Walking on fire, or walking on embers, is a controversial motivational technique that has become fashionable in recent years and objections to this practice cover a broad spectrum: some consider it a relatively effective method and others say it is a total scam.
It is presented as an innovative technique, but in fact, the first references to walking on burning embers date back more than 4000 years, such a ritual was performed in India and its purpose was religious, was part of healing, initiation, purification, invoking good harvest ceremonies and much more.
- We know that there are ancestral communities that still walk on embers.
- Such as Kahunas or priests of various indigenous groups in Hawaii.
- Currently walking on burning lava.
- The Kalahari natives of Africa practice similar rituals.
Walking on fire is not something new. What has happened is that since the 1970s this practice has resurfaced in the United States and has begun to become popular, its main driver being Tolly Burkan, who claimed to have read an article on physics in scientific american magazine and has since begun walking on embers. no problem. He has published several books and has been implicated in an alleged “extraterrestrial kidnapping. “
“An uns interesting truth can be overshadowed by an exciting lie. “Is that Huxley Aldous?
Firewalking fans say it is a motivational technique that facilitates personal development, in their opinion it is a very useful tool to increase self-confidence, deal with fears and stimulate motivation. They believe that if you can walk on embers, you will feel more able and positively change your image of yourself.
They say that anyone is afraid to walk on embers, however, those who overcome this fear and manage to take the first step become stronger, apparently this is extrapolated to your daily life. Is this a radical change? Destroy negative beliefs and cultivate the most positive ones.
Walking on fire is a technique promoted and practiced by some coaches. They often use metaphors to introduce or improve positive beliefs about themselves. Walking on embers would be a metaphor for what’s happening with the other challenges we face.
Firewalking fans point out that experiences, both success and failure, affect our mental programming, our values and beliefs, hence everyone form an image of what they are capable of doing and the result would affect self-confidence. They indicate that walking on embers at 500 degrees C contributes to mental rescheduling, if you overcome the challenge you will change your image of yourself.
In the Firewalking process, three steps must be completed
Walking on fire is expected to help people face difficult situations, with the experience of walking on hot coals, the person internalizes the idea that if he does not advance, he will burn (if he does not continue walking, the suffering is greater). Also, you have to stand your ground and carry on, no matter what.
Is the walk over fire currently used especially by companies looking?Train your employees. Some companies that have already used this technique are Microsoft, American Express and Coca-Cola, among others.
What is supposed to be that the mental strength of someone who can walk on burning embers is so great that it leaves the other side un wounded, which would show the participant that he is stronger and more capable than he imagines. From a physical point of view, there are several nuances that cannot be ignored.
According to luus Alfonso Gómez, critic of the subject and author of the article “254 euros to learn to walk on embers”, this is not a feat. On the contrary, he says that anyone can perform this activity, that he does not need any preparation, let alone pay to learn how to do it. It is based on a series of physical facts, which can be summarized as follows:
Richard Wiseman is an English psychologist who wanted to test him in this controversial motivational technique. On your show “Tomorrow? S World,” from the BBC, did a simple experiment: he made a carpet of burning embers, but this time he did not use a length of 4. 5 meters, which is common in Firewalking. he set up an 18-metre track and invited three well-known promoters of the technique to tour it live on television.
The first walked 6 meters, but had to jump off the track because his feet were burning, exactly the same thing happened with the second and the third did not want to participate in the experiment, the first two had to be taken care of because they had second-degree burns on the floors of the feet.
In this way, Wiseman showed what he wanted: “Mental strength?It ends at 6 meters. That’s why Firewalking gurus use short paths. They calculated exactly how long it takes to prevent people from burning. There is no positive thought I can endure after 6 meters of embers.
Most of us like to dream and believe in the possibility that the extraordinary will become possible. There’s a lot of myths about the power of the mind? That, although huge, fails to break the laws of physics, much less after an instruction that, in most cases, lasts only 3 hours.
Despite this, many people around the world claim to have achieved unimaginable benefits through Firewalking and say their lives have changed dramatically. Several companies claim to have improved the performance of their workers after going through the embers. There are also those who have burned with this experience. “I wasn’t ready,” they say.
In conclusion, one of the great powers of the human mind is precisely to believe, even against all evidence. If you want to believe and if what you think helps you overcome any discomfort, go ahead, the same goes for the placebo effect. If all this can help you live better, who are we to challenge it?