Old short story about energy beings

I am trying to find an old science fiction short story that my brothers and I recall from about fifty years ago. We read it in some science fiction anthology while driving around the U.S. as vagabonds in the mid sixties. The story described a civilization of energy beings that would periodically need to exterminate the humans that riddled their community like rats. One of the humans finally figures out how to control the energy, and I think the story ends as he floats away on river of energy formed by mentally holding one glowing ring inside another. The beautiful imagery conjured by that story has stuck with me for half a century, and I would love to find it again. Does anyone remember it?

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Did the gatekeeper and the keymaster get intimate in Ghostbusters?

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Why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize Missy right away?

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story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

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