If our Eyes are the windows to the soul… then our Feet are the doorways that lead us deeper into our sole (Soul)…
OcTOEber
Long awaited month by many because the weather begins to cool down in the evenings and very early mornings, the leaves on trees begin to change color, Halloween is always something to look forward to as well as dressing up. This year would be no exception, however, given the global situation we are in, our new norm most likely won’t allow for a “normal” Halloween. All of these have been reasons as to why I personally have looked forward to this month. Now, I’ve added another reason as to why I’ve decided to make October even more meaningful.
I’m making OcTOEber the official Toe Reading month at Natural Inner Healing & Wellness! As you may or may not know I am a Toe Reader, and as such, I love to look at feet when given the opportunity. You probably may have never heard about Toe Reading up until now. The first time that I encountered Toe Reading was in a Toe Reading class from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Prior to being in the Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner Program at SWIHA, I had never heard nor was I aware of the beautiful art behind toe reading. In this class I learned a lot about myself and there was such a DRAMATIC change in one of my toes! Allow me to share with you some of the life changing insights I received when I learned about Toe Reading and how my Ether Toe on my left foot changed as a result of it.
Let me begin by familiarizing you about Toe Reading.
What is Toe Reading?
Toe Reading is a powerful healing arts tool. It provides You with a deeper insight of self at a personal level.
It helps understand how the external world perceives you.
The feet are an amazing tool that can provide soul/sole searching clues to imbalances occurring within your body.
Toe Reading cannot predict the future.
The feet hold the person’s story based on emotions, thoughts, inner knowledge, combined with external factors outside of the person’s control, these contribute to the way we think, act, and react.
Based on “patterns” there are tell tale signs on the feet of what could continue to happen (worsen or get better) in the person's life if there is continued behavioural pattern.
Right vs. Left
There are two sides to a story, our story is recorded on two sides of our body. For the most part, a right-handed person will store their external stories or the way they show up in the world on the right side, while their left side will record what they are experiencing and feeling emotionally toward themselves and Spirit. If the person is left-handed however, the sTOEries told by the feet may appear vice versa. A left-handed person may have the story recorded in the same way or the opposite way, depending on how much they are affected by the dominance of right-handed culture.
The left foot is about our internal self, about how we feel spiritually, it is the self-talk that we have, our hopes and dreams, our inner side. The right foot is more about the exterior world that surrounds us. It’s about how we react, communicate, and behave outwardly. The right and left side also are categorized as the feminine (left) side, yin, and masculine (right) side or yang. The left and right side have different stories to be shared from the same person.
Skin & Nails represent thoughts, what a person thinks about themselves. What is the quality of your thoughts towards yourself? What’s eating at you?
Structure & Shape (including toe directions) represent significant events in our lives, situations, events, circumstances that have molded us into who we are presently. Which direction are we headed into? Toes pointing towards the Ether toe indicate being stuck in the past, while toes pointing towards the Earth toe indicate looking ahead, towards the future.
Texture of the Tissue/skin, Toe Pads represent our attitudes of the ways that we express oneself.
Color represents our feelings, the way that we present ourselves to others and how we are perceived.
Toe Spacing represents the connections between each element, the support or the “over bearing protection” of the elements.
Toes & The Elements
Big Toes -- Ether
Toe Physical Beliefs: Crown & 3rd Eye Chakra Association. This is the space where everything in our lives takes place. Our path in life, our destiny,representing our life purpose here on Earth, our emotional & spiritual side . How aligned have you been in your life’s purpose up until now?
2nd Toes -- Air/ Communication
Toe Physical Beliefs: Throat & Heart Chakra association. The length of the toe determines how much or how little ''air'' we have to express. How easy is it for you to communicate with yourself and others?
Middle Toes -- Fire
Toe Physical Beliefs: Heart & Solar Plexus Chakra Association. The 3rd toe is considered the Fire Toe. So when you look at a Fire Toe, you know how direct or indirect a person is. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
4th Toes -- Water
Toe Physical Beliefs: Solar Plexus & Sacral Chakra association. 4th toe, also known as your Water Toe, represents your relationships, both inner and outer.
Pinky Toes -- Earth
Toe Physical Beliefs: Sacral & Root Chakra Association. 5th toe The pinkie toe is known as the Earth Toe. The Trust Toe. How grounded are you? Is there a connection to Earth?
My sTOEry
When I was 16 years old I looked up towards the sky, with arms extended I angrily exclaimed, “Why are you doing this to me!? Why is this happening to me!? Why can’t I be normal and have a normal life like everyone else!? I don’t know what you want me to do with this!! If this is what my life is going to be like then I don’t want it!! I was referring to the wonderful gift that I soon suppressed shortly afterwards and later “came back” when I was 20 years old. I had unknowingly committed spiritual suicide. For four years I shut down my spirituality. Since I was a little girl, I have been able to experience things that others don’t. I am a channel, an intermediary, a psychic medium. What appeared to “come back” was my ability to receive messages, to connect with those that have left the world of the living.
Author & Master Hypnotherapist Linda Bennett defines ‘spiritual suicide’, “as a time when, on some level, a person feels so abandoned and unworthy that the deepest part of their soul cries out to the highest part of their subconscious and begs for an answer, while giving Spirit (GOD, The Universe) an ultimatum. ‘Tell me WHY YOU are doing this to ME!’ and ‘I want outta here!’ This internal conversation may result in the person emotionally and spiritually shutting down.”
I suffered the consequences of my words and my Ether Toe (Big Toe) on my left foot (Spiritual side) was the one that told my sTOEry.
As you can see in the pictures I share, the top left picture is what my toenail looked like in February of this year (and this is what it looked like for a long time prior to February) to what my toenail currently looks like now, bottom right picture. I had a “leftover” fungus discoloration on my left toenail. To make a long story short I dug deep inside my sole and rediscovered parts of me that I had denied for a very long time. I can honestly tell you that after trying over the counter fungus creams, sprays, prescribed medications, home remedies and countless other things, NOTHING WORKED! When I took my Toe Reading class at SWIHA it was truly life changing for me, it was then that I began noticing changes in my toe nail. At first, I thought it was my imagination, so I decided to take pictures at least once a week to compare them. Slowly but surely, I began noticing the changes taking place. I received insights from my toe reading that allowed me to reframe my way of thinking. Here are some of those revelations about my left foot that I explored as I began my healing.
Wart - deep-seated anger, fungus under the toes - who was getting under our skin, numbness - shutting off the feelings - way too much to carry at the time.
Achilles tendon - the best part of who you were, cut down. Think of the story of Achilles the warrior. So powerful until someone slashed his Achilles tendon and then he was as vulnerable as everyone else. The saying is what is Achilles Heel, in other words what is the thing that will bring us down.
Numbness - shutting off our feelings
All of this is about pushing one's feelings deep down and Spirit saying - they are just going to keep coming back in different ways and stronger each time.
It took me a long time to accept the things that I experienced and continue to experience. It was a part of me that I kept “hidden” and suppressed because I was afraid of being labeled as “crazy”. The things that happen to me are unique to me and have been happening since I was three years old. Only my immediate family was aware, now the whole world knows! The more I embrace who I am and the gifts that I have, I become more connected, intune, awake, and hyper-aware. In digging deep and allowing myself to explore and live through deep seated feelings of anger, frustration, and despair I was able to modify a lot of self-limiting beliefs. As soon as I began acknowledging this beautiful part of my life and truly accepting and giving me permission to approve of myself, was I able to begin this beautiful transformation. You are now invited to do the same for you!