Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America getting ready to literally walk on fire in Times Square, New York City….

My friend Katie (owner of Kix by Katie) recently posted this story on a google group I belong to. It was so inspiring I had to share it with you. The symbology of walking through the fire in our lives is profound and close to my heart. It is purifying, requires courage and trust. For those of us who choose to move through it, there is a deep sense of re-birth of the self. It’s very empowering. I have a feeling many of you know exactly what I mean. Here’s Katie…

“Did anyone happen to see Good Morning America this morning? They are doing a segment each week where one of the anchors is challenged to do something that they are afraid of. Last week Chris Cuomo had to jump off a super high building in Las Vegas. Although hooked to a pully system he still pretty much free fell and had to trust that the pully system would save his life.

This week Diane Sawyer was challenged to walk through fire! I never understood how people could do this and not get burned. Todays show explained it so well and now I find myself wanting to do it! It was very enlightening and exciting. Fire walking is a centuries old custom that symbolizes overcoming fear and reluctance to move forward. From a young age we are taught that Fire is hot! Don’t touch it! It will burn you! That is very true and that fear of getting burned serves as a protection for us.

At what point, though, does fear change from being a protection to being a barrier between us and what we want or where we want to go or what we want to become? Even if someone in the know explains and proves to us that our fear is unfounded sometimes that ingrained fear still prevents us from trusting and moving forward. We all know and can attest to the fact that if you finally do something that you are afraid of, you face it and move past it, you feel so empowered. You have conquered!!

On GMA this morning they explained how fire walking works. The coals are heated to over 1200 degrees and raked out into about a 10 foot long path. How could this possibly be walked across without your feet becoming severly burned? If you were to walk across sand or asphalt at a much lower temperature you could receive dangerous burns since they both are great conductors of heat. Apparently the wood used in fire walking is cedar which is a poor conductor of heat. The ash which it creates also provides a protective layer over the coals. A person, walking at a normal pace, can walk over the coals and not get burned. It is scientifically proven! So, no problem right? It has been proven to us, through people in the know, that it is safe.

The dance of fire leads to freedom on the other side….

So why don’t we all just want to jump in and do it? The Fear Factor!! It goes against everything we have always known and believe about fire. I had an Ah Ha moment! Walking across the fire symbolizes disregarding our fears, based on emotion and old beliefs, and facing our fears and moving past them based on knowledge.

Diane Sawyer and all the others in the group were to hold a mental picture of what it would be worth walking through fire to reach. Driven by that inspiration ~ each of them walked over the 10 feet of
1200 degree coals! Then, freed from their fear by coming through the experience unharmed, they skipped through the coals and danced through the coals two or three more times! Isn’t that powerful! I Sometimes our unfounded fears based on old beliefs and experiences make us reluctant to move forward. Just think of what we might be missing because of a silly voice in our head or a scary feeling. When we start to feel that way we too can hold a mental picture of what it would be worth walking through fire to reach and driven by that inspiration ~ we can disregard our fear and move past it to what we want and deserve!

I am so grateful for the important and powerful principles I received by just observing this but I feel like actually doing something symbolic like that would be so freeing!

So, Anyone up for fire walking?”

Thank-you Katie for sharing your thoughts. I feel exactly the same way and yes, let’s walk through the fire together!

For more information on Katie and Kix by Katie click here.