“Notice that the degrees of freedom of space, gravitational waves, have not been discovered yet.  They [are] just necessary for [the] internal consistency of the theory.  So, think about consciousness.  We think about it, usually, as something which is absolutely required for description of matter.  But, could it be that consciousness, just like space time, may have its own degrees of freedom—and can exist without matter?  And, could it be that consciousness, later, will be, well, elevated to the level of super consciousness, which will include matter as its part.  I don't know the answer, but as any questions of this nature, this is the one which, when asked, it should be studied.” 
— Andrei Linde – Why Explore Cosmos and Consciousness?  10:08