A living being is a machine designed to reduce localized entropy. In decreases internal entropy while creating greater external entropy.

That still doesn't rectify the conflict. The living being is reducing local entropy -- meaning it's less conscious than if it maximized local entropy per gp comment. Or put in real terms, lighting yourself on fire likely does not make you more alive/conscious even though it definitely increases your entropy.

If anything, it seems like the reversal of entropy would be a better description of life. To make paper and oxygen from fire would have higher consciousness than a fire itself

We are the universes own entropy minimization function. And are the product of a local equilibrium.