Did Twin Peaks Reference Phantasm Last Week?

Spoiler alert: If you're not caught up on Showtime's Twin Peaks: The Return, don't read any further. (The new show, like the old show, is fantastic if you're among the uninitiated.) Things got a little bit Phantasm-y recently on the third episode of the David Lynch revival series. In a scene set inside the mysterious Black Lodge, one of Agent Cooper's Doppleganger's bizarrely disappears. His head vanishes first after which a golden sphere floats up from the collar of his shirt. It hangs about in the space where his head was before the rest of his body shrivels into nothingness.

What's the significance of this golden sphere? Does it represent the character's soul? His consciousness? Something else? And might this have been a direct reference to the Phantasm series? It's possible, though you never know with David Lynch. On a related note, do recall that Phantasm Oblivion had a terrific Lynch-ian vibe to it.

Being a phan, my thoughts went immediately to Phantasm upon viewing this scene. I apparently wasn't the only one as four of my peers soon got in touch to share their impressions of the scene. What say you? Was this a Phantasm reference or just David Lynch being David Lynch?