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Facts about firewalking
History of firewalking
The practice of firewalking precedes recorded history. Even before the
contemporary movement, native people had been firewalking on every continent,
except Antarctica, and it has also been practiced within most world religions,
including Christianity. The Vikings walked on glowing hot metal chains as a sign
of their strength, Buddhists performed the ritual as a spiritual endeavour,
Hawaiian Kahunas walked on glowing lava beds, and Fijians today still dance on
red-hot rocks, not only as a rite of passage, but to entertain tourists as well.
The Global Firewalking Movement
This year, the Global Firewalking Movement celebrates its 27th anniversary
since Tolly Burkan launched the craze by offering firewalking classes to the
general public. For the first time in history, common people were being taught
how to walk across glowing, red-hot coal beds completely barefooted. The coals
have been measured at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The average temperatures for
firewalks are between 1200-1500 degrees Fahrenheit, which is equivalent to
650-800 degrees Celsius. Engine blocks are poured at around 1100 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Modern day practices
Today, over two million people have taken a firewalking class with either
Tolly Burkan, (the founder of the Firewalking movement) or with one of his
certified instructors. People from all walks of life have participated including
Congressmen, U.S. Senators even President Clinton has firewalked. Fortune 500
companies all over the globe, including such giants as Microsoft, Met-Life and
Coca-Cola, regularly employ firewalking as a training tool and technique for
motivation, team building and personal growth. Even beyond the two million people who have firewalked themselves, 50 million viewers
watched a firewalk prepared by a
F.I.R.E.
Certified instructor on the
TV show Survivor.
Research findings
Prominent doctors and researchers are quick to point out that there is
relatively little known about the oddity of firewalking. The research to date
still has rendered few clues as to what prevents the soles of human feet from
burning upon exposure to temperatures exceeding 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit.
"The
scientific literature on firewalking is dreadful," contends Dr. Andrew Weil, a
renowned Harvard-trained physician and medical researcher, who has investigated
firewalking for many years. Dr. Andrew Weil states "There is no way I can be
convinced that mental state is not the key variable in firewalking."
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