IMO, the quantum field is a field of encoded information. Consciousness reads this info and uses it to create the shared virtual reality which we experience as life. Space, time, and matter, do not exist as such outside of consciousness. It's sort of like Neo or Morpheus plugging into the matrix but this would be more like the WiFi version. We don't really need this information to create a reality, our consciousness is capable of doing it on its own (e.g. dreaming). However, it is then the only independent consciousness that inhabits that world. If we wish to experience a shared reality, then we need a shared common information stream, which we can tune into through the vibrations in the quantum field in sort of a server client relationship.