To start with, let’s look at its origin:
Aether was the fifth element in alchemical chemistry and early physics. It was the name given to the material that was believed to fill the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. The belief in aether as an element was held by medieval alchemists, Greeks, Buddhists, Hindus, the Japanese, and the Tibetan Bon.
You may wonder why I use the previous traditions’ term when we know this fifth element to be consciousness . What everybody is talking about , whether they know it or not , is the five directions (left, right, in front, behind and within).
These directions are found in the Kabbala as “the tree of life” , in the Toltec traditions to identify proclivities , in Native American Sacred ceremonies, and more. It is found in our teachings as the massive multi-universes’ microcosms known as the Field of Dreaming , Field of Awakening, Field of Intent, Field of the One – and beyond that the Unfathomable Field of Consciousness . That which lies beyond atomic matter (“beyond the terrestrial sphere”).
For ages the qualities of these five directions , these five elements have been studied, yielding a great deal of valid information. Our studies of the nature of existence in the various macrocosms, is in fact the study of the five elements. It greatly adds to whatever has correctly been deduced about the nature of these elements over centuries. The terms we use don’t really matter. Using familiar ones, assist those who have studied them to build on previous knowledge, rather than reinvent the wheel.