Indra's Net
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
There is a story in the Buddhist tradition about a vast net suspended across the universe
Indra, the king of the gods, owns the net. At each crossing point, a jewel hangs. These jewels stretch endlessly in all directions. Each jewel is so well polished that it reflects all the others. If you look closely at one jewel, you see every other jewel reflected. If you look into one of those reflections, you find all the other jewels again.
Most of us have been taught to see the world very differently. We often think of ourselves as separate people living separate lives. Countries compete with other countries. Religions and companies do the same. We are taught to look out for ourselves, protect our interests, and make sure our own future is safe.
Indra’s Net shows us that this way of seeing things limits our vision. Nothing stands alone. Everything is connected. The forest affects the city, the river affects the farm. Refugees and politicians, billionaires and children, the living and those yet to be born, all are linked. Every jewel reflects every other jewel.
I have been thinking about this story because it offers a different way of understanding the moment we are living through.
Much of our society is built on the idea that we are separate. We behave as if the pain of one group stays with that group. We think that damage to the environment in one place will not reach another. We tell ourselves that problems like poverty, violence, loneliness, or injustice can be kept behind borders, walls, or even zip codes.
Reality keeps telling us otherwise. A virus emerges in one place and circles the globe. A drought raises food prices on another continent. A war disrupts economies thousands of miles away. A policy decision in Washington affects a family in rural Alabama. A single act of kindness changes a person’s life, and that person changes someone else’s. Often, we do not notice these connections until they become too obvious to overlook.
The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh called this idea “interbeing.” He said that nothing exists on its own. For example, a sheet of paper holds clouds, sunlight, rain, trees, soil, and the work of many people. If you take away any one of these, the paper would not exist. The same goes for us. Our lives are connected in ways we rarely think about.
Maybe that is why many of our efforts to create a better future do not seem to work. We often look for answers that focus on individuals, but our biggest problems are about relationships. We ask how to save ourselves, but the real question is how to fix the web of connections we all rely on.
The spiritual traditions return to this insight again and again. Jesus speaks of a vine and branches. The Apostle Paul describes a body with many members. Indigenous wisdom traditions remind us that our lives are inseparable from the land and from those who came before us and those who will come after us.
Indra’s Net gives us another way to see this truth: We are connected to each other. This is not exclusively a moral/philosophical idea. It describes how things really are.
The hopeful part of Indra’s Net is that healing spreads just like harm does. Fear spreads, but so does courage. Violence spreads, but so does compassion. Despair spreads, but so does hope.
The future does not come from people acting alone. It grows out of many relationships, choices, acts of care, and moments of courage that spread through the web.
Maybe that is why this story has lasted for so long. It reminds us that we are not as alone as we think. It also shows that every act of love matters, because every jewel reflects all the others.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where have you been tempted to believe that you are alone, isolated, or disconnected from others?
Who are the people, communities, or places that have shaped your life in ways you rarely acknowledge?
If Indra’s Net is true, how might your choices today ripple beyond what you can immediately see?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Healing of the Net
Source of Life, When we forget our belonging, remind us. When fear tells us to withdraw, draw us back into relationship. When we are tempted to believe that our lives do not matter, show us the threads that connect us to one another and to the world. Teach us to see that every act of kindness, every word of encouragement, every gesture of care strengthens the fabric of life. May we become people who mend what has been torn, heal what has been wounded, and nurture what gives life. And may we never forget that none of us walks this journey alone. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
The Web of Belonging
Take out a blank sheet of paper. In the center, write your name. Then begin drawing lines outward.
Add the names of people who have shaped your life. A teacher. A friend. A parent. A child. A mentor. A neighbor.
Keep going.
Add places that formed you. A church. A school. A town. A forest trail. A library.
Then add sources of life that often go unnoticed. The farm workers who harvest food. The people who maintain roads and power lines. The rivers that provide water. The pollinators that make crops possible.
Spend a few minutes looking at what emerges. Notice how difficult it is to find the edge of the web. Notice how many lives have touched your own. Notice how many relationships make your life possible.
At the end of the day, return to the page and add one more line. Draw it from your name outward to someone who may be affected by a choice you make this week.
Remember that the net is still growing.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
June 23, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are reading our next book, The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williams. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
June 24, 2026, 12:30pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman on The Commons for a three-part series on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” series. Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
June 22, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
My friends over at Spiritual Wanderlust have some of the coolest classes. One I am particularly drawn to is their Celtic Spirituality School where you get to learn from people like John Philip Newell, Ilia Delio, Carl McColman, Sharon Blackie, and more. Read more about their program.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.