" If consciousness plays a role in the universe, it is a property of the universe itself"
That's an interesting and far-reaching concept ER. Because of all the problems consciousness brings with it, nobody has really defined it's parameters. And psychologists and psychiatrists (along with physicists) are still trying to define it.
It affects the very nature of reality itself.
And that is a tough one for some people to accept.
>"At some point, you have to bring faith into it, a way of interpreting your experiences when you do not have sufficient data to make unambiguous choices."
Hmmm...."unambiguous". You're making that very unclear.
Do thoughts influence outcomes?
Look at Dr. Emoto's work on water crystals.
Look at the Power of Positive Thinking.
Do we NEED "faith", when perhaps we could just use the THOUGHT of a positive outcome?