[AndrewC]

I think there is some misunderstanding about what the word physical means to science.

Well, matter has rest mass, energy doesn't.

Now to your previous statement.

If the hypothetical message can be decrypted, then it exists.

Then you have admitted that something that is not embodied "exists". It is of no consequence whether or not the key "exists" since any message intended for decryption can be decrypted.

It is also relevant that you consider "material" things contingent upon knowledge.

[js1138]

The title of the thread has the word "spriituality" in it. I take it that implies something beyond what science can study. I have seen no evidence whatsoever that science cannot study consciousness or the physical basis of consciousness. It is a difficult problem, and one that might be solved in our lifetime, but it science has encountered no roadblocks so far.

I use the term physical to mean that which is the object of the physical sciences, and that includes matter, energy, spacetime, chemistry, biochemistry, and even the behavior of living things.

The assumption that science would come to a halt at some point because it had explained everything possible to explain about the physical world has been persistent. I would say that anyone attempting to talk about consciousness without studying neuroscience is just wasting time.