Coherent energy comes and goes together so it can do work, as opposed to incoherent energy that goes in all directions and cancels itself out. You must imagine further, that each sub-domain has an internal structure similar to Figure 1. This 'self-similarity' of fractal structures is characteristic of natural processes. That is why I can be digesting my breakfast while talking to you and waving my arms about as well. As you can see, the more sub-cycles there are, the more energy is stored within the system.
Cycles make perfect thermodynamic sense.
Not only do they give dynamic stability, they enable the activities to be perfectly coordinated. Most importantly, the cycles are linked through all space-time scales in a symmetrical, or reciprocal way, so that processes yielding energy can directly or indirectly transfer the energy to those that require energy, and their roles can be reversed as the need arises. By the same token, energy can be readily transferred from all over the system to any local point and conversely, energy created at any local point can spread over the entire system, with the minimum loss or dissipation. In other words, energy transfer is rapid, efficient and reversible. This creates the conditions for internal balance, so that coherent energy is maximally conserved, and the system organisation is maintained.