Fire Log

2/8/96
Name: Gene England
Referred: IDT Entertainment
Comments: I have read about firewalking in a book called "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg." It was facinating! I really found your web page to be very interesting as well. However any threat, even made in jest, to destroy my hard drive will ensure I do not return.

I notice that you posted a comment. Were you doing that just to be on the safe side? You did the right thing.
Tom

2/8/96
Name: Tom Genoni
Referred: friend

Check out Tom Genoni'smost complete description of the skeptic position that we've received to date in the Firelog. I placed it on the "What The Skeptics Say" page because it was too long for the Firelog.
Tom

2/7/96
Name: Tim Greenwood
Comments: Your web site is nicely done, but your comments on skeptics are entirely incorrect. The skeptical mind is precisely an open one. It does not accept apparant phenonema at face value, but investigates them.

It is incumbent on us to attempt to explain phenomena in the light of existing knowledge - why do you consider this to be so wrong? When all traditional explanations are found wanting then we can accept explanations that extend the traditional knowledge base. Would you prefer that we do thealternative and take Uri Geller, UFO's etc immediately as their proponents claim.

I have no ide how people walk unscathed on fire. I do find your explanation of a 'life force' hard to take and would much prefer to fully investigate alternatives within know science first. That does not mean that your theory is dismissed out of hand.

The main skeptical organization in the US is CSICOP - Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims Of the Paranormal - see their home page on http://www.csicop.org/ CSICOP publishes a magazine - Skeptical Inquirer. SI did have an article on firewalking quite sometime ago.

regards
Tim Greenwood

Tim, thanks for your polite response and for having the guts to speak up. Having said that, I have to say that you just don't get it! The fact is that I don't KNOW how people walk on hot coals unscathed and I've done it 60 or 70 times. What I do know is that NONE of the explanations offered by your CSICOP friends are valid in the face of what I and other firewalkers have personally experienced. Skeptics don't have an open mind, they insist on explaining (read: explaining away and dismissing) the firewalking phenomenon with a few pseudo-scientific theories that are totally inadequate in light of real people's actual experiences (read my comments to Steve Gemeny on 1/26 below).

The other thing that you may want to consider is that your view of the world is rather limited and ethno-centric. Every other culture that I'm aware of, has a working understanding of the concept of Life Energy or Life Force (or whatever else you want to call it). You know, if we keep an open mind, we might just learn somethings from some of the other people on this planet.
Tom

2/6/96
Name: Daryl of "Rascal's Roost"
Referred: Visitor to my page recommended it.
Comments: In fear of the mighty FLAMEBOT, I leave this message. You have an outstanding page. It is very nicely done and leaves an impression with the visitors, as intended. I did have a hard time viewing the screens with all the smoke curling out from my monitor. Good job!!

2/5/96
Name: Ray Kroebl
Referred: Chance
Comments: Neat site! Just to let you know that a) I've done firewalks myself, b) I am a veteran volunteer fire fighter. I have given up trying to find a physical explanation for the phenomenon 'firewalking' a long time ago. If you do it, you'll feel great and physics won't matter, really. No news to you, of course. Let's just say that I do know my fair share about how fire 'works'. I have come to accept that firewalks take place in your brain and are not really explainable. They don't need to be. Anyone not giving a good walk a try misses a great experience. In the course of my duty as fire fighter, I have received burns here or there. Comes with that job. I have not sustained any injury walking fires. Weird, eh? Do I know both sides of the fire? Ciao, Ray

Say hey, Ray! Firewalks do take place in your brain. It's not mind over matter, it's mind into matter! Clearly you've learned a lot from Fire during your life. I honor your profession and I'd love to hear from other fire fighters. Fire fighters always walk free at my firewalks.
Tom Margrave

2/4/96
Name: Jim Peal, Ph.D.
Referred: web crawler
Comments: I was glad to see you new web site.... and beautifullllll it is. I was trained by Peggy and have known Peggy and Tolly for many years. I am working on my website and will have a section on firewlking. I'll keep you posted. Take Care... I hope I stroked you gargantuan ego enough.... let me know if you want more.

Hey, one thing I've found out about an ego - my ego, your ego, any ego - is that it's a black hole that never get enough strokes. The more you give it, the more it wants. Best thing to do is feed it a few crumbs every so often so it doesn't complain too loudly, do your best to discipline it and then recognize it ain't you and get on with your life. So thanks for the crumbs. And I'm looking forward to your website. Check out HeartFire Communications for Affordable Web space. (Don't ya just hate blatantly commercial plugs? Well it's my Web site so I'll do whatever the hell I want! Oops... There's that darn ego again. Down boy! Get back in your cage.)
Tom Margrave

Name: walker
Referred: lia
Comments: Great web site, as a suggestion try works by: PCW Davies, Roger Penrose, Erwin Schroedinger, Werner Heisenberg, Neils & Aage Bohr, Isaac Newton, Richard Feynman, Werner Heisenberg, Kurt Godel. You may find (perhaps already have) that 'science' may not be as close minded as first imagined. Ian.

I've actually read a good deal on the "new science," quantum physics, chaos theory, etc. and I really have no quarrel with science. Real science is an open exploration of phenomena. Real scientists, like some of the above, are curious, open-minded and willing to consider new ways of looking at the world. My complaint is with those individuals who use the trappings and terminology of science to discount and ignore anything that doesn't comfortably fit into to their particular world view. Thanks for your comments.
Tom Margrave

1/26/96
Name: Steve Gemeny
Referred: netsearch 'firewalk'
Comments: "I Survived FIREWALK '93" Then I went back in 94. Anyone who hasn't walked, ain't entitled to talk. BTW nice page.
sgemeny@access.digex.net
http://www.access.digex.net/~sgemeny

Actually, Steve, around here we encourage them to talk - for the entertainment value, if for no other reason. But I do appreciate your sentiment. I always marvel at how some stay-at-home, skeptical know-it-all can dismiss the magic and power of firewalking with a couple of oft repeated but totally inadequate theories.

Those theories don't explain how people can walk to the center of a glowing bed of coals and stand there for 30 to 40 seconds - I have personally witnessed it more than once. Those theories don't explain how a person can walk a path of burning coals 120 feet long - I have personally done a 40 foot firewalk. Those theories don't explain why some people can cross a fire unharmed while others get burned. I have personally walked the coals safely more than 70 times, but one night I was burned severely.

So, we'll consider any and all theories and we'll give room for a wide spectrum of comments, but we won't accept anything as true that doesn't take into account the real experiences of real firewalkers. We owe that, at least, to the brave people who have the courage to face their own fears and by walking the fiery coals, explore that ambiguous and uncharted territory in which consciousness and material reality interact in non-ordinary ways.
Tom Margrave

What kind of kook are you? Firewalking is a little less than mainstream, but running around without any socks on? That's completely nuts! Man, you must be absolutely, 100%, certifiably insane! You're exposing your feet to the elements... don't you know you could catch a cold or something? And what about the smell? Don't come lurking around the Firewalking Homepages again. We don't want your kind around here inciting others to participate in such bizarre, unnatural, anti-social deviancy.
Tom Margrave

1/25/96
Name: Irene from Canada
Referred: Browsing
Comments: Lovely site,The colors are wonderful I did a firewalk 2 years ago with a woman called Jule, so I know this is legit. It was awesome and beneficial. I plan to go again this spring as the challenge will afford me with more growth. My advice to anyone thinking about it is go. Just seeing will change your life. One other bit of advice. Be very specific about what you replace your belief system with. I had to work through a nebulous challenge for a long time. But the end result was great. By the way, I am a normal middle-aged working professional woman. No one with any special talent.

1/17/96
Name: Raina Rose
Referred: AOL (on a top 10 list)
Comments: I am very impressed. Thank you for taking the time to put this together and share your knowledge with others. I've not yet had a firewalking experience, but I hope to soon. Last summer I was on staff at an International Leadership Conference sponsored by the American Youth Foundation. It is a four-year program, with most participants starting in their junior year in highschool. Each class participates in a quest as the culmination of their 2-week conference experience. This year the fourth-year quest was physical, and was crowned by a firewalk in which about 15 young people participated. The next morning, after sleeping under the stars, alone, these same people swam across a lake. After firewalking, I'm sure they had no doubt in their abilities to meet any challenge. I thought you might find this an interesting example of how firewalking was integrated into a relatively mainstream leadership curriculum. If you would happen to want more information, please contact me at rainarose@aol.com. Take care and best wishes.

1/17/96
Name: Jim Donovan
Referred: USA Today
Comments: Hi! I have done a firewalk (Tony Robbins). Great experience. Just to add a little depth, the one I did was in the middle of an electrical thunderstorm. Wow! The fear of fire was overpowered by the fear of electrocution, standing barefoot on wet grass. Just kidding about the fear, it was a great experience. Nice to see your site. I do not know many people I can discuss this with. Most look at me a little tilted when the subject comes up. Were it not for the experience, I would not have accomplished many of the things I have since, including writing a book, Handbook To A Happier Life. Suggestion to anyone, go for it!!

1/16/96
Name: Lori (lnowlen@purchasing.utah.edu)
Referred: My sister, Kami (her comments appear on your site)
Comments: Loved your brief explanation about what firewalking can do to help you change your relationship to fear... and what a powerful affect that can have in your life. I've never really understood why people have sought this experience, but can see clearly that having a positive relationship with fear (something I've never considered before) would be much more FUN than a negative relationship!

Also, loved your format... easy to read, not too brief and not too wordy! Have a HOT year! Lori

1/15/96
Name: Randee Reid
Referred: IC HIGHLITES/AOL
Comments: I've always believed t hat we possess unique and special abilities within ourselves and with proper guidance and training can be allowed to utilize them to some extent. Are there any Firewalk Instructors in So. Florida?? By the way, you're homepage is really awesome!!

1/15/96
Name: Bill Berry
Referred:
Comments: Excellent summary of the issues and information around this topic! I hope it will help people celebrate the wonders of the universe and see how many of those wonders are in our bodies and minds, right here / right now!

I did a firewalk taught by Tony Robbins and it was one of the most memorable, fun, significant events of my life. Overall, I'm not what you'd call "new age"; I am typically described as a "normal", intelligent, analytical guy with "traditional" values. Yet I LOVE tangible examples of the magic of the world which challenge ingrained beliefs. As you know, the "firewalk experience" is just that!

Your Web site does a great job of introducing a magical concept without coming across as "weird" or scaring "the masses" away. In addition, the facts and perspectives covered do a good job of influencing "educated" people who are often skeptics. To get a significant message out to a lot of people, one needs to communicate the way you do. Good job.

1/14/96
Name: Fabienne Magnusson
Referred: Edu Page - Asian Link (Fidonet)
Comments: I Love the web page lay out and the graphics. Congrats on a job well done! As for the firewalking.....I have not formed an opinion on weather I would do it or not. Most likely not!! :-) I found the theory and the skeptics reviews very interesting. Happy Firewalking.

1/14/96
Name: Gene Porfido
Referred: Surfin'
Comments: Ouch!... Eech!!...... Ooch!!....... Ohhh!.... Ahh!..... Eeeeh!....... Oooooch!...... Ouch!!...... And I thought jaywalkin' was bad................. Ooooch!!......... Owwww!........ Accckk!!.... : )

1/13/96
Name: Mark Matthews
Referred: Yahoo
Comments: I liked the site so much I reviewed it for HOTWIRED's Adrenaline Sport Surf section (http://www.hotwired.com/sportsurf/) and passed it on to the powers that be in production.

1/11/96
Name: Frank Lund (Halcon)
Referred: A friend who knows that I'm a "pyromaniac"
Comments: First of all: I know my spelling sucks. Second: I really like your web-design. And...I don't really know what to think about firewalking, before I've seen it in real life. I'm a firefighter and smoke diver, so I've tried some really hotstuff - burned ears, hair, legs and boiled fingers :-( But if this firewalking thing really works, it is philosophically interesting. I call my homepage (http://imv.aau.dk/~halcon) "The HOT place in cyberspace". When my exams are done (only one week left) I'll make some updating of links including a link to your pages. I also plan to make a viritual fire station where you can walk around and have a look. Well, that's all for now. C.U. on the net! Frank - halcon@imv.aau.dk

1/11/96
Name: Rhino
Referred: A link from "Beyond ....The Black Stump"
Comments: Great page design and graphics, even if you do go in for a strange pastime...Personally, I'll tread the safe path (literally) and just sit around a campfire.

1/7/96
Name: Kami (desinm@netline.net)
Referred: USA today Hottest web sites list.
Comments: I firewalked. It was an incredible experience that proved to me that our sense of what's possible is "made up" and imposed on us by our own minds. Doing something like this first hand-no tricks-FOR REAL-is a real mind blower. I "walked" with Certified Instructors - no burns or injuries whatsoever. Great site!!!

1/6/96
Name: Lucinda Blake
Referred: Net Sites of Note, USA Today
Comments: Your page is amazing!!! Beautiful to look at, engrossing to read!!! I have firewalked three times with Tony Robbins in Los Angeles and find it to be an amazing, life-changing experience. There is a magical dimension to it. I had not verbalized what I thought that dimension was and it was interesting to read your view. You are correct when you say, after walking on fire you have a certain view of your own ability to meet any of life's adversity!!!

1/6/96
Name: Paul Necklen
Referred: USA TODAY
Comments: FIREWALKING IS A JOKE!TONY ROBINS SUCKS PEOPLE IN AND BRAINWAHSES THEM INTO PAYING BIG BUCKSFOR HIS OVEPRICED HYPE...I HAVE HEARD THAT AS LONG AS YOU KEEP WALKING FAST OVER THE COALS YOU WILL NOT GET BURNED

Thank you for your cogent, incisive and deeply insightful comments... and quit shouting!
- Tom Margrave

1/6/96
Name: Jan Bottorff (janb@pmatrix.com)
Referred: FIRE Newsletter
Comments: Way hot! I did the FIT (Firewalk Instructor Training) a few years ago and being a Certified Firewalking Instructor has had a tremendous impact on how I live my life! I'll put a reference to this site from some sites I maintain. I like the artistic design! Looks like this site just came up, references from the rest of the web should help the index robots check you out quickly. - Jan

1/5/96
Ivan D.Kurtev
I could not find a reference to the fire-walking practices in my home country, Bulgaria. FYI, on the day of St. Konstantin and Elena a fire-walking is performed by old women in the area of South-East Bulgaria, close to the Black Sea, the fire-walkers are called nestinarki. The tradition is very old, I was told it came with the Greek colonists, some hundred years B.C. The firewalking is in fact a part of a folk dance, called Nestinarso Horo, played normally on bagpipes and drum.

Thank you for your comment, Ivan. Every year in northern Greece, on the festival of Saints Constantine and Helen (May 21) a firewalking ritual known as Anastenaria is held. The celebrants, known as Anastenarides, are primarily women and are descended from a group of refugees from Eastern Thrace known as Kostilides who settled in Greek Macedonia in the 1920's. For more on this facinating ritual, you can check out Firewalking And Religious Healing by Loring Danforth (Princeton University Press, 1989). It sounds like the traditions from your country that you describe have common cultural origins with the Anastenaria.
- Tom Margrave

1/1/96
ScottF@Community.net
Hey there! Firewalking is a miracle space! I walked last night (New Years Eve) for the first time and it was amazing the amount of energy that I released out of my space. I "walked" through limits that I didn't know existed and have gained a new awareness of my capability. I would encourage anybody who has a sincere desire for personal growth to give a seminar some attention. You won't regret it! I walk on fire! I can do ANYTHING I chose to do!

12/29/95
carey macdonald
I have firewalked, or coal walked at least, in Japan -- it's quite an experience! Good to know that the group of people who have done this is growing!

12/28/95
Chuck Doswell
Well, at times one doesn't quite know what to expect. The word I probably would use in the context of describing the limited look at the contents I have seen is "interesting" ... my friends would recognize this as one of my ploys to say something non-commital. I suppose if I were pressed, I would probably say it is a waste of good bandwidth ... but I suppose one of the main ideas of the Web is to have fun, and think your page certainly reflects someone having fun. I am mildly tickled you would put in a link to my page, and have no problem with having such a link on your page. It IS a well-designed page. It's probably not going to go on my bookmark list, though. I really am not into this sort of thing. Sorry. Got to go, but thanks again for asking permission!

12/27/95
Your site really is amazing. It seems impossible until you see the photos...there are certainly many mysteries yet to be understood by science. Thanks for the eye-opener visit!
Happy holidays,
Chuck