Sandals and a Glass of Water - Symbolic to Purity During Meditation
In Judaism, in the Old Testament, Moses went to the mountain of Sinai which means the mountain of God. In the mountain of God Moses saw a burning bush which was God revealing himself to Moses. God told Moses to remove his sandals because the floor he walks on is holy ground. Holy means to be set-apart, to be separate from evil, to be empty from ego. The mountain of God, the state of complete peaceful bliss, pure consciousness, is the place where we want to be, which we can only get there through meditation. The mountain of God is where “self” doesn’t exist, when you are totally empty of ego. When you are in complete emptiness, you enter the mountain of God, the mountain of Nirvana, Enlightenment, the mountain of the Absolute, the mountain of OM, or what ever you want to call it, its all the same. In order to enter that holy, peaceful and pure ground, you must be separate of self, of ego, in total emptiness, which means you must remove your sandals.
The glass of water in this photo symbolizes the living water you will drink when you remove your sandals or deny the ego.
In Christianity, in the New Testament,
Christ said:
“Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again;
But anyone who drinks the water that I shall give
will never be thirsty again: The water that I shall give
will turn into a spring inside welling up to eternal life.”
There are two streams of water, one stream of water is what the self offers, what the passion of ego offers, what the world offers, and this stream of water cannot quench the thirst. Every that is offered in this stream of water offers a temporary fix, like alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, sex, trips, movies, shopping; anything that offers to take your mind away from your current suffering or stress. When I mention things like trips and movies etc.. they are not bad things, but most people do these activities to get their mind off things and when they arrive back to their home, the thoughts or desires are still there. The fix has to be done internally not externally.
The other stream of water which Christ mentioned is only found in the mountain of God, or in other words, the path of purity, the good path, which all spiritual teachers talked about. Buddha, Jesus, Tao, Krishna, Muhammad etc. talked about this path of truth, the path of pureness. The living water is offered to everyone within this path.
Dhammapada – Desire 24
“Do your thoughts trouble you? Does passion disturb you?
Beware of thirstiness
“Lest your wishes become desires
And desires binds you.
Quieten your mind.
Reflect.
Watch.
Nothing binds you. You are free.”
Beware of thirstiness, if you are thirsty, you will seek and seek for water and drink from where ever you can find water. The worldly stream of water, or the stream of water from the passions of ego, will give you temporary comfort. Some say, I am stressed, I need a cigarette, or I need a drink, (or even a glass of wine because deep inside of you, your “self” says, its good for the heart anyways”) and then after that, the issues are still there, and you become dependent on a substance to give you temporary comfort. Some say, whats wrong with wine? There is nothing with wine, its the reason behind drinking wine is the problem. Are you drinking wine to relax and get a quick fix or are you really drinking it to help your heart? Here is a truth test that will help you discover if you are dependent or addictive to wine: stop drinking wine for a month and see if you are addicted to the effects of wine. Remember, you need to be honest with yourself. It is better to not be addictive to any substance, because the true comfort comes from within. The issues in your life is like an elephant in the room. You can choose to ignore the elephant or deal with the elephant and get it out. Because if you do not deal with the elephant in the room, it will eventually destroy everything that’s inside the house. The house is your life, and if your desires are not dealt, with your life, work, friendships, marriage, health, and mind is in jeopardy. The elephant be many things like: anger, pride, lust, selfishness, addictions, impatience, jealousy, deceit, anything that is self-centered is the elephant that you need to deal with and get out of the house.
Bottom line: Remove your sandals of ego, enter the path of enlightenment, the path of purity and drink the living waters of joy, peace and happiness, it will flow internally and eternally within you. This living waters is good for your mind, body and soul, plus you live longer, its not rocket science; you can do this! 
