Warming Courage Fiery Compassion

Walk the Fire. Here's How

One of my passions is exploring and sharing tools and guidance on how we can balance our Warrior energy (clarity, focus, and intent) with our Goddess energy (receptivity, creativity, and joy).

Today, as we near the Summer Solstice, I want to share about the Warrior and Goddess energies in relation to something I’m incredibly passionate about: firewalking.

Cue the song: She’s just a girl and she’s on fire by Alicia Keys…

I was 24 years old when I went to my first firewalk workshop. I had no idea what a firewalk was, but my spiritual mentor at the time, Vicki Noble, encouraged me to go.

So I went, absolutely unsure what I was getting myself into, but willing to show up.

That one rainy evening in northern California, in a circle of forty women dancing across red, hot coals, completely transformed my life in the best way possible.

I went from being an incredibly shy, introverted, and self-doubting young woman to someone who blossomed into a grounded, passionate, and creative fiery mentor and guide.

Now, this did not happen in one night. But the spark was lit, and I continued to follow the flame: first to immerse myself in a firewalk instructor training with my mentor Peggy Dylan, and later to commit to a decades-long apprenticeship with don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements.

I’ve now been sharing the power of the firewalk for over three decades, and in my intimate relationship with fire I’ve learned some important lessons.

Firewalking is an ancient practice, a ceremony that is found all over the world. Humans come to the fire for one or both of two reasons: motivation and/or healing.

And here is where we link back to the energies of Warrior and Goddess and connect it with the firewalk. For there are two main types of firewalks: what I call “line” firewalks and “circle” firewalks. Here is a two-minute clip from a firewalk workhop in Teotihuacan a few years ago:

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Line firewalks are focused on motivation and breakthrough. They are literally done in a line where you walk the red-hot coals once, focusing on stepping through your fear and claiming your power and vision.

Here’s a great example of a line firewalk with Tony Robbins and Oprah (4-minute video).

This is a warrior walk: get your energy and courage up, and GO NOW!!!! You can hear people shouting “YES YES YES” and Tony literally shouting in Oprah’s ear that she can do it.

I was trained by the same person who trained Tony Robbins. Most of us in the Western Firewalking Movement were trained by either Tolly Burkan or Peggy Dylan, or one of the instructors they trained. I was blessed to be trained by both Tolly and Peggy to be a firewalk instructor in their second to last training together in 1991.

My mentor and dear friend, Peggy Dylan, shares what I call circle firewalks. In a circle firewalk you can walk or not walk, walk as many times as you like, walk slowly, or dance. The group gathers around the coals in a circle, chanting, clapping, and celebrating each person who crosses the fire.

Here is a video from one of our firewalks; you’ll see how different they are as people dance and whirl and smile across the coals (1-minute video).

I call these circle firewalks: stepping with the fire into our connection with the sacred and our own divine heart and joy: Goddess magic. Even people who don’t walk have cathartic experiences.

And just like humans, we are not one or the other; neither pure warrior nor pure goddess. We are each a blend of these energies, in different mixes. Some of us are more Warrior, or linear in our expression and energy; and some of us are more Goddess, or circular in our expression and energy.

Firewalks are the same; they can be a blend of line (warrior/motivation) and circle (goddess/connection/healing). So knowing what you are looking for is important.

I have led both line and circle walks, and honestly do not think one is better than the other. They each have different purposes and gifts. For corporations I tend to do line firewalks. At most gatherings and Warrior Goddess weekends we do more circular, wildly joyful circle firewalks.

What I love so much about firewalking is how much change can happen in one evening that is somatic and lasting. You can’t think your way through a firewalk. You have to show up with your full being, and be ready to step into the mystery.

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The second thing I love is how the firewalk is a metaphor for life. It’s not just about walking across hot coals, but a way to fully engage with the challenges and uncertainties that life brings.

So what metaphorical firewalk are you facing in your own life? What scary bed of coals lies before you?

Do you need to bring in more warrior energy, or more goddess energy? Or some of both?

I’d love to hear what kinds of fires you are walking at this time. Hit reply to this email, or comment below. I answer every comment and note.