Is the Sun Conscious?

When you look into the blue sky on a sunny day do you glimpse a
ball of nuclear fire or, as the London poet and mystic, William
Blake, reported, the heavenly host singing God's praises? It's an
old question, revived today by the notion of panpsychism which
suggests that the sun might in some way be considered conscious.
In this Science Set Free podcast, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark
Vernon ask whether the sun is a psychical as well as physical
entity in the solar system, and consider what that might mean for
our participation in and connection to the cosmic dimensions of
ecological life. Mark draws on Plato's notion that matter is a
manifestation of mind, as well as how the sun was honoured in
ancient Egypt; and Rupert explores how the sun is regarded in
eastern religious practices, to suggest how it might be
meaningful to relate to the sun today, as well as enjoy its light
and warmth.