Through
the Fire
Laying the Foundation
Despite their obvious differences, each shared a similar uneasiness about the unknown: what would they take away from the seminar, and would they be able to summon the courage to walk barefoot across a ten foot bed of hissing, red-hot coals?
Soft-spoken Emily Babin ’04, an environmental studiesand biology major, says she wanted to learn more about herself and to develop a greater sense of self-confidence. “I’m hoping this seminar will encourage me to be more confident, to be a better leader.”
Pawelski, who described the seminar as an emotional workout, told participants that they weren’t there because they were emotionally broken. “Just as weight training in a gym is a vehicle to help us achieve fitness goals, firewalking is a vehicle to help us exercise our emotional muscles.”
| “Fear Into Power” helps Albright students unleash and embrace their own self-empowerment with a walk across a bed of hot coals. | |
|
From negative habits to painful periods of emotional incapacitation, students were challenged to come to terms with the physiological and behavioral cues associated with these states. For example, rapid, shallow breathing and submissive posturing typically precede a slip into a negative habit. Once the attendees were able to recognize the warning signs of their bad habits, they were challenged to relive a moment in which they felt completely confident and in control. At the height of this moment they were encouraged to translate those feelings into a personalized gesture, a vocal and physical “power move” to center and focus the mind on a state of empowerment. “A power move should be a lasting, positive habit rooted in repetition and emotional intensity,” Pawelski says. Taking the notion a step further, he adds, “Firewalking increases emotional intensity, intentionally creating an experience to heighten remembrance [much like the power move], so in the long run, we will associate the memory of the commitments made during this seminar with firewalking.” Finally, as participants encircled the 1200 degree, roaring blaze, they rehearsed the power move techniques in preparation for the actual walk, which would begin when the embers cooled to approximately 800 degrees. |
 |