First, the shape of the universe: it is spherical. It is a hypersphere. You can only picture this by analogy: as a line is to a circle, and as a flat disc is to a sphere, so too is a solid ball (the continuous interior of a sphere) to a hypersphere.
But for the sake of simplicity, let’s imagine the universe in 1 dimension, that is, as a circle.
We must now fill this simplified universe with matter…
To do that, imagine a guitar with strings whose lengths are exactly the circumference of the universe. There are countless strings on this guitar (millions, billions, nay… garillions!).
Now, imagine that a giant hand has strummed all of the strings.
Those at the lower end oscillate so very slowly and with such large displacements that they appear to be stationary (like the most flexible rubber bands you can imagine). On the other end are strings of such high tension (like the strongest steel), so that they oscillate very rapidly and with very small displacements, the result being that they appear to be flat lines. In the middle are strings with some noticeable frequency as well as displacement.
Now, imagine that these vibrating strings are mere waveforms, without any matter to get in the way. Imagine that you can bend the fretboard into the necessary circular shape, and smush all of the strings together so that a singular, chaotic universal waveform comes into focus.
Even though they have been smushed together, each individual circular string (i.e., philosophical atom) is free to independently rotate about its center (which is also the same point as the center of every other string).
The only law of this universe is for its composite waveform to be kept as smooth as possible.
I humbly submit that the picture I’ve just drawn for you, done in three dimensions, with the appropriate 3D waveforms (that is, the “atomic orbitals” of everyday chemistry), at the appropriate frequencies and maximum displacements, is the best imaginable map (see the map legend below) for the deepest reality of a universe like ours.
Please understand that there is nothing representational about any of this. In other words, there is nothing outside of this chaotic, primordial stew of ethereal waves that must be added (like quantum numbers that represent mysterious “forces”) in order to exactly reproduce our everyday reality.
Legend:
The strings on the very low end are the realm of gravity
The strings on the very high end are the realm of point-like particles, i.e., electrons and quarks, and of electrical discharge and nuclear explosiveness.
The strings in the middle are the realm of the everyday atoms of chemistry, and also of light and heat.