By Kellene Bishop

Can you imagine walking along the shores of a fresh water lake, seeing some fossilized algae and saying to yourself, “Hmmmm. I think I’m going to try and eat this?”  Or worse, how about someone who notices that this fossilized algae kills insects and then decides to eat it?  Crazy, huh?  I don’t know how things like Diatomaceous Earth ever get discovered, but I sure am glad they do.

Diatomaceous Earth--a microscopic view. photo c/o www.holocaust-history.org

With Diatomaceous earth, you have one of the most wonderful natural remedies for removing all kinds of toxins in your body AND a highly effective remedy at eliminating pesky bugs from your home, garden, and stored grains.  Allow me to take you into the world of Diatomaceous earth today.

For starters, let’s talk about the vital benefits that Diatomaceous earth has on your body. Personally, I drink about 2 teaspoons of it daily in my water bottle.  (I follow that with 2 teaspoons of Redmond Clay in the next water bottle I fill, but that’s another story.) Why? Because like everyone else who is reading this, I have parasites, tapeworms, bacteria, viruses, and toxins in my body.  Diatomaceous earth is HIGHLY effective at completely removing them from your body.  Since we accumulate these kinds of undesirables in our body every day, I’ve incorporated daily doses of DE in my water every day in order to win the long term battle. If you refuse to take DE regularly, at least give small amounts to your pets and cattle every day. I give my small dogs ½ teaspoon daily for maintenance, and a bit more if they ever get an ear infection or are throwing up. They readily eat it and in fact, when I started them on it, it caused one of the dogs to stop getting into the soil of my plants.

Parasites, tape worm, and weevils--oh my! photo c/o historyfilms.net

How do we get parasites, tape worms, e-coli, etc? Kind of a yucky topic, but let’s put our iron stomachs in for a moment and learn a little bit.  First of all, you can easily get parasites/worms from the foods you eat. For example, if you eat wheat or other whole grains, you are consuming weevils.  It doesn’t matter how often that wheat was cleaned or how much you paid for it, you’ve got weevils. If you consume regular commercial red meat you also have parasites, and most likely some e-coli in your body as well. There are internal and external parasites associated with cattle.  If you eat pork, regardless of how long you cook it, you definitely have parasites and bacteria in your body. The fat in the  pork is made up primarily of the toxins and waste that the pig eats. It’s just a fact of life, folks. Lungworms, which are rampant in the intestines of cattle, cause viral and bacterial pneumonia.  Sushi also houses parasites, salmonella, and a myriad of other bacteria.  The raw fish is the least of my worries.

Dogs, Cats, and most pets carry parasites, which can be transferred to humans. photo c/o www.javno.com

Secondly, if you have pets such as dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, etc. you have parasites as well—that is if you ever pet them, let them sit on you, lick your face, etc. Parasites from pets particularly dwell in your intestines leaching the nutrition that you had otherwise intended for your own body. It is virtually impossible to have pets and not have parasites as a result—unless you use DE in your body and in there’s another story. (I’ll get to that later.)  In fact, just  one kind of internal round worm known as Toxocara, has infected 14 percent of our population according to the CDC. Toxocara comes specifically from dogs and cats. Toxocara is particularly predatory among children. This doesn’t mean that 14 percent of the population has pets. It means that there are sufficient  number of pets in our surroundings. Even those without pets are exposed to parasites that originate from them. Toxocara is easily accessible simply by playing in a sandbox or a playground of dirt or mulch.

Soil is another source of such body invaders. If we work with it in our gardening, we’re going to get it in our bodies.  Hanging out at a farm which uses pesticides and herbicides also brings unwanted toxins in our body.

Giardia and other water-born parasites photo c/o physorg.com

Unfortunately, water, whether it’s treated by the city or not, is one of the biggest culprits of introducing unwanted bacteria and viruses into our bodies.  In a disaster scenario in which we would have to forage for water, we are likely to consume even more. This is another reason why I’m grateful for the existence of Diatomaceous earth.  Not only can I use it to filter any questionable water, but even if I use other methods, I can also consume the DE regularly to help counteract anything I may have missed in my water filtration or cooking.  DE is a very effective water filter!  All you need to do is take a bucket and drape a tight-knitted cloth on top of the bucket, then a cup or two of DE on top of the fabric in a small mound. Slowly pour the questionable water through the DE into the bucket. Not only will you have drinkable water, but you will also have mineral and vitamin enriched water. This is why I often refer to preparedness as a source of peace in my life as opposed to panic. I can’t help but look at DE and say to myself, “Wow, Heavenly Father. You’re just full of nice little miracles all over the place.” I mean really, a substance that kills unwanted bugs of all kinds, but is good for humans and cattle! Cool!

So, what are the consequences of parasites and other like critters in your body? Blindness, obesity, anemia, frequent headaches, weakened immune system, irregular bowel movements, depression, stunted growth, autism, and even death  (although the benefits are so vast and innumerable that it requires a whole “nother article). That’s just what can happen to humans. Imagine what is taking place inside the animals we love or are trying to raise.  The great thing, though, is that de-worming doesn’t need to be an unpleasant one-time event that you hope you’re doing often enough. Keep your body optimal by paying attention to extracting toxins from your body every day by incorporating DE in your daily regime. After watching a medical video about what parasites can do in my body after only 72 hours, I’m definitely converted to the every day approach. Ugh!  Besides, wouldn’t you rather use an organic method of de-worming you and your pets/cattle etc. instead of nasty chemicals?! I know I would. When I teach about water consumption, I teach that adding flavoring to your water changes the chemical make-up and causes the body to have to work harder to process the water into a distilled state so that it can use it. However, when you’re adding the DE, all you’re adding is organic vitamins and minerals that your body will readily assimilate and not have to work hard to extract from the water.  If you must, you can consume the DE in juice or something else like that, but I have found that I seriously don’t notice the taste in the water at all.  Besides, is there anything that can taste bad enough to prevent me from trying to fight THIS? (yuck alert!)

Colonoscopy Demonstrating a Moving Worm

or THIS?!

2008-11-22 – BBC News – Worm removed from woman’s brain

Bacteria can thwarted by minerals and diatomaceous earth. photo c/o www.hubtesting.net

Let’s leave the parasites alone for just a moment. One of the other assets to DE is that is also absorbs bacteria AND viruses.  Bacteria and viruses are essentially the tiniest of little critters. They are no match for DE’s effectiveness.  The fact that you have something that will absorb and get rid of both in your body is great. Even modern medicine isn’t effective at fighting viruses. One of the reasons why bacteria is no match for DE is because of the vast amount of minerals found in DE. Bacteria simply can NOT survive amidst minerals. (This is why I love using mineral make-up. It doesn’t go bad because of bacteria, because the bacteria can’t survive in minerals. Thus I may pay a bit more for my make-up initially but it lasts me a lot longer.) So the more that minerals make up your organs and blood, the less of a happy home it is for the bad guys trying to infect you.

How can DE kills bugs but not people? It’s all about the water content. Suppose that you needed to thicken 5 gallons of a very brothy soup. You wouldn’t expect to accomplish this using only a ¼ teaspoon of corn starch would you? (For those of you who really don’t know you way around the kitchen, the answer is NO WAY! hee hee) So the benefit in using DE  has to do with the overwhelming amount of water content we have in our bodies as opposed to insects. Insects have very little moisture (contrary to what you may believe when you step on a cockroach), whereas our bodies are made up mostly of water.  This is also why DE doesn’t absorb all of the water that it inevitably grows near.  DE has also been used to help clean up toxins and oil spills.

So, what kind of DE do you need to obtain and where can you get it?  Well, that is the most important question.  You must use only FOOD GRADE DE.  If the manufacturer or seller of the product cannot tell you it’s food grade unequivocally, do not purchase it. For the longest time there were only two kinds of DE, pool grade and food grade. However, in an attempt to avoid paying the FDA the necessary fees to call DE “food grade” some manufacturers have started labeling their DE as “filter grade.”  Again, I implore you to accept no substitutes for FOOD grade DE. While you can do just about everything you want with the other forms of DE such as killing insects, detracting flies, using it in your garden etc. you should not consume any DE that isn’t food grade.  The reason is how it is processed. Just like grains intended for animals should not be consumed by humans due to the regulations that permit chemical additives in order to get more out of the product per package, so too should we humans not consume DE that isn’t labeled as food grade.

diatomaceous earth perma guard food grade

You can purchase food grade DE at most health food stores. However, I found that it’s pretty pricey that route. I prefer to get it in larger quantities and save a boat load of money.  I do know that Five Star Preparedness offers DE in two different formats. They offer it in 5 and 10 pound increments that’s simply “food grade” DE. However, for those who want to be extra sure in their internal consumption, they also offer it in as “fossilized phytoplankton powder” (FPP) format.  This is in a 10 ounce jar that runs about $18.00. But I wouldn’t recommend you wasting your money on it since it’s the exact same thing that you can get in the 10 and 20 pound increments,  just with a more friendly “food” label for those who need that kind of reassurance, because for only $25 you can get the 10 pounds (that’s what I use daily). Both are food-grade.  And please don’t buy into the whopper of a lie of a company telling you that the FDA won’t “let” them label their DE food grade. The FDA is all too happy to allow someone to label something food-grade so long as that company pays for the licensing and testing to do so.

I wish that we didn’t need something like DE as a result of our surroundings. But this is just how things are, folks. If it’s there, we get to inhale it, absorb it, or eat it. But I’m sure grateful that there’s a very economical solution out in the world. To see more on what DE can do for the world around you, check out the previous article I wrote about it here Diatomaceous Earth.

Remember, being physically prepared for the future also means being as healthy as you can now. So, let’s have a little DE sprinkled in our life. Cheers.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

Independence photo c/o www.textually.org

There were two news pieces this week that reiterated the need for independence from the vulnerabilities that we willingly attach ourselves to.  Keep in mind that to me, preparedness has a great deal to do with independence. Independence from what Wall Street does. Independence from the mistakes of the food manufacturers. Independence from being subjected to a “trend” in medicine that’s short-lived.  I firmly believe that the more independent I am, exclusive of influences that I have no power to check and double check, the healthier, safer, and more peaceful I will be.

For example, article one.

Rulings Restrict Clean Water Act, Foiling E.P.A.

This article demonstrates to me that in spite of laws which are supposed to protect our drinking water supply, the EPA is finding that they are unable to enforce The Clean Water Act in over 50% of their current load of violations.  Fifty percent! And this is just one of the violations that have reached their attention.  And yet they are powerless with all of their money and political connections to ensure that our water sources are not polluted.  To make matters worse, I read recently of a report card of 100 city sewer treatment systems.  70% of those inspected had a problem that needed to be rectified.  What this says to me folks is that we don’t need a war, a severe act of nature, or a financial collapse to give us pause to take preparedness actions now.  We rely on water too heavily for it to be solely in the hands of others.  Again, I beat the drum of independence.

The next article was just posted yesterday.

Ingredient used in many processed foods recalled

Your Preparedness Pantry--a safe bet during food recalls

It revealed that a key manufacturer of a particular flavoring for processed foods was found to have salmonella in their factory. This flavoring, hydrolized vegetable protein, is found in nearly every processed food in our nation.  As a result, millions of pieces of food will have to be recalled. When I read this article, I couldn’t help but think “thank goodness that I have so many food supplies in my household that aren’t reliant upon the honesty and good work ethic of a factory in Las Vegas.” (When you put it that way, it’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?) For example, the freeze-dried foods which I have and use everyday, they are free from such flavorings.  The rice, wheat, grains, sprouts, and canned meats are free from exposure to such foods. Even my Shirley J products which I specifically use instead of mainstream processed foods are free from this particular manufactures dereliction of duties. It’s kind of a coincidence that just last night I taught a class on making bread, sprouting, and wheat meat. I have to say, once again, that the wheat meat was AWESOME. (In fact, I think it turned out better than ever—it’s about time after trying over 60 different recipes, methods, etc.) Anyway, so I thought it was interesting that the same day that this big deal piece of news breaks, I find myself consuming superior quality nutrition–effortlessly–and enjoying it too.  Once again, preparedness sure has a heck of lot to do with independence, folks.

I’m concerned that it seems like so many people feel like the admonition for preparedness is strictly about being prepared for an Armageddon-like scenario. In fact, if we aren’t better prepared for an interruption in our food supplies, the decline of the value of our currency, or how to easily make some of our own food, we  simply won’t be around to worry about “the big one” anyway.

I think that we will all agree that peace of mind is necessary every day of our lives. Preparedness is what ushers that peace in. Independence over factors that most people feel they have no control over is one of the best prescriptions I can think of for the peace.  I’ll beat that drum as long as I’m able. I hope that soon more of you, as well as my friends and loved ones, can “get jiggy” with that particular beat. *grin*.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

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by Kellene Bishop

Do you have enough toilet paper in your storage? photo c/o scrapetv.com/

Yesterday I came across an “emergency preparedness blog” that was alarmingly incorrect. It was a basic topic, but it was addressed in a very misguided manner. The author wrote about what she plans to use in an emergency for her toilet hygiene—rags instead of toilet paper. So as not to risk educating anyone incorrectly, rather than providing a link to the article I will instead provide a few summations of the article which she posted on this national “preppers” site.

First of all, she was a big advocate of NOT using toilet paper during an occasion in which you had to rely on an outhouse, a hole in the ground, or some other such scenario. She labeled such a premise as useless, expensive, and unrealistic.  Instead she offered up a suggestion of using old rags and then storing the “used rages” in a lidded bucket filled with borax, bleach, water and laundry detergent.  She believes that such an option is “more eco-friendly” than toilet paper is.

While I read the article, I could sense the enthusiasm that this person had for sharing her knowledge with the rest of the world. I believe she was also trying to make the alternative solution as easy as possible for others. I certainly don’t believe that she was attempting to mislead anyone. However, I physically cringed while I was reading it, realizing that she was setting up herself and anyone else who bought into her instructions, for a major sanitation problem—even a deadly one.

To understand why planning on using a rag as opposed to TP or another like product, I think I should first point out a few things about feces and urine that some folks may not realize. First of all, sewer treatment employees receive HAZARD PAY because of the danger of their work. In fact, sewer treatment employees receive more “disaster prevention training” annually than police officers do to improve their firearm skills.  In other words, working with urine and feces is not a task to be taken lightly. The hazard in working with sewage isn’t just about the chemicals used to treat the sewers, but it’s also about working with the unavoidable—the waste itself.

Sanitation...a necessary preparedenss topic! photo c/o www.corecentre.co.in/

Urine contains compounded amounts of toxins, nitrogen, nitrates, and ammonia. As such, it is NOT recommended that it is simply thrown out somewhere uncontained or unprotected.  For those of you who are considering having two containers for solid and liquid waste in a worst case scenario, I beg you to rethink that plan. Solid matter actually needs the liquid to help it break down. Plus, it’s simply not realistic from a physiological standpoint to perfectly separate the two while someone is heeding a call from Mother Nature.  Separating the two compounds will only create more problems which I don’t have room to address in this post.

As urine and feces sit—especially in a heated environment—it develops deadly pathogens, dangerous combinations of microbes, bacteria, and viruses—including the well-known e-coli.  This compound attracts flies which feed on it and then spread it from one location to another. The point being that handling such a compound in any way is not a wise decision.  Staying away from it and disposing of it in all cases is critical.

Ye Old Outhouse photo c/o www.thegreenestdollar.com

Let’s also understand that a scenario that’s accompanied by the symptom of limited access toilet comforts that we’re presently used to is indicative of a serious scenario. Think about what would have to take place in order for a rationing of toilet paper to take place. (Other than the toilet paper shortage caused in 1973 by Johnny Carson jokingly telling his audience that there was a TP shortage. As a result, he actually CAUSED a shortage because millions of people cleaned off the shelves of TP that night. *grin*) Perhaps a natural disaster, a financial collapse, or act of war would cause such consequences.  Any of these scenarios would mean that we could no longer take our present state of sanitation for granted. 

One of most important aspects of establishing a society is to provide a community with reliable sanitation solutions. The reason is because poor sanitation can literally kill an entire community within a 50 meter radius in as little as 30 days. Bacteria, disease, and viruses are no respecter of persons, borders, or bank accounts.  Thus preventing the spread of such must be diligently practiced at the root of its origins. If sanitation is not practiced with the utmost of our capabilities during everyday or dire circumstances, then disease and death will speedily run rampant.  Remember disease is not easily curtailed to a specific environment. Disease is no respecter of persons, boundaries, or social positions Keep in mind that due to our easy methods of travel, disease can spread faster than it ever has in history.  That’s a significant statement considering that the Spanish Flu spread to over one-third of the earth in a matter of only three months—this prior to the availability of speedy international travel.

Anyone want a corn husk? Anyone? photo c/o thefuntimesguide.com

Preparing for alternative sanitation solutions can be practical, comfortable, and realistic.  The use of toilet paper should not be viewed as a luxury that can be easily dismissed.  While we should be aware of alternative options such as corn husks, phone book pages, or newspapers, it’s important that we recognize the need to provide us with a safe distance, minimal exposure, and safe disposal of our hazardous waste. Seaweed is also a good alternative as it’s got healing properties with it as well. The fact of the matter is ALL of these aforementioned alternative options are much safer options for you versus you planning on using rags and cleaning them as you go.

To be blunt, planning on using cloth or rags is not an ideal “plan B.” Just by nature of the rag method you are more prone to come into contact with the fecal matter. The longer it “hangs around,” being stored in buckets, being washed, etc, the more likely that contact is.  Additionally, the rag method requires storage of the fecal covered rags until you wash them. The storage—especially with any heat involved, will compound the hazardous toxins as the bucket of used rags sit. Something else I think we underestimate is that smells, especially unpleasant ones, strongly affect our morale. Unpleasant smells are not simply an affront on the senses. They are also an inhalation of dangerous microbes and airborne bacteria. If you’re storing the used rags, the smell lingers throughout your entire living environment. Instead it should be burned or broken down with something like Chemisan. It would definitely stink (excuse the pun) if you couldn’t enjoy the smells of sautéed garlic and onion because the wafting aroma of the outhouse overpowered it.

Use Thieves essential oil, or other essential oils instead of chemicals. photo c/o www.ylessentialoils.com

Lastly, in order to use rags for this particular hygiene care, most believe they need to use heavy chemicals such as borax or chlorine—neither of which are eco-friendly.  Where can you safely dispose of those chemicals?? If you absolutely HAVE to use rags, consider instead using essential oils to clean the rags with such as lavender, Thieves, and tea tree oil.  Exposing yourself to potential contact with fecal matter is such a bad idea, that even the reusable toilet wipe companies don’t recommend their product for use for anything else except straight urine. Additionally, it requires much more physical energy and water to take care of than does TP. You can never underestimate the importance of conserving physical energy and maintaining as much “normalcy” as possible during a crisis scenario.

On the other side of the debate, toilet paper can easily be broken down or safely disposed of.  It can easily be burned or buried. My favorite method of breaking down fecal matter and TP is the use of Chemisan. Chemisan eliminates a great deal of the smell, deadly pathogens and breaks it down completely in as little as two weeks leaving behind the equivalent of a soil.

Portable toilets use Chemisan photo c/o www.fivestarpreparedness.com

Contrary to some opinions, toilet paper does not have to be expensive.  For over a year now, thanks to coupons, I have put my mandatory price point on toilet paper at 25 cents a roll.  I don’t pay any more than that, ever.  But when I get it at that price, I do purchase as much as my budget that week will permit me.  I also use that same strategy on anything else I purchase and bring into my home. I set a price point and stick to it. This means that I don’t have to choose BETWEEN having wheat or toilet paper. I get to have what I and my loved ones need for every anticipated event. Planning well everyday means that you don’t have to choose between one vital necessity and another. Knowing you have all of the bases covered means more mental strength for you to deal with the other aspects of a survival scenario which may test you.

Also as an alternative view of the blog I’m referencing, toilet paper is a multi-purpose product. It’s often used by cost conscious individuals in lieu of facial tissue. It’s also used by some as a source of cooking fuel (along with isopropyl alcohol)—a waste to me considering so many other cooking alternatives, but to each his own. And hey, TP has even been used by the US. Military as camouflage during the Gulf War!

The comfort factor of toilet paper should not be underestimated either.  Promoting familiarity during a crisis scenario is as important as your medical supplies. This is why a survey two years ago revealed that over half of all of the respondents said that they would choose food first, then water, and then toilet paper as their supplies on a deserted island. In other words, it’s more important to peoples psyche and comfort than perhaps this author realized. I suspect more people didn’t mention toilet paper simply because it was off their radar. Perhaps a gorgeous companion and their favorite rock band made the list instead. When there is any kind of an “ick” factor involved, it’s much harder to expect persons to change their habits, even in a survival scenario. Trying to do so will inevitably bring about stress. If you’re using moss and leaves right now everyday, then you won’t have any problem with those items in the future—unless you don’t stock up. Otherwise, having what you’re familiar with for such an inevitable part of life is critical to your mental health.

Bottom line, in the event of true emergency scenario, having ample toilet paper will NOT be the least of your concerns. It falls in line with the Physical and Medical aspects of preparedness which puts it in the position of priority number 3 and 4 out of the Ten Areas of Preparedness.  So, watch for the sales, know how much your family uses in a week, and plan accordingly.

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For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit!

Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

What elephant? photo c/o genistra.com

You worry and fret over your loved ones who have taken no efforts to properly prepare and be self-sufficient. I have seen that kind of stress and even heartache far too often in preparedness. It almost feels like a 900 pound elephant in the middle of the room when one spouse is committed to preparedness but the other is adamantly against it.  I have a couple of dear friends who actually “sneak” money out of their monthly budget to purchase preparedness goods.  I have to giggle a bit when I hear that, but on the other hand I’m not sure financial infidelity is the right way to go either.  I’ve also heard of parents purchasing all of their kid’s preparedness supplies for Christmas only to be faced with disappointed faces on Christmas morning. Yup. That’s not creating any friends either, is it? On the other hand, you don’t want to feel ostracized because you’re trying to be more independent, right?  So, how can we create a better environment that’s more accepting of preparedness? 

Nagging won't inspire people to prepare photo c/o www.outofbodies.com

Well, I hate to tell you this, but a lot of the resistance from the people you love is actually caused by you. No, it’s not all your fault. There are too many reasons why people ignore preparedness for you to take on that kind of responsibility.    In spite of your absolute best of intentions, and having a genuine concern for the well-being of others, your message is likely getting skewed because of how you approach preparedness with others.  So, in the name of independence, self-reliance and accountability, let’s see what we can do differently so that we help entice others around us towards preparedness instead of scaring them off.  Don’t worry. There’s no need to be defensive about this. I’m just going to share with you some ways that you can have much more success in getting others on board. During this process, whether you’re a seasoned preparedness person or a beginner, I’m confident that you will benefit by internalizing these more effective messages of preparedness as well.

Before I go over the five suggestions I have for you, allow me to share with you some of my professional background. I do this so that you can have some semblance of confidence that what I’m sharing with you is not just pulled out of a surprise goody bag. It comes as a result of experience and success. To be blunt, I’m a master marketer. Three years ago I received an award as one of the top 3 marketers in the world.   Since I was 23, I’ve earned my living not by a specialization in a particular niche, offering the lowest prices, or coming up with some groundbreaking concept. Instead I was successful as a result of my ability to effectively market my goods in a way that got people’s attention, communicated with them clearly, and engaged them into action. So, let’s see how these strategies can help all of us to accomplish our goal of successfully educating and motivating the people we love to be better prepared.

Your words create a picture in other people's minds photo c/o karamcghee.com

First of all, the use of your words is a serious factor in successfully marketing and educating.  As such, we must be selective in the words we use because every word paints a picture.  If we’re using words that paint a negative picture, then we will never get through our own psyche let alone others who are more resistant.  As such, I beg you to cease using the terms “emergency preparedness” and “food storage.” For those who are resistant to any kind of preparedness, I assure you that these two phrases have as much appeal to them as attending church appeals to an Atheist.  These words are simply no longer applicable to the world of preparedness and they certainly are not enticing. These phrases have been used for over a hundred years and they have lacked the “oomph” necessary to convert anyone towards a more prepared home.  Both of these phrases have very negative stigmas that go with them. They promote pictures of crazy, unkempt, violent people who stand on street corners with signs that say “the end is here.” In addition to these stigmas, these two phrases are simply not an accurate way of educating in the world of preparedness.  Preparedness should never be accompanied by fear, panic, vulnerability, etc. In fact, preparedness is the exact opposite of such connotations. Alternative approaches to be better prepared can easily be addressed by reason of the peace, independence, safety, and comfort it promotes.

Anytime you attempt to influence someone towards a more prepared state simply because “so and so said so” then you’re going to get some resistance.  It doesn’t really matter who “so and so” is either. Even if “so and so” is a well-respected religious or political leader, it’s usually not enough to get someone to change their thought process or their actions. People take actions in response to an authoritative dictate for only two reasons. 1) They fear the consequences of ignoring it or 2) They also understand the “why” and believe in it enough to take action. Think about it. How often has “because I said so” really worked for you in the past? Chances are compliance is only realized as the result of a fear of losing a job, dinner, freedom, or a relationship.  Additionally, “because so and so said so” is a flimsy foundation to stand on.  Having to resort to it essentially shows a lack of respect or understanding of any other sound reasoning for preparedness.  Thus attempting to use it as a motivator isn’t effective and can even create an antagonistic relationship.  Instead, use authoritative directives as supplemental information for them to consider. A sound comprehension of the “whys” are much more influential.

This one may be a bit tougher for me to explain. So be sure that you read the full explanation before you think I’m bonkers. Introducing the concept of self-reliance embedded in religious belief is a mistake for beginners. Trying to educate this way is like trying to get someone to take a sip from a fire hose. Yet many make the mistake of associating preparedness primarily as influenced by a particular religion.  In other words, their basis of proactive preparedness is rooted in a study and a belief of the scriptures or statements by religious authorities. This is not to say that I believe the two should not be intertwined.  In fact, personally, I believe that I shouldn’t teach anything unless I have spiritual assistance.  But I sure didn’t start out that way. It’s been my experience that folks need to initially grasp preparedness on a much more simple level than what a religious connection will require. I think it’s ideal that your preparedness efforts are influenced by your religious beliefs. I believe that if such is the case that your efforts will be more strongly rooted.  However, attempting to educate someone who’s new to preparedness from this perspective is simply too much, too soon.  Such a perspective requires a spiritual maturity. 

Teaching preparedenss solely from a religous standpoint doesn't give the full picture of preparedness photo c/o bbs.backstage.com/

 This maturity is not obtained overnight or as the result of a single epiphany.  It requires constant nourishment that is constantly evolving. Combining religion and preparedness isn’t a bad thing, but it is very personal. As such it is an ineffective approach when trying to influence and educate someone new to preparedness. Suppose you wanted someone to assist you in building a bridge.  Would you sit down and discuss with them the history of architectural designs of successful bridges? Of course not. Instead you would educate them on how much concrete and wood the project would require and move forward from there. Then you wait until the maturity within the person propels them to have a deeper understanding of what they are helping to create.  Granted, accompanying your daily preparedness with a religious conviction will provide a more solid, long-lasting commitment. But such a conviction needs to be fostered over time and be initiated by the “newbie” at their own pace and in accordance to their own beliefs.  This is comparable to the parable of the 10 virgins. The 5 wise virgins simply could not share their oil with the others because the oil represents faith, conviction, hope, testimony, etc. You simply cannot just hand over to another person.

The fourth recommendation I offer is that you be sure to separate yourself from the negative, stereotypical idea of one who prepares.  A reinforcement of such negative misconceptions will not assist you in convincing others to prepare.  Preparedness really is about comfort, peace, safety, happiness, love, competence, honor, etc.  But the negative stigmas of those who prepare on any level are so counter to this reality.  Ask yourself, do you reinforce any of those negative perceptions?  Let’s face it. I’m going to buy into preparedness advice from a well kempt, real, intelligent, relatable, and gregarious person much more than I would a schleppy, socially inept, sloppy, or flaky person.  The first type of person would definitely be more credible to me on such an important topic.  

Recently I read an interview in Newsweek which focused on the “movement” of preparedness. While I objected to preparedness being described as a new trend, I did enjoy the article otherwise. Why? Because they interviewed a gal who is the epitome of preparedness. As such, she could have come across as your stereotypical nut case/survivalist/food hoarder/flake-a-roonie looney/ prepper.  When I first saw what the article was about, I inwardly cringed—afraid that it was going to be yet one more interview in which someone who is preparedness minded is painted as a nut job.  But I was SO relieved and impressed to see this gal handle herself so well. She came across as educated, classy, competent, logical, intelligent, REAL, and just plain wonderful! (You go, girl!)  I believe that we are responsible for how we come across to other people. Thus we should make every effort to come across properly so that we can reinforce our message with credibility.

Last, but definitely not least, be a good example. You’ll be able to convey aspects of your message that are otherwise unspeakable.  Most people learn best via a visual presentation. Being a good example of preparedness maximizes the impact of a visual education. Additionally, being a good example of preparedness can’t help but bring about questions from observers.  When a person asks a question, they are usually in the BEST position to be taught.  If you back up your message with visual practice, your credibility increases in a way that cannot be accomplished any other way.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

First of all, I should provide a disclaimer to everyone reading this article.  I feel like a bit of a hypocrite using this analogy because I really am NOT a morning person.  After reading, researching, or writing until 2:00 a.m. most nights, there is very little that gets me up before 8:30 in the morning—serious.  So, please overlook that weakness of mine and get as much as you can from the article otherwise. *grin*

***************

This is your wakeup call photo c/o traumwerk.stanford.edu:

Ah. The snooze button. I’ll admit I’m not much of a morning person.  I am usually up late writing, researching, or just plain reading.  When I set the alarm for the next day, I usually do so with the utmost of optimism.  “Yeah, I can get up at 6:45.  I’ll just DO it.”  But then 6:45 a.m. hits and my body says “Are you crazy? Isn’t against your religion or something to get up this early?!” I then engage the snooze button.  I’ve been known to make use of that snooze button for as long as an hour! Yup. I’m a snooze button junkie. It’s mind over mattress during these occasions, and my mattress is the reigning chance during such battles.

So my question for you today is: are we snooze button junkies in response to the circumstances around us, or are we more committed to self-reliance, peace of mind, and safety? Being committed as such means that we pay attention to what’s occurring around us and plan accordingly.

The other day my husband and I were coming out of the grocery store late at night. A woman was hunched over her shopping cart balancing her check book. Her trunk was open from her having put her groceries in it. She had the driver’s side door ajar. And yet here she was standing at the rear of her car, balancing her checkbook. Her purse was out and very, very accessible to any passersby. She was wearing a ponytail—which makes her that much more of a target for an attacker. Clearly, this gal was not aware of her surroundings. She was so focused and absorbed in her activity. I’m not sure what possess a person like that to just stop what they are doing and reconcile their checkbook (although I can relate to some hyper-organized activities which posses some of us—ahem….). But if this type of scenario is indicative of what else happens in her life, then she could easily be putting herself in constant danger. If it had been any earlier in the night and if I hadn’t been in such a hurry, I might have stopped to share with her an understanding of her present vulnerable state.  Being AWARE is critical not only towards our safety and peace of mind, but it’s also critical in guiding us towards appropriate preparedness efforts. Whether those efforts are on a daily basis or a prologue to a disaster, they only get put into motion by a state of awareness. Basically, this gal was pushing the snooze button the whole time she was distracted (aka asleep and unaware).

When I teach my Women of Caliber classes, before I even mention the word “firearm,” I spend a great deal at the beginning of the training talking about the change that needs to take place in our level of awareness. This awareness is critical in order to be capable of defending ourselves in any manner.  This same premise holds true in being prepared—on any level.  Unfortunately, the people we worry about are snooze button junkies. Even we get a bit burned being the “be prepared” Boy Scout.  But I believe that if we are given an opportunity to learn, then it’s important that we take that opportunity.

Speaking of which—WOW! Was this past weekend full of wake up calls (learning experiences) or what?

First you have the 7^th largest earthquake in the world which hits Chile. (8.8+ magnitude) Then you have the tsunami warnings affecting over a third of the world’s nations. Then you have the mudslide that hit the Los Angeles freeway—still undetermined as to why. Add to that the “national catastrophe” of France as declared by the French Prime Minister. Several deaths occurred as a violent late winter storm pummels Western Europe—particularly in France. At least a half a million persons are without power just in France—not to mention other surrounding countries. And then you have yet another, completely separate earthquake, hit Argentina (6.0 magnitude). And just for good measure we still have hundreds of thousands of individuals without power along the eastern seaboard due to record snowfall.

So, what do you do with all of this input? Well, first of all, you don’t panic. I don’t recap these events so that we trade in a snooze button for a panic button, I assure you. You panicking will do nothing to help your own state of preparedness and it certainly will NOT convert anyone else to accepting any preparedness activities of their own.  But what we should do is sincerely ask ourselves what we can learn from these circumstances.  I think that it’s even more important to ask these questions in light of the fact that so much occurred worldwide in such a short span of time as well (this weekend definitely shot the “rule of threes” out the window, don’t you think?).

Major snowstorms blanket the Eastern coast photo c/o www.abc.net

One thing that I really want to emphasize with all of this is that it does not alter my stance on “peaceful preparedness. There is not a scenario that I can think of that won’t be improved with deliberate actions conducted with a sense of calm. The earthquake, the power outages, the snow storm, etc. are perfect case studies for that point. I do hope though that these scenarios will better eliminate the excuses which are employed by the people I care for—you know—the excuses which they come up with, believing that “preparedness” is all a bunch of needless, panic-induced hype. The differences between a prepared household and a snooze-button household will be as drastically different as the Haiti earthquake vs. the Chile earthquake.  The consequences of Chile’s earthquake preparedness efforts as opposed to Haiti are like night and day. Chile will quickly bounce back in spite of a much more severe earthquake. This is the result of their long-time awareness and subsequent preparedness efforts—the fruits of which we can see in their present mental resolve, rescue efforts, government organization, etc. 

So—about those snooze buttons…

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

Bribes Let Tomato Vendor Sell Tainted Food photo c/o nytimes.com

When I read articles like these, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/business/25tomatoes.html?em I am reminded exactly why it is that I believe in having a well-stocked pantry that has long shelf-life.  I am also reminded as to why I do not invest heavily in canned goods if I can get away with it. That doesn’t mean that I don’t indulge in canned goods. They certainly have their place, but I definitely have reliable, clean, and safe substitutes on hand specifically to guard myself from the corruption, greed, deviant ethics, and just plain incompetence that plagues our food industry.   It doesn’t take a famine or heavy rains to give us cause to be more independent in our own food supplies.  There is plenty of cause every single day.

A statistic recently caught my eye on a health food site claiming that in the last 2 years there have been more food recalls than in the last 15 years put together? After watching movies such as “King Corn”, “Super-Size Me” and “Food Inc.”, I feel sufficiently informed to the point that I know that there are ample reasons for me to take my food and nutrition matters into my own hands.  As I shared in a previous article, the USDA, FDA, and grocery store names (i.e. “Whole Foods”) simply can’t be trusted to sustain a healthy life for my family.

Don’t get me wrong. I have my Dr. Pepper/Krispy Kreme kind of days.  As indicated by my physique. I’m not the epitome of a health food junkie. (Oh how I wish it were true, though—working on it.) But I do definitely rely more heavily on alternatives to so-called fresh produce, “Grade A” meat, and questionable processed foods. What are they?  

Top of my list is WHEAT.  I use it in my breads, rolls, cookies, and I use it as a meat alternative. (See articles with “wheat meat” information by searching “wheat meat” in our search bar) Does anyone remember the scandal of when Home Pride Bread had used saw dust to sprinkle the top of their bread with to make it look more “whole grain?” Or how about the recall of pet food that was poisoned?  How about the shortage of rice? Remember when spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and beef were recalled as the result of e-coli poisoning?  Well, fortunately, wheat isn’t yet processed that questionably. I can replace a lot of vegetables with wheat by sprouting it. I can make a delicious meat substitute. And I can have safe and wholesome bread as well.  Even better, I get to store the wheat with diatomaceous earth that takes care of any weevil problem but is actually GOOD for me.  What a miraculous bargain there, eh?

Freeze-Dried produce ends up being cheaper than fresh!

Next, I’m a big fan of freeze-dried produce.  Notice I said PRODUCE, not entrees.  The produce HAS to be clean in order for it to vaporize properly. If it still has the pesticides, herbicides, etc. in it, then it won’t take the correct form during the freeze-drying process.  (This is yet another reason why I like to double check the color, shape, and integrity of my freeze-dried produce before I invest heavily in it.) The good news is though, when I find a good freeze-dried product, I’m in heaven. No slicing, dicing, cleaning, picking, wasting, or bruising. I just pick up the handful and throw it in my soup. Or sometimes I cover it with water to reconstitute it and then use the now flavored water in some kind of delicious dish in addition to the fruit or vegetable. In fact, the other night I reconstituted some pineapple for a Polynesian Chicken dish. Instead of reconstituting it in water, I did so in chicken broth because the regular recipe I was adapting called for chicken broth in addition to the pineapple. So hey, why not multipurpose that broth? I do the same when I’m reconstituting fruit for a fruit mousse or Jell-O salad. Instead of just using plain old water, I use the water from the reconstituted fruit.  It adds an additional depth of flavor that way. While you can’t label freeze-dried foods as “organic” per se, they certainly are clean and safe and MUCH less expensive than mysteriously labeled “organic” foods are today.

Heirloom seeds are critical to my well-being in my opinion as well.  I’m not a master gardener yet by any stretch of the imagination. But I am working on it simply so that I can have more independence from the mistakes of others.  I don’t want DNA manipulated, chemical treated seeds. I want the good old fashioned kind that yield great foods that I can grow again and again and again.

Shirley J products add variety to your preparedness pantry

If I can find a dry equivalent to a food product and have it taste great too, then I’m all over it. For example, it’s no secret that I’m in love with the Shirley J Universal Sauce? Why? Because I don’t have to use butter or milk to make a perfect roux or béchamel sauce. I also don’t have to expose myself to added MSG or hydrogenated oils that are so abundant in cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soups that I used to use regularly, and it’s absolutely idiot-proof to make. I even buck the instructions and use hot broths to mix it up and it thickens in seconds. None of this babysitting and stirring stuff for me.  Thanks to the lack of the oils, it won’t go rancid on me. It’s got a shelf-life of 20-30 years so long as I store it in a cool, dry place. I can make a large batch ahead of time, store it in the refrigerator and it still won’t separate or turn into anything other than perfect and creamy when I cook it.  Dry products usually cost MUCH less than the canned food and they store longer and take up less space. I love the tomato powder I get. I can make ketchup, tomato paste, and tomato sauce out of it, or use it to add just a hint of tomato flavor to a soup or sauce.  There are quite a few perfect dry products on the market that are great for everyday use AND have a long shelf-life. (Shirley J products in general, powdered lemon and lime juice, powdered milk, etc.)

Essential oils and other homeopathic remedies are a must photo c/o herbmentor.com

Next, I take wellness and sick care into my own hands as much as possible as well.  Even if it isn’t tainted, a great deal of acetaminophen or aspirin can kill a person or at least tax their liver substantially. So, in the spirit of independence from the manufacturing dead beats, I have pursued the learning of essential oils, herbs, vitamins, and other “good for you” concoctions. Rather than just have them for “emergencies” I use them now so that I can peacefully rely on them in a pinch. (This is yet another reason why I vehemently do not believe in “emergency” preparedness.)

Remember, to me preparedness is all about being independent of vulnerabilities. When stories like I’ve shared with you above make it into the mainstream media, I know that they are just the tip of the iceberg. So I stay vigilant in protecting myself and my loved ones and I sure hope you do too.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

My dear readers: Over this last year I have come to feel like so many of you are my long-distance pen pals—my good friends. So as such, I’m totally behaving like a “girlfriend” today in sharing with you what I did last night. I was so pleased with how class turned out that I just couldn’t wait until “later” to tell you all about it.  I’m quite certain that if you try out this process and the accompanying recipe that you will LOVE the results as well—and be a bit surprised with how great it is too.

The Wonderful World of Wheat

So last night I was teaching my Wonderful World of Wheat class. I usually demonstrate making bread in about an hour and 15 minutes, how to sprout wheat, and then how to make wheat meat and use it in a “meat focused” dish.  I suppose I could “smuggle” the wheat meat in a dish for starters, but I prefer the “gloves-off approach” in my classes, and then let folks scale back however they’d like. This way they can approach the use of wheat meat in whatever capacity makes them more comfortable, instead of me teaching them to be timid with it in the first place.

So last night I made the wheat meat taste like chicken. Heck, it even looked like chicken. So let me share with how I did that.

First:

Take 2 cups of vital wheat gluten and put it in a bowl. Add about a teaspoon of the Shirley J Onion Seasoning, a dash of salt and pepper, and about a teaspoon of the Shirley J Pizza & Pasta Seasoning and 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast.*  With your hand, just mix it all together.  Then scoop the dry mixture to the sides of the bowl, making a concave hole for the liquid to go into. Then add 2 cups of tepid chicken bouillon into the concave portion. (I make

Preparing wheat meat

 the chicken bouillon with the Shirley J version because it costs less, has less of a salty taste, and no added MSG.) With your hand, gently but quickly work in the dry ingredients into the bouillon.  Keep working the mixture together with your hands. You will end up with a texture similar to silly putty.  You will need to work with it quickly because it quickly gets rather rubbery due to the gluten. Flatten the mixture out a bit and then cut it up into small ¼ in squares.  This recipe will make TWICE as much “chicken” as you will need for the casserole recipe, so I’m going to give you another option to use it for as well.

*nutritional yeast can be purchased in “bulk” at any health food store, and has a nice long shelf-life.  The Shirley J products are on a special sale this month at a “group buy” price through Five Star Preparedness— www.fivestarpreparedness.com/GroupBuy.

In a large pot, put about 6 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of the Shirley J Chicken Bouillon.  Place HALF of your ¼ inch sized pieces of the wheat meat.  (I use my pressure cooker for this portion as it cooks much faster.) Bring the chicken broth to a boil and then gently place the cut wheat meat in the broth.  Allow to boil/simmer until the wheat meat has increased in size about 4 times (if you’re using a pressure cooker, this will take about 15 minutes at high pressure).

Remove the wheat meat and place it in a large mixing bowl.

Take 1 cup of Shirley J Universal Sauce and add 2 ½ cups of the hot chicken bouillon. Whisk together until thickened. Add 1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, and a dash of pepper to the sauce. Mix well.  Then pour the sauce over the cooked wheat meat in the bowl. Add 2 cups of frozen vegetable and a ½ cup of parmesan cheese.  Mix together until the vegetables and wheat meat is covered in the sauce.

Transfer mixture to a large casserole dish.

In a separate bowl take 3 cups of the Shirley J Biscuit mix and add 1 ¾ cup of water. Whisk together well. Them mixture should represent more of a lumpy cake mix than biscuit dough.  Pour this mixture evenly over your wheat meat mixture in the casserole dish.

Cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.

Make tasty dishes using wheat meat

This wheat meat will simply melt in your mouth.  There is no unpleasant taste or texture about it.  This dish is fantastic and I make the wheat meat specifically so that I can make THIS dish.

I had some leftovers last night that I brought home. I hadn’t had dinner and was SO dang tempted to eat it, but at 9:00 at night I knew that wouldn’t be wise so I put the leftovers in the fridge and went to get a couple more hours of writing in for the night. This morning I was SO looking forward to eating it for breakfast.  But alas, my silly husband gave this scrumptious dish to our two pampered pooches for breakfast! I was so grumpy about that one!

Now, what do you do with the rest of the mock chicken wheat meat?  Well, if it were me, I’d boil it just like you did the previous batch—in 4-6 cups of chicken broth OR I would bake it until it puffs up about 3 to 4 times in size. If you bake it, bake it at about 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Then soak the wheat meat pieces in about 2 cups of buttermilk or soy milk for about 5 minutes. Then dredge them in 3 cups of rice flour or matzo meal. Then deep fry them like you would your own chicken nuggets, and Voila! You’ll have the best tasting, light and crunchy chicken nuggets that you’ve ever had before! (And don’t forget to serve it with the Shirley J BBQ sauce that so many are in love with too. Last night, instead of having “just plain delicious BBQ sauce” we had it mixed with root beer, peach preserves, Worchester sauce and vanilla, and all kinds of other flavor combinations. (Separately, not together, folks) The BBQ sauce was so wonderful that folks had more than one piece of wheat meat—even though I scorched it a bit.  Yup, good BBQ sauce cures all cooking mistakes.

BBQ Wheat Meat

The other option is to grill the pieces or fry them in a non-stick skillet after you boil or bake them. 

Using these options is definitely a way to get wheat meat into your family’s diet and ensure that you’re serving an affordable protein that’s hormone, MSG, antibiotic, and e-coli FREE. Sounds like a delicious and healthy plan to me.

Ok. Now on to finish the diatomaceous earth article that I was supposed to give you today…

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

Determining Fact from Fiction

A beautiful warm day in May, 1985. It was the day after my graduation ceremony and I was on my way up to a little town I had never heard of called Lakeside, Ohio. It nestled right along Lake Erie and attracted lots of tourists in the summer months. My best friend, MaryAnn had got me a job as a waitress with her at a little restaurant, The Patio. Funny thing. When I was little I actually wanted to grow up and be a waitress. So here I was, freshly graduated, 18 years old, and embarking on an adventure with my best friend for the summer at a little resort town. We were going to be roommates together for the whole summer. I was so excited to be living on my own, with a dear friend that I had known for years and had come to love and respect deeply.

Waitressing...those were the days photo c/o www.insidesocal.com

Summer days in Ohio near that large body of water were so hot and very humid.  Even an early morning walk at 6:30 a.m. would still leave you feeling hot and sticky. During these months, the air conditioning was our saving grace since we were renting an attic room in an old home. Though the electricity was included in our rent, our landlady was quite manipulative in controlling how much we used the air conditioning. She would simply flip a switch and not allow us to turn it on at all sometimes. Thus we appropriately called her the AC Nazi.  Most nights we slept in comfortable exhaustion as we ran around all day serving tables and then crashed into our beds at night in the midst of the cool lake air. But on our days off, it was nearly unbearable to stay in our rooms during the daylight hours.  In fact, it was so miserable; we’d try to avoid staying in our rooms as much as possible even if it meant working an extra shift at the restaurant.

After about 1 month of work my dear friend had developed a serious bronchial infection.  MaryAnn was actually quite sickly while we went to high school together and had had some “close calls” with her health.  I was particularly concerned because we both had been working some very long hours at the restaurant for almost the entire month we were there. This infection seemed to have zapped the color right out of her. She told me that the only relief she got as she rested was when the air conditioning was on. Otherwise she looked pitiful and helpless lying in her bed, sweating like she had just run a marathon.  We were told that she had to really rest and take her medications until she got over it. She didn’t want to go home; after all, how would that look to have to go home your first summer as an independent woman?  So, I worked to cover her shifts in addition to mine at the restaurant while she got better. Some days I would have enough time to walk home in-between shifts and check on her. But frankly, there was nothing I could do but get her some more water and maybe bring her some toast and soup from the restaurant. We explained to the landlady that MaryAnn was sick and would need to run the AC in the room while she was recovering. The landlady assured us that she would permit it. But when MaryAnn would attempt to run the air conditioner, the AC Nazi would trip the breaker whenever she felt it had been on long enough. Between seeing my friend miserable and knowing that we were paying for access to the AC, I was a bit angry.

To make matters worse, MaryAnn was one of the mildest mannered people I knew.  Yes this made this particular matter much worse. She would be as sweet as pie to the landlady whenever the landlady checked in on her. She never once uttered anything about her great discomfort. She never spoke a harsh word to anyone. I never heard her complain about her parents, other kids at school, or her brothers who would pick on her as brothers are want to do.  But she seemed to be at her wits end when it came to dealing with this landlady and the air conditioning issue.  I think it was the only time I ever heard her speak ill of someone—but she only shared her feelings with me. She even avoided calling home so that her parents wouldn’t know that she was ill. Needless to say, it would anger me a great deal when I would come home to check on her and see her so miserable, trying to rest in that high heat and humidity. I kept encouraging her—even begging her—to say something to the landlady. MaryAnn assured me that she would, but then nothing would get said.

One day I had come home in-between shifts to check on her. As I climbed the narrow old stairs up to our room I could hear MaryAnn hacking her lungs out. It sounded so awful.  I found her in tears and miserable. She told me that she hadn’t been permitted to have the AC on at all that day.  The landlady had left to go into town earlier and had left strict instructions with her nephew that the AC was not to be allowed on.  I was furious—and probably really worried too (that always seems to be the real fuel behind my anger). Just then the landlady walked into our room without even so much as a knock.  I looked at MaryAnn expecting her to say something, but she didn’t. She just looked at me as if she was helpless to stand up for herself. So, I found myself emphatically communicating with the landlady about how I insisted that she allow the air conditioning to be turned on without any obstruction until MaryAnn regained her health. Well, this old lady was clearly not used to someone speaking to her this way.  And frankly, I was raised to be very respectful of adults. I’m not the swearing kind usually. And I didn’t holler. But as the daughter of an attorney I was very specific in my demands for what I believed were my rights under our rental agreement.  When I was through, the landlady was aghast that I would say such things to her. She immediately informed me that under the confines of our rental agreement she had the right to evict me immediately. Which she did. MaryAnn was welcome to stay, but the AC Nazi did not want a “horrible person like me living under her roof.”  I looked at MaryAnn in disbelief. She was absolutely silent and averted my gaze.   In my mind I was confident that MaryAnn wouldn’t stand for this kind of treatment and move out with me—after all, I was getting evicted because I had stuck up for her.  But she didn’t. She only said one thing that night as I packed my things that night and left—“I was fine without the AC.”

I’ll never forget the day that I had to face the music and admit that my best friend wasn’t truly my best friend.  I tried to deny it. I tried to understand.  But instead, I just hurt inside, and felt very much alone and betrayed. I knew nobody else up in this little resort.  I was able to find another room for the summer, but it cost 4 times as much as I was paying for the room I shared with MaryAnn. I didn’t know how I was going to make it financially. I didn’t have any other friends there except for MaryAnn.  I wouldn’t even have known that this little resort of a town existed if it hadn’t been for her. Yup. I felt some kind of alone, that’s for sure.  In a couple of weeks, MaryAnn returned to work and never said a word to me. In fact, I don’t recall her saying anything to me since then.

Hurt and pain can lead to dispair, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. photo c/o aaahomebuyers.com

It hurt so badly to discover that she would betray my love, my trust, my belief in her goodness, and so much else. My mind whirled through our history of love and friendship together as I looked at every memorable conversation we had in a new light.  Feeling alone, far from home, and stressed with my new reality, I was pretty emotional. “When did she ‘go bad’? What did I do to deserve this? What more could I have done to avoid this? How could I have been so naïve and gullible?” 

I’m sure that most of us can relate on some level or another to this instance of betrayal mixed with disbelief and pain.  It may be delivered at the hands of a friend, a trusted medical advisor, our attorney who’s supposed to protect us from horrific financial exposures, our parents or guardians who are supposed to protect us from abuse, our teachers who are supposed to teach us truths, or our community leaders who we trust to make decisions in our best interests. Yet everywhere we turn we are disappointed in these areas of trust. At such a time we may find ourselves resolving that we will never trust again, never be hurt again, and never open ourselves to such vulnerabilities again. We’ll never do something good for someone else and we’ll never trust someone else with any part of our lives again. Some may decide that they want to completely “get off of the grid” and not be a part of society whatsoever. There’s only one problem with this resolve though. It’s simply not how we’re made up. It goes against everything good inside of us. If we build up a wall so that love, trust and friendship don’t get in, then we can’t let any of those needs get out either.  No one is really happy being a Scrooge, right? We are social, community beings.  Our hard-drives mysteriously push even the most committed hermit to reach out to someone for interaction and relationships—even if it’s a soccer ball. (Just ask my husband who swore he’d never get married again) But those interdependent relationships will always be accompanied by disappointment at some level so long as imperfect men and women are given any position of trust in our lives.  When it comes to creating an environment of independence, aka preparedness, how can we remain true to our good natures without constantly exposing ourselves to potentially deadly mistakes of misplaced trust? How can we interact and still be protected and peaceful? Is there a way to have both without compromising the good inside of us or our emotional and spiritual strength?

Yes. There is.

photo c/o x6f.xanga.com

First strategy: The best foundation for a healthy interdependence is an acceptance that it isn’t perfect.  I tell myself that the number one rule about friendship is that I will get hurt. But I have to decide if I’m willing to love them in spite of that.  The same goes for the other things that we rely on—the everyday things: i.e. our government, our banking system, the weather man, our education system, etc.  All of these aspects that we rely on so heavily and yet unconsciously, in many cases, are imperfect. The biggest danger we can put ourselves in is to deny that such is the case. Did the Great Depression last longer than it needed to as a result of the desires of the rich and powerful? Yes, yes, it did.  Is our public education system a contrived maneuver for tax collection? Yup. Sorry. It is.  Can we trust the Federal Reserve to act in our own best interested morally and ethically? Nope. Sorry.  You can’t expect men/women who are surrounded by unlimited amounts of cash and unchecked power to be virtuous any more than you can expect a room full of men not to look at a naked woman (if only for a second).  But you will be far better off to deal with these systems, ideas, and people in general if you do so with the understanding that it is susceptible to flaws—even catastrophic ones. If you understand that, then you eliminate the power that any of these things have to break you down and catch you by surprise.  Even terrorists know that their true power lies not in the wielding of the knife or the gun or the bomb. It lies in the fear of the unknown. I assure you that those who helped take down the terrorists on plane on 9/11 (knowing it still meant death to them) vs. those who let it be thrust upon them, went out of this world with much greater peace and joy.   So instead of making the world around you an unknown set of disappointments and breaches of trust, simply presume that flaws exist and you will find yourself much better prepared mentally and otherwise. This doesn’t require a pessimistic view on life and the world around you. It simply requires a healthy, matter of fact acceptance that things around us aren’t perfect.  In a final attempt at making my point clearer, allow me to share this.  I have a sister-in-law who is the mother of 6 boys, ranging in ages from 5 to 13. They are indeed a handful. But she accepts that as a part of who they are and doesn’t freak out when dead animals are brought into the house. This doesn’t make her a pessimist. This doesn’t require her to surrender any sort of order, decorum, or obedience in her home.  But it sure does help her sanity. Trying to change these growing boys into pictures of perfection would be just about as easy as my trying to get the jeepnies in the Philippines to forsake all of their counterintuitive behaviors.

Second Strategy: Do your homework.  If the issue is important enough for you to argue, then it should be important enough for you to research. Before I began using Shirley J, I went and interviewed the owners of the company. Before I began shooting primarily with a Glock I shot countless other handguns. Before I settled on particular brands of freeze-dried foods, I tested and used over 15 different kinds and even went to work temporarily with two of the companies as a consultant. I’m not talking about a PhD level of homework here. But I am talking about making informed decisions.  I don’t mind it if someone disagrees with me, even on issues that I consider to be vital to morality and ethics. But I do take exception if they make such decisions without any more than a bar room discussion drowned in liquor as their

Study before making any decision or relying on anyone else's say so. photo c/o i.ehow.com

classroom. We have far too much freedom for us to settle for ignorance.  Who to vote for, where to live, where to shop, how to take care of our children, how to get our dogs to stop barking, etc. etc. Our classroom learning simply can’t stop at the borders of brick and mortar. So long as we have decisions to make, we must take responsibility for backing up our opinions about those decisions. This isn’t about winning a debate. This is about the peace of mind that comes when you have thoroughly studied a topic and can take comfort in the foundation of your actions even in the midst of scorn or ridicule.  We are responsible in forming the courage of our convictions. Such courage comes only when our convictions have a clearly defined backbone.

May I also suggest when doing this homework that you apply the first strategy to your homework.  We simply cannot afford to sanction one person or entity as the source of all truth—with one exception which I’ll discuss in a moment.  The USDA, FDA, CIA, FBI, and all of those initial entities will not be right in everything. The only power they have is the power we give to them; literally and with our minds accepting their information.  They are not the almighty wizard. They are comprised of flawed human beings—most of which I like to believe are trying to do the right thing.  But perfectly executed actions based on faulty information never result in the perfect ending.  So research, yes, but with the first strategy in mind. Computers for example are a great tool. But only as great as the information they are fed.

Last Strategy: Debunk the debunkers.  Somebody has to do it.  We’ve given far too much credit and faith in Snopes, Wikipedia, CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times. As much as I may enjoy a dose of Glenn Beck here and there, I simply cannot afford to buy into everything that he says. He’s simply not a perfectly informed man.  So, if your favorite news source can’t be relied upon to debunk the debunkers, then who can?  How can we know the truth from the well-crafted lies without having a PhD ourselves in international finance, political science, medicine, world history, security, and social studies? It’s got to feel a bit overwhelming to those of us who are trying to find peace and security.  The good news—no, the great news is that there is a reliable source to assuage our minds from the stress of all of the uncertainties.

The Spirit bears witness of the truth of all things.  According to the scriptures, we have all been

Christ is the ultimate debunker. He is the one you should turn to whenever you have a question. photo c/o myspace.com

given the gift of the Light of Christ. (John 1:9) So ultimately, when you’re in doubt on something, listen to the inside.  Does it feel right? Does it sound true? Does it bring peace to your mind?  Pray about it. Listen. Pray about it some more if need be. If there is fear, trepidation, doubt, then it’s not right. If there is joy, peace, a clear mind, then it is right. This is yet another reason why I teach that Spiritual Preparedness is the most important part of preparedness. Sometimes it may be the only way you can sift through the truth and the lies until you’ve had the time to do more research or even get access to the truth. In fact, you may find out the truth of something long before science or government entities join you. But at least you won’t have wasted time wallowing in falsehoods in the meantime, right?

In closing, I also want to assure you that there is nothing too trivial.  If you’re deliberating over which solar oven is the best, do your homework and then listen. Listen for the Spirit to affirm your answer. The Lord doesn’t take our peace and security as a trivial matter. (James 1:5)  A wise man once told me “Information is the source of inspiration in many cases.” I have to agree with him on this as I’ve experienced it many times. 

Isn’t it great that we don’t have to stop trusting people just to be safe and secure? The reality and existence of evil should not be able to hold our hope and belief in our fellowmen hostage. I refuse to give that up and I hope you do too. I’m convinced that we can have both hope and security and thus be peacefully prepared.

In light of the length of this article, I’ll be giving you all a break on Wednesday. Tune in on Thursday for some more great information on Diatomaceous Earth!

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Given my heightened awareness in the last couple of years regarding a financial collapse in the U.S. (and subsequently the world) I took sharp notice of this article that I came across today.

Citigroup has notified all of its account holders that as of April 1, 2010 that they will require 7 days notice of any withdrawals from checking accounts!  I suspect that this will not be the only instance and that other banks will follow. Also, expect slower payments on debit and check transactions.

Mind you Citigroup claims that they have no intention of enforcing this new policy, but that they were required by federal law to disclose it.  Yeah, right. Sorry, not buying that. I see it as a blatant defensive move.  As such I strongly encourage people to put a high priority on getting their bills paid three months in advance, and having $500 in small bills handy.

The article is here: http://www.prisonplanet.com/citigroup-warns-customers-it-may-refuse-to-allow-withdrawals.html