Spiritual Tool Series - The Ruby Slippers - Symbol Tool #2

Do you ever wish that sometimes you had some ruby slippers? Click your heels three times and bam – your outa here. Well, I say that you DO have ruby slippers. What I mean is, symbolically, of course. Come on; you didn’t really believe that the real power for Dorothy was in the actual ruby slippers did you?

The Wizard of Oz story is beloved by millions of people for just what you see on the surface, an adorable girl, caught in a wondrous dream, where she meets magical characters for a fantastic adventure. But the story of the Wizard of Oz is so much deeper than that – this story is ripe with metaphor. Many believed that the story was an allegory for the political, economic and social events of America in the 1890s, where Dorothy represents the American people and the yellow brick road implies a desire to return to the gold standard of currency. But there are some other allegorical versions of this story that intrigue and inspire much more, and those are the metaphysical and mythical meanings behind not only the story line itself, but everything else you see in the movie.

I loved the symbolism of this movie so much, as a story of growth, change, inner power, courage and self awakening, that I provide a detailed analysis of many of the powerful symbolic messages of the movie/book in my book, Finding Home Breaking Free from Limits. I believe using modern culture with movies, literature, or art, to inspire and promote deep contemplation is a powerful tool for self growth and inner work.

So, having said that, this article is part of a series I am writing in Hub Pages regarding developing and collecting your spiritual tools for personal and spiritual empowerment. Again, from my book, Finding Home Breaking Free from Limits, I talk about the benefits of having a toolbox full of spiritual tools available to fit every human need. As time goes on, the spiritual practitioner will find that certain tools fit them perfectly and they begin to use them daily, or at least consistently to fit specific areas of focus. Other tools may not resonate as loudly with our unique spiritual personalities, so even though they are good to have around, they may not get used very often.

A spiritual tool is anything we can rely on to help us in many areas of our lives, but especially in the area of spiritual empowerment. Keep in mind that a tool is an assist; it is not the “way”, or even the path itself that we may be seeking, but certainly our spiritual tools can enhance and assist us on our journeys. We may choose to have tools that we use to help us in such areas as:

· Comfort and Peace

· Healing

· Re-energizing

· Deeper Understanding and Wisdom

· Growth and Awakening

· Relaxation

You will find that in using your tools to support your spiritual empowerment, that other areas of your life will also be improved, such as:

· Improved Relationships

· Stress Relief

· Expanded Experiences

· Better Sleep and Enhanced Energy

· Improved Focus

This article series will explore various spiritual tools to add to your spiritual toolbox. Going forward in the series, bear with me as I repeat this introductory information prior to each new tools introduction for those that join us later. Remember, any one of the tools can be a tremendous support, but only if we can “feel” an interest in the tool and see a practical way to integrate the tool into our lives for any need we might have. I encourage you to try many of these tools and you will clearly begin to notice which ones are a good fit for you.

For this particular article we are still looking at symbols as our subset of spiritual tools. The first article in this series, talked about the many symbolically inspiring and helpful possibilities of the Hindu deity, Ganesha, The Remover of Obstacles. I also give an overview on the benefit and power of using symbols as part of our spiritual and personal growth in this article. Symbols are extremely powerful tools to support you in your spiritual journey. The key is finding the symbols that really speak to your soul directly with their meaning, message, and emotion. Please check out the first article in the Spiritual Tool Series to see some ideas on how you can incorporate symbols into your life to add a beneficial and uplifting boost to your current spiritual practice.

I have so many symbolic lightening rods I could talk about from the Wizard of Oz. This movie just contains a superfluity of symbolic spiritual tools. But today we will talk about one of the most visible, powerful and fun, the ruby slippers.

Let’s look at the origins of the slippers. We are first introduced to the ruby slippers when Dorothy’s tornado tortured house erratically lands in the magical Land of Oz, a place made out of beautiful dreams and nightmares (what some might call our unconscious mind). It turns out that it was an unfortunate day for one of Oz’s nastier residents, who happened to have a powerful pair of shoes, because Dorothy’s little Kansas abode lands right on her. The shoes end up on Dorothy’s feet. The metaphor behind the destruction of the Witch of the East and Dorothy ending up with the ruby slippers is that beneath every incident of suffering, lays a beautiful spark of wisdom and power.

Glenda tells Dorothy to hang on to those shoes, they must be very powerful or the Wicked Witch wouldn’t want them so much. We too must remember to know our source of power; our higher self is extremely powerful. Why else would the ego work so hard to take this power away from us? The ego, through our self speak and unconscious self berating, reminds us, like the Wicked Witch says in the movie, “I'm the only one that knows how to use them. They're of no use to you! Give them back to me!” We must “keep tight in our shoes” about our knowing that our true power comes from our deepest inner divine being. Hang on to it, with dear life.

Throughout the story, the Wicked Witch is obsessed with regaining the shoes and she does everything in her power to get them back. She uses fear primarily, but when that doesn’t work she tries pleasure and sleepiness (poppies = unconscious behavior and actions, mentally asleep), and finally mental torture of guilt and shame (poor Aunty Em). Ring any bells? Yes, that old wicked ego, using our thoughts to control us through fear, unconscious behaviors, as well as unworthiness, guilt, and shame. The shoes (awakened consciousness) prevail, because Dorothy never loses sight of her three strongest assets (love, courage, wisdom, and home, our center of inner strength).

Finally, we see another demonstration of the power of the shoes when they transport Dorothy home, a place of safety and comfort, always present and filled with her heart’s desire. Home is our constant and always available connection to Source, our highest self and blissful authentic being. Instantly, she is transposed when she changes her thought. Glenda reminds her, she always had this power, but she had to figure this out for herself. Oh the lessons we learn. Are we using them as wisely as Dorothy?

The ruby slippers, a powerful symbolic tool that represents our inner strength and our persistent ability to overcome the turmoil and damage of even the most tornadic experiences in our lives. What a lovely and charming image to visualize ourselves wearing these amazing slippers that just exude power, strength, and dynamic spiritual intuition. (And for the gentlemen out there, maybe we can feel the power of the shoes symbolically with a pair of glow green Nike’s instead?) Remember the image of the witch trying to take the shoes away – Yikes! Keep that shocking image in mind when your thoughts about yourself degrade your image in any way, with fear, doubt, embarrassment, guilt, shame, unworthiness. Nothing or nobody can take your true authentic and divinely bestowed power away from you. And, be sure to right your wrongs with your ruby slippers on, not from the depths of a crystal ball of disturbing images.

Symbol – Ruby Slippers

Symbolic Representation – Inner Strength, Connection to the Divine, Awakened Consciousness, Innocence and Purity, Instant Change, Persistence

Get yourself a pair of these great shoes, either with a token of them, with imagery, visualizations, or re-watching this amazingly powerful movie. I have an original Electric Light Orchestra album cover showing the scene where the witch tries to take the shoes from Dorothy and get’s shocked. I have always been drawn to this album since I was a teen, so I kept it. I also have a little charm with the ruby slippers, but you can be creative for how you might incorporate the symbol into your spiritual practice. The imagery and meaning behind this symbol is strong, so I encourage that you try to find creative ways to use this symbol during your inner work.

Honestly, I could go on and on about the amazing symbolic tools available in just this one single movie. This is simply the most metaphysical symbolically rich story, since the Bhagavad Gita or the Bible. And so fun to work with.

Stay tuned for more symbolic spiritual tools or other spiritual tools in this series. And feel free to visit my blogsite for other spiritual and inspirational articles, www.breakingfreefromlimits.com.

Joleen Halloran is the author of Finding Home - Breaking Free from Limits under the pseudo name of Joleen Bridges. This book represents over 10 years of research and inspiration in personal and spiritual empowerment and provides readers with a pathway to overcome limits and discover authentic divine qualities in their lives and to live a life of unbounded freedom. .

Additionally Joleen is the owner of ZoomIT Marketing, a social media and internet marketing coaching and training company. Joleen's business background includes extensive experience in project management, leadership, specializing in motivational techniques and corporate culture.

Beyond Joleen's professional life, she is an avid reader and researcher of books and other materials related to her profession, but also to her special passion, which is metaphysical and spirituality topics. You can find out more about Joleen's book at her books website, www.breakingfreefromlimits.com. Additional articles of a spiritual and inspirational nature can be found at the book's website as well. The book is available for purchase at Amazon and at a discounted price directly from the books website.