There is another factor involved in life: awareness and consciousness. Basically this indicates the ability to combine information from the surrounding and to judge it in a direct use (awareness) or in a large time frame (consciousness). Important here is OVERVIEW. That means a complex intertwinned network of sensorred information and values. Pelastrations play a role there, but other type of combinations also do.

Extracts from some threads on the forums of Sciencesforums.com.

1.The basic condition is a layering system (several tissu's type) related to the available observation system(s). The different parameters will need to work in synergy (thus interconnected) and able to store (fix) several values in a QM-type of context. So evaluation is essential (what is my priority now ... shall I open the box and see if Schrodinger's cat became Mickey Mouse). So store superpositions (possibility to forget = protect the system against overflow ... make it wave) and ability to remember (open directory ... load ... back a particle that activates an intermediar -> since knowledge is transferable without losing the information). This system (probably forgot some layers) gives the observer the system to evaluate his surrounding and thus awareness of his position in the surrounding. The observations system maybe non-intellectual (parasympathetic nerve system or vegetative ns) such as: I NEED FOOD!!! This can be the type of awareness animals have (if we think they have no self-awareness). Self-awareness (Consciousness) is - I think - related to the possibility to make choices and evaluations which go above the instincts (= evolutionary programmed awareness), and the freedom to say 'NO'. It has to do with the possibility to predict /preview/ calculate steps in the time frame which is not related to the immediate 'Now-Situation'. It also has to do with the ability the connect non-physical values to physical events (Art : a painting of Chagall, letters to poems, music ) and auto-created reality (humor, , absurdity, ... and a transcendental reality). ... that's enough for now ...

2. Life will be a similar tissu-type of intertwined layers. But here there will be probably structurally more layers. But I think that there be less quantum leaps. The struggle from life has eliminated the entities which couldn't decide at the essential moments. Fractal geometry maybe here interesting to examine the DNA level.

3. If you have no overview the surrounding becomes paradoxical. (Cfr. the QM explanation of the quantum leap = the search for overview).

The separation of "matter" and "spiritual" is only  the description of two other layers of interconnectedness.
Example: A sheep, milk, skin, hair, and ....
The sheep is the isolated unity on our 3D world of animals. (knowledge level)
But "MY" sheep is called Bonny = specific unity in my garden. (personal daily level)
The sheep has a skin, if we transform it, it becomes LEATHER. We can make shoes of it.
The sheep has Hair, if we transform it, it becomes WOOL.

For the observing farmer the sheep his another signification then for the observing manufacture of shoes. Without the existence of sheeps the shoe manufacturer could not make sheep-shoes.

LEVEL of consciousness: So the manufacture and the farmer are conscious about the various possibility the sheep and his related sub-elements have in THEIR WORLD. But the sheep has a LOWER level of consciousness. When it sees the (fancy sheep-leather made) shoes of the farmer it will have no degree of consciousness that those might made out of sheep leather. The sheep just wants food, water, some sex, housing to protect itself against the rain, sun and ... the big bad wolf.
A painting of sheeps has only (artistic) SIGNIFICATION for humans because the higher level gives OVERVIEW.

So: there the Relativity of the Observer.

We also need to speak about the collective consciousness of CG Jung and the mobut that's for later.