That would make it have to create itself insomuch as consciousness needs matter to manifest.

No, energy does. Remember, Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. I believe our consciousness is just a form of energy or a "soul" per say that transfers between hosts once the current host is no longer able to properly function/suitable for our energy. There's a study that was done showing that once humans die, we weigh about ten pounds less. People were weighed within five-ten mins prior to death and immediately after they were pronounced dead. Sounds like a "soul" to me.