“Imagine going beyond the boundaries of who you believe yourself to be!” Carol Talbot
For thousands of years in cultures around the world, people have walked across hot coals as a way of honoring the element of fire and using it as a means of healing and purifying their communities and themselves. In Bali, it’s the children who walk on fire. In pre-Roman temples, the priests and priestesses used firewalking as a healing ritual. Many tribal people had rituals and ceremonies to honour the sacred aspect of fire. Firewalking is one of mankind’s oldest change-promoting tools. Almost every culture worldwide is known to have made effective use of firewalking to empower, heal and purify, as well as to encourage a change. In fact, fire-walking has nourished the human spirit for thousands of years.
Is it still relevant today?
If we talk about paradigm and perception, research proves that our reality is built on our already-existing store of memories, emotions and associations. In fact, it’s estimated that by the age of 35 you are 95% “set” in terms of how you will respond in any given situation. If you perceive only what you know, how do you ever perceive anything new?
Simple! By creating experiences that blow your mind… such as firewalking!
Firewalking Breeds Courage and New Neural Connections
I regularly run firewalks, encouraging and motivating people to walk across burning hot coals of about 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. Does the world really need more firewalkers? Probably not. However, what the world does need, and what most organizations and communities need, is people who can face their fears with courage. The firewalk inspires that sort of courage in people. Not only that, it creates a completely new experience that rapidly creates new neural connections. By expanding our paradigm, we add new options to the list our brains carry around.
Firewalking is traditionally an evening ceremony and, after signing a waiver, may include throwing tobacco into the fire as a way to put your wishes into the fire. Ceremonies vary (especially if the firewalk is a corporate event and needs to be linked to certain learning objectives) and include a motivational session to prepare people in terms of what to expect and managing states such as fear and transforming that into power. Drumming and chanting are often particularly powerful to raise the energy. As one tribe in Africa says, “When our energy is equal to the energy of the fire, we can cross the fire.” They put no distinction on energy. Joy is energy and fear is also energy. Fear means focus your mind… and change your state.
Firewalking demonstrates the impact that emotions and thoughts have on our life
Firewalking demonstrates the impact that emotions and thoughts have on our life. Dr Andrew Weil, the renowned Harvard-trained physician and medical researcher, has investigated firewalking for many years and says, “There is no way I can be convinced that mental state is not the key variable in firewalking.”
So what does it feel like to walk across burning hot coals? Well, if you clap your hands together you’ll probably notice a tingling sensation in your hands. That’s energy and similar to the feeling that many people feel on their feet. Also consider that from the perspective of reflexology, we know that the body is reflected on the feet. If you do feel heat on a particular part of your foot (or a “fire-kiss” as it’s often referred to) it’s interesting to note which part of the body that relates to by checking a reflexology chart. I recall one woman feeling heat on a particular area on her foot that correlated to her shoulder. She then shared with me that she had recently had an operation on her shoulder so the fire was bringing healing energy to that area.
New firewalkers are amazed at the discovery that they themselves are such incredible beings. Firewalking reveals that being a “mere human” is nothing “mere!”
When we do something that we once believed to be virtually impossible, it shifts our way of thinking about what is and isn’t possible
Firewalking affects the human psyche and creates a shift in many people: mentally, physically and emotionally. When we do something that we once believed to be virtually impossible, it shifts our way of thinking about what is and isn’t possible, allowing us to overcome our limiting beliefs, fears and doubts. Most people find the firewalk to be an amazing, if not a life-altering experience.
If you really want to expand the boundaries of what you already know, if you want more opportunities for growth, achievement, results…you need to breakthrough and challenge old paradigms so that literally, you say “I can’t believe I did that.” Our minds really are the new frontier and firewalking is just the beginning in the process of self-discovery and unlocking our true brilliance.
by Carol Talbot. To find a firewalk near you please check the SUNDOOR list of instructors or contact Carol at carol@caroltalbot.me
Author of Amazon international bestseller, You the Divine Genius, her passion, along with her own travels and curious nature, has led to a desire to bring you an opportunity to move in a direction that maybe you’ve not gone before.
