Fire Walking

A few weeks ago I visited the Golden Wings Center for my first glass walk. It was an empowering and inspiring experience. When I had the chance to return for a fire walk, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.

In my previous post I mentioned that the Golden Wings Center was a bit secluded and required traversing a one-lane dirt road to get there. This time I followed my GPS, rather than their directions, and in doing so I took a wrong turn that took me even farther out into the middle of nowhere. I was still heading toward the Center, I was just going the back way and driving several extra miles down same the scary one-lane dirt road.

At one point I reached a flowing creek that covered my path. I was concerned about the depth and backed up. A toothless man with 5 cats was sitting on the porch of a nearby house. I asked for directions and he said that the Center was just on the other site of the creeks. Yes, apparently I had to drive over more than one. He assured me that the water wasn’t too deep and he thought I could make it. I should note that my car is very small and not designed to ford creeks like in the Oregon Trail. But, I’ve learned that country boys know what they are talking about and will not lead you astray. So, I went for it. I put the pedal to the metal and made it across the creek! I was so excited when I go to the other side that I shouted “I did it! I did it! I did it!” even though nobody was around to hear it. I was thrilled when I finally saw the Golden Wings Center sign.

There were a lot of familiar faces there for the fire walk and it was really wonderful to see everyone I met at the glass walk. We started out in the yurt and talked about what we wanted to get out of this experience and what we wanted to let go of. There is a great deal of meditation and sharing at the Center, which is why it feels like you are part of a big family.

We went out to light the fire before sunset. The stack of firewood was huge. It was made of cedar and stacked so it would burn properly for the walk.

We used candles to help light the fire. But it didn’t seem to need much help, within a few minutes the wood was completely engulfed.

The fire was gorgeous and the flames leapt at least 15 feet in the air.

After we lit the fire, we went back into the yurt to talk. We paired off with a stranger to talk about our deepest secrets and fears. The purpose of was to release any negativity we were holding onto before the walk. Discussing your inner thoughts and fears with a stranger might sound intimidating, but the older you get the more you realize that you aren’t alone in your experiences and there are a surprising number of people who have been through the same things.

We followed our talks with an arrow breaking ceremony . . . but that is a story I’ll share with you another day.

Fire walking has been around for over 3000 years. It has been used as a rite of passage, a spiritual ritual, and a test of courage. And yes, it is hot. It’s fire. It was a very festive atmosphere with a lot of singing, dancing, and cheering.

I made 3 passes over the coals. I burned myself once, but it was pretty minor. My foot hurt on my drive home, but it felt much better by the following day. I preferred my glass walking experience to fire walking because I enjoyed the quite meditative aspects of the glass walk. However, that said, I am really looking forward to to doing another fire walk.

The Golden Wings Center has a wide variety of wonderful events. I already have plans to return in the coming weeks, so you’ll hear more about it soon.