The Psychology of Safety Training

I am working in the gold mines of northern Nevada; big, industrial facilities with lots of machinery and equipment. Hazards abound, so each mine has a safety orientation that you have to go through. It literally takes days to get through one mine’s safety orientation.

Yesterday I was sitting in one of these orientations watching a video of their corporate leadership talking about safety. Blah blah blah. Boring. And then I heard something remarkable. I actually scribbled some notes down in my journal. One of the corporate fellows said something to the effect of:

Your behavior is rooted in your unconscious beliefs. If your conscious goals (safety in this case) are inconsistent with your unconscious beliefs, you will do a half-ass job (at creating a safe environment).

My words:

Your heart is where your treasure is. Follow your bliss and you will have boundless energy and enthusiasm. Spend your time and energy on something that does not animate you (even though it may be practical and pragmatic) and you crush your soul.

It is quite remarkable, I think, that some corporate fellows figured that out.

This foray into northern Nevada has something of a monastic feel to it. I frequently describe my idealized self with the archetypes; explorer, athlete, mystic, storyteller, advocate. The culture here is almost the opposite, so I am experiencing lots of wonderful solitude in the hermitage of my little trailer. I love my solitude, I have complete control over my life, but I wonder, “Where are my kindred spirits?” They are certainly not engineering power systems for gold mines.

I can identify kindred spirits. I see my anima, that force that animates me, that treasure where my heart is, reflected by other people and I wonder, “Why am I not with those people?” For twenty years I have been doing the practical and pragmatic stuff with the idea that one day, I would have enough security to follow my bliss. It’s clear to me now that “enough security” is an indefinite goal that I’ll never reach. When I’m in my dual mind, I fear that even if I did now follow my bliss, my energy and enthusiasm is no longer boundless after twenty years of soul crushing.

But of course, that is my either/or dual mind. Reality is non-dual. I can nurture my soul while doing engineering in Elko alone, and I could make a comfortable living while following my bliss companioned by kindred spirits. Perhaps this process is not so much about letting go of financial security, but letting go of the ultimate control I have by being alone.