Playing With Fire

Swallowing her fears, MidWeek’s intrepid reporter takes a walk on hot coals, a ritual that humans have performed throughout history. And then she does it again

Wednesday - March 21, 2007
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Bill Clinton did it, so did Bette Midler and Danny DeVito. An episode of Survivor featured it. I’m talking about walking on fire, a concept that has always intrigued me - the concept of someone other than me walking on fire, that is.

When I was approached about doing a story on the subject, my spirit of adventure responded with an enthusiastic “Sure.” A moment later, as my brain comprehended what I had just volunteered my feet to do, panic set in.

The feared and anticipated day arrived. Ten participants made their way through a dark and wet afternoon to convene in a conference room at Kualoa Ranch. The group quickly bonded in light of the trial ahead of us.

“I’ve been praying for the rain to stop, so we can do our walk,” said one woman.

“And I’ve been praying it won’t,” shot back another.

Rain or shine the walk is on, said Vincent Kellsey, president of Quantum Success Group and the facilitator of the QSG Firewalk Experience. He put us at ease by making it clear that no one was required to actually walk the fire.

“Ancient Secrets for 21st Century Success,” read a large banner on the wall and, in that vein, Kellsey commenced by describing the use of firewalking throughout history and in every culture by shamans and medicine men as a tool of ritual purification, healing and worship. In Hawaii, he explained, it was a custom of the kahuna to wrap ti leaves around their feet and cross over hot lava.

“It’s very fitting that we are at Kualoa, one of the most sacred sites on Oahu,” Kellsey pointed out.

But why were we here? What crazy spark would compel a group of perfectly sane people to walk across 1,200-degree coals? (That’s not a typo, both zeros are correct.)

Many of us were there for self-improvement. Theresa Lister was there to celebrate her birthday. One man wanted to learn the secret to boosting his career. A woman envisioned the walk as preparation for facing the final journey - as a way of learning how to let go peacefully and not fight the experience.

The author takes her turn on the hot coals

“Whatever your purpose for being here, the firewalk is a tool to help you achieve that,” Kellsey explained. “Fire has the ability to evoke fear, which makes it a powerful tool for transforming fears. We’re taught to believe fire burns. If it comes true that you step on 1,200-degree burning coals without burning your feet, what else in your life are you believing to be true that is not?”

Kellsey said that people limit themselves with misconceptions and erroneous beliefs. He quoted Henry Ford, “Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right.”

To prove his point, and in keeping with the theme of a firewalk “experience,” we were challenged to test that statement by breaking a wooden board with our bare hands - if only we believe. As soon as one board snapped under a powerful hand thrust, our confidence and our belief that we could break it, spread through the room, and one loud CRACK after another was met with an uproar of applause.

After a successful initiation, the crew eagerly dived into a series of activities accompanied by stories, anecdotes, Zen sayings, jokes, shared responses and motivational wisdom. Then came the challenge of breaking a solid wood arrow against the softest part of the neck (slide your finger down your neck until it lands right above a V-shaped bone and then jab your finger inward and feel the gag reflex - that’s the spot), which proved daunting and at least one woman declined.

“Let’s go light the fire.” Kellsey said the big “F” word, the one I had been glad to forget through all of the exercises, camaraderie and laughter. My stomach flopped as I followed everyone into the field where we stuffed pieces of newspaper into a large stack of wood, squirted lighter fluid over it and set it ablaze. We held hands in a semicircle around the pyre and Alandra Napali Kai broke into a soulful Hawaiian chant, aptly described by Jodi Keliinoi as a “chickenskin moment.”

Only two hours were left of our six-hour seminar - just enough time for the wood to break down into hundreds of redhot coals.

Kellsey displayed skills beyond public speaking when he treated us to a delicious spread of salad, chips and dip, and pasta and tortilla rolls that he had prepared for us. Muffins with a few lit candles and a “Happy Birthday” sung to Theresa Lister topped off the meal.

Back in the conference room, Kellsey described tenets of ageold Hawaiian philosophy, tying them in to the evening’s lessons: “The Bible, Buddhists, the Koran - every religion says the same thing, just worded differently.

“How many of you want to say yes to walking over the fire tonight?” Kellsey asked to a resounding “Yes!”

The moment of judgment was at hand. I dragged at the back of the line, noting how pretty the fire looked shining through the little luminaries that lit our path on the clear night, guiding us down to a bed of fiercely sparkling cinders lined by flames. Thick waves of heat swept at us.

In an instant, Kellsey was moving briskly across the 11-foot path of fire. In quick succession group members followed in his footsteps.

If they can do it, so can I. The thought urged me forward, pushing me onto the glowing embers. I felt a mild heat and the texture of rough earth. In my adrenaline rush, I sprang several yards past the fire before I realized I was no longer in the danger zone.

To relish the painless thrill again, I traced my way back across the burning pebbles with conscious and deliberate steps. Others made the walk three times, some held hands and one pair danced and twirled across. Some said they felt nothing, while others described feeling a coolness. “The hard work was all in our minds,” Alandra Napali Kai noted.

Back at the room, we applied ointment to little spots where we had a “fire kiss,” a minor burning sensation. On flaming-orange cards we affirmed, “I walked on fire, I can do anything I choose.”

“The firewalk is just a metaphor for things you will face, for fears, for (faulty) beliefs,” Kellsey concluded. “It’s just a tool to make you realize, ‘I can do this, I can move forward.’”

The firewalk is open to parties of 10 to 100 participants and accommodates individuals, groups, school classes and corporate clients. Children younger than 10 and adults as old as 90 have participated. Kellsey, a life coach for 10 years, has been conducting firewalks in Hawaii for the past eight months, and nearly 100 percent of his participants do the walk (only three have declined). He plans to expand into running the firewalk as a fundraiser for organizations and non-profit groups. Look for his book on the principles behind firewalking when it is released next year.

For more information, visit wwwQSGfirewalk.com or contact Vincent Kellsey at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 699-1729.

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