Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: What if everything is conscious?

Thursday, October 2, 2025

What if everything is conscious?

What if absolutely everything is CONSCIOUS?

(Spiritual Quest) The mystery of consciousness! Let's explore the enigma of why matter, seemingly unconscious, experiences awareness. Discover the "hard problem of consciousness," insights from philosophers like David Chalmers and Thomas Nagel, and groundbreaking theories from neuroscientists such as Anil Seth and Giulio Tononi. #Consciousness #Philosophy #Neuroscience #Meditation #Mindfulness #AI #Panpsychism

00:00:00 - The fundamental mystery of consciousness
00:01:48 - What is consciousness? (and why it’s hard to define)
00:03:38 - The problem of detecting consciousness
00:05:30 - The illusion of conscious control
00:07:26 - The future of consciousness science

Is consciousness everything?

All-seeing Great Brahma has multiple faces.
Pantheism says "God" is everywhere in everything. What if that actually refers to Consciousness, which seems to be everywhere in everything?

Asangoham made a video on the Brahma Sutras talking about Hinduism that touches on this point, everything originating from Brahma (the "Supremo") who out of boredom created Maya (the illusory world around us), who immediately wanted to play (lila) a game, a divine drama, a diversion.

First, create the universe then get lost in it, forgetting yourself, then play hide-and-seek to find yourself. It's an old New Age belief. It seems to be what Alan Watts believes.

If Everything is conscious then we can know everything by tapping into Source and connecting, merging, uniting with it. It's like tuning into a frequency, as a radio does.

If you’re feeling brave, sit and look — and I mean really look — at a plant on your windowsill as it bends toward the light.

Why are they growing, Son? - Looking for Sun!

It seems simple, but stare at it long enough and you may find yourself doubting everything you thought you knew about your own mind. Sooner or later you’ll ask yourself, "Why, exactly, is that plant stretching toward the sun?"

Sure, you can look it up and find out there’s a thing called phototropism, which involves cells in a plant elongating to chase the sun. But that’s not really much of an answer. The question is, Why does the plant do that?

Is its movement just a mechanistic response with no feeling [or reflexive awareness] behind it? Or does the plant want that delicious, warm light? To many kids, it’s obvious: The plant wants the light!

Yet as adults, at least in the West, we’re supposed to be embarrassed by that kind of language. Modern science warns us against anthropomorphizing [treating nonhuman things as if they're human] — and not just when it comes to plants.

Until a few decades ago, scientists also insisted on viewing animals as mechanistic bundles of instinct (even though any pet owner would find that absurd).

They’ve gradually changed their minds about mammals, birds, and certain brainy species like octopuses, while continuing to believe that species with simpler nervous systems (or no nervous system at all) are not intelligent. They’re not even conscious. What if absolutely everything is conscious? (msn.com)