Obviously, we’re going to sing ‘It’s a Long Way to Tippperary’ all the way there and back!

Here’s the deets:

If you want to take part in this firewalk here’s the lovely person to reach:

Contact: Kyle O Donnel (Organiser)

Email: tippfirewalk[at]gmail.com

Tele: +353 86 7394493

On Facebook:  Tipperary Firewalk

Do you live in Tipperary, are you able to help spread the word about this charity firewalk?

The more the merrier. Great fundraising events are about the skills of amazing people coming together for a common cause.

You could download the event poster here, you’ll need Adobe reader as it’s a pdf file.

You could tweet about it, using the hashtag #tipperaryfirewalk

You can ‘like’ and share the Facebook page.

If you’re a Tipperary business or local group, you can get involved, contact Kyle on above to discuss further.

 Where’s Fedarth?

View Larger Map

In 2011, one organiser of a walk reluctantly started using Facebook (okay we ‘kinda persuaded forced her gently) to get the word out, she raised 30,000 euros at her event.

Yes, you read that right and Facebook was a BIG deal when it came to making that happen.

Why is Facebook Your Firewalking Friend?

As you probably know (unless you’ve been underground for a couple of years) Facebook is, well, massive: (at time of writing) 800 million active users with 50% of them logging in each day.

Like with all marketing, and yes, fundraising still involves a lot of marketing, you need to go where people are already hanging out.

Facebook gives you the opportunity to put your event (ethically) in front of people. There are hundreds of reasons of why Facebook does the job, but here’s a few:

• You can create a massive ongoing buzz around your event.
• You can invite, share, connect, build relationships (even with those who may not complete your firewalk). You may connect with local businesses who wish to support you for example and tag them (see below)
• Friends, share with friends. Your event has the chance to reach a massive group of people.
• You can keep interested people updated about the event on a daily basis.
• You can ask for help. For example, you may want a photographer at your event. The chances are someone, will know someone, who knows someone. Mari Smith, she stated a couple of months ago we are now ’4 Degrees of Separation’ because of Facebook. That’s startling.

Create a Page or Event?

If you’re a charity, the chances are you have a Facebook page.

If you’re an individual raising for a charity, they chances are they have a page, but you’re not an admin of it. Which means you can’t post or update the page. You would be relying on them to put the word out for you to people who have liked their page.

If that’s the case, I would contact the charity, and tell them you’ll be creating a page for your event. They (should) love you for this, more on that in a moment.

A page allows you a massive amount more interaction. There is only so much you can achieve creating an ‘event’. If you were asking my opinion, creating a page wins.

Setting Your Page Up For Success: The Page URL

Important: I’d suggest not getting all fancypants with a page name. Choose something like ‘Firewalking Fundraiser, (Enter Town or City). So, ‘Firewalking Fundraiser Edinburgh’ or ‘Glasgow Firewalk’. Or with the charities permission ‘Firewalk for (insert charity and then town).

Sounds boring?

Yeah a little I agree, but, remember the bigger picture. You want your event to be seen yes? If you use your Facebook page to the max, Google will love you too.

Google ranks Facebook updates in it’s searches.

If…

You have the Facebook url.

The what?

Okay, here’s a picture of the address bar from one of my Facebook pages, I haven’t grabbed the url yet, because I haven’t finalised the exact name.

See how long and clunky it is. All those digits. It’s not search engine friendly.

Here’s one that with a chosen url:

See the difference? Much better.

If firewalkuk on Facebook were to update their page like good little people and do what they teach others to do (it’s our page but we hardly use it, using our our main page, but do as we say, not as we do!) then search engines would rank those words ‘firewalkuk’.

Now, there are a load of other techie reasons why this works and I’d bore you to tears by going into it.

In short:

1. Create a page (using a personal profile, more on that in a minute) not a group!

2. Choose a unique ‘page name’. Firewalking and the city where it’s going to be held is perfect.

Why Use a Personal Profile?

I know you may not be on Facebook, and you may be like a friend of mine who refuses point blank. You can set up a page without a personal profile. However your work will be a little harder.

On Facebook, you ‘like’ pages and ‘add as friend’.

If your friends are already using Facebook, adding them as friends and then asking them to like your page is quick. You can’t ask people you aren’t connected to, to like a page if you don’t have a personal profile, you have to be connected to them first.

Involving the Charity

Let’s assume the charity have a separate page. For ease, we’ll call them ‘Fabbie Charity’.

You’re fundraising for Fabbie Charity: they have their page, with admins of that page in sitting their charity and you have your page.

What Facebook allows you to do is ‘tag’ and mention other pages (if you already have a personal page, it’s exactly the same thing.)

Why would they love you? Because you will no doubt be talking about and mentioning the charity. You may write a little update on your page and ‘tag’ them using the ‘@’ sign and what you write shows up on your page wall and theirs. You are raising their profile. That can only be a good thing.

If they do have a page. Ask them for help. I’m sure because you are raising for them they will do all they can.

Also ask them for some photographs you can use as updates. Get them involved.

Engaging Conversation

A fantastic Facebook page (including those for events and fundraisers) is conversational. People consistently interacting with your updates: either by liking what you wrote, or by leaving a message.

Before you start using your page for your event, take a couple of hours to plan some updates.

I promise, when the buzz starts, you won’t be stuck on what to say, it’ll happen naturally. But it’s about being planned.

• You may make a visit to the venue for your walk, tell your page, take a snap of the venue, get the picture up there. Get them excited. Remember, people love to be included. Who doesn’t!
• You might have a meeting with a local photographer, take some snaps, do they have a page? Tag them in an update.
• You might want to talk about something that the fundraising is going to help with. Let people know.
• You could ask people how their fundraising is going? Do they need support? What are they looking forward to?

The scope is endless. The goal is to involve people, if they have liked your page, if they have agreed to walk for you, they love being part of the whole process, it does feel special and unique.

Further reading:

Here’s a post over on my (Dawn) main website: How to Piss People of Using Facebook

Remember we can help with this if you book a walk with us.

…if you have big ideas about your career, life, solo business and they aren’t happening because you’re scared, don’t have a plan, or don’t feel ‘worthy’ enough to achieve, this is your wake up call.

 No More Excuses Workshop

& The Firewalk Seminar

‘Ignite Your Spark’

(seriously, fun personal empowerment, requires you leaving your house)

February 18th 2012 1pm – 10pm, Edinburgh

• What’s on your ‘wish I could but I can’t’ list?
• Which fears would you like ultimate  freedom from?
• What area of your life must change for a better future?
• Where in your life, career or solobusiness are you holding yourself back?
• What are you putting off or ignoring because you believe you’ll fail or it won’t work out?

Join me in February for a real transforming life changing event. 

All you need to do to say YES and ‘I won’t quit!’

This event includes:

1. 2 Group Coaching Calls for participants after the event
2. Private Online Group for participants after the event
3. Your ticket Ignite Your Spark Workshop and all materials
4. Your place at The Firewalk Experience
5. After Dark Celebration (of course!)

VISIT THE WEBSITE TO READ MORE

Dawn

Thanks to a participants Dad, they captured the walk in Limerick city on their phone, ah technology!

They even had it up on youtube before we even had cleared the area!

Thanks Tim Carey, and good luck with Diva’s and Demons. Tim is on a mammoth fundraiser himself, and you can see the start over on the Facebook page here.

It’s loud! Be warned! Lots of support in the audience for family and friends walking.

To find out more about the two charities and the work they do click on the links below:

Limerick Pride

The Happy Africa Foundation

Want to find out more about organising your own charity firewalk? Click here

Were you part of this fundraiser? Feel free to sign the guestbook.

It was held right in the heart of Limerick, the city on one side and the Shannon Estuary on the other, on a perfect evening. Well done to all who took part.

To find out more about the two charities and the work they do click on the links below:

Limerick Pride

The Happy Africa Foundation

All photographs used with kind permission from Munster Images – Limerick Photographer – Wedding and Event Photographer, you can follow them on Facebook here

Images too slow? Just click on the picture to speed them up a little!

[[Show as slideshow]]

Want to find out more about organising your own charity firewalk? Click here

Were you part of this fundraiser? Feel free to sign the guestbook.

She loved it so much she’s organising another one for Limerick Pride in September, full details here.

Why did you choose the firewalk to raise money?

“It was suggested to me by a work colleague and at first I thought they were completely crazy but the more I thought about the idea the more I thought I could make it work as it would be a unique event which had the potential to raise a lot of money.”

What charity/cause were you raising for?

“The Happy Africa Foundation” – to complete projects for schools and orphanages in Zimbabwe.”

Who was involved in the fundraising? (individual or group)

“Just me!!”

What advice would you give to other charities thinking of using the Firewalk to fundraise?

“Once you have the date organised and your sponsor packs organised then all you need to be prepared to do is promote, promote, recruit and promote.”

What worked best to recruit walkers?

“Facebook was a huge help to me, as long as you are prepared to spend a lot of time on there, answering questions, contacting people, constantly checking who has commented or liked your posts and using it as a way to recruit people. I also put up posters, contacted papers, radio stations and celebrities.”

What worked least?

“There was nothing that didn’t work, it was all helpful.”

Were there any unexpected hiccups you hadn’t planned for?

“I met each volunteer before hand, got them to sign a form and pay a deposit yet I still went from having 86 volunteers commit and then to having only 50 show up on the night.

Although I don’t think there is anything I could have done to prevent this. Even going forward for the next event I am not changing this part of the process. This time I will just be prepared for this and not get so disappointed/stressed about it!!!

There are slight changes I would make to the second one but they are more about the organisation of the night, not the event or walk itself.”

How much did you raise?

After costs, so far €13,340 has been raised but I still have donations coming in.

Final Thoughts?

If you are thinking about holding a Fire Walk then don’t hesitate. It is a great experience for all the walkers and a fantastic way to raise a lot of money on one night.

Remember to ask spectators to donate, I missed that opportunity.”

Want to donate to Cassandras fundraising efforts? Click Here

A Firewalking Theory That Can Benefit Everyone

by Tolly Bukan (founder of F.I.R.E).

Over Three Million Westerners Have Firewalked

“Knowing the secret behind firewalking can improve your life!

Even if you never do it yourself, knowing how it works can bring you better health and increased personal power.

Why?

Because firewalking demonstrates how your thoughts impact everything else in your life. Thoughts change brain chemistry, and that results in an alteration of body chemistry as well. This is immediately apparent when you entertain a sexual fantasy.

Firewalkers are instructed to pay close attention to their thoughts, since those very thoughts are the way in which we create our own realities. Positive thinkers literally live in a different chemical environment than negative thinkers. They impose less stress on their immune systems, and the result of that should be obvious.

I have been researching firewalking since 1977 and am considered to be the foremost authority on the subject. Because of this work, the United States now has the largest firewalking culture in history. Never before have so many common people participated in this ancient ritual which had previously been reserved for only a select few.

My ideas regarding the phenomenon have evolved over time and it is only now, in the year 2000, that I feel enough confidence in my point of view to publish my own theory about why people are not burned when walking on glowing, red coals.

My theory is remarkably different from all the others, but I have found each of the other theories flawed in one way or another.”

Water Vapor Theory Dismissed

One theory I encountered on the subject was based on the “Leidenfrost Effect.”

Several physicists suggested that the moisture on the sole of the foot created a vapor barrier that prevented the foot from actually contacting the coals.

The analogy was proposed that firewalking is similar to licking your finger and touching a hot iron to test whether or not it is up to a sufficient temperature to press a garment. When the iron is hot enough, it literally vaporizes the moisture on a fingertip, and the finger itself is repelled from the iron by water turning to vapor.

This is termed the Leidenfrost Effect, named after the man who first described it.

The Leidenfrost Effect can also be easily observed by putting a few drops of water on a hot griddle…when the metal griddle is hot enough, the water beads up and dances around because the heat is so intense that the bottom of the water drop is vaporized before the drop reaches the heated surface and the rising water vapor pushes up against the underside of the drop, causing it to bounce off the escaping steam before it ever reaches the metal.

A physicist by the name of Jearl Walker was so convinced in the validity of this theory that he actually believed it was impossible to get burned while firewalking.

After severely injuring himself on a coal bed, he lost faith in this theory. Once, during my early days of research, I observed someone getting burned during a firewalk, and back in the 1970s I rejected this theory that had been based on the Leidenfrost Effect.”

Conductivity Not An Issue

“Another theory physicists have proposed is the “Conductivity Theory.”

The analogy used to illustrate this idea was that of reaching into an oven to remove a hot cake pan.

The air inside the oven is the same temperature as the metal cake pan, yet one can reach an unprotected hand into the oven without injury. However, if you were to grab the pan itself, the result would usually be a burn. The reason for this is that the air is a poor conductor of heat, while the metal pan is a better conductor.

Physicists theorized that the coals were poor conductors and that was why a firewalker’s foot was not burned in the coal bed, regardless of its temperature.

In 1994, physicist Bernard Leikind visited the Firewalking Institute and tried to dramatically illustrate this concept by strapping two sirloin steaks to his feet and then walking across a bed of coals while The Discovery Channel filmed the event.

The steaks seemed to be unaffected by the coal bed. He then placed a metal grill in the coals and, when it was glowing red, he placed the same steaks on the grill and the metal instantly seared the meat. He felt this sufficiently demonstrated that mental state had nothing to do with the phenomenon of firewalking.

He emphasized that it would not be possible for humans to walk on the glowing, red grill without injury. As soon as he said this, a number of people from our staff walked on the grill without harm.

The grill was so red-hot, the weight of people walking on it bent the softened metal and left impressions of the firewalkers’ feet on the grill. We keep the grill with its molded footprints as a souvenir to help debunk the conductivity theory.

When a physicist experiments with fire, the objects of observation are usually not living, conscious subjects. Rules of conductivity can be applied in these instances.

However, human beings are dynamic, self-regulating organisms… thus research into firewalking is really outside the physicist’s realm of training.

People who research the mind and body are more qualified to propose theories on firewalking than scientists who simply deal with static matter.”

State of Mind Is The Crucial Factor

“It has always been my belief that a person’s state of mind is the crucial factor when exploring the science of firewalking.

Just because a physicist can walk on the coal bed without harm does little to dismiss the idea that mental state is important. His belief in his theory gives him the confidence to walk on the coals.

The “confidence” itself is a mental state.

I suggested to Dr. Leikind that we blindfold him and lead him in various directions near the coal bed so that he would have no way of preparing himself mentally before actually stepping onto the embers. He refused. He also refused to walk on the metal grill, so I assumed that at some level he too must have realized there was more to the phenomenon than the conductivity of the coals and simple physics.

In fact, after years of insisting that firewalking was rather safe due to the low conductivity of the coals, with temperature being irrelevant, on May 9, 2000, Dr. Leikind finally signed a statement saying, “Any claim that the temperature of the coals is not important… is simply preposterous;” and adding, “it is my opinion that firewalking is an abnormally dangerous or ‘ultrahazardous’ activity.”

Yet someone in America recently walked on coals measured at 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit without injury! Obviously, physicists still do not fully understand the process.

Typical firewalks that are open to the public involve coal beds ranging between 1,200 and 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Dr. Ron Sato, faculty member of the Stanford University Medical School and director of a nearby burn unit, says that human flesh momentarily exposed to 1,200 degree heat should sustain third-degree burns to the epidermis and dermis, charring the entire thickness of skin to a blackened carbon residue. Dr. Sato has treated people who have accidentally stepped on glowing coals and were so badly burned that they required skin grafts. When commenting about people who voluntarily firewalk without injury, Dr. Sato says, “There’s no logical explanation.”

Boiling Water In A Paper Cup

“Two scientific experiments have helped me form my present theory.

One is a simple demonstration used by school teachers. Perhaps you saw it in your own science class when you were a teenager?

The teacher fills a paper cup with water and places it over a flame. The water boils and the cup does not burn.

The reason for this is that the water can only reach a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit before it turns to steam. Since the water is in constant contact with the paper cup, the paper cannot get any hotter than 212 degrees.

However, in order for the cup itself to burn, it must reach a kindling point… which happens to be higher than 212 degrees. The water maintains the temperature of the paper at a constant 212.

The other experiment was conducted by the United States government during the early days of research into space flight.

When a spacecraft reenters the atmosphere, friction heats the craft to extremely high temperatures. It had to be determined whether the person at the controls could still function if the interior of the craft became very hot. To simulate this situation, scientists created a heat chamber. Volunteers entered the chamber and the inside temperature was raised. It was discovered that though an egg was cooking within this atmosphere, the human subjects were unharmed. In fact, the measured air temperature within the nose of a subject was actually cooler than the air in the chamber itself.

Mind In Matter

These two experiments form the basis of my own theory regarding firewalking.

The reason Dr. Leikind’s steaks were seared by the glowing metal while human feet were not is simply because the human foot was connected to a living, conscious being who is more than inert matter.

The human body has a mechanism to cool itself. Respiration, perspiration and circulation all play a part in this process and all are connected to the brain, which is obviously influenced by the mind.

Observe someone sucking on a lemon, or entertain a few sexual fantasies, and you yourself can instantly see how the mind can change the electro-chemical state of the brain and then the central nervous system relays that electro-chemical change to the body systems and cells of your being.

You can have physical experiences when nothing physical is impacting you. This is not “mind over matter,” but rather: “mind in matter.”

When a firewalker is in the proper state of mind, the blood flowing through his or her body is akin to the water in the paper cup. The blood is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. As it moves through the soles of the feet, it continually cools the tissue and prevents it from reaching its “kindling point,” in the same way that the water maintained the temperature of the paper at 212.

Of course there are limits, and it has never been our intention at the Firewalking Institute of Research and Education to push the limits.

Rather, we have simply looked for an explanation of the basic phenomenon of firewalking as it has been practiced throughout thousands of years and have sought new applications that can enhance the lives of those of us living in society today.

When humans walk on coals measured at 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit without harm, they are able to do so because the body is obviously capable of cooling and protecting itself up to a certain point. By-the-way, engine blocks for cars are made by pouring molten metal at 1,100 degrees!

My explanation of why people can walk on glowing coals without injury also implies why some people have in fact been burned.

During the 1970s I set out to demystify firewalking and created the world’s first firewalking seminar. I trained hundreds of instructors to conduct the seminar around the planet and, as of the year 2000, well over three million people have participated in the firewalking seminar. How many were seriously burned? About 50.

Since people are sometimes injured, that too needs to be addressed. (I’m not counting those who’ve tried to stand still or linger on the coals.)

Injuries underscore that the mind, rather than the coal bed, represents the variable.

When people are not in the state of mind that allows all body systems to operate at peak performance, the capillaries constrict and prevent the blood from moving freely through the tissue on the soles of the feet. When that occurs, the blood cannot carry heat away from the sole and cannot maintain the temperature required to prevent burning. The result can be blistering or charring of the skin. Aloe Vera has certain properties that can physically restore this circulation and, when applied immediately after a burn is sustained, blistering can frequently be prevented.

Dr. Andrew Weil, the renowned Harvard-trained physician and medical researcher, has investigated firewalking for many years and says, “There is no way I can be convinced that mental state is not the key variable in firewalking.”

When the subject of conductivity comes up, I think of the times when I have patted the coals with a shovel to even out the embers. The shovel is metal and extremely conductive.

As soon as the hot shovel is placed in a bucket of water, it creates an audible “hiss.” The shovel is not in the coals any longer than our feet. So the coals obviously conduct the temperature just fine. It seems silly to consider the “conductivity” of a heat source; rather, the issue is about the conductivity of anything placed in contact with the heat source. The metal, being dense, conducts the heat from the source extremely well. Human flesh, however, is not very conductive.

When people burn, it may indicate that their states of mind have made them more “dense.” A “fluid” mind-state translates into fluidity of the body itself. So what needs to be examined is not the conductivity of the coals, but why human flesh is sometimes more conductive than at other times.

Because of my extensive research, I now counsel prospective firewalkers to avoid walking on the embers until they take a moment to look inside themselves at all the conflicting inner voices. Some voices will be saying “Don’t walk!” and others will be saying “Walk!” I tell people to first listen to each inner voice, then pay attention to the state of your body. Which decision makes your body more comfortable?

If the decision to walk makes you feel more comfortable than the decision not to walk, then walk. Because if you are relaxed with your decision, you are in a certain bio-chemical state. Whether the relaxation with the decision to walk is based on a belief in physics or a belief in a higher power, it matters not. Both beliefs create the exact same physiology in the body. Unless their bodies are comfortable with the decision to cross the coals, I suggest people wait for another time.

The body itself is an excellent reflection of mental state. If the body is tense, that is an indication of thought processes that will interfere with the physical mechanisms employed by the body to protect itself. When I say that you must be “relaxed,” I do not mean the same kind of relaxed feeling you have when lounging in a hammock.I believe that people who ultimately cross the coals unharmed have a deep sense of knowing that they won’t burn their feet — before they even take the first step. Obviously, if you think you’re going to get hurt, then you would not step into the coals. You aren’t stupid.

After people tell themselves “I can do this and not get burned,” and they feel “comfortable” with that certainty, they proceed to walk with “confidence.” All these states — relaxed, comfortable, confident — indicate a certain chemical condition within the brain and body. Thus, firewalking becomes an exercise in examining the mind/body connection.

This is why firewalking is so popular today among athletes, executives and healthcare providers. Anyone seeking to explore the mind/body connection, and ways to apply this information toward enhancing human potential, will find value in firewalking.

New firewalkers are amazed at the discovery that they themselves are such incredible beings. Firewalking reveals that being a mere human is nothing mere. Our minds are the new frontier and firewalking is just the beginning in the process of self-discovery. The implications of “mind in matter” are truly exciting and can offer new hope to people with severe illnesses as well as anyone seeking to overcome limitations imposed by old beliefs: salesmen, students, athletes… the list goes on and on… it may even include you!”

Reprinted from EXTREME SPIRITUALITY: Radical Approaches to Awakening by Tolly Burkan, founding father of the global firewalking movement

All pictures shown here were taken by Munster Images – Limerick Photographer – Wedding and Event Photographer, you can follow them on Facebook here (thanks to Pat Browne for allowing them to be used on our site).

[Show as slideshow]

1234…242526►

What about you, do you remember your first fire walk?