The Limbs That Went on Strike

(A reflection inspired by my guru, Andre)

Not long ago, I had a vivid dream in which my guru, Andre, appeared.
In that dream, I asked him the same question that once puzzled Einstein —
“Why does the moon still exist even when we’re not looking at it?”

He smiled and answered in a way that felt both poetic and mysterious:

“There is a man with a larger handcart full of soil.
You have a handful of soil in your hand.
You may hand it to him.”

That dream became the seed for my previous reflection, The Dream That Taught Me Why the Moon Stays,
where I explored how individual awareness participates in universal consciousness —
how what we perceive and offer becomes part of the greater field that holds us all.

But the unfolding didn’t stop there.
As I continued to wonder about connection — not just between the individual and the universe, but between individuals themselves — my guru replied again.
This time, not in a dream, but through another story — simple, direct, and quietly profound:

“One day the legs and arms went on a strike, complaining they’re doing all the work...
while the stomach is lazy... just munching and enjoying.
The legs and arms became tired after a few days as they no longer fed the stomach.
Then they realized, ‘We have no choice... our existence is co-dependent... even if we don’t see or understand it.’”

At first, it made me smile — it sounded like a fable for children.
But as I sat with his words, I felt their quiet power begin to unfold.
What seemed like a story about the body revealed something far deeper —
about the hidden balance that sustains life,
the interdependence that holds us together,
and the humility required to see beyond our own effort.

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When One Healing Opens Many

I began to sense that my guru’s story wasn’t just about the body —
it was about relationship, belonging, and the hidden exchanges beneath our everyday lives.
That insight led me to look outward — into the work of two teachers whose vision echoes Andre’s simplicity, but with a relational lens.

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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Illusion of Independence

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar teaches that independence is a subtle illusion,
and true freedom lies in recognizing our interdependence.
He says, “One who knows that independence is an illusion is a king.”
He reminds us:

“The body is dependent on the whole of creation.”

In another teaching, he writes that when we cling to the idea of being independent,
we become trapped in ego and isolation.
But when we shift from independence to interdependence, we relax into belonging.

Sri Sri’s wisdom provides a kind of support beam under Andre’s fable:
what seems like a fight between doing and receiving is in fact a misunderstanding of what it means to co-exist.
The arms and legs thought they were strong — and resented the “lazy” stomach —
only because they forgot they’re nourished by what they serve.

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Thomas Hübl: Healing in Relation

Thomas Hübl’s work reaches into the emotional and energetic dimension of our relational field.
He emphasizes that healing is never just personal — it’s relational.
When one person begins to heal, it ripples outward; when we share our vulnerability, the collective field shifts.

Hübl uses the term relational field or relational mysticism —
the idea that we are embedded in webs of unseen connections,
and healing is often a dance of inviting what is split back into relation.
He says:

“Instead of seeking realization in seclusion … we create a living practice
to care for one another and for the world — both its beautiful and its difficult parts.”

Hübl also speaks of collective trauma as a field that binds us:
the energy of trauma, when disowned, can freeze in relational spaces —
and the way to free it is through presence, witnessing, and relational accountability.

In that sense, the limbs’ “strike” can be seen as a trauma reaction:
the limbs withdraw service to protect themselves.
The recovery doesn’t happen by force or argument,
but by gently remembering — through relationships —
that the parts of a living body cannot truly sever themselves from the whole.

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Returning to the Living Whole

As I sat with all these teachings, something gentle began to settle within me.
My guru’s story of the arms, legs, and stomach was no longer just a metaphor — it became a way of seeing life itself.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar reminds us that everything is interdependent,
and that harmony is born when we stop fighting that truth.
Thomas Hübl shows that healing begins when what has been cut off is welcomed back into relation.

Between those two perspectives, I began to sense the same pulse my guru was pointing to:
that life moves through cooperation, not competition;
that our energy, emotions, and awareness are always feeding something larger,
even when we cannot see it.

Perhaps this is what humility really means —
not thinking less of ourselves, but recognizing that we are woven into a living field
much greater than our individual effort.
Just as the limbs rediscover their strength only by nourishing the stomach,
we too are sustained by what we serve,
by whom we love,
and by the unseen exchanges that circulate between us.

And so, the mystery remains — tender, unfinished, alive.
I don’t claim to fully understand it.
But I’m beginning to trust that what we call connection is not something we build —
it’s something we remember.

“To stay curious about the invisible nourishment that keeps the whole alive —
and to wonder how each of us, in our own small way, feeds the life that feeds us.”

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The Bridge Between Inner and Universal Consciousness

As I reflect on both stories — the dream of the moon and the parable of the limbs —
I see how they are not separate, but two movements of the same truth.
The first revealed how individual consciousness participates in the vast, universal field —
how awareness itself shapes and sustains existence.
This second story brings that understanding closer —
into the living fabric of emotion, relationship, and shared humanity.

If the moon reminded me that observation connects us to the cosmos,
the limbs remind me that compassion connects us to one another.
Both are reflections of one reality:
consciousness expressing itself through connection —
one through the infinite expanse, the other through the intimate heartbeat of human life.

Perhaps that’s how the universe evolves —
not through isolated enlightenment,
but through the remembering of our participation in all things,
from the subatomic to the soulful.

Each breath,
each act of awareness,
becomes a bridge between the personal and the universal —
between the self that observes,
and the life that continues to shine, even when unseen.

The End.

About This Article

This reflection began with a simple parable shared by my guru, Andre.
It continues the journey that started with The Dream That Taught Me Why the Moon Stays —
moving from the question of why the moon exists even when unseen,
to the story of the limbs that went on strike and the hidden balance that sustains life.
Together, these stories explore how individual consciousness participates in universal consciousness,
and how our emotions and relationships quietly feed the living field that connects us all.
Rather than offering conclusions, this piece invites curiosity —
a remembrance that we are all part of one living organism,
each nourishing and being nourished by the same unseen life.

#UniversalConsciousness
#RelationalAwareness
#HumanConnectionMatters