Barefoot laid bare

The Barefoot Doctor is a well-known personality in the Mind, Body, Spirit field but what inspires the man who inspires others? Claire Gillman finds out…

 

Have you ever played that game where you select ‘hypothetical’ dinner guests from the inspirational/notable/famous people that you would most like to meet? If you have, then there’s a pretty good chance that some of your ‘invitees’ may well appear in the pages of Stephen Russell aka The Barefoot Doctor’s latest book.

The Man Who Drove With His Eyes Closed chronicles some of the amazing people who have populated and influenced Russell’s life ranging from luminaries such as R D Laing and Ram Dass to Geronimo’s grandson and his tai chi teacher who could throw people across the room with a wave of his hand. Russell’s hope is that readers will pick up and be inspired by some of the teachings that come through the curious tales of his exploits with these real-life gurus.

What becomes abundantly clear when you read the book, and as it states on the back-cover, is that ‘during his 25 years of training, Russell has learned from some of the most colourful, inspiring and innovative teachers and gurus of their generation’.

He is the first to acknowledge that he has been blessed by having these amazing people in his life but he doesn’t put it down to serendipity or simple good fortune. He says, “You have to look for it but it’s offered to you if you can see it. For example, I could have just thought R Laing was some old psychotherapist guy. It’s because of the fascination that I had that he was a genius that I sought him out.

“You have to make a move towards it and then people reveal themselves. It’s whether you are willing to find it. You have to see through to the archetype of people. I could see in Jeb [Walker – an artist featured in the book] this amazing archetype of a goddess in her and because you see that in her then you elicit that in her. It’s how you form your meetings with people.”

 

Exciting times

Undoubtedly, 54-year-old Stephen ‘Barefoot Doctor’ Russell, who started his journey of self-discovery in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, was fortunate enough to live through an exciting period of history and spiritual awakening that seemed to encourage and produce great mavericks and larger-than-life characters. Yet, he is optimistic that today’s up-and-coming generation of seekers is throwing up some interesting characters too. He says, “I think I am starting to see signs of it. I am one and my friend John Parkin (author of F*** It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way) is another. There’s Rukhsana Khan, Suzanne Segal and the Red String author, Yehuda [Berg]… I think there are a few around. They are emerging now but they are reacting to what’s been a rather bland time. Political correctness and a litigious society have had an effect. Schools opened up teaching safe systems to people and they weren’t getting the real stuff across. But I get a sense of a re-emergence of the mavericks.’

Although he has met and spent time with some of the luminaries of the MBS world as well as some lesser known but no less impressive teachers, Russell is not one for ‘hero worship’ and his naturally inquisitive and restless nature has prevented him from being drawn into a guru culture. He says, “Because I was fortunate enough to be a martial arts student from age 11, that was always my number one discipline. There was a natural cut off point with each one of my teachers. I always felt I was going to be one of these guys rather than follow – I say that in a humble way. I always felt I would be a teacher in my own right. Being around R D Laing was the closest I ever got to the guru set up but I always knew that it was his trip and it was amazing, but it wasn’t my trip.”

 

Losing the ego

In the book, Russell describes an occasion when he publicly challenged Ram Dass, accusing him of being ‘full of shit with all this guru nonsense.’ He recounts how he instantly recanted, realising in a moment of sublime resolution that he was angry with himself, not Ram Dass. The two men went on to enjoy a great discussion about spiritual teaching and its risks and have since enjoyed a long-term friendship. He says of that incident, “His [Ram Dass’] reaction was excellent. He is so in command of himself. There’s no ego to be seen.”

Charismatic, charming and sometimes outrageous himself, he is drawn to intriguing people who are doing inspirational things in the world but he remains wary of those who actively seek guru status and eschews it for himself, despite being honest enough to admit to occasionally wondering what it might be like. He says, “What’s really beautiful is that the system I teach keeps people following their own path rather than anybody else’s. So that precludes sparking off a guru thing in my own life. The little devil in me wonders what it would be like. It’s a responsibility and on a karmic level…… well, my message is to follow your own path. Don’t follow me, follow your own path.”

The system that he teaches is based on a lifetime of searching for and trying to make sense of life and the universe. Throughout his explorations, he has always related the knowledge and wisdom that he receives back to the ancient Taoist system of medicine, martial arts, meditation and creativity and it is this system that he tries to simplify and share with his audience of millions around the globe.

Although many of his contemporaries practice eclecticism, Russell has always stuck with the one path, Taoism. He says, “I was trying to have about 100 paths at the same time but eventually organically it pared itself down to just that.

“I had studied various systems and I thought Taoism is so simple and brilliant, this is amazing. I thought even if I just scratch the surface of this one system, then that’s a lot. I have touched on other systems and I categorise it and fit it back into the Taoist system. There’s no mumbo-jumbo in it.”

Despite all his searching, learning and self-development, you sense when you speak to Russell that underneath, he is still just a big kid in many ways - still the same inquisitive, gutsy lad whose dad enrolled him in a martial arts class aged 11 to try to curb his hot-headed tendencies (which it did!)

Russell is eternally grateful to his father for introducing him to martial arts, saying when asked which of his life-decisions has stood him in best stead, that “I actually really think it was the decision to be a disciplined martial artist from the age of 11.”

His father obviously played a huge and important role in his life – he describes him as his most esteemed hero – which begs the question of whether or not Russell’s relationship with his three grown-up sons (“all taller than me and much better looking”) is as good as the one he enjoyed with his own father? He considers and replies: “I think I have got a better relationship with my kids. My dad was still coming from that quasi-Victorian era where kids were seen but not heard. We had wonderful moments of connection then back to moments of non-connection.

“With my sons, I have always been the parent but it’s more like a big brother relationship. I don’t tell them what I say is always right. I had years of therapy to learn that one thing was my dad’s opinion and one thing was my opinion and it’s okay that they don’t have to be the same.

“My dad was a stupendous character. I’m probably a watered-down version but in some ways more evolved.”

 

Mid-life crisis?

Prompted by the fact that Russell has recently moved to and settled in Ibiza, where he lives on his own, I asked him if he’d experienced a mid-life crisis? With typical warmth and quick-wit, he flashes back, “I have never been out of it.” After a moment of consideration, he continues with his usual self-searching candidness, “At the moment, it seems to be relatively manageable. But it’s always the same: am I doing well enough? Does it really matter? What am I really here for and am I fulfilling that purpose? Do people love me or care about me? Am I an idiot? This is the gist of the crisis and it never changes. Doesn’t matter how enlightened I become.”

It seems that Russell still has an unquenchable thirst for greater self-knowledge, and it doesn’t sound as if this leading light of the personal development world is ready yet for settling down and hanging up his microphone. He confirms, “I think I’m an eternal traveller but I can’t imagine finding somewhere I like more than this. When you are called and you have a mission though, you just go. I feel like I am on an amazing adventure and I will stay here as long as it feels right. I don’t really want to live anywhere in particular - I just love being on this planet.”

This latest book is one of a long-line of bestsellers for Russell but for him, it has proved to be the most therapeutic. “It was fantastic therapy,” he says, “Because I saw all these patterns that I hadn’t seen before.”

The writing experience also helped him to reflect on an incident in his childhood. He recalls, “It was when I was about 5 years old. I hated being at school. I used to stare up at the window. One day, I found myself being spoken to by this guy who was about 50-ish and I knew he was my protector. He was really kind to me and he would say, ‘Don’t worry it’s going to be fine.’ About 2-3 years ago, I was doing a process of healing my 5-year-old self and it clicked – this man was my future self. It was me saying, ‘it’s going to be alright’.”

By and large, the reassurance Russell gave to his 5-year-old self has proven to be true throughout his life. Whether it was during some of the strange experiences of his journey to self-enlightenment or during the precarious times being a light-worker in the cut-throat world of the media (he wrote a weekly newspaper column for The Observer for five years and has made numerous television and radio appearances), things have always turned out right for Russell.

This latest book is very much a showcase for the teachings of the people he has met over the years whereas his next project, his autobiography, I suspect will be a lot more revealing about the man himself and one senses there’s a lot more to be told. He says, “The story from where this book ends is pretty amazing. I think the next book will be more personal. Fans should be prepared to be shocked or at least to have their minds opened a bit. I am looking forward to writing the next one.”

In the meantime, Russell remains committed to disseminating the ancient Taoist wisdom to as many people as possible around the world so they can make their lives easier. He spreads his message through his website, his tutored meditations, CDs, DVDs and workshops. Since he is so busy, his music (he was the front-man with his now disbanded group The Barefoot Band from 1989 to 2005) has had to take something of a backseat. But with usual Russell enthusiasm for all things new, he has thrown himself into the native Ibiza music scene, saying, “I always saw music as a sonic carpet upon which everything else could sit but I am learning a lot at the moment musically.”

In general, the Barefoot Doctor seems to be pretty happy with his life. He loves where he is living and he knows that his message is reaching a global audience. The one area that appears to give him cause for concern is the environment – an issue that was preoccupying many of the characters in his book all those years ago. So, is he more or less concerned about the world now? He says, “On a personal level, I’m more relaxed and at peace with living and dying. But I am more concerned than I was because we are getting closer and closer to what feels like a critical mass. Unless we can slam global warming into reverse, then we have some pretty rough times ahead.

““The economic recession is a Godsend because it’s slowing down production rates. We are working on such a grand scale that it doesn’t take much to make a profound difference. From a personal outlook, I believe that slowly and bit by bit, if we start easing off, which is the only realistic way, I think we could preclude catastrophe.

“Most of the time, I put my faith in that - the gentle rebalancing process – and other times I think there’s not much time left. But I’m optimistic. We are a brilliant species and if anyone can get us out of this mess, we can.”

 

More Information

The Man Who Drove With His Eyes Closed by Stephen Russell (the Barefoot Doctor), £9.99 (published by Hay House). For more information on Stephen Russell and his workshops, go to www.barefootdoctorglobal.com

by Claire Gillman
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