How do I get a variable from another script and share the value of that variable between scripts?

I've been told to set variables to public, which I have - but I'm not sure if I've understood correctly that I have to have the scripts on the same game object? Is there no way to call out the variables from other scripts without having them on the same objects?

I have some variables I want to have in the player script to have a better overview. The variables are:

 public var feetUp : boolean = false; 
 public var feetDown : boolean = true; 
 public var feetSouth : boolean = false; 
 public var feetNorth : boolean = false; 
 public var feetEast : boolean = false; 
 public var feetWest : boolean = false;

but I need to refer to them and change them in 6 other scripts with triggers. Can I call out the variables, and do I have to return a value for it to stay changed between the scripts? Not being a programmer and working with this for a while has made me a bit loopy, so I apologize in advance for any potential lack of sense.