Using Your Sixth Sense to Stay Safe

I live in Boston and I can tell you that no one in this city ever wants to see an unattended black backpack again. I imagine the rest of the world feels the same. So, imagine this. About a week ago, my pals and I were in a very crowded, hip, new Beantown restaurant. At the bar area we all saw an orphaned black backpack,  thinking, “Nooo, please no! It can’t be.” We kind of panicked. We asked everyone around us while pointing to the bag, “Is that your backpack? Is this your backpack?”  No one claimed it.  Then we had a dilemma. Do we call the police, which would result in the entire place being evacuated? Do we tell the manager? Do we do nothing and assume it must have been left by someone who had too many margaritas?

We ended up alerting the management, who decided to place the backpack behind the receptionist's table. Lucky employee. Ever since that evening, I’ve been haunted by this situation. Nothing blew up, thankfully, but how do you balance over-reacting to something that could potentially be dangerous with under-reacting and regretting it? I consulted with Phrantceena Halres, a leading national security and public safety expert. She recommends people tune into their Sixth Sense. “That helps them detect, anticipate, and plan for danger in advance of it happening.”

 

Photo courtesy: Martin Belliveau

So how the heck do you develop your spidey senses to trigger your inner Zen something may be amiss? Halres advises not to worry, we all have it. "'Sixth' Sense, in essence, is another one of our human senses, which we already possess. People innately know when something is wrong, dangerous or just 'off' , and in those situations it's imperative to take action rather than just brushing it off.  This is what 'Sixth Sense' is.”

Halres has some very smart advice: Evaluate each person and each situation. “We need to look at each other as individuals, not as groups, committees, nations or populations. With this awareness, and starting at the grass roots of the individual, this is how we become aware and prevent America's threats.”