Coolly walking on hot coals with Firewalking Malta

Each of us has to face fears in life but perhaps nothing feels as daunting as a firewalk, stepping over hot coals in your bare feet. It’s natural to have a physical fear of fire, and the high that comes from overpowering it, from using your mind to set aside an animal instinct, is powerful. You might be one of those people who likes to step outside their comfort zone and try new things – but this isn’t just a single step away, it’s in a different solar system!

With Firewalking Malta, a new activity on the islands, taking place regularly in Gozo, the brave, the intrigued, the logically-minded and the meditative soul can all bring their own approach to life to the experience. Participants leave behind 21st century trappings and embrace the elements with focus, fear and laughter too.

In a field tucked away at the top of Għajnsielem with a gentle wind, mellow background music and the twilight sun, the event has an organic, natural feel. Cushions are laid out on mats as if participants are at a hippy festival, a summer solstice or a new moon event, and there’s a touch of that same mysticism as the group come together to face the primal force of fire together.

Reg Miller, the instructor for the evening, began firewalking in the UK 10 years ago when he went to an event at which, unexpectedly, there was the chance to firewalk. He did, and he was hooked. “I’ve done over 200 firewalks now,” he smiles. “The trigger for that first one, he explains,” was a very particular fear of fire dating back to my childhood. “I spent my early years in Georgetown in Guyana where the houses were made of wood so fire was a constant threat, a terrifying monster that could destroy homes and streets in moments. Fires would rage through the night, sometimes for days. You could hear the wood popping and cracking and smell the smoke, thick and dark. The adults’ fear was tangible and, for a small child, it was very scary.”

“Then as I grew up, I became fascinated by fire and attracted to flames, running my finger through the flames of candles to feel the heat and know that I wasn’t defeated by it. When I came across that first firewalk, although of course I was afraid, I knew I wanted to conquer it.

And so I walked on fire and then I couldn’t stop walking! I was amazed at what I had done and what I could do.”

Reg then trained with Firewalking UK who are affiliated with the Global Firewalking Association before bringing firewalking to Malta.

The evening begins with the lighting of the fire, a pyre to which all the participants contribute, each adding a log and respecting the strength of the dancing flames which glow a rich golden orange against lush green turf laid out for the occasion. The heat radiates fiercely as participants approach its edge, step back, and then with heightened energy themselves, thanks to a trick of Reg’s, step ever closer. “The mind is a powerful tool,” he explains, “and by using, focusing and/or mastering your mind you can influence the body with the power of positive energy.”

The visceral rational fear of pain and injury contrasts with the everyday fears most of us harbour in today’s society which are largely in the mind, as we worry about what the future will hold for us and the demons of our imagination. Reg however suggests that the firewalk is a metaphor for facing all the fears in your life and stepping into the future whatever it holds: the evening therefore caters for both those who are looking to find or develop themselves through facing fears and embracing a deep sense of spirituality as well as those who are simply curious and wish to have a go at something daring and different under the setting sun.

Having lit the fire, it is another hour-and-a-half before the fire has burnt enough to provide the hot coals for the firewalk and so in this time, the group sit together, relaxing, building group energy as they are invited to take on other challenges. The first of these was an indescribable “breaking an arrow”, before which fear pulsed through me. My mind wrestled with a natural aversion to what seemed a dangerous task but having seen Reg perform the simple feat himself, I knew it was possible. As a group we hesitated, we shook our heads and looked down at the floor, and there was no pressure to step up to the plate, but slowly, with heart pumping and adrenaline racing, each and every one of us did choose to take on the challenge ourselves, slowly but surely as we opened up and shared feelings about the activities themselves and about life.

The next challenge was a glass walk, for which Reg had collected Bombay Sapphire gin bottles from bars across the island: smashed into pieces and laid out to be walked upon, they are a shimmering river of shards as blue as the sea, evoking an image of walking on water. Glass is an ancient beauty but surely it is impossible to walk over these broken pieces and step away unscathed? With careful guidance, each member of the group stepped up and walked along the glittering glass path, building confidence and trust. After my own walk, I felt invigorated, alive, excited and proud, and under twinkly stars, I was absolutely ready to face the fire. I did! I walked on fire and experienced incredible exhilaration and a natural high: I now felt as if I could take on the universe!

“It was scary, challenging and empowering. I felt like a Queen afterwards,” said fellow participant Anna from Poland. And did it hurt? No, not at all.

Underpinned by psychology, Reg had gently led the participants to take on and beat the seeminglyimpossible. It was a surprisingly emotional evening, exploring what we are each capable of and reminding ourselves of the importance of trust, during which the group felt safe and supported every step of the way. I headed home, alive with possibility and carrying a precious memory of an extraordinary and transformative evening.

The next Firewalking Malta event takes place on Friday, 23 September.