The universe, as we directly experience and understand it, is but a construct of the brain that enables us to navigate about and get what we want. It's not a true picture of reality. There are many ways of constructing and experiencing reality, and there are ways of perceiving things other than the 'normal' construct that the vast majority of mankind employs.
These different constructs depend on different modes of consciousness.
Space itself is but a mental construct. There are many ways to construct space other than the familiar Euclidean space most people experience.
Our perceptual constructs will soon give way to something far more profound, something currently inconceivable for the vast majority of humanity because they are all trapped in their little worlds, and they think it is reality, but it is not. We are the universe conscious of itself. Very soon, consciousness is going to experience an abrupt change. Humanity has been confined for so long in an illusion. Individuality will give way to the experience of something common, that sort of underlies the individuality.
Our perceptual realities are only the dimly lit surface of a vast sea of consciousness. This is not the Jungian collective unconscious per se, but rather something which is indeed very conscious. However, the great majority of our species has not experienced this directly because they are confined within their little, illusory perceptual shells which they think is somehow reflective of reality, but it is not.
We (our conscious worlds) are but waves or ripples on the surface of something vast, the Self, a consciousness which underlies and encompasses all the little spheres of self-consciousness. This is why being self-centered is naive. We, as a species, are moving inexorably towards Self-centeredness.
If you directly experience the bigger picture, you willl see just how much of an illusion our 'normal' perceptual reality is. For good reason, no-one can claim to experience the full, true picture. However, a few of us have experienced a much bigger picture, and know that this is the direction that consciousness is heading, that this is in our future.
People are stuck in their little waves of individuality, they never look deep beneath the surface, and there is something vast there that likely is common to all. It is something that you have to directly experience because explanations and descriptions will be empty without the actual experience, though it is not recommended that everybody attempt to experience it just yet. Nonetheless, it is where the future is headed.