The philosopher and science fiction author Olaf Stapledon envisioned a god that was a creature creating universe after universe in order to make a mate. The mate had to be as aware as it is, so the whole universe has to be sentient. Our universe is just one in a long line of such universes and it isn't the first or the last.

I don't know if he actually believed it (it's the denouement of his novel The Star Maker), but the idea is intriguing.