The Barefoot Journey: Arcane symbolism in Art and Literature

I realised belatedly that there is a lot of meaning interwoven in the image of the barefoot man or woman in art history spanning thousands of years. Perhaps in the 19 and 20th centuries the lack of shoes, particularly in the Western world would have meant poverty, slavery and other forms of incarceration or punishment. For those who had shoes denoted a sense of power and authority. This is an idea of recent date however, it certainly does not reflect the attitudes in many parts of the world and into antiquity, nor does it reflect a person’s preference for taking off their shoes, especially in their own homes, or taking it to the extreme and running with no shoes on! Interestingly in certain parts of Africa to show another person the bottom of your shoe, by taking it off and waving the sole at them, is an insult; whilst in many religions it is mandatory to take off shoes in Holy places, as a sign of respect or humility in the presence of God. In the judeo-arabic tradition this relates to the law of Moses when he said in Exodus 3:5 ‘Put off thy shoes from thy feet for the place thou standest is Holy ground’; and perhaps the African traditional insult derives from shaking the dust from ones shoes. If we look at the folk Saint Expedite, who crushes a demonic crow under his feet, symolizing the temptation to wait for his conversion to Christianity to the next day - we are perhaps not surprised to find that the saints name means literally "to free the feet" or get the "feet out." (eg. Ex - Pedis) and hence his crushing of a crow which crows the latin word "cras" (tomorrow)  underfoot is very meaningful.

However what really interests me is the hidden arcane meaning of being barefoot.

In esoteric terms the image of the man without shoes, seen in medieval carvings, refers to an aspect of the spiritual construct of Man sometimes called the Astral body or the body of emotions. To depict a man or woman without shoes thus denotes we are looking at the spiritual aspect of that person as a clairvoyant may see them. In that sense the lack of shoes shows the lack of physicality through a lack of connection with the physical earth.

There appears to be a long precedent of depicting the spiritual through the absence of earthly connection. In Chauvet Cave in France there are cave paintings of 25 to 35 k years ago which show animals but no ground. The anthropologist Lewis-Williams explains this in his book Mind in the Cave  by suggesting that the lack of earth signifies that these are not depictions of living animals but rather spirit animals with the cave walls acting as a ‘spiritual membrane’ – perhaps a prehistoric shaman painted these spirit animals for ritual purpose. Whether this can be linked to the barefoot depiction is uncertain but if you intend to depict a contextual environment for your subject the ground must appear, in that sense, to remove the shoes has the same effect as removing the ground. In Ancient Egypt you see anthropomorphic gods and goddesses without shoes, such as Horus, (who is represented in the nights  sky as the constellation of Orion). Likewise in India we see the many handed Lord of the Dance Siva Natarja dancing barefoot. We also find many depictions in art history showing Christ barefoot.

But it is the Astral Body or the Body of Emotions which most concerns us here. If we cast our eye on this medieval church wood carving we see two men plagued by demons, the two men are barefoot, this again suggests the lack of earth, and hence that we are looking upon a spiritual image.

The astral of the miser and the begger are plagued by the demons of wasteful and moneygrubbing reminding me very much of Dante’s La Divina Commedia, especially the opening of canto VII where Pluteus the demon guardian of the fourth circle of hell exclaims in apparent gibberish ‘Pape Satan, papè Satan aleppé!’ . However whilst Dante views the spirits of the dead, the illustration shows us in no uncertain terms that this is the living person we are seeing, molested by demons in this life.

Dante Alighieri in his La Divina Commedia does not tell us whether he has shoes on or not during his pilgrimage, but it would be fitting if he did not since the hidden meaning would then reflect a journey in the Astral and not a ‘spiritual autobiography’ or ‘Fifth Gospel’ which is the traditional view. Dante of course begins his journey meeting the Astral as an independent entity manifested in a leopard (sometimes translated as panther) ‘una lonza leggiera e presta molto’. In that sense Dante is like The Fool in the tarot deck which commonly shows the Fool being pursued by a dog (or cat), (the medieval sign denoting the Astral) and like Dante’s Commedia, as not yet integrated with the Soul has its own independent existence.

Everyone has experienced their own strong emotions at some point or another, and thus understands that the emotion has its own independence from us and its own sometimes uncontrollably power  – as Eckhart Tolle wrote in The Power of Now ‘If you are pulled into unconscious identification with the emotion...the emotion temporarily becomes “you”’  – or as Dante writes in Canto I:58 of the Inferno ‘So I was transformed by that restless animal’.

Dante then descends into Hell, before journeying through Purgatory and finally to Paradise. It is a tale not of his own life and death but of his own initiation journey where the descent into Hell is a necessary part of the process.

Furthering this line of Initiation if we look at the oldest surviving Tarot deck, the Visconti-Sforza deck, we see the Fool with rent clothes (his tights or trousers are around his ankles) and he is also barefoot.

The traditional explanation tells us that this is a sign of his poverty, in these terms what a pitiful creature he is! And a Fool too, perhaps showing off his privates. But there is also a hidden meaning. Perhaps his apparent nakedness links to the Fool’s willingness to show the things that others prefer to hide, or to do what seems foolish to the uninitiated. After-all, the Path of the Fool derives from the initiatory rites of Ancient Egypt and thus the fool's exposure may relate to the nakedness of Isis and the initiation rituals; usually hidden underneath seven veils. Should the profane Man have glimpsed the Naked Isis they would have seen only her naked body, letching at her breasts and so on - an object of their sexual desire - they would miss the inner meaning before them. Likewise by laughing at The Fool for his foolish nakedness the profane Man (who sleep walk through life in their ignorance) become the real fools, whereas our Fool, barefoot and with his trousers around his ankles is the beloved Fool: the initiate on the barefoot journey; that is the journey in controlling his or her inner animal, transforming the Astral into a higher state, on the Path of self-development.

Review of the Trion Z bracelet

A review of the Trion:Z Ultra loop bracelet which I have been wearing for about a year and a half:

What is it?
It is a reverse polarity 4 magnet bracelet set in a silicon band. The strong magnets are meant to increase blood flow, encourage quicker recovery and increase performance. Testimonials indicate that the magnets relieve aches and pains and aid restorative sleep by the magnets acting at a cellular and molecular level. Magnetic bracelets have been about for years so there is nothing radical about the concept, but with high profile athletes and sports people wearing the bracelet it deserves at least to take the review a little more seriously than if, say, your grandmother swore by it.

And what is a Trion?
Well, according to Wikipedia a Trion is "a localized excitation which consists of three charged quasiparticles. A negative trion consists of two electrons and one hole and a positive trion consists of two holes and one electron."

OK... so the Trion:Z must be something to do with negative electrons, and, what is most impressive (and according to the Trion:Z website) the bracelet has "been awarded the prestigious MHRA Approval as a Class 1 Medical Device in the UK and across Europe [and] the only health and wellness product accepted and certified as an approved medical device by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Government of Japan." So there is quite a lot of hype and expectation to occupy us with with this bracelet. Which brings me  to expectation and belief in healing also called the placebo effect.

Placebo?
The placebo effect  indicates that the mind can manifest a healing situation in the body through the strength of belief, in believing that something will cure. So this bracelet may act like a placebo...

But it may (I think) also act on the smaller particles of the body with an increasing efficacy as you reach the smaller (more subtle) levels.What are these "subtle" levels...?

Hypothetical Quantum Effect
Briefly then, as we start to break down the body into smaller and smaller units, into cells and then to molecules and then eventually to atoms and then sub-atomic particles. at these smaller and smaller levels eventually the effect of something like the reverse polarity magnet must begin to manifest in some way. Finally as we reach the smallest most fundamental level of reality we reach a point where all physicality is really a vibration in a higher dimension and at this level all manner of things which in conventional terms seem impossible would be in fact probable and even possible.  At this level perhaps the Trion:Z comes into its own. I say "perhaps" because this is the only way I can see that little magnets could actually effect a system...at the quantum level.

So hypothetically at these smaller levels this Trion:Z bracelet may start to interact and have effect on the body which must necessarily influence the whole in a holographic effect.

I say "holographic effect" to explain how a medical device, albeit one which is "alternative", and located at the wrist could cause healing of, say, the knees or ankle...or help you sleep? The effect at such a minuscule level must reflect in the greater whole. In this sense I am thinking of the Implicate Order in which the whole universe is enfolded in everything and each thing is enfolded in the whole. Accordingly the human must be, at some level, a sort of hologram.

Conclusion
As for the TrionZ claims I can report that after wearing the Trion:Z continuously for 17 months that I have experienced many of the properties expected with the bracelet. My sleep is generally better  and Generally speaking I like wearing the bracelet and I don't want to take it off so I must perceive some benefit in wearing it. I am in a better state of health now than I have ever been, I am barefoot running better than ever, and my recovery does seem to be enhanced. However how much is this due to the TrionZ and how much is it due to my exercise regime? That said I wont take the blessed thing off and when it wears down and falls to pieces I very probably will buy another, so make of that what you will.

Trail running experience in the Vibram Five Fingers KSO

My circuit took in a number of different terrains from the uneven pavement in the urban environment, through to a mud track-way with grass tussocks that transects a wheat field; through a muddy alleyway between two properties replete with broken concrete, dirty puddles and dog excrement that leads into a small but exclusive hamlet; onto another metaled road which becomes a grass / dirt track and then into the wood – an undulating rocky pathway – and then back into town.

As I ran through the wheat fields and then through a pungent yellow sea of oil seed rape, I found myself reminiscing of my youth, of running the sugar cane trails of the “Savage South” of Reunion Island. The minimalist running sensation was so liberating and so enjoyable that lost in my thoughts I found a very comfortable speed and rhythm. A natural pace. 

I was surprised by how much different the “barefoot” experience was to running in trainers – it is much more noticeable than road running. I could feel every stone and rock; every squelch of mud and every patch of gravel – and my lower limb muscles had to work hard in the uneven surface, stabilizing the body - much more so than when wearing trainers.

Whilst it was a route I had run many times in trainers it was a totally different experience with the Vibram’s on. Suddenly the world is viewed at a different magnification, every crack in the pavement, every tree root rippling the asphalt, every tussock of grass or mound of mud, every sharp rock; suddenly the path is a chaotic topography of textures - miniature landscapes, hills valleys and boulders, miniaturized beneath your feet. 

The foot becomes this articulating platform, and the ankle becomes an articulating joint, adapting to the terrain and changing shape and molding to the different shapes that they land on. And you realize that you have to pay attention because it really hurts when you step on a sharp stone, or run over a rocky path. It is a world where you adapt to the terrain, and you find yourself concentrating on whether you are going to side step an obstacle, or indeed avoid a particular part of the road altogether.

I experienced running like I had never experienced it before, it was heavy going on the muscles of the lower limbs, and the soles of my feet hurt from the pummeling of the stones and rocks, and yet the sensory feedback allowed me to adapt my running style and also my route, running slowly and methodically; and finding a smooth path, in this case a natural gully or gutter, carved by water flow and filled with sand and detritus which lies next to the rough path. So I ran slower and lighter and more tentatively; I did concentrate on the two to three feet in front of me, looking at every conceivable detail, is it mud or dog poo? is it gravel or rocks? Sand or a puddle? Do I need to tread, sidestep or jump? And this concentration made the run a sort of meditation.

It wasn’t all plain sailing; the dew on the grass soaked my feet in the first three minutes and as I ran with wet feet (and no socks) I could feel my skins start to get sore. The pummeling of the stones made my feet feel tender and by the time I reached the decent back into town it was as if my feet were going numb or swelling or something. But no great harm was done. My muscles had taken a battering and that was that. I drank a recovery shake and felt quite chuffed. I mean I am a regular everyday guy and it felt like an achievement, to me. To an athlete it would be nothing, but I guess that’s not the point, it is the process which is individual to me; there are, after-all, “many paths to nirvana”.

You know a neighbor asked me why I run in the five fingers, and as I tried to explain ( not very well) I ended up saying it wasn’t like running in bouncy trainers – there’s no bounce which acts like a momentum propelling you along. “Well if they don’t bounce why do you would want to run in them?” was the reply. I realized it is something you cannot explain, you have to try it and then you will either get it, or you won’t. 

It’s like turning the act of running into a whole body philosophy, and I believe it changes mind and the body...and who knows maybe also the spirit. Would I return to normal trainers? NEVER!

Read here for more running reviews on Trion:Z, Skora, Vibram5Fingers, Senhai Boruit Head Lamp, Night Running...