Paul, have you read Antonio Damasio? He makes the case that consciousness is created by the brain. Effectively, if I understand him right, consciousness is neurons "communicating" with other neurons. There are "receptor" neurons and "transmitter" neurons. The transmitters create conscious experience for the receptors, like the way our eyes and nervous system create what we see.

At least check him out. He is highly regarded, as humanistic as he is scientific. I'll reply to my comment with the name of which of his I think is his best book for explaining this. It's to me the best "first draft" of a mechanism among many I've read.