluation of a lifetime, experienced after death. It reveals how one’s actions affect oneself and others.

Maya:

The illusion of separation and physical permanence. Reality seen through the lens of limitation.

Mental Universes:

Non-physical realms generated entirely by consciousness — often experienced in dreams, deep meditation, or post-death states.

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs):

Events where consciousness temporarily separates from the body, often resulting in profound insights, expanded awareness, and spiritual transformation.

Oneness:

The awareness that all beings and all phenomena are expressions of the same consciousness.

Other Universes:

Realities governed by laws of physics or spirituality different from our own; alternate cosmic architectures within the broader multiverse.

Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) / Astral Travel:

A deliberate or spontaneous shift of awareness outside the physical body, allowing perception of non-physical realms.

Parallel Universes:

Multiple branches of reality evolving simultaneously, each expressing different laws, choices, trajectories, or forms.

Planes of Existence:

Distinct layers or densities of reality, each operating by different laws. Commonly described as seven planes — from the physical to the astral, causal, mental, and beyond.

Reincarnation:

The process by which the soul returns to physical life repeatedly to grow, learn, and broaden its experiences.

Soul:

The individualized expression of the One — a spark of divine consciousness undergoing experience, learning, and evolution.

Space:

A structural illusion of the physical plane that creates the appearance of distance. In higher realms, space collapses into immediate presence.

Spirit:

The eternal, non-physical aspect of a being that houses its consciousness, experiences, and memories.

Spiritual Stage / Soul Age:

A framework describing the soul’s evolution across lifetimes. Each stage reflects a deeper capacity for wisdom, compassion, expansion, and self-awareness.

Tao / The One / God / The All-That-Is:

The ultimate, indivisible source of existence — beyond form, time, and space. Not a being but the infinite field of consciousness and potential from which all beings arise.

Time:

A mechanism specific to some physical realities. In higher planes, time becomes nonlinear, simultaneous, or irrelevant — measured instead by states of consciousness.

Vibration / Frequency:

The energetic resonance of a being’s consciousness. More expansive vibrational states reflect clarity, compassion, and unity; more limited states reflect fear, attachment, and fragmentation. There are no higher or lower vibrations — only what is more expansive or less.

B. Tetris Terms

180 Rotation:

Rotating a piece by 180 degrees, essentially flipping it (allowed in some games like TETR.IO).

4-wide / 3-wide / 2-wide:

Intentionally leaving a 4/3/2-column gap for combo setups.

7-bag Randomizer:

A randomization system that shuffles all 7 tetrominoes (I, O, T, L, J, S, Z) into a “bag,” ensuring each piece appears once per 7-piece cycle. Prevents long repetitions or absences of a single piece.

All-spin:

A variant where all pieces can perform spins like T-spins.

APM (Attacks Per Minute):

A measure of how many garbage lines a player sends to opponents each minute in multiplayer Tetris.

Attack (Garbage):

Lines sent to an opponent’s board after a line clear.

Back-to-backs:

Consecutive line clears without using a non-Tetris (non-quad) or non-T-spin line clear in between, often granting bonus points.

Burning:

Clearing lines inefficiently to survive (e.g., singles during garbage pressure).

Cavity:

An unfilled depression, often surrounded by taller stacks.

Cleanliness:

Efficient stacking with minimal covering or blocking of holes below with tetrominoes.

Combo:

Clearing multiple lines consecutively with successive piece placements. This adds to a meter that grants bonus damage.

Counter (Garbage):

Canceling incoming garbage with your own line clears.

Donation:

Often refers to T-spin donations, which involve making a T-spin by temporarily blocking the next garbage hole with tetrominoes.

Double:

Clearing 2 lines simultaneously.

Downstacking:

Clearing lines to lower the stack height, often in vs. modes.

Field Dependency:

How the current field structure dictates which specific pieces are required to maintain stability or continue efficient stacking.

Field Harmony:

Defined as choosing mino placements that lead to the broadest and smoothest stacking follow-up while minimizing dead-ends.

Finesse:

Optimal movement inputs to place pieces with minimal keystrokes.

Fishing:

Waiting for a specific mino piece dependency to arrive.

Freestyle:

Improvising stacks vs. pre-planned setups.

Ghost Piece:

A translucent preview of where the piece will land.

Guideline Tetris:

Games with official, modern Tetris rules (e.g., 7-bag randomizer, hold piece, hard drop, soft drop).

Hard Drop:

Instantly placing a piece with one input.

Hold Queue:

The slot to store a piece for later use.

Hole-Switching:

Using the L, J, T, or I piece to switch the location of a garbage hole using a skim.

Line clear:

Removing one or more lines from the stack.

Misdrop:

Accidentally placing a piece in the wrong position.

Next Queue:

Display of upcoming pieces (length varies by ruleset).

Opener:

Pre-planned starting moves for early-game advantages.

Parity:

The smoothness or jaggedness of a stack of tetrominoes. More technically, it refers to the difference between odd and even blocks.

Perfect Clear:

Clearing the entire playfield at once, leaving no blocks.

Piece Dependency:

A scenario where a particular setup requires one or more specific pieces to fill, such as an I or T piece.

Prophecy T-spin:

A predicted or pre-planned T-spin setup.

Prop:

A specific supporting structure within a setup, often used to create a part for an advanced technique.

Quad:

Clearing 4 lines at once (a “Tetris”).

Secret Mode:

Hidden Modes: Unlockable game modes (e.g., Tetris DX’s “Invisible” or The New Tetris’ “Square Mode”).

Shaving:

See burning.

Single:

Clearing 1 line.

Skimming:

Involves manipulating a field into a more desirable form using singles, doubles, or triples.

Soft Drop:

Rapidly moving a piece downward while retaining control.

Spike:

A sudden large garbage attack (e.g., after a combo/T-spin).

Spliced T-spin:

A hybrid T-spin setup (e.g., combining multiple T-spin types).

Sprint / 40-line Sprint:

A mode to clear 40 lines as fast as possible.

Stacking:

Building the playfield with tetrominoes.

Stalling:

A technique where the player intentionally delays piece placement — usually to wait for garbage to rise or for a more favorable board state — often by rotating or holding pieces without dropping them.

Suspension:

A floating part of a setup that is unsupported from below and is often used for advanced T-spins.

Tank (Garbage Tank):

Intentionally receiving or accepting garbage lines.

T-spin:

Rotating a T piece into a tight gap to clear lines and score bonus points.

Tetromino (Piece):

The four-block geometric shapes used in Tetris: I (straight), O (square), T, L, J, S, and Z.

Top-out:

Losing when the stack reaches the top of the playfield.

Triple:

Clearing 3 lines simultaneously.

Ultra:

A single-player mode that involves maximizing your score within 3 minutes.

Upstacking:

See stacking. It often means stacking upwards.

Vulnerability:

A state with few resources to defend against an attack quickly.