Photo is of Ericka Rankin – Friesen and Myles Verigin who excitedly shared their good news of achieving an Interprovincial Red Seal in the Electrical Trade.

The grandson of my deceased brother Russel Verigin, Myles Verigin, excitedly shared his experience of being able to program his mind to withstand burning coals and walk over a strip of burning coals ten (10) feet in length.

“It all came about as I continued my personal search into the potential of my body to achieve greater heights of endurance, ” Myles explained to me.

“I was always interested in ‘feats of endurance’ that I kept hearing about and so I read a book written by Tony Robbins, ‘ Unleash the Power Within’ that took me to New York, USA to participate in a seminar held by Tony Robbins,” Myles continued.

“There were about 14,000 people at this Seminar that took four (4) hours,” Myles then brought out the following portions of the seminar not necessarily in the order that they took place:

1. Tony Robbins was the main motivational Speaker with a large staff
2. Groups were set up with a ‘Life Coach” who stimulated all with parts of a hypnotic speech to clear the mind, focus on the end, learn how to set up a “trigger” for the mind to concentrate and focus.
3. There was athletic dancing, jumping and other actions to achieve deep concentration
4. Wood fires were burning with the end objective was to create twenty-five (25 lanes of coals, about ten (10) feet long
5. When the beds of coals were ready, the participants lined up and were questioned by their coach as to their readiness to walk the coals. The coaches had the expertise to recognize whether the person was “ready”.
6. Those who in the opinion of coach, were not ready, were recommended to prepare themselves better and removed from the line
7. The walk itself was about four (4) steps and took about 2 to 3 seconds
8. Following the walk everyone walked through a pool of water
9. Myles did not experience any discomfort

It was the experience that Myles will not forget.

The following excerpt from the internet provides some scientific explanation to “firewalking””

“……..Tolly Burkan is the founder of the Firewalking Institute of Research and Education in Twain Harte, California. He promotes himself as the creator of the U.S. fire-walking movement, which he says dates to 1977.

“I was the first person to come along and make it available to John Q. Public by offering fire-walking classes that anybody could attend,” he said.

Burkan dismisses the idea that the low conductivity of coals is a reason that fire walking is possible. As evidence, he points to an incident in which members of his institute successfully walked repeatedly on a heated metal grill without getting burned.

According to Burkan, the basic physical principle behind fire walking is the same that allows an egg to boil in a paper cup when placed atop red-hot coals. The boiling water keeps the cup at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius)—hundreds of degrees cooler than paper’s burning point.

Burkan says that circulating blood likewise keeps the flesh on a fire walker’s feet from reaching its burning point—as long as the walker is relaxed enough to allow strong blood flow and as long as the walker keeps walking.

“What controls [the ability to fire walk] is more than physics, it’s your state of mind,” Burkan said.

Willey, the Pittsburgh physicist, said such mind over matter theories have nothing to do with why fire walking is physically possible. He allows, though, that self-confidence is required to take that first step.

“You’ve got to believe you’re going to be OK, otherwise you wouldn’t do it,” he said. “But what your mind-set is has got absolutely nothing to do with whether you’re going to burn or not.”

Danforth, the Bates College anthropologist, said that scientific explanations do not “debunk or diminish or invalidate the value of the ritual.”

“[Fire walking] can have the power to affirm one’s life. It can change lives, give confidence, all kinds of things,” he said………”

This excerpt from the internet suggests that there are risks as outlined here:

“…………….Walking across hot coals is a regular feature of motivational speaker Tony Robbins’s seminars. The act is meant to symbolize overcoming fear.

But at his “Unleash the Power Within” event in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, more than 30 people were treated for burns due to the walk. Five were taken to the hospital that night, while the rest were treated on site for burns, said Jason Evans, a public information officer with Dallas Fire-Rescue, in a statement.

Dallas Fire-Rescue was dispatched to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center on Thursday night just after 11pm, according to Evans.

Paul Gold, who sustained second-degree burns on his feet, told the Associated Press that he thought event staff didn’t wait long enough before adding more coals to the fire, resulting in the injuries.

Gold said he had participated in the walk at a previous Robbins event in Florida earlier this year and was unharmed.

Another attendee, Jacqueline Luxemberg, said the injuries occurred because people were taking selfies rather than concentrating on the walk.

“It has nothing to do with the training. It has absolutely nothing to do with Tony Robbins,” she said.

This isn’t the first time injuries occurred at a Robbins event. Nearly two dozen were burnt walking across hot coals in San Jose, California, in 2012.

Ron King, the director of the convention center, told the Dallas Morning News that Robbins had previously led events there with no incidents that he was aware of.

The organizers had the necessary permits “to conduct the operation which led to the multiple burn injuries overnight,” Evans said.

Minor blisters sometimes occur after the walk, but not serious burns, said Tad Schinke, who has worked at numerous Robbins events, to the Morning News. Participants received instructions before the walk.

Representatives for Robbins said in a statement to the Associated Press that about 7,000 people walked across the coals that night. Of those injured, five “requested any examination beyond what was readily available on site”.

“Someone not familiar with the fire walk observed the event and called 911 erroneously reporting hundreds of people requiring medical attention for severe burns,” the statement said.

Tickets to Robbins’s next “Unleash the Power Within” event in San Jose this November range in price from $650 to $2,995 a ticket, according to his website. The seminar aims to “help you unlock and unleash the forces inside that can help you break through any limit and create the quality of life you desire…………………..”

The negative reports do not daunt the positive experience that Myles had and continues to search for the powers from within.

My Readers need to understand that there are risks in many worthwhile endeavours.

Posted by Elmer Verigin 1730 hours, February 18, 2019

From: Myles Verigin [mailto:mylesrverigin@gmail.com]
Sent: February 18, 2019 2:32 PM
To: Elmer Verigin
Subject: Re:

Yes the article was very well written! It captures the event very well. I’m excited to see it up on your blog

Myles