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We sit mesmerized watching houses and cars get swept away. We stare at talking heads, called nuclear experts, saying "no problem" or "major disaster." We listen to first person accounts of those who have experienced a quake so violent as to shift parts of Japan by 13 feet and affect Earth's wobble. Maybe we watch with a detached air; there is safety in disassociation. Maybe we start dreaming of giant waves rolling over us.
Fears arise, troubling thoughts.
Will the "big one" hit California? Which way are the winds blowing from Japan? Should I get iodine pills? How safe is the nuclear reactor near me? Where exactly is that reactor? Do my kids know what to do in case of an earthquake? Will cell phones work? How many miles away is the ocean? Do tsunamis happen on the east coast? How exactly did Atlantis go down? In the meantime, what do I do about my failing marriage? My drug-addicted child? My parent with dementia? My mortgage? My dwindling bank account? My pack-a-day habit?
Tsunamis and earthquakes and nuclear disasters don't just happen in the physical world; they happen in our psychological/emotional world as well. Depending on how fiercely we resist change, how attached we are to not having our boat rocked, never mind overturned, that's how much we will suffer.
You want to feel safe, be comfortable. If you learn that your mother has Alzheimer's, your life is no longer as comfortable. You may be called upon to be her caretaker. You wonder if it's inherited. A million changes in your life are inevitable. Do you have what it takes to be a survivor, whether of an earthquake or a divorce or a bad diagnosis? How can you cope with events that throw you into uncharted territory? What do you do with fear and anxiety when they arise? What in your past history makes the new challenge so difficult to endure?
Imagine your parents survived the bomb that blasted Hiroshima into radioactive smithereens, and now you're wondering if the nuclear reactor that supplies your electricity is going to blow sky high. Or your Depression-era parents drummed financial security into your psyche, and Bernie Madoff turned your world upside down.
Natural, holistic concepts about healing can help you. Learning to manage your internal stress and getting in touch with your core of well-being can make the roller coaster ride of life far less frightening. Some suggestions are remarkably simple, but not at all simplistic. They are bound up in the complexities of how our personal energies interacts with the larger energies in play around us.
If you find the news of the day-the endless images on television and on your computer-are affecting your internal balance, you have lost your grounding, your connection to the earth has been disturbed or lost. Take a warm bath to relax, or if you need more than that, take a clearing bath to wash away the negative energy you have allowed in. A clearing bath consists of one pound of sea salt and one pound of baking soda in warm water. Soak for twenty minutes or until the water is cool, then shower and wash your hair. Your psyche will feel as clean as your body.
Next, solidify your connection to the earth. Yes, some parts of it rumble, but the planet we call earth is much larger than its occasional eruptions. Imagine extending a cord from your inner being deep into the earth. Take off your shoes and feel the ground beneath your feet. Walk with an awareness of your connection to the earth. You are supported.
Finally, examine the beliefs you unconsciously inherited from your parents and society at large. See how much of your response to what's happening in your life is preconditioned by beliefs and assumptions you didn't even realize you held.
If you cannot find your internal balance, if you constantly feel swept off your feet and overwhelmed by the emotional tsunamis of your life, please get help. Find a counselor you trust so you can talk out your issues. Learn to meditate. Take up yoga or Pilates or another type of conscious movement that makes you feel connected. The world may seem like a dangerous place, but you can feel safe and balanced inside.
