One of the most evident paranormal phenomena, seen in many places—especially India, Indonesia, Fiji islands, Polynesia, South America and Africa—is walking on fire.

It violates some laws of physics, chemistry and biology, and yet is ignored by mainstream science.

In the mid-’80s, we were filming the fire walkers of Alfonso, Cavite (called Barkos), in Tagaytay City for a TV series on psychic and paranormal phenomena. To make the program more realistic and credible, the director made me and my other cohost walk barefoot on the burning charcoal.

Before we were led to walk on fire, the Barkos prayed and meditated for one hour and asked the spirits to give us permission to walk on fire without getting hurt.

None of us got hurt, except the lady director herself. She was not mentally prepared to go through the process.

Rational explanations

What are the “rational” or so-called “scientific” explanations of why people can walk on fire without getting burned?

1) Coal from wood has less thermal capacity. This means less heat is transferred to the feet.

2) The period of contact between burning coal and the feet is very short. Many people walk briskly.

3) The bed of burning coal is different from a metal sheet, and there are numerous pores or vacant areas in a bed of coal.

4) The bed of burning coal is not a hard surface like a sheet of metal or road, and as a person walks, the coal is displaced.

5) The ash from the coal acts as insulator. The thick layer of ash on the coal bed is often hidden, as the ritual is performed at night. The same bed of burning coal when viewed in the daytime will clearly show a layer of ash.

6) Many believe fire walking is all in the mind. Focus and courage are the two

important aspects that help a person come out of the fire ritual unscathed.

One popular theory which is apparently accepted by mainstream science is the Leidenfrost effect. According to this theory: “For brief periods at high temperature, moisture from perspiration vaporizes into a protective layer of air to insulate the skin.”

Another theory I read: “The natives who walk on fire have very thick soles and highly developed sweat glands, so that when their feet touch the fire, the sweat glands are activated, thereby cooling heat.” Can you believe this?

Frankly, all the above scientific theories to explain fire walking  fall flat if we consider  that in Fiji, the natives walk on molten lava stones, which are a thousand times hotter than a wooden charcoal fire.

And the fire they walk on measures six feet long, three feet wide and three feet deep. There’s no way those stones can be displaced as one walks on them. 

Sometimes the female fire walkers even carry a small child in their arms, yet the child is not hurt at all. 

Also, it has been reported that Mexican fire walkers sometimes kneel for several minutes over burning coals without getting hurt. It is not always true that fire walkers breeze through the fire.

Ancient ceremonies

Fire walking is actually an essential part of ancient religious ceremonies in some countries. 

Records in India refer to it as early as the 8th century B.C., according to the Reader’s Digest “Almanac of the Uncanny.”

According to Pliny the Elder in the first century A.D., Roman fire walkers took part in annual sacrificial rites to Apollo.

Mexicans see it as a way of avoiding calamity.

For some Polynesians it is a ritual to ensure good crops.

For the Filipino fire walkers of Alfonso, Cavite, fire walking is held annually to mark the deliverance from the great flood during Noah’s time.

But in modern times, fire walking has all but lost its religious or spiritual significance. In the United States, one enterprising American life coach made millions of dollars leading people to walk on fire.

There are now courses or seminars in the United States, Singapore and even occasionally in the Philippines teaching people how to walk on fire for a fee.

For me, fire walking is a question of mind over matter. It is not just by being fearless and confident that you can do it. You have to be in an altered state of consciousness  to walk on fire without being hurt.

At least, in my case, that was what I felt. I was not in my normal consciousness while walking on the fire.

I was at least in the alpha or perhaps even in the theta level of my brain waves while walking on fire. If you don’t reach this level, you get burned.

This was what happened to the  TV program director. Since she was the only one who had not walked on fire, we pushed her into it and she got hurt, cursing all of us afterwards.

The next Inner Mind Development Seminar will be on March 12-13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Interested parties may call tel. no. 8107245 or mobile no. 0998-9886292, or e-mail [email protected].