What I find wonderfully ironic is that the "positive thinking" that was supposed to protect them from the fire probably increased the harm. As your link points out, the sweat on the bottom of the feet protects the firewalker from the hot coals. But, where does that sweat come from? In large part, it comes from being nervous. The positive thinking that Mr. Robbins encouraged could very well have reduced that nervousness, eroding the protection that his students had on their feet.
Re:The Power of Negative Thinking
by zaptheimpaler on Monday August 06, 2012 @02:47AM
(#4344168)
Theres an even more ironic possibility - similar to what the article mentions about positive affirmations, the positive thinking served only to remind them of their fears rather than alleviate them in any way, making them even more nervous than they would have been otherwise.
Tony Robbins may be using it for psychological conditioning, but it can be explained from the purely rational / scientific perspective.