What does "being safe" really mean?

Past research has shown that disasters, such as those in Japan effect the nervous system long term. Reframe feeling safe with both a shift in consciousness as well as critical analysis of facts.

I’ve come to my own conclusion that it is less about external preparation and more about finding that unwavering place within..  Connecting to that place, for me, is where I feel ‘safe’.

Also, giving space for my own fears to have room to be acknowledged and then released.

Now, that’s not to say I’m not concerned about radiation poisoning from whatever is to occur in Japan, but I also did some investigation on how far radiation was detected following Chernobyl in 1986.

High amounts were detected in many parts of Southern/Eastern Europe for several days, but eventually began to be dispersed.  Yes, the radiation made its way to the US, but the amount was quite small compared to several hundreds of miles around that plant.

The West coast of the US is over 4500 miles from Japan.  If Fukushima were to turn into Chernobyl, yes, we’d get some measurements, but it would hardly be in comparison to what the people nearby in Japan would experience.

So for me, as an American, that’s a return to a feeling of ‘safe’.  I do feel immense compassion for the Japanese, because even those that are hundreds of miles from Sendai, the emotional stress might be just as impacting as the physical stress.  And not just in this immediate aftermath.  I took an course on health psychology in college that presented a study of the stress levels in residents before and after Three Mile Island in Harrisburg, PA.  After that scare, the stress levels were quite elevated, to be expected.  But 3 months, 6 months, and even a year later, the stress levels were still elevated.  What I took from that study was that the nervous systems of the residents of Three Mile Island had not been brought back to equilibrium.  They still were living in some degree of fear or fight/flight mode.

So yes, Japan requires concrete support (food, supplies, advice from scientists, etc.) but also energetic/spiritual support (prayers, sending Reiki, sending light).  And not just during this time, but in the month and years to come.

When I was in New Orleans last year for my book tour, even 5 years after the Katrina disaster, the people I met still very openly talked about where they were when it happened, what occurred to them and their city and their own fears about what was to come.  In counseling, we’d call this ‘collective grief’.

The crisis in Fukushima may be reopening the wounds of Hiroshima for the Japanese, the collective fear reactivated.  I encourage all Reiki practitioners to send light to that level of consciousness as well.

Yes, I’m still interested in being more prepared for an earthquake here in Seattle, but that in itself isn’t the only way to feel ‘safe’.  Emotional and spiritual stability.  Groundedness.  Honoring fear when it crops up, but also giving it space to disperse so that it doesn’t solidify into the nervous system and put our bodies consciously or subconsciously in survival mode.  Making space for healing.